Heart of America Corvair Owners Association

CityKansas

Area September 2012Volume 48 Issue 9

Editors Gary and Helen Moorewww.hacoa.org

Attendance was down slightly for the August Meeting, but still respectable, with 40 members present and 14 Corvairs in the parking lot. President Don Barta reported on his first Thunder in the Valley. There were 24 club participants and it was, “hot, fun and noisy.” Sounds like a “good time was had by all,” especially Don.

While the regular meeting was in progress, a slide show of the 2012 CORSA Convention in Sturbridge played on the screen at Paul & Jacks. Most (all?) of the 70 some photos were taken by Dorothy Morris. After the meeting, Chuck and Dorothy Morris, and Don and Barb Wagner told about their convention adventures.

Of course, a good part of the meeting was spent discussing our bid for the 2014 CORSA Convention in Branson. Scott and Wes reported on the current plans for the convention and rounded up volunteer chairpersons for a variety of committees. Paul Sargent reported that Tacoma, Washington is also putting in a bid. We decided to go ahead with our bid anyway.

Wes brought the first order of HACOA jackets to the meeting. The silver jackets looked great with the HACOA logo embroidered on the back, the 50th anniversary logo on the left front, and the member’s name on the right front. Wes took orders for the second run that should be delivered at the September meeting so they’ll be ready to wear to the Great Plains Corvair Round Up in Edmond, OK. Treasurer, Cliff Carlino reported balance of $5,465. Membership Chair, Sheila Carlino reported one new member, Kevin Denault (?) who has finally decided to join us officially. Several members reported to have heard from Reid and Marina Miermaster since their move. They have settled in fine in St. George Utah. Scott Allison said their old phone number still works. Bill Bennett is auctioning the Miermaster’s bicycle that they had to leave behind, with the proceeds going to the Meirmasters. Gary Wolfe was appointed to fill Reid’s seat on the Board. Mention was made regarding Tim Macko’s job challenges, and his wife Kim Macko was hospitalized with heart problems but is now back to work. We hope they can make it to a meeting soon.

The American Royal Parade and the Overland Park Parade are scheduled for the same day this year. A vote was taken with the OP Parade winning hands down. The OP Parade is a tradition with HACOA over the last several years, and it doesn’t charge a $150 entrance fee.

Scott Allison showed several videos of past Fire and Ice Autocross runs in Marshalltown, IA, in an effort to fire up enthusiasm for the Labor Day Weekend event. Several HACOA members are going. The Morris and Wagners put on the after meeting presentation, by telling about their national convention adventures. Chuck and Dorothy flew out to Sturbridge, MA and Don and Barbara drove out. Don told of one misadventure: after leaving Denny’s in Illinois on the way out, Barb had “stolen” a piece of

silverware. They had driven too far to go back, so they decided they would return it on the way home. Don let the “thief ” go in by herself to return it. The convention offered several day trips, one Don seemed to really enjoy was to a dairy farm. The farm offered a 3D movie that gave the full effect of milking a cow. Don emphasized the “full effect” part. When cows gotta “go,” cows “go” and in the movie they “went” during the milking process—in 3D. To Don’s surprise as the cows

did their business he felt his face get wet. The theatre was equipped with misting fans, which was a bit too realistic for some in the audience. Overall, the convention went well, the only problem seemed to be that the major events all started late, usually because of a threat of rain. The weather was a cool 80 degrees after the 100-degree weather in Kansas City. Chuck and Dorothy took the historic tours of Boston and the surrounding areas. Check out Chuck and Dorothy’s article on page 4. The parking lot session lasted later than usual. The trip to Marshalltown, IA and racing in the Fire and Ice Autocross was the main subject. Gary Wolfe and Gary Moore will be first timers. Gary Wolf has been taking driving courses at the SCCA training sessions. Gary Moore on the other hand is going to sneak Helen’s red Rampside off for the weekend. Vroom! Vroom!

