<VV> UPDATE: Starting a Corvair That Has Been Sitting, Stuck Corvair

[Steven J. Serenska]

VVers:

First and foremost, I wanted to write and say thanks to everyone who 
offered their thoughts and suggestions on- and off-line concerning 
getting my 65 Monza back on the road.  I appreciate you taking the 
time.  The bottom line is that the car is both unstuck and up and 
running.  The rest of what follows is just a Corvair story following a 
nice day.  Read it at half-time during the game... ;-)


As mentioned yesterday morning, I had set the parking brake 
approximately 2 years ago on my 65 Monza Convertible.  At the time I 
parked it, I was living out of the country and wasn't thinking that the 
job I was on was going to continue and that the car would sit for that long.

I called AAA and got a flatbed tow truck with a winch to hook into the 
frame and drag it out of the garage.  It was strange to see the car 
dragging BOTH rear wheels against the garage floor.  It made me think of 
teenagers being dragged to do something they don't want to do.  Once the 
car was outside, I took off the wheels and used the BFH technique on the 
brake drum and it worked like a charm.

After that problem was solved, I changed the oil and filter, charged the 
battery, and spun the starter for a few seconds.  Almost without 
exaggeration, the car started right up.  I let it run for a little 
while, but none of the things I was expecting to see/hear (e.g., 
clattering lifters) happened.  Pretty good luck, I'd say.  I went for a 
short run to the grocery store with no issues.

I brought it back and vacuumed, Windex-ed, and Armor All-ed the snot out 
of the interior and then gave it a good wash.  I was blown away when I 
took off the top boot to raise the roof to wash it.  I know for a fact 
that the top hasn't been up for three years, but it went up with 
absolutely no issues.

Once the car was gleaming again, I decided to go out on the highway to 
air dry it rather than dry with a chamois.  I thought I was going to 
drive at 65mph for a while, but made the command decision to get off the 
highway and drive south to Little Compton, Rhode Island. Little Compton 
is a town at the southeastern tip of the state and it's like going 
backwards in time by 50 years.  Little Compton is largely a farming 
community that just happens to abut the Atlantic Ocean.  The road that 
goes down to it is 50 mph and curvy -- an ideal Corvair road -- with a 
river on one side, the open ocean on the other, and 
hundreds-of-years-old stone fences on both sides. Here are a few 
pictures of the town (not taken by me, but this is exactly what we saw 
yesterday):

http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles28170.jpg
http://www.cummingsgroup.net/images/sold/21widgeon/view.jpg

The longer we drove, the more the Monza worked itself back into driving 
shape.  By the time we rolled back into the driveway, it was humming 
along just like my old friend.

We took the car out to dinner to celebrate my youngest daughter's 
birthday.  Unfortunately, on the drive home, the blower bearing started 
to squeal and I noticed a tick-tick-tick coming from the passenger-side 
rear wheel, so there are still a few things I need to look at.

But, dear Lord, what a nice day we had.

Thanks again everyone for your comments and help.

Steven "smiling a Corvair smile" Serenska
1965 Monza Convertible, 110/4, a few minor fixes
1966 Corsa Coupe, 140/4, purchased a passenger muffler and a hanger at 
Clarks via the show discount ... to be worked on next.

==> The muffler is in the white box as shown below in a picture taken at 
Clarks.  The picture was taken by CORSA Eastern Division Director Karl 
Haakonsen who was nice enough to walk over and introduce himself after 
he heard me introduce myself to another VVer: