<VV> ring job - looking ...

[Shaun McGarvey]

Hi Dave, the oil pump problem seems to be a stuck relief valve that caused 
excessive pressure and blew out the oil filter's seal. Stuck relief valves 
are fairly common on engines that haven't run for a long time.
The belt should only be tight enough that you can still turn the blades of 
the alternator/generator fan without hurting your finger. Is it possible 
that you drove it farther than you think with no belt? That would account 
for most of the other symptoms.

yea, Vairily ... Shaun


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Smith" <gornzilla at gmail.com>
To: "Chris & Bill Strickland" <lechevrier at earthlink.net>
Cc: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> ring job - looking ...


> Hi Bill,
>
> I was passed a lot.  I brought a bag of tools with me on the train ride 
> down.
>
> I'm taking a break from riding a 1965 Ducati 250cc round the world and
> I just got back from Nepal and India on a Royal Enfield.  I raced a VW
> Bug at the 24 Hours of LeMons (that's lemons, not LeMans).  I expected
> some problems and thought I was going slow enough.  It was a foolish
> roll of the dice I know, but I've done worse and survived. That's the
> first time I've had to be towed home in years of driving/riding old
> stuff.
>
> It was a cold week.  The grapevine had been closed due to snow.  I
> stopped fairly often, every 80-100 miles, to let the car cool down.
> That's when I was thinking maybe the coil was going because it would
> get harder to start. I don't know what the proper tension is on a
> belt, but the guy I bought it from said he just had the belt replaced
> with the best money could buy and it was perfect.  The shop I went to
> said "wow, what a crappy belt" and I adjusted it to about the same
> tension and the mech said it was loose.
>
> I'm looking for a 1960s car for around town use and trips to San
> Francisco (80 miles each way).  I've owned a lot of 1960s Darts,
> Valiants, and a '67 Barracuda, but I love how Corvairs look.
> Something I can leave on the street since my NSU takes up my tiny
> garage.
>
> I don't think I'd blow up a replacement engine. Breaking small things
> is fine.  A nice intro to the world of Corvairs.
>
> -Dave
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 3, 2009 at 2:21 PM, Chris & Bill Strickland
> <lechevrier at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> gornzilla at gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>>... drove up to Sacramento the next.  About 350 miles on I-5 doing 70.
>>>
>>
>> Only 70, and you didn't get run over?
>>
>> It'd be my opinion that yes, you are probably looking at a replacement
>> engine, or rebuilding yours, or having it rebuilt.
>>
>> Methinks that taking an unproven 40 year old car on a 300+ mile trip up
>> an 85 mph freeway through the desert without expecting a breakdown is
>> rather, should I say, foolhardy?  Yes, the San Joaquin Valley is a
>> desert, and as almost all irrigated deserts, when you irrigate it, it
>> grows stuff.  If you were keeping up with traffic, you probably were
>> doing more than 70 -- have you checked your speedometer calibration?  Or
>> perhaps CHP has finally clamped down really hard on enforcement out 
>> there?
>>
>> Certainly, a well maintained Corvair would be expected to complete such
>> a trip, but e-Bay cars (as well as nearly any used vehicle previously
>> unknown to you) are suspect, regardless of the stories and documentation
>> that they come with (aka, "buyer beware"), and must be tested and proven
>> by the current owner, and forty or fifty miles around town (less than an
>> hours worth of driving), isn't much "proof".  I'd say you successfully
>> tested the engine to the point of destruction, regardless of the intent,
>> and another "used engine" will likely meet the same fate, sorry to say.
>>
>> Next trip to Sacramento in an old car, stick to 55 mph on 99
>>
>> mo, subject to change based on more accurate description of the issues,
>>
>> Bill Strickland
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