CORSA Conventions the Main Topic of Discussion

Working Tech Session Saturday September 15, 2012 12:00 – Until You Are Finished

16001 Oakland Ave, Belton, MO

Take this opportunity to enjoy some great socializing, get to know other members, and most important, take care of any repair or maintenance item you have been contemplating prior to the Round Up. Come and be comfortable knowing that parts, tools and advice will be available to make sure you can drive home whatever project you take on.

Bring your own hand tools if you have them; I will supply anything you don’t have, including Corvair specialty tools, all types of meters and tune up tools, air supply and air tools, acetylene torch, wire welder, hydraulic press, etc. Supervision is available if you want it; we are fortunate to have individuals with diverse expertise in our club. If you wish to tackle a big job and start early just let me know.

Brake replacement requires turning drums: I can have exchange items ready if you let me know ahead of time; a couple of days just to make sure.

Bring a chair. The following will be furnished: grill food, soft drinks and adult beverage. Please bring a dish or snack to share; grilling begins at 4:00 and spouses are encouraged to attend.

Please RSVP to insure food and beverage supply and I will email all potential attendees of any changes.

Mike Dawson 816 322-4057, mdawson1961@sbcglobal.net

Page 2

Social Calendar at a GlanceDate Event

Saturday, September 1 2012 Fire and Ice Autocross, Marshalltown, IA.Tuesday, September 11 HACOA Monthly Meeting, Paul and Jack's Grill, North Kansas City, MO.

Saturday, September 15 Working Tech Session, Mike and Sandy Dawson's, Belton, MO. Wednesday, September 19 Talk Like a Pirate Day, The Whole Wide World

Saturday, September 29 Overland Park Parade, Overland Park, KS. Fri - Sun, October 5 - 7 8th Annual Great Plains Corvair Round Up, Oklahoma City, OK.

Tuesday, October 9 HACOA Monthly Meeting, Paul and Jack's Grill, North Kansas City, MO.Saturday, October 20 MCCA Luna Tuna, Kalp's Corvair Emporium, Wichita, KS.Saturday, October 27 Annual Chili Feed, Don and Irmajean Barta, Kansas City, MO.

Tuesday, November 13 HACOA Monthly Meeting, Paul and Jack's Grill, North Kansas City, MO.Friday, December 7 Annual HACOA Christmas Party, Matt Ross Community Center, O.P., KS.

Co-Chairs Linda and John Mellies

2012 Great Plains Round Up: October 5-7 Indian Nation Corvair Association would like to invite all members of HACOA to come on down to the 2012 Great Plains Corvair Round Up. The Fairfield Inn in Edmonds, OK has been chosen to host the event. A special group rate of $94 a night is available when you call the hotel directly at405-341-4818 or toll free 800-228-2800. Chris Teer, President of INCA, announced that the host hotel is sold out. Go to their website for list of nearby hotels. http://www.incaokccorvair.org/seo-corvair-okc.html Plans call for the banquet to be held at the Historic Round Barn near Arcadia, OK. The barn is on Route 66 not far from Pops Gas Station and Diner. Pops offers 500 choices of Soda Pop. Valve cover races, Model Corvair Concours, Corvair Car Show, Cruises and bar-be que banquet at the Red Barn.

September 2012

Corvair Starters.2The Corvair starter is essentially a standard GM starter from that era with a different nose and a longer drive assembly. It was designed with the potential for multiple rebuilds and the Corvair starter and drive train configuration eliminates the need for shimming to attain the correct meshing when cranking. If you are checking or performing service on a starter, the following items may be useful:

• The shop manual states that the Corvair starter is capable of 30 seconds of continuous cranking before overheating. That is a long time, considering that new car manuals state 10 seconds maximum. Our old starters are pretty tough.

• All Corvair starters are visually and mechanically identical (see next paragraph) with the exception of the 1960 model which has a different nose cone; it mounts the solenoid farther clockwise on the starter (viewed from the back). All of the other Corvair starters and rebuild parts are the same. If you are looking for a starter drive assembly, you will have to get one specifically for a Corvair; the standard GM drive assembly is shorter. O’Reilly lists one for Corvairs but it is a standard GM and it is too short.

