February 2014

The Official Publication of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Corvair Society of America --- Chapter 947 Dedicated to the enjoyment, history and preservation of the Chevrolet Corvair produced from 1960 through 1969. This unique, rear-engined, air-cooled automobile grabs as much attention today as it did 50 years ago!

WEB VOLUME 246

FEBRUARY 2014

Look for us on the Web! http://Clubs.Hemmings.com/CorsaNews

2.. Letter From the Editor 3.. Treasurers Report 4.. Coming Events 4.. SFBA Corsa Meeting Schedule 2014 6.. SFBA Corsa Active Roster 7.. Spring Fling Entry Form 11. Corvair Classifieds

The Spring Fling is Fast Approaching!

Next Meeting, Feb 6th 7:00 PM at Denny’s, Hwy 680 Sycamore Valley Rd in Danville SFBA Corsa February 2014

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Letter From the Editor

Current SFBA Corsa Officers President

Tony Richards, PO Box 765, Mill Valley, CA 94942 - (415)261-4762 email: [email protected]

I hope you were able to attend our last meeting. We had a good turnout with eight members in attendance (no guests). Tony couldn’t make it as he was down with the flu or something. With a lot of people on New Year’s vacation the traffic was quite light this evening. People got to the meeting in record time. As usual we started off informally with lots of Corvair related discussions while we ordered and ate dinner. The formal meeting didn’t start until a bit after 8:00. For the Home Coming Parade in Santa Clara, Paul was finally able to secure enough convertibles for dignitaries to use. Thanks to everyone who contributed. This was especially difficult this year because the Fan Belt Toss was the same weekend. In exchange for helping with the parade, Wilcox High School lets Valley Corsa use their facilities for meetings. Currently they are in one of the classrooms while the faculty building is being rebuilt. Soon they will have a brand new room to use. I received the following letter from Skip, a long time SFBA member that has moved northward. I thought I would pass it along. “Hello Clark & Carol: We wish you a happy & health New Year. Thelma & I are great and looking forward to a good year. We still enjoy the outdoors and spend as much time fishing. We just hope for more rain. Please give our best to the SFBA members. You can clear my old classified ad and just list the following (new parts list is in Classifieds). Thanks Skip” Our next regular meeting will be held Thursday, February 6th at Denny's in Danville. And don’t forget dues are due now if you haven’t already renewed. The cost is $25/ year ($30 if you are not a National CORSA member). Currently I have the following people as paid up through

Vice-President Harry Kypreos, 7840 Creekside Dr, Dublin, CA 94568 Secretary

Clark Calkins, 1907 Alvarado Ave., Walnut Creek, CA 94597 - (925)478-8909 email: [email protected]

Treasurer

Fred Garrity, 113 Alamatos Drive, Danville, CA 94526

Committees Membership Library

Harry Kypreos (address above) Dave Newell, 1481 Hamrick Lane, Hayward, CA 94544 - (510)782-4265

Newsletter

Clark Calkins (address above)

Editor At Large Tony Richards (address above) Refreshments Ed Rodrigues, 1702 Nelson St, San Leandro, CA 94579-2203 - (510)351-1237 Internet Web email

http://Clubs.Hemmings.com/CorsaNews [email protected]

all or part of this year. If your name is not on this list then your dues are probably due (check your mailing label) Of course it is possible that my list is incorrect. So if you have paid just let me know and I will update my records.

(see Letter... on page 11)

On The Cover: The Capital City Spring Fling will be here before you know it. Get your entry forms in NOW. See form on page 8. The Spyder Web is published twelve times a year by SFBA Corsa, Chapter 947 of the Corvair Society Of America (CORSA). The group meets monthly on the first Thursday at 7:00 PM at Denny’s in Danville except for special occasions. Membership costs $25/yr (membership in CORSA, $38/yr, is encouraged). An associate membership (newsletter only) is avialable for $15/yr. Memberships begin on January 1 of each year (first year is prorated until September). Advertising space in the Spyder Web is available for $50/yr (1/4 page), $75/yr (1/2 page), and $100/yr (full page). Business card size ads are $25/yr but do not include a subscription to the newsletter. All material should be sent to the editor (address above) or emailed to [email protected]. Material must be received at least two weeks prior to the next meeting date. USE OF MATERIAL: Written permission from the Editor is required for all original material for any use other than reprinting in a Chartered CORSA Chapter newsletter. Permission must be sought in advance for material reprinted herein.

