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TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION TUCSON ARIZONA MARCH 1989VOLUME 14 NUMBER 12
C~r- middotmiddot
Mayb e tti s is wt~y
-shyTUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION
CORVAIRSATION i a bullbullnthly publ icatin f the TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION wlich is deditd ~o the preservation cd the COfVair lodel of the Chevrolet totor Di vision ThE Tu(son C1air iS5C1Ciitioil is ii chartered eber of tho CORVAIR SOCIETY OF AMERICA ICORSAI
MONTHLY MEETINGS ar held on the furth Wednsdy cf ach bullbull ntl e pt Ocebr On tlaquohnicls ci1 nt i plarnod for every onth pt July and Auqu1
MEMBERSHIP DUES ar ~IO pr y bull and ar p t ble teoIe Mbullbullbrhip Chair bullbulln
CORSA MEMBERSHIP DUES re 25 per y nd inc Iud lonthly publicit ion Sbullbull a TCA Officr for a lelbrhip application
CLASSIFIED ADS are FREE to TCA ebrs nd ~l OO per l inE t 11 othErlt The dooline for t il bull bullubitted for publicatin the lOn f the onth for that bullbull rth isue il or deliver 11 terils t the Crvairsatin Editor Article are bullbull Icoe fo r pubilcat ion
BUSINESS MAILING
WHEELS
PRESIDENT Dave Baler 7041 Arrohed Drive Tucson AZ 85715 1602) 296-1392
VICE PRESIDENT Bb ThOlpson9273 E 39th Stret Tucsn AZ 85730 1602 ) 29b-7688
TREASURER Vic Hoard 6270 N Coin Arturo Tueson AZ 85718 1602) 742-1823
RECORDING SECRETARY rgi Williasn 7302 E 20th Stret Tuc bullbull n AZ 85710
BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE Dave Tholpson3541 S Elson Ave Tucs on AZ 85730 (602) 748-7105
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATIOU throuql the
subscription tc the CORSA COOlunique
ADDRESS PO S 5001 Tues Ar in 85703
8s SPOKES
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN IDues ~ Change f Address )
Vic Heward 6270 N Caoin Artur Tucson ~~ 85718 (602 ) 742-1823
LIBRARIAN Dave Baker 7041 Arr bullbullhead Dri Tucson ~2 95715 1602) 296-1392
CORVAIRSATION EDITOR Van Pershing4842 WPaso de 1 Cclinas Tucsn A2 B5745 1602 ) m-91S5
ASSISTANT EDITOR Aln Atood 4287 N Li bullbull rlost Plac Tucson AZ B5705 (602) SSa-4433
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Curcent TCA Offl ers Dn Rubi~5un At Ri VaS and the COfvilil-satl on Editor
NON-MEMBERS
W wuld li ke t inVlt you to join the Tucson CampTvair ASSOclat iampn We will send you three cCrlp~ ientd ry i SSUES of the COfiillfSab on cind welcolf you to dttend all of our a[ti vities This is 5 grea t cha nc~ t get to knw ubullbull Nbullbullbullttr hot YampUf Corvair i nhrEsts are YClu ll fi nd lots of lod fol k wi th sil i I interests in he Tu(se n Conair Assoc iation If you decide to join U5 thE dues arE only S10 per year
From the President bullbullbullbullbullbullbullbull
niter H hard fought race beating all odds and all contenders from the primaries to the geneYnl election I have the honoy nf becoming your illustrious president for 1989 So be it gung ho and devil take the hindermost It portends to be a great year for the Tucson Corshy
-shy cair ~ssociation
Believe it or not this is the first organization of this type that I have ever joined After observing and later participating in the activitips of the club for over ten years it has become very clear that we possess all the ingredients for a wonderful and fun organization First we have a common interest the Corvair autoshymobile and its uniqueness in the automotive world Second a goal a cause even a vendetta if y ~ will to show the world and the motoring pUblic that the Corvair is still ahead of its time and that Ralph Nader was RONG I-IRONG WRONG dRONG Third which is really first is lots of members contributing Ints of services lots of information and lots of ideas
