<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
>
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
> _______________________________________________
> This message was sent by the VirtualVairs mailing list, all copyrights are
> the property
> of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, mailto:
> vv-help at corvair.org
> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America,
> http://www.corvair.org/
> Post messages to: VirtualVairs at corvair.org
> Change your options:
> http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/options/virtualvairs
> Archives: http://www.vv.corvair.org/archive.htm
> _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
This message was sent by the VirtualVairs mailing list, all copyrights are the property
of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, mailto:vv-help at corvair.org
This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America, http://www.corvair.org/
Post messages to: VirtualVairs at corvair.org
Change your options: http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/options/virtualvairs
Archives: http://www.vv.corvair.org/archive.htm
_______________________________________________
More information about the VirtualVairs
mailing list