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SFBA Corsa - February 2014

Minutes of the Last Meeting Jan 2, 2014

The meeting was called to order by Secretary Clark Calkins at 8:15 PM, President Tony Richards was out ill. Eight members were in attendance. The Minutes were accepted as appeared in the last newsletter. Treasurers Report: The bank balance as of December 31, 2013 was 3279.93. There have been several deposits and expenses with the balance hovering just over $3000 avoiding bank fees. Membership Report: Harry reported that we had no new members or inquiries this month. Dues were received from Skip, Steve Schnier and Richard Hall. Old Business: Everyone felt the Holiday Dinner worked out well. It was good to see everyone. If you went away hungry it was your own fault! The raffle was especially enjoyable. We wish to thank Barbara Miller for her help with this!

Hopyard Rd. Harry will check this out to see if they have a room or some quiet spot that could hold our 8 to 10 people. Events: The next Convention will be in Tacoma, WA (July 21st through 25th). This is the closest it will be for some time. If you are thinking of going, this is the one. You don’t have to drive. You can fly or take the train. Everything is close by the Hotel. The Communiqué will have lots more details. Seth recalled that back in ’75 the Club had a caravan with 7 or 8 cars. The first night they stayed in Medford and the next day went on the Portland. Seth drove a VW microbus fitted with a 110 motor and powerglide. Had a difficult time with the hills. In low gear he was limited to about 45 mph (he had 3.27 gears). A set of 3.89 gears would have been much better. Seth returned from SEMA (in October). There were 2 Corvairs outside (both

with V8s). Inside was an Aztec kit car with a mid-engine Corvair motor (used electric fans). Beautiful interior. May be more about this in a future Communiqué. Seth also went to PRI (Performance Racing Industry) Show in Indianapolis (very cold). This is an international show and is held in the Winter because there is little racing going on and Indy is the heart of racing in the USA. They use to have two shows. A week apart (one in Florida the other in Indy) but consolidated so the vendors did not have to pack up and move so much. The Spring Fling in Sacramento is coming up. Get your entry forms in. Finn Halbo is helping with Registration. Seth is not sure which car he will bring. It will be at a different location this year so check the flyer. There are lots of hotels and motels in the area. Maybe we can work up enough interest to have a caravan this year. We still have time, let’s talk about it.

(see Minutes.. on page 5)

New Business: Seth has been working to get a new distributor produced for the Corvair (more under Tech). Someone mentioned that Mell’s new location (just North of the Airport) is pretty nice. To increase interest in our Club, Seth mentioned that attending local “Show & Shine” car shows was a good way. They are informal and usually free. Let the Editor know ahead of time so it can be mentioned in the Newsletter and people can plan to attend. This just might give you some incentive to get the old ‘Vair spruced up a little. Good idea.

Treasurers Report – Jan 2014 Fred Garrity Beginning Balance

Checking Acct. $3027.83

Income Membership renewals

$155.00

Expenses Newsletter (2 months) PO Box 1 year

($82.00) ($96.00)

Ending Balance

$3004.83

Cash/Checks $00.00

$75.00

$75.00

Other meeting locations were briefly discussed. There is a Black Bear Diner in Pleasanton just off Hwy 580 at

SFBA Corsa February 2014

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Coming Events… February 6th

Regular SFBA Corsa Meeting at Denny’s in Danville 7:00 PM. Hwy 680 at Sycamore Valley Rd.

March 6th

Regular SFBA Corsa Meeting at Denny’s in Danville 7:00 PM. Hwy 680 at Sycamore Valley Rd.

April 25-27th

Capital City Spring Fling hosted by Classic Corvairs of River City. Corvair Mini-Convention and Car Show.

July 21-25th

CORSA International Convention, Tacoma, WA. Join Corvanantics for “Corvair Expo” where the LeMay Auto Museum will be the center of Convention events and activities celebrating the Corvair.

SFBA CORSA Meeting Schedule 2014 (Tentative)

Thursday Jan 2, 7:00 PM

SFBA Regular meeting, Denny’s in Danville, CA - Hwy 680 at Sycamore Valley Rd.

Thursday Feb 6, 7:00 PM SFBA Regular meeting, Denny’s in Danville, CA - Hwy 680 at Sycamore Valley Rd. Thursday Mar 6, 7:00 PM


Thursday Apr 3, 7:00PM (*)


Thursday May 1, 7:00 PM (*)


Thursday Jun 5, 7:00 PM (*)


Thursday Jul 3, 7:00 PM


Saturday Aug 9, 12:00PM

SFBA/Valley Club picnic at Quarry Lakes park, Fremont, CA

Thursday Sep 4, 7:00 PM


Thursday Oct 2, 7:00 PM


Thursday Nov, 6 10 AM


Saturday Dec 6, 7:00 PM

SFBA Holiday Dinner, Harry’s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th Ave, San Leandro, CA.

(*) Hopefully we will able to schedule a Saturday Tech Session for one of these months.