To help implement the above 1 have proposed the creation of a number of new committees each having a chairman who will recruit hisher committee members Each chairman would report on the actshyivities of the committee at the monthly meeting and submit written reports for the Corvairsation when appropriate
Some of the Committees of course are already in de facto operation other than elected officers
Merchandise - Don Robinson Iluminum cans - Don Robinson Mailbox Distribution - Alan Atwood Raffle and prizes - Bob Thompson Membership - Vic Howard Rosters - Ed sanford Corvairsation Editor - Van Pershing Asst Corvairsation Editor - Alan Atwood Mid-month Activities - Bob Thompson Librarian - Dave and Beverly Baker
Please consider VOlunteering and I will be phoning and asking at the monthly meeting for members to chair the following activities
publicity - Some one to write articles for the Tucson media and otherwise promote the corvair and our club publicity can only increase the value of our cars and improve Our organization bull
Zdvertising - ~1any of our members run businesses and sershyvices ]Isk them and others to advertize in the Corvairsation Bill and collect
Technical - Make the tech session of the monthly meeting an in depth session with demonstrations andor inside or outshyside speakers write current and pertinent reports for the Corshyvairsation
Car shows - Keep track of where we can show off our Cars Historian - Collect memorbilia for the library Photos
etc Christmas Party - Its neVer to early to start work on
our big event of the year Exchequer Enhancement - Think up ways to enhance our Exshy
chequer National and other Clubs - Liason - -Ie can improve our
club by knowing what national and other clubs are doing
Our mid-monJ activity for gtpril will be a picnic at Picacho Peak shyState Park MeEt at ~lcDonalds on Hest Ina Road ~aturday ipril 15th at 1000 -M ThE club will furnish soft drinks Bob Thompshyson is in charge
middot NO ThE Gala affair of thE YEar - the Pot Luck and pool party at thE BakErs saturday ~1ay 27th 530 P~l If you missEd it last YEar --shydont miss it this year
iJave Baker The Brake Expert
CORVIIRS 16 PRESENT 39
ThE regular meeting of the Tucson Corvdir Association was called to order at 745 p by PrEsident JonRobinson on PEbruary 22 1989 at thE Picadilly CafetEria 6767 E Broadway Tucson ~rizona
1he minutEs of the last mEEting werE not orinted in the Corvairsation this month
isitors WEre introducEd DicK Cannon at BEndEr and iIelen ~~7is~man
ThE mid-month activity for Ilarch will bE a tech sEssion at Van pershings home on the 18th A swa~ meet will be held in Phoenix 6n the 25th Cecil Alex will be 80 years old on Sunday the 26th and the club was invited to come out to join him on that day for coffeE and cakE
Flection on thE new officErs was held and thE following officErs WErE voted in by aclaimation
prEsidEnt - DavE BaKer VicE - PrEsident - Bob Thomllson SEcrEtary - ariE -lilliamson TreasurEr - lI ic loward ~ember-at-Large - DavE Thompson
A card was passed around for signaturEs and greetings to hE sent to Lucy Post who is ill
~ftEr thE brEak the drawing was held Bill Vaughan won the 1 icense platE gift with 491 ) Other winnErs WEre Bob Tho11pson ErniE lloy Cave Thomgtson and Jon Chastain Gifts WEre provided by the TCA
ft tEch sEssion followEd and for sale itEms announced
The mEEting ad journEd at B 45 PImiddotI
RESPEctfully submittEd
~
---- - -
LUCV POST
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Lucy Post on Thurday March 9 1989 Funeral services were held on Monday March 13th at the Broadway Christian Church Lucy s erved as Recording Sec retary of the Tucson Corvair Association for marlY
years and was loved by all We will miss her
ECClrlClrny RLlrI By Don Rob i -lson
Februar y 19th was a beautIful warm day and the balloons were taking off from Cortaro Farm dlld the Intel-state Corvai~s