• The Corvair starter for the Powerglide model has a rubber seal installed in the nose cone to protect the armature and brushes from unfiltered air that is forced around the torque converter for cooling. Nobody but a fanatical Corvair rebuilder will recognize this and I don’t know of any vendor that offers that item (good used seals are possible). I assume most rebuilders don’t think it is necessary since they never offer it. A minor item (?) but part of Corvair history.

• Replacement solenoids (made in China) are lighter in weight than original units and come with a shorter and lighter spring to compensate. If you use the new solenoid with the original spring, the solenoid may not be strong enough to pull in the starter drive. I found this out in the usual way. Used as a matched pair, the replacement solenoids and springs seem to work fine.

• The 1960-1961 shop manual shows an “assist spring” behind the starter drive assembly but if you check the 1965 manual you will notice the spring has disappeared from the exploded view. The spring is not necessary and if you install one it could very well cause the drive teeth to ding on the ring gear while the engine is running. The ’60 & ’61 manuals used an exploded view graphic from full size GM products which included the wrong nose cone as well as use of the spring. Some other pictures included the wrong drive assembly. Even in the ’65 manual there is a picture with the wrong nose cone. Again, use no spring.

Page 3

By Mike Dawson

September 2012

Differential & Transmission Tech SessionsIf there is any interest, I could conduct tech sessions covering major overhaul of transaxle units. The first would cover differentials, including disassembly techniques, inspection, pressing operations for bearings and shimming, and final adjustments for preload and contact patterns. Homemade tools would be covered also. This would be a hands-on work session and you could bring your own unit to work on if you wanted.

Subsequent sessions would cover 4-speed transmissions and Powerglides.

Tentative dates would be the second half of October and in November.

If you would be interested in attending this type of event drop me an email and I will put you on a mailing list for notification.

Mike Dawson mdawson1961@sbcglobal.net

September 2012Page 4

We had a wonderful time at the CORSA Convention in Sturbridge, MA. The temperatures were in the lower 80s during the day and the nighttime temps were in the 60s. The occasional showers that moved through were very cooperative and mostly occurred in the evenings or between events. The area is beautiful, the people were all very nice, the food was great, and the convention was well presented. I know there were some glitches but they were handled nicely and we did not know about them.

I do not know how many people were actually there but I heard that over 700 registered. That also means that there were a large number of cars on display. I think the Concourse had over 50 for judging. I also believe that more than that were registered but some pulled out due to the numbers and, I am sure, the quality of the competition.

They had a separate parking lot for Corvairs only and they were parked according to year and model. This way you could compare all the 8-door Greenbriers or Rampsides without having to walk from one end of the lot to the next.

This convention was a lot like the one that our club is proposing in 2014. It was hosted by a group that is not located at the actual convention site. The site is in an area with lots of attractions and I believe that eight different chapters along the eastern seaboard worked as a group to pull this off and I think they did a wonderful job.

They had a couple of events on the schedule that I had not seen before and they appeared to be a lot of fun. One was the back seat driver competition. In this event drivers pulled their cars straight in to a parking place. A blindfold was placed over their

2012 CORSA Natiional Convention in Sturbridge Massachusetts.

Chuck's Take by Chuck Morris Photos by Chuck and Dorothy Morris

Chuck takes time to enjoy the view of Cedar Lake next the hotel.

The HACOA banner was one of many on display.

Sturbridge continued on page 5

Page 5September 2012

eyes and then they had to back the car out of the parking slot and maneuver it through a simple course lined with gallon jugs of water using directions from their back seat driver/navigator. This was a timed event with penalty points for hitting jugs or going off course. Another one was a fan belt changing competition, also a timed event, and there was a teeter-totter competition where you were to drive up onto a ramp/fulcrum and balance your vehicle. This was also a timed event. The pre-teens had an event where they drove the miniature Corvair/go carts through a weaving course and had to drop golf balls into buckets as they ran the course.

