Ecomodding my 1966 Corvair

[Frank Lee]

Corvairs are pretty clean underneath already so a bellypan would do even less than it normally does.

My '66 is nice and stable cuz it still wears it's factory chin spoiler. I also replaced the skinny 13" wheels with Nova 14 in ralleys in the front and wider Camaro ralleys in the rear. I've read about the Vair chin spoiler being added specifically to enhance stability.

[Gibsonvair]

I couldn't figuire out how to reshape the front quarter panels to direct air around the front tires and although I bought some conveyor belt to make the front air dam, I moved on to something more exciting and easy.
This weeked I replaced the distributor and coil. The distributor is a modified unit from a 2.8 liter GM 60 degree V-6. The total advance is 71 degrees with initial, full mechanical and full vacuum. It runs better with steadier timing and less hesitation. The engine is worn-out, but a spare is now being rebuilt. I will find out in two more days how the gas mileage is doing after my first tank of gas.
I hope to report back soon!
Steve Gibson

[autoteach]

umm, I am not real sure that 71 degrees of timing is a good thing. I have worked on cars for a while, and 8-15 initial and max of 55ish (think HIGH rpms) was about all we could run on anything.

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[Gibsonvair]

The original installed distributor was set @ 20 degrees static, 13 degrees full mechanical by 2000 rpm, and 16 degrees of full vacuum advance @ 25'' mercury.
The new is set @ 20 degrees static, 7 degrees full mechanical by 2700 rpm, and 24 degrees full vacuum @ 10" mercury. I'm carrying a timing light in case there is pinging.
Steve Gibson

[cfg83]

Gibsonvair -

Fount this by chance :

An Illustrated History Of Automotive Aerodynamics – Part 3: Finale | The Truth About Cars

We’re not going to pursue the evolution of racing aerodynamics further in this limited survey, but the Chaparrals’ influence would also quickly spill over into passenger cars. GM hired an aerodynamicist back in 1953 to assist with wind tunnel tests on its turbine concept cars, although he was grossly underutilized for years. But GM’s technical assistance to the Chaparral team was a well-known fact. How much of that was aerodynamics is not clear, but the first mass production car to sport a chin spoiler like the 2B above was the 1966 Corvair. It was added in the second year of the Corvair’s 1965 re-style to reduce drag and improve down force and cross-wind stability.

CarloSW2

[Gibsonvair]

After 260 miles: No noticable FE gain...but no loss. 25 mpg. Much better drivability and lugs better. Should lend to low speed, high gear driving for fuel efficiency.
Steve Gibson

[me and my metro]

That vacuum advance may be adjustable through the vacuum port with an allen wrench. If not you can get rid of some with a piece of windshield washer tubing over the pin that comes up through the plate inside. I agree 70 something is too much.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Corvairs are quite cool, yet the aftermarket support for them seems harder to find than it is for either other GM compacts following a more mainstream tech or the classic Volkswagens.

[freebeard]

me and my metro -- Did you observe the post date for Permalink #16? '11-09-2010, 02:19 AM'.

No objection to zombie threads, in this case I saw the history of the chin spoiler at Permalink #15. But eleven years down the road, before addressing the poster instead of the lurkers you can check their profile. In this case ==> Last Post: Begin front quarter mod '66 Corvair 11-13-2010 10:00 AM

Just, you know, FYI.

[samwichse]

I'd think about a thermostatically controlled electric cooling fan. V-belts are inefficient. 90° v-belts even less so. And then your thermostat when closed is just adding back pressure to the fan, which is already sucking power when not needed.

They make kits with everything you need in both centrifugal:
Corvair Specialties - Products:Â Corvair Street Electric Cooling fan

And axial:
http://www.corvairspecialties.com/fankit.html