were gasing un and taking off from Pa rk Av e and th~ In terstate it was the start of the Valentille RUll to Bisbee Dile hUlldled
miles through a l ot of histor y in Benson St Da vid and Tombstone to Bisbee
lJe had a r est stop at the Tigel- Mn-ket south of Benson dlld
there realized for certain that the Bakers were not wit h us LJe speculated that (a ) Da v e t-Iad found a I IEW secret passage to Bisbee (b) Da v e was awa re of a bou nty on hlS head i(1
To rnbst o le (c) they had stopped to s mel J the FloW Ei-e 1n 8e soI1 or Cd) Corval rs are faster and mar e re llable tha n Buicks
After the Tiger Mal-t we proceded Slowly as we met the Vision Quest wagon train
Ch urche~ in St Da vid l~e-e well atte llded ad the Clty was quiet
01 thl- ough Tombst o lle and up Mule Moultaio illto Bisbee The weath er was still perfect Do wn the other slde of Mule Moul ta in - great for coasting ald sev eral fuel- free miles
The mo untai n mining cit y wa s bustling with tourists a l~d slghtseers EVEI- vwhere We saw sEvEral DeTGmasu Pante- as a d concluded that club wa s on tour wi th their ~ al- 5 too l
We gased up at the bottom of the big hill 3d proceded to the Copper Queen Hotel for lunch The hotel was as graci ous and charmilg as ever After lunch e v el~v one wf-nt 11ff to thell own pursuit s
~ht happened to the Baker-s7 SpeculatlO- -s a) (b)
each contains some of the fart s middot
VALENTINE RALLY RE S ULTS - Fpbr uar y 1989 - I )i stan~e 100 mll e~
Williamson Ale x Thompsol ~ R Thompson D Sanfol-d Qu arantino Leam on Robinsoll Bakelshy
COl- v ail-COl- - air COI- va ir COI v ai I Co- a 11shy
Cal-va 1 1shy
COl- vail-C v n J 1shy
BUILk
Fuel Used Gals
36 43 39 33
30
- -----__--_
- - -- shy11 i I eage
MPG
27 8 233 250 3 0_3
bull
__ J I
EOlTORS NOTE ~~ apolDq12e for nDt printing Vairs and Spares middot this ionth It ~ l ll be p~bl1shed in the ne ~ t Iss~e 6i thE CDr Y~lf5~tion
Wrecking out over
100 Corvairs
Ben amp Son Auto amp Truck Salvage (formetly Jerry Bishops)
4260 E Illinois
Tucson Arizona 85714 748-1444
TRESURERS REPORT
Balance December 31 1988 $46785
IncomE DuEs 13000 Cor vairsation ads 2950 RafflE tickets 74 25 Merchandise sales 13850 Aluminum cans bull 6754 Miscellaneous 250
Total Income bull $442 29
Expenses Corvairsation 6780 Raffle prizEs bull 6860 PO Box rent bull 3900
Total EpensEs bullbull $17510
AdjustmEnts LEss
bull Two NSF chargEs for Christmas Party checks 2500
bull Unlocatable difference in treasur y books 2000
Total Adjustments $4500
BaJance March I 1989 $690 04
Vic Howard
Camper Boots Convertible Tops Furniture Custom Interiors Tonneau Covers Landau Tops Boat Covers
Hernandez Upholstery Ramon amp Mercy Leon
5970 S Mastersonmiddot Suite 14 250 W Missouri Tucson AZ 85706 Tucson AZ 85714 889middot7704 889-4122
Vehicles OHIQe Equipment Mfg Equipment LEASING INC CommunkeUon Equipment
R L (BOB) THOMPSON Broker
Irs The leased We Can 00 For You
9273 E 3Qth St Phone (802) 28$7688 Tucson AZ 65730 j
I
CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
-shyTUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION
CORVAIRSATION i a bullbullnthly publ icatin f the TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION wlich is deditd ~o the preservation cd the COfVair lodel of the Chevrolet totor Di vision ThE Tu(son C1air iS5C1Ciitioil is ii chartered eber of tho CORVAIR SOCIETY OF AMERICA ICORSAI
MONTHLY MEETINGS ar held on the furth Wednsdy cf ach bullbull ntl e pt Ocebr On tlaquohnicls ci1 nt i plarnod for every onth pt July and Auqu1
MEMBERSHIP DUES ar ~IO pr y bull and ar p t ble teoIe Mbullbullbrhip Chair bullbulln
CORSA MEMBERSHIP DUES re 25 per y nd inc Iud lonthly publicit ion Sbullbull a TCA Officr for a lelbrhip application