One of the disadvantages with this many events was lack of participations due to conflicting events i.e., seminars, tech.

sessions, vendors, rallies, slow drags, side trips, etc.I liked the procedure they used of having the event

one day and then presenting the trophies the next evening at a social event. This seemed to work real well and I did not hear any complaints regarding this. I did not stay for the banquet so I cannot report on that.

The one thing that you do not see is the number of people that it takes to pull off something of this magnitude. I do not know that number but I do know there were several.

Clark's had a big display. One of the advantages of having the convention nearby is that if they did not have what you wanted, their truck would deliver it the next day.

Don Wagner was team leader of the early model Concours judges this year. He confers with Concours Chairman Jim Stranc. Cal Clark's Rampside restoration is behind them.

Barb Wagner did her part in the Concours Tally Room again this year. It wasn't that long ago that the tally was done my hand. Barb likes the new computerized system.

Chuck and Paul Sargeant take time to look over an outdoor vendor's wares.

Chuck visits with author, Jonathan Rintels. In the book Lifemobile the main character tries to capture a bit of his past by purchasing a Corvair. At the same time he hopes it will help him bond with his special needs teenage son. Both the car and the son throw him curves. Along the way he meets up with many of the characters that make up the diverse world of Corvair enthusiasts.

Sturbridge continued from page 4

Page 6 September 2012

Wes to the Rescue Wes Mellies has been using skid loaders since he was big enough to reach the pedals. When he heard that Cliff Carlino needed a little dirt work done for his barn extension, he was happy to help. Wes also knew that I had a wheel-less van in my back pasture that needed to be loaded onto a trailer; so, he figured that while he was in the area, he would kill two birds with one stone. When he called me, he found out that there was a third bird to kill. Travis Bolton also had a Corvair in my pasture that needed to be loaded onto a trailer. So, an appointment was made for Saturday, August 11. I had everything ready for Wes at my house, including dragging trees off the path that were blown down by a windstorm the night before. Wes and Kim brought the loader around 3 o’clock, but it wouldn’t start and jumper cables didn’t work. Wes discovered the negative post on the battery was loose and would turn when he wiggled the cables. It’s new battery time! We called the local battery store, which was closed but the owner was still there working, so they said to come on over. A quick trip to the store was our plan, but the owner of the store has classic cars in his shop and he knew about our red Rampside. The trip was fun, but not all that quick. When we returned with the new battery Travis was waiting for us. We installed the battery, the loader started, and we were in business. On the way to the back pasture Wes killed a fourth bird by clearing the brush from the path to give access to Travis’ truck. It took about 15 minutes and both Corvairs were on their respective trailers. We pulled both trailers up by my shop so that any useful parts could be salvaged. We then had a “parking lot session” that lasted until we discovered that time flies when talking Corvairs and we were late for the Carlino appointment. Helen and I drove the Rampy to the Carlino’s with Wes and Kim following us with the skid loader in tow. Cliff showed

Wes the place to be leveled as well as the phone line that ran around the very edge of the area. Wes hopped on the loader and went to work. He quickly leveled the ground and worked around the phone line. When he finished roughing it in, he asked Cliff if he wanted to give it a try. Of course he did! And he didn’t do too bad either; he did not crash into the building and no one got run over. He removed the sod from the remaining area, and then turned it back over to Wes to do the final grade and the intricate work around the phone line. Then we all went to the Mexican restaurant in Kearney for dinner. Wes saved all of us a bunch of backbreaking work and turned it into a fun day. He is kind of like Mary Poppins in that regard.

