Project "KushVair" - 1967 Corvair Street/Track Build

[HotRodKush]

Thanks!

Small progress today. A few buddies were hanging out at the shop tonight so we spent some time on the Vair.

Some of my suspension parts came in today for the rear, so I figured i'd better start sanding down the wheel wells for paint before it goes back together. I used the old standby - wire wheel on a drill:



Might be about time to invest in a real dust mask...



I started it off but the guys got tired of watching me work and took over, which I happily agreed to. All this sanding is wearing me out. It turned out pretty damn good.

Before:



After:



I'll be painting it with 3M rubberized undercoating. I ran out of cleaner so I need to do a Home Depot run before I can finish and paint it. When it comes time to tear the drivetrain out of the car, I'll do the same for the engine bay and the other side of the frame rails.

We had to remove the header to get deep inside the wheel well, so I figured I'd see what condition the headers were in. There's fuel AND oil leaking from the motor, so the headers have a thick layer of rust and grease on them. Again, the wire wheel worked wonders. We also used some fine-mesh steel wool to polish the exhaust tips.

Before:



After:





Amazing what a few minutes of scrubbing can accomplish. Again, no degreaser, so I'll have to wait a couple of days to paint. This is also all from one side, the other side of the car still needs to be sanded down the same way. Small steps!

[HotRodKush]

Alright, I was able to run out to get paint and degreaser sooner than I thought, so I spent some time on the car today. I painted the first wheel well with Rustoleum undercoating, and 8 hours later it's still not dry. I'll check it again tomorrow, and if it didn't adhere I'm going back to my original plan of 3M undercoating. Not sure what the issue is. I forgot to take pics of that, I'll post them next time. I also sanded down the other side rear wheel well but I'm holding off on paint until I see what's going on with the undercoating.

I also started sanding and painting some of the parts that I took out of the car, in the hopes that I can start putting it back together in a couple of weeks:



I also painted the exhaust with high-temp paint (see previous post for "before" shots):



And lastly, I sanded and re-stained the wood steering wheel, and painted the center a satin black instead of the original chrome. Looks good so far, some finishing work needs to be done though.

Before:



After (almost done):

[sids04]

Looks good..

[HotRodKush]

Not many photos today, but I got the drivetrain removed last night. Again, a couple of buddies came by to help out. I'll try to get some better photos next time I'm at the shop, probably later today.

On the way out...you can also see one of the freshly painted wheel wells:




One of the guys helping to position the motor/trans onto a dolly for easy removal:



Almost out!




Aaaand, there it sits:




Next step is to finish sanding and undercoating the rear of the car now that the motor is out, as well as painting the engine bay. After that, I'll do a basic gasket rebuild of the motor and transmission, and put it back in with the new rear suspension.

[FLYNAVY53]

any updates to this guy?

[HotRodKush]

Wow forgot about this thread, I think the last time I logged in was to post here! Just got the email notification that there was a post in the thread. Unfortunately no updates, sold the car a few years ago. I believe the next owner got it up and running. Haven't heard anything about it since though.

[FLYNAVY53]

Ok cool....Ive started looking for a new project and have been kicking around the idea of attempting the Corvair body onto G-Body frame....along with an LS motor and Ride Tech G-Body suspension components.

Do you happen to know the factory weight bias on a Corvair, and any idea how moving the engine to the front changes it (presumable significantly)?