CLASSIFIED ADS are FREE to TCA ebrs nd ~l OO per l inE t 11 othErlt The dooline for t il bull bullubitted for publicatin the lOn f the onth for that bullbull rth isue il or deliver 11 terils t the Crvairsatin Editor Article are bullbull Icoe fo r pubilcat ion
BUSINESS MAILING
WHEELS
PRESIDENT Dave Baler 7041 Arrohed Drive Tucson AZ 85715 1602) 296-1392
VICE PRESIDENT Bb ThOlpson9273 E 39th Stret Tucsn AZ 85730 1602 ) 29b-7688
TREASURER Vic Hoard 6270 N Coin Arturo Tueson AZ 85718 1602) 742-1823
RECORDING SECRETARY rgi Williasn 7302 E 20th Stret Tuc bullbull n AZ 85710
BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE Dave Tholpson3541 S Elson Ave Tucs on AZ 85730 (602) 748-7105
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATIOU throuql the
subscription tc the CORSA COOlunique
ADDRESS PO S 5001 Tues Ar in 85703
8s SPOKES
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN IDues ~ Change f Address )
Vic Heward 6270 N Caoin Artur Tucson ~~ 85718 (602 ) 742-1823
LIBRARIAN Dave Baker 7041 Arr bullbullhead Dri Tucson ~2 95715 1602) 296-1392
CORVAIRSATION EDITOR Van Pershing4842 WPaso de 1 Cclinas Tucsn A2 B5745 1602 ) m-91S5
ASSISTANT EDITOR Aln Atood 4287 N Li bullbull rlost Plac Tucson AZ B5705 (602) SSa-4433
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Curcent TCA Offl ers Dn Rubi~5un At Ri VaS and the COfvilil-satl on Editor
NON-MEMBERS
W wuld li ke t inVlt you to join the Tucson CampTvair ASSOclat iampn We will send you three cCrlp~ ientd ry i SSUES of the COfiillfSab on cind welcolf you to dttend all of our a[ti vities This is 5 grea t cha nc~ t get to knw ubullbull Nbullbullbullttr hot YampUf Corvair i nhrEsts are YClu ll fi nd lots of lod fol k wi th sil i I interests in he Tu(se n Conair Assoc iation If you decide to join U5 thE dues arE only S10 per year
From the President bullbullbullbullbullbullbullbull
niter H hard fought race beating all odds and all contenders from the primaries to the geneYnl election I have the honoy nf becoming your illustrious president for 1989 So be it gung ho and devil take the hindermost It portends to be a great year for the Tucson Corshy
-shy cair ~ssociation
Believe it or not this is the first organization of this type that I have ever joined After observing and later participating in the activitips of the club for over ten years it has become very clear that we possess all the ingredients for a wonderful and fun organization First we have a common interest the Corvair autoshymobile and its uniqueness in the automotive world Second a goal a cause even a vendetta if y ~ will to show the world and the motoring pUblic that the Corvair is still ahead of its time and that Ralph Nader was RONG I-IRONG WRONG dRONG Third which is really first is lots of members contributing Ints of services lots of information and lots of ideas
To help implement the above 1 have proposed the creation of a number of new committees each having a chairman who will recruit hisher committee members Each chairman would report on the actshyivities of the committee at the monthly meeting and submit written reports for the Corvairsation when appropriate
Some of the Committees of course are already in de facto operation other than elected officers
Merchandise - Don Robinson Iluminum cans - Don Robinson Mailbox Distribution - Alan Atwood Raffle and prizes - Bob Thompson Membership - Vic Howard Rosters - Ed sanford Corvairsation Editor - Van Pershing Asst Corvairsation Editor - Alan Atwood Mid-month Activities - Bob Thompson Librarian - Dave and Beverly Baker
Please consider VOlunteering and I will be phoning and asking at the monthly meeting for members to chair the following activities
publicity - Some one to write articles for the Tucson media and otherwise promote the corvair and our club publicity can only increase the value of our cars and improve Our organization bull