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Minutes... Tech: The big news is Seth has found a company to manufacture a new distributor for the Corvair. This will be a drop-in replacement that uses magnetic pickup rather than conventional points. Also the centrifugal advance weights and springs will be readily accessible making adjustments easy. For all engines except Turbos (no pressure retard yet) and low horsepower A/C (the larger cap interferes). This is basically an inline Chevy 6 distributor with the correct shaft. MSD Performance was uninterested in this but Seth found another manufacturer. Cost is expected to be in the $125 range (a lot less than MSD would charge). No longer will you have to put up with a 50 year old part. We will try to feature this at an upcoming Tech Session to show how to install it.

Clark’s. They can ship it to the shop or to your home. But make sure the shop is ok with Clark’s materials. They may have their own preferred suppliers. Clark’s materials are good but not the best quality you can buy.

Seth had some work done on his Corvair street car. Rust around the windshield - pretty bad. He removed the windshield and used a piece from Bill’s old car to repair the rusted area. Took it to a body shop who fitted the replacement and semi matched the paint. $1200 ouch! He had to replace some of the clips and tried to use stainless screws but they were too weak. He had to use plated screws instead. Hope they don’t rust. He had a shop install the glass as it’s awful easy to crack a windshield if you don’t know what you are doing. The new windshield was held in place with lots of masking tape until the sealant dried. Seth let this sit too long before removing the tape which had dried out making it very hard to remove. Be forewarned!

The lack of standardization with car parts was discussed. Aside from tires, very few parts are interchangeable.

Different radio options were discussed. From ’60 to ’63 a tube AM radio was the only radio option. In ’64 a transistor radio became available (there are rumors that an AM/FM radio was an option in ‘64 but no one had seen any). In ’65 came the AM/FM mono radio. In ’66 GM introduced their “Crossfire” stereo radio option. This had the left-front and right-rear speakers for one channel and the right-front and left-rear as the other. Strange but effective (true stereo no matter how you turned your head!).

Someone was asking about setting the valves. Clark says he does it with the engine running using a half valve cover to catch most of the oil. Just a quarter turn after the lifters quiet. Seth likes to do it by turning the crank using a feeler gauge. But the right-hand thread on the crank means you risk loosening the nut that holds the damper pulley (a lot less messy for sure!). Swap and Sell: Skip sent in a new list of Corvair parts for sale. Mostly Forward Control parts but also Spyder dashes and engine parts. He is also listing a 30 year set of Communiqués. See classifieds for details. The meeting broke up around 9:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Clark Calkins, secretary

Marc is getting new interior stuff from Clark’s. An upholstery shop will install it. Should he buy the stuff or let the shop purchase what they think is correct? You seem more likely to get the correct material if you order from


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Philip Seth Jim Fred Noel

Richard Doug Buck Harry/Carol Paul

Robert W. Art Ken Rob Don

Joe David John Tony Ed

Steve James Chuck Kevin Herb

Dalforno Emerson Frazin Garrity Gonzalo

Hall Hargrove Jones Kypreos Lacey

Langdon Lebermann Lewis Massari Mathews

Miller Newell Polacchi Richards Rodrigues

Schnier Starr von Hofen Thompson Wimmer

Walnut Creek CA San Jose CA San Francisco CA Danville CA Vallejo CA

City State ———————Oakland CA Dublin, CA Walnut Creek CA San Ramon CA El Cerrito CA

36 El Toyonal 180 Chaparrel Dr. 2470 Wexford Ave 28181 Riggs Court 4275 Putah Creek Rd

1444 Trojan Avenue 1481 Hamrick Lane 5296 Wilson Hill Rd PO Box 765 1702 Nelson Street

2801 Eganhoff Lane 3124 La Campania 636 Park Hill Rd 250 Hartson Street 2523 Arapahoe Ct.

Orinda Paradise South SF Hayward Winters

San Leandro Hayward Manton Mill Valley San Leandro

West Point Alameda Danville Napa Nampa

CA CA CA CA CA

CA CA CA CA CA

CA CA CA CA ID

37473 Rockwood Dr. Fremont CA 2116 Winslow Court Modesto CA PO BOX 444 Pbeele BeachCA 7840 Creekside Dr Dublin, CA 16550 Blackberry Hill Rd Los Gatos CA

2386 Westcliffe Ln 3462 Kirkwood Dr. P.O. Box 78261 113 Alamatos Drive 1732 Mini Dr

Address ———————————3263 Butters Dr 8467 Beverly Court 1907 Alvarado Ave 3209 Pine Valley Rd 51 Wildwood Place (925)937-3339 (408)247-2237 (415)337-4566 (925)837-7291 (707)642-3781