The crowd holds it breath while watching Cliff take over the reins of the skid loader. We quickly realized that Cliff had it all under control

Page 7September 2012

Gary and I hadn’t been to a ball game since the twentieth century—1991 in fact. I had been bugging Gary to take me to a game, so on Saturday August 19 we drove the Red Rampy out to Kaufman Stadium for the “Cruise to the K” car show. We got two upper-deck infield tickets, a T-shirt, a dash plaque, free parking, and perfect ballpark weather. We followed a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino into the stadium, which was the same truck that had beaten us out of first place at the Lathrop Car Show earlier this year. We parked near each other and had a good time visiting with the owner. He reminded us that we had beaten him out of first place at Lathrop the year before.

There were about 120 cars, not all of which were strictly classic cars. People’s Choice voting, to see which five cars got to drive around the warning track, was supposed to be by fans, but because the votes had to be in 90 minutes before the game started, most of the voting was by owners and their friends and family. If we had done this in our usual HACOA fashion, we’d have had at least one Corvair on that warning track. (We missed you guys!)

The stadium is fancier and there is a lot more to do than just watch baseball since the last time we were there. Once we found our seats, an hour before game time, we took a stroll around the stadium. In addition to souvenirs and concessions, there was the Royal’s Hall of Fame Museum. It was a highlight for those of us who were young when the Royals were young. There were videos of memorable Royals moments (including the “Sixth Inning”) and plenty of memorabilia.

Between innings, the new scoreboard was a lot of fun. The “Kiss Cam” was great (if you’re on screen, you gotta kiss her!) and so was the “Kids Cam” the “Jump Cam” and several other excuses to highlight the fans in the stands on the big screen. The cameras must not make it to the upper deck though, because we never did see ourselves on screen. I even bought a new Royals ball cap, too.

The ballgame itself was exciting, with the Royal’s pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie, throwing a no-hitter for the first six innings. The Royals were frequently on base and ended up beating the first place White Sox 5-2.

I got my sweetie to drive me to a ballgame in my Rampy to watch the home team win on a cool breezy summer day. How could this have been any better?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Helen Moore

We entered Kaufman Stadium behind another rare and first production year Chevy Truck, a 1959 El Camino.

The Rampy caught a lot of eyes during the show. The best line I heard was a small boy exclaiming to his dad, "Hey, the motor's in the back." The Dad replied, "That one runs the hydraulics."

A lot of fun cars were on display. The owner said of his 1974 Dodge Monoco, a mock up of the Blues Brothers' Bluesmobile, "I love this car! It rides great and the air works, unlike the Honda I drive everyday." The next space was occupied by a "Gremlin Survivor," untouched and unrestored.

The Cruise to the K Classic Car Show has a great backdrop. It is really too bad the Royal's Organization doesn't do more to support it.

Page 8

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CLARK’S MORE THAN PARTS.

Clark’s Corvair Parts®400 Mohawk Trail,

Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 413-625-9776

FAX: 413-625-8498 www.corvair.com

email: clarks@corvair.com

The Tool CribTool Deposit Rental Fee

Harmonic Balancer Puller $3.00 $1.00

Ramps, Auto $4.00 $1.00

Torque Wrenches:

1. ½” drive 20-150 ft/lb $15.00 $2.00

2. 3/8” drive 100-1000 in/lb $15.00 $2.00

Floor Jacks and Stands $25.00 $3.50

Ring Groove Cleaner $3.00 $1.00

Dwell-Tach Meter $5.00 $1.00

Greaser:Fan bearing and idler pulley $5.00 $1.00

Hubs:Rear Towing for LM Powerglide $5.00 $1.00

Contact: Ken RaganRagan Enterprises

212 Warner RdBonner Springs, KS 66012

913-422-5778E-mail: kenragan@sbcglobal.net

club tools for rent

SERVICES

Members list your items for free at

WWW.HACOA.ORG

See more items for sale at WWW.HACOA.ORG

CLASSYFIEDS

For sale: Internally regulated63 amp Corvair Alternators $85.00

Rebuilt Corvair starters with solenoid $90.00

Professionally rebuilt Corvair clutch disc on a welded center Borg & Beck core with a thickness of .325”. $45.00 exchange price with same core.