Zdvertising - ~1any of our members run businesses and sershyvices ]Isk them and others to advertize in the Corvairsation Bill and collect
Technical - Make the tech session of the monthly meeting an in depth session with demonstrations andor inside or outshyside speakers write current and pertinent reports for the Corshyvairsation
Car shows - Keep track of where we can show off our Cars Historian - Collect memorbilia for the library Photos
etc Christmas Party - Its neVer to early to start work on
our big event of the year Exchequer Enhancement - Think up ways to enhance our Exshy
chequer National and other Clubs - Liason - -Ie can improve our
club by knowing what national and other clubs are doing
Our mid-monJ activity for gtpril will be a picnic at Picacho Peak shyState Park MeEt at ~lcDonalds on Hest Ina Road ~aturday ipril 15th at 1000 -M ThE club will furnish soft drinks Bob Thompshyson is in charge
middot NO ThE Gala affair of thE YEar - the Pot Luck and pool party at thE BakErs saturday ~1ay 27th 530 P~l If you missEd it last YEar --shydont miss it this year
iJave Baker The Brake Expert
CORVIIRS 16 PRESENT 39
ThE regular meeting of the Tucson Corvdir Association was called to order at 745 p by PrEsident JonRobinson on PEbruary 22 1989 at thE Picadilly CafetEria 6767 E Broadway Tucson ~rizona
1he minutEs of the last mEEting werE not orinted in the Corvairsation this month
isitors WEre introducEd DicK Cannon at BEndEr and iIelen ~~7is~man
ThE mid-month activity for Ilarch will bE a tech sEssion at Van pershings home on the 18th A swa~ meet will be held in Phoenix 6n the 25th Cecil Alex will be 80 years old on Sunday the 26th and the club was invited to come out to join him on that day for coffeE and cakE
Flection on thE new officErs was held and thE following officErs WErE voted in by aclaimation
prEsidEnt - DavE BaKer VicE - PrEsident - Bob Thomllson SEcrEtary - ariE -lilliamson TreasurEr - lI ic loward ~ember-at-Large - DavE Thompson
A card was passed around for signaturEs and greetings to hE sent to Lucy Post who is ill
~ftEr thE brEak the drawing was held Bill Vaughan won the 1 icense platE gift with 491 ) Other winnErs WEre Bob Tho11pson ErniE lloy Cave Thomgtson and Jon Chastain Gifts WEre provided by the TCA
ft tEch sEssion followEd and for sale itEms announced
The mEEting ad journEd at B 45 PImiddotI
RESPEctfully submittEd
~
---- - -
LUCV POST
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Lucy Post on Thurday March 9 1989 Funeral services were held on Monday March 13th at the Broadway Christian Church Lucy s erved as Recording Sec retary of the Tucson Corvair Association for marlY
years and was loved by all We will miss her
ECClrlClrny RLlrI By Don Rob i -lson
Februar y 19th was a beautIful warm day and the balloons were taking off from Cortaro Farm dlld the Intel-state Corvai~s
were gasing un and taking off from Pa rk Av e and th~ In terstate it was the start of the Valentille RUll to Bisbee Dile hUlldled
miles through a l ot of histor y in Benson St Da vid and Tombstone to Bisbee
lJe had a r est stop at the Tigel- Mn-ket south of Benson dlld
there realized for certain that the Bakers were not wit h us LJe speculated that (a ) Da v e t-Iad found a I IEW secret passage to Bisbee (b) Da v e was awa re of a bou nty on hlS head i(1
To rnbst o le (c) they had stopped to s mel J the FloW Ei-e 1n 8e soI1 or Cd) Corval rs are faster and mar e re llable tha n Buicks
After the Tiger Mal-t we proceded Slowly as we met the Vision Quest wagon train
Ch urche~ in St Da vid l~e-e well atte llded ad the Clty was quiet
01 thl- ough Tombst o lle and up Mule Moultaio illto Bisbee The weath er was still perfect Do wn the other slde of Mule Moul ta in - great for coasting ald sev eral fuel- free miles
