<VV> Shop Manual, Corvair Basics Manual, VV

Bill Hubbell whubbell at verizon.net
Wed Sep 16 21:16:20 EDT 2015


Early Corvair are better.....

Bill

On Sep 16, 2015, at 5:26 PM, Lonny Clark via VirtualVairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org> wrote:

I broke an ear off the generator of an early, and I drove it for months
with the generator just laying on the top of the engine with one bolt in.
And it did not throw a belt in that entire time, and that belt was old -
like more that ten years old. You could pull it off without tools, but it
would not jump off on its own.

Conversely, a few years back I converted it to an alternator, it threw a
belt the 3rd time I drove it (and overheated, and lost valve seat, and
etc...)

Lonny

Lonny Clark

On Fri, Sep 4, 2015 at 5:37 PM, Dennis Pleau via VirtualVairs <
virtualvairs at corvair.org> wrote:

> In '70 I had a '63 102/4sp and worked at a Union 76 Station.  The station
> had a strand tension gauge so I used it to tension my fan belts.  I
> tossed/broke a lot of belts.  In my 16 year mind, I was sure I wasn't
> putting them on tight enough so I started putting them on tighter and still
> had a lot of belt problems.  I then started using a crow bar to get them
> even tighter and broke one of the ears off were the generator bolts went
> through.  After welding up the ear, I don't remember a lot of problems
> after
> that but I was still replacing a good number of belts.  I bought a '70
> Maverick in '71 and my Corvair became my fun car.  It was much more
> enjoyable to drive than the Ford, but the Maverick had AC.  I sold the
> Corvair in '74.
> 
> I bought another '63 102/4 in '84.  Joined CORSA and Valley CORSA (now
> Silicon Valley CORSA) and learned the proper way to tension belts and
> started getting years out of belts rather than the days or week I got when
> I
> was in High School.
> 
> dp
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: VirtualVairs [mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of
> Jim Simpson via VirtualVairs
> Sent: Friday, September 04, 2015 2:50 PM
> To: Virtual Vairs
> Subject: Re: <VV> Shop Manual, Corvair Basics Manual, VV
> 
> I do have a strand tension gauge (from the late John Moody) and trust me,
> the shop manual specifications are WAY too tight!  If you do actually use a
> strand tension gauge and tighten a new belt to 75 lb tension, make sure you
> have a spare -- you'll be replacing the fan belt soon.
> 
> The 50+ years of accumulated wisdom and experience of Corvair owners (as
> opposed to the original engineers) has shown that a somewhat loose belt
> works best.  As pointed out in the Corvair Basics manual, just tight enough
> so you can just barely turn the alternator/generator with your fingers is
> about right.  I measured that as somewhere around 15 - 25 lbs tension
> depending upon how well calibrated your finger might be.
> 
> I did a little research to see how Chevrolet came up with the recommended
> tension and as best as I can find, they used the formulas published by the
> drive belt manufacturers such as Gates.  If you make some assumptions as to
> loads and RPM, you come up with numbers like 75 lbs tension in order to
> make
> sure that nothing (fan & alternator) is slipping at high RPM.  I suspect
> that this high tension specification is one of the reasons why Corvairs
> developed a reputation for short fan belt life.  That and the high
> rotational inertia of the early steel fans and generators.
> 
> The collective experience is that it's better to allow some slippage.
> 
> Jim Simpson
> Group Corvair
> 
> 
> 
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