(925)939-8153 (925)829-9556 (510)236-3949

Phone ————————-

(510)351-6715 (510)782-4265 (530)474-4227 (415)246-9944 (510)351-1237 94563 95969 94080 (650)588-5632 94542 (510)538-0760 95694 (530)795-2443

94579 94544 96059 94942 94579

95255 (209)293-7290 94502 94526 (925)743-0770 94559 83686

94536 95355 93953 94568 (925)875-1408 95030 (408)354-9393

94597 95117 94107 94526 94589

Zip ——94602 94568 94597 94583 94530

[email protected] [email protected]

Email address ————————————— [email protected]

01/15 sschnier@hansonbridge 01/14 [email protected] 01/15 05/14 KThom28181@earthlink. 01/15

[email protected] 01/15 02/14 [email protected] 01/14 [email protected]

01/15

01/15 [email protected] 01/13 01/14 [email protected] 01/14 [email protected] 01/14

01/14 01/15 01/14 [email protected]

09/15

01/14 [email protected] 01/14 [email protected] 01/16 01/15 01/13

Date ——01/14 01/14 01/15 01/15 01/14

Please let me know if this information is in error or out of date!

First name —————Walter Marc Clark Roger Robert

Last name —————Anderson Brutschcy Calkins Chang Coon

SFBA Corsa Active Roster as of January 2014


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Clark’s Corvair Parts

®

Clark’s has been your supplier for quality repros for the past 37 years. This year, we expect to reproduce even more parts for your Corvair.

See the Supplement for the following:

VARIOUS NEW FC ITEMS 1964 TRIM TURBO PARTS STAINLESS GAS TANK SENDERS LATE MODEL STEERING COLUMN PARTS

650 Page 2007-2012 Catalog USA - $6 CANADA - $9.95 Most Other Countries - $12.95

Clark’s Corvair Parts® 400 Mohawk Trail, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370

413-625-9776

FAX: 413-625-8498

www.corvair.com email: [email protected]

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Corvair Classifieds CORVAIR CARS FOR SALE Ben Mozzetti has the following cars for sale. I believe these are located in Bethel Island. These will all run. Ben loves to show how all of his cars will start right up! Contact Ben at PO BOX 486, Bethel Island, CA 94511 or (925)684-2738 (09/12) 1961 Loadside 1962 Monza - Restored, Factory Air 1964 4 Door 1965 Van 1969 Monza 900, 4 speed, 140

F/C Turned brake drums (2) - $20 F/C Good brake drums (2) with linings & springs - $20 F/C Hub caps (4) - $20 F/C Rear overload spring kit (new) $100 F/C Front door NOS L&R lock latch $30 F/C Complete Front & rear bumper guards (NOS) - $325

Corvair Parts Wanted Late Model Trailing Arms, complete with hubs, brakes, drums & boot attachment bracket. Also pair of drive shafts. Contact Buck Jones (831)9175952 (04/13)

Corvair Cars & Parts for Sale Several project cars for sale (they all run) and lots of used parts. Contact Ben Mozzetti (925)684-2738.

Spyder Front dash harness to fuse box for F/C - (price not listed) Spyder Dashes (3) - one is wooden face - $100 each Corsa Communiqués 1970 - 2000 $150 Tires 205 75R14 on rims for F/C (2) $75 1964 Wood wheels with hubs, horn & contacts. - (2) at $300 each, (1) at $200

MORE CORVAIR PARTS FOR SALE

Letter... Paid through all or part of 2014 Clark Calkins Roger Chang Jim Frazen Fred Garrity Richard Hall Chuck von Hofen Harry Kypreos Robert Langdon Joe Miller John Polachi Steve Schnier Kevin Thompson Herb Wimmer If you recieve your newsletter by email (or off the the web) then you will have to consult your own records. Just let me know what you find. And as a reminder the Club tries to maintain a consistant renewal date of January 1. If you joined mid-year, how about kicking in a little extra to get your due date up to January. Just add (or subtract if need be) $2 per month. A consistant renewal date helps us plan for the coming year. To renew just send in your dues ($25 unless you are not a CORSA member then it is $30) to Harry Kypreos, 7840 Creekside Dr, DUBLIN, CA 94568. If you send it to our PO Box (which you can of course) it woun’t be promptly processed as I only check this once a month.

Skip Polachi has the following parts for sale. Parts are located in Red Bluff & Santa Rosa. Best to call evenings (530)474-4227. Besides these listed parts Skip also has many more engine parts, heads, cams, cranks, posi, turbo. All new or rebuilt.


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SFBA CORSA PO BOX 422 ORINDA, CA 94563

FIRST CLASS

To:

page 12