The mo untai n mining cit y wa s bustling with tourists a l~d slghtseers EVEI- vwhere We saw sEvEral DeTGmasu Pante- as a d concluded that club wa s on tour wi th their ~ al- 5 too l
We gased up at the bottom of the big hill 3d proceded to the Copper Queen Hotel for lunch The hotel was as graci ous and charmilg as ever After lunch e v el~v one wf-nt 11ff to thell own pursuit s
~ht happened to the Baker-s7 SpeculatlO- -s a) (b)
each contains some of the fart s middot
VALENTINE RALLY RE S ULTS - Fpbr uar y 1989 - I )i stan~e 100 mll e~
Williamson Ale x Thompsol ~ R Thompson D Sanfol-d Qu arantino Leam on Robinsoll Bakelshy
COl- v ail-COl- - air COI- va ir COI v ai I Co- a 11shy
Cal-va 1 1shy
COl- vail-C v n J 1shy
BUILk
Fuel Used Gals
36 43 39 33
30
- -----__--_
- - -- shy11 i I eage
MPG
27 8 233 250 3 0_3
bull
__ J I
EOlTORS NOTE ~~ apolDq12e for nDt printing Vairs and Spares middot this ionth It ~ l ll be p~bl1shed in the ne ~ t Iss~e 6i thE CDr Y~lf5~tion
Wrecking out over
100 Corvairs
Ben amp Son Auto amp Truck Salvage (formetly Jerry Bishops)
4260 E Illinois
Tucson Arizona 85714 748-1444
TRESURERS REPORT
Balance December 31 1988 $46785
IncomE DuEs 13000 Cor vairsation ads 2950 RafflE tickets 74 25 Merchandise sales 13850 Aluminum cans bull 6754 Miscellaneous 250
Total Income bull $442 29
Expenses Corvairsation 6780 Raffle prizEs bull 6860 PO Box rent bull 3900
Total EpensEs bullbull $17510
AdjustmEnts LEss
bull Two NSF chargEs for Christmas Party checks 2500
bull Unlocatable difference in treasur y books 2000
Total Adjustments $4500
BaJance March I 1989 $690 04
Vic Howard
Camper Boots Convertible Tops Furniture Custom Interiors Tonneau Covers Landau Tops Boat Covers
Hernandez Upholstery Ramon amp Mercy Leon
5970 S Mastersonmiddot Suite 14 250 W Missouri Tucson AZ 85706 Tucson AZ 85714 889middot7704 889-4122
Vehicles OHIQe Equipment Mfg Equipment LEASING INC CommunkeUon Equipment
R L (BOB) THOMPSON Broker
Irs The leased We Can 00 For You
9273 E 3Qth St Phone (802) 28$7688 Tucson AZ 65730 j
I
CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
From the President bullbullbullbullbullbullbullbull
niter H hard fought race beating all odds and all contenders from the primaries to the geneYnl election I have the honoy nf becoming your illustrious president for 1989 So be it gung ho and devil take the hindermost It portends to be a great year for the Tucson Corshy
-shy cair ~ssociation
Believe it or not this is the first organization of this type that I have ever joined After observing and later participating in the activitips of the club for over ten years it has become very clear that we possess all the ingredients for a wonderful and fun organization First we have a common interest the Corvair autoshymobile and its uniqueness in the automotive world Second a goal a cause even a vendetta if y ~ will to show the world and the motoring pUblic that the Corvair is still ahead of its time and that Ralph Nader was RONG I-IRONG WRONG dRONG Third which is really first is lots of members contributing Ints of services lots of information and lots of ideas
To help implement the above 1 have proposed the creation of a number of new committees each having a chairman who will recruit hisher committee members Each chairman would report on the actshyivities of the committee at the monthly meeting and submit written reports for the Corvairsation when appropriate
Some of the Committees of course are already in de facto operation other than elected officers
Merchandise - Don Robinson Iluminum cans - Don Robinson Mailbox Distribution - Alan Atwood Raffle and prizes - Bob Thompson Membership - Vic Howard Rosters - Ed sanford Corvairsation Editor - Van Pershing Asst Corvairsation Editor - Alan Atwood Mid-month Activities - Bob Thompson Librarian - Dave and Beverly Baker