Exchange price

Exchange price

Mike Dawson mdawson1961@sbcglobal.net

816 322-4057

For Sale: Reproduced end plates for the 12 plate oil cooler. These are the two pieces of sheet metal that help keep all the hot air from the oil cooler moving out the bottom instead of back in to the engine compartment. Many are missing because folks could not figure out how to install them or forgot them when they had the cooler off. $10.00 each.

September 2012

Page 9

By Don Barta

September 2012

As I write this, our local weather people are predicting that we might get some rain. It would be nice if a gentle rain that lasted two or three days arrived. It might help the farmers with their fall planting, and homeowners who have had foundations shift due the drought. Be prepared for a blitz of political advertisements ranging from bizarre statements to phrases like, “Just trust me.” I encourage all of you to be informed and to vote in November. Congress seems to have forgotten what their role is and continues to be deadlocked. If each congressional member owned a Corvair, maybe they would be able to get along. Just a thought. Finally, there is a need for volunteers for the nominating committee for next year’s officers. If you would serve on the committee, call me, 816-942-8486 or email me at donaldbarta@me.com. Happy Corvairing! Don Barta

[Editor’s note: Vice-President and Treasurer are coming to the end of their terms in December. If you’d like to help out the nominating committee by volunteering for one of these offices, please do.]

Indian Nation Corvair Association will host the Round Up this October, marking the Round Up’s second completion of the rotation of four cities. It began with an idea by Ned Madsen of Mid-Continent Corvair Association in Wichita after coming to HACOA’s 40th Anniversary Celebration at the Blue Ridge Mall in 2004. He talked to the members of HACOA, Green Country Corvair Group from Tulsa, and Indian Nation Corvair Association out of Oklahoma City, to see if there would be interest in putting on an event like the Heart of Texas Corvair Reunion or the Tri-State Corvair Meet. Both of those events rotated hosts among the different cities in their regions.

MCCA bravely took the first turn in 2005. The modest affair was well attended and MCAA set the stage for future Round Ups by building and using a valve cover race track, conducting a Concours and Car Display, and by producing T-shirts and dash plaques that featured the Round Up logo. They capped it with a Saturday night awards banquet.

CGGC the next year built on that success in Tusla. Kansas City’s first turn in 2007 was definitely a learning experience, but we pulled it off, featuring a parking lot gymkhana. INCA had not been sure they were going to enter the rotation until their newly elected president, Chris Teer, dug in and got the club together for the 2008 event.

The second rotation began with Wichita hosting the 2009 Round Up with the Corvair 50th Anniversary as their theme. They staged a reenactment of the original “unveiling Ceremony,” along with a very spirited Slow Drag competition. Tulsa hosted Round Up number six. Attendance was up and they scheduled tours of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company in Broken Arrow, OK. The event banquet was complete with live big band music. The 2011 Round Up was hosted by HACOA in Excelsior Springs, MO at the historic Elms Hotel. The attendees came from 11 states with more than 130 people at the awards banquet. Fireworks were a surprise conclusion to the banquet, though only by luck. A wedding party at the hotel was responsible for them.

INCA is hosting this year’s Round Up in Edmond, OK and they are featuring cruises on Route 66 and a banquet at the Round Barn near Arcadia, OK. After that it will be fun to see what round three will bring!

Great Plains Corvair Round Up, a Quick Look Back

CityKansas

Area

Heart of America Corvair Owners Association16001 Oakland Ave.Belton, MO 64012

Editors Gary and Helen MooreVairCor is the official publication of the Heart of America Corvair Owners Association, the oldest incorporated, continuously active single marquee Corvair club and Chapter 640 of the Corvair Society of America. The HACOA membership fee is $15.00 annually, payable January 1. CORSA membership is required.

Heart of America Corvair Owners Association monthly meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm at Paul and Jack’s Restaurant, 1808 Clay Street, North Kansas City, MO 64116. Social time begins at 7:00.

Winner of the 2009.75 Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award

The Travis Bolton Family sees the USA in their Chevrolet, a 1962 Corvair 700 station wagon.