Please consider VOlunteering and I will be phoning and asking at the monthly meeting for members to chair the following activities
publicity - Some one to write articles for the Tucson media and otherwise promote the corvair and our club publicity can only increase the value of our cars and improve Our organization bull
Zdvertising - ~1any of our members run businesses and sershyvices ]Isk them and others to advertize in the Corvairsation Bill and collect
Technical - Make the tech session of the monthly meeting an in depth session with demonstrations andor inside or outshyside speakers write current and pertinent reports for the Corshyvairsation
Car shows - Keep track of where we can show off our Cars Historian - Collect memorbilia for the library Photos
etc Christmas Party - Its neVer to early to start work on
our big event of the year Exchequer Enhancement - Think up ways to enhance our Exshy
chequer National and other Clubs - Liason - -Ie can improve our
club by knowing what national and other clubs are doing
Our mid-monJ activity for gtpril will be a picnic at Picacho Peak shyState Park MeEt at ~lcDonalds on Hest Ina Road ~aturday ipril 15th at 1000 -M ThE club will furnish soft drinks Bob Thompshyson is in charge
middot NO ThE Gala affair of thE YEar - the Pot Luck and pool party at thE BakErs saturday ~1ay 27th 530 P~l If you missEd it last YEar --shydont miss it this year
iJave Baker The Brake Expert
CORVIIRS 16 PRESENT 39
ThE regular meeting of the Tucson Corvdir Association was called to order at 745 p by PrEsident JonRobinson on PEbruary 22 1989 at thE Picadilly CafetEria 6767 E Broadway Tucson ~rizona
1he minutEs of the last mEEting werE not orinted in the Corvairsation this month
isitors WEre introducEd DicK Cannon at BEndEr and iIelen ~~7is~man
ThE mid-month activity for Ilarch will bE a tech sEssion at Van pershings home on the 18th A swa~ meet will be held in Phoenix 6n the 25th Cecil Alex will be 80 years old on Sunday the 26th and the club was invited to come out to join him on that day for coffeE and cakE
Flection on thE new officErs was held and thE following officErs WErE voted in by aclaimation
prEsidEnt - DavE BaKer VicE - PrEsident - Bob Thomllson SEcrEtary - ariE -lilliamson TreasurEr - lI ic loward ~ember-at-Large - DavE Thompson
A card was passed around for signaturEs and greetings to hE sent to Lucy Post who is ill
~ftEr thE brEak the drawing was held Bill Vaughan won the 1 icense platE gift with 491 ) Other winnErs WEre Bob Tho11pson ErniE lloy Cave Thomgtson and Jon Chastain Gifts WEre provided by the TCA
ft tEch sEssion followEd and for sale itEms announced
The mEEting ad journEd at B 45 PImiddotI
RESPEctfully submittEd
~
---- - -
LUCV POST
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Lucy Post on Thurday March 9 1989 Funeral services were held on Monday March 13th at the Broadway Christian Church Lucy s erved as Recording Sec retary of the Tucson Corvair Association for marlY
years and was loved by all We will miss her
ECClrlClrny RLlrI By Don Rob i -lson
Februar y 19th was a beautIful warm day and the balloons were taking off from Cortaro Farm dlld the Intel-state Corvai~s
were gasing un and taking off from Pa rk Av e and th~ In terstate it was the start of the Valentille RUll to Bisbee Dile hUlldled
miles through a l ot of histor y in Benson St Da vid and Tombstone to Bisbee
lJe had a r est stop at the Tigel- Mn-ket south of Benson dlld
there realized for certain that the Bakers were not wit h us LJe speculated that (a ) Da v e t-Iad found a I IEW secret passage to Bisbee (b) Da v e was awa re of a bou nty on hlS head i(1
To rnbst o le (c) they had stopped to s mel J the FloW Ei-e 1n 8e soI1 or Cd) Corval rs are faster and mar e re llable tha n Buicks
After the Tiger Mal-t we proceded Slowly as we met the Vision Quest wagon train
Ch urche~ in St Da vid l~e-e well atte llded ad the Clty was quiet
01 thl- ough Tombst o lle and up Mule Moultaio illto Bisbee The weath er was still perfect Do wn the other slde of Mule Moul ta in - great for coasting ald sev eral fuel- free miles
The mo untai n mining cit y wa s bustling with tourists a l~d slghtseers EVEI- vwhere We saw sEvEral DeTGmasu Pante- as a d concluded that club wa s on tour wi th their ~ al- 5 too l
We gased up at the bottom of the big hill 3d proceded to the Copper Queen Hotel for lunch The hotel was as graci ous and charmilg as ever After lunch e v el~v one wf-nt 11ff to thell own pursuit s
~ht happened to the Baker-s7 SpeculatlO- -s a) (b)
each contains some of the fart s middot
VALENTINE RALLY RE S ULTS - Fpbr uar y 1989 - I )i stan~e 100 mll e~
Williamson Ale x Thompsol ~ R Thompson D Sanfol-d Qu arantino Leam on Robinsoll Bakelshy
COl- v ail-COl- - air COI- va ir COI v ai I Co- a 11shy
Cal-va 1 1shy
COl- vail-C v n J 1shy
BUILk
Fuel Used Gals
36 43 39 33
30
- -----__--_
- - -- shy11 i I eage
MPG
27 8 233 250 3 0_3
bull
__ J I
EOlTORS NOTE ~~ apolDq12e for nDt printing Vairs and Spares middot this ionth It ~ l ll be p~bl1shed in the ne ~ t Iss~e 6i thE CDr Y~lf5~tion
Wrecking out over
100 Corvairs
Ben amp Son Auto amp Truck Salvage (formetly Jerry Bishops)
4260 E Illinois
Tucson Arizona 85714 748-1444
TRESURERS REPORT
Balance December 31 1988 $46785
IncomE DuEs 13000 Cor vairsation ads 2950 RafflE tickets 74 25 Merchandise sales 13850 Aluminum cans bull 6754 Miscellaneous 250
Total Income bull $442 29
Expenses Corvairsation 6780 Raffle prizEs bull 6860 PO Box rent bull 3900
Total EpensEs bullbull $17510
AdjustmEnts LEss
bull Two NSF chargEs for Christmas Party checks 2500
bull Unlocatable difference in treasur y books 2000
Total Adjustments $4500
BaJance March I 1989 $690 04
Vic Howard
Camper Boots Convertible Tops Furniture Custom Interiors Tonneau Covers Landau Tops Boat Covers
Hernandez Upholstery Ramon amp Mercy Leon
5970 S Mastersonmiddot Suite 14 250 W Missouri Tucson AZ 85706 Tucson AZ 85714 889middot7704 889-4122
Vehicles OHIQe Equipment Mfg Equipment LEASING INC CommunkeUon Equipment
R L (BOB) THOMPSON Broker
Irs The leased We Can 00 For You
9273 E 3Qth St Phone (802) 28$7688 Tucson AZ 65730 j
I
CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
Our mid-monJ activity for gtpril will be a picnic at Picacho Peak shyState Park MeEt at ~lcDonalds on Hest Ina Road ~aturday ipril 15th at 1000 -M ThE club will furnish soft drinks Bob Thompshyson is in charge
middot NO ThE Gala affair of thE YEar - the Pot Luck and pool party at thE BakErs saturday ~1ay 27th 530 P~l If you missEd it last YEar --shydont miss it this year
iJave Baker The Brake Expert
CORVIIRS 16 PRESENT 39
ThE regular meeting of the Tucson Corvdir Association was called to order at 745 p by PrEsident JonRobinson on PEbruary 22 1989 at thE Picadilly CafetEria 6767 E Broadway Tucson ~rizona
1he minutEs of the last mEEting werE not orinted in the Corvairsation this month
isitors WEre introducEd DicK Cannon at BEndEr and iIelen ~~7is~man
ThE mid-month activity for Ilarch will bE a tech sEssion at Van pershings home on the 18th A swa~ meet will be held in Phoenix 6n the 25th Cecil Alex will be 80 years old on Sunday the 26th and the club was invited to come out to join him on that day for coffeE and cakE
Flection on thE new officErs was held and thE following officErs WErE voted in by aclaimation
prEsidEnt - DavE BaKer VicE - PrEsident - Bob Thomllson SEcrEtary - ariE -lilliamson TreasurEr - lI ic loward ~ember-at-Large - DavE Thompson
A card was passed around for signaturEs and greetings to hE sent to Lucy Post who is ill
~ftEr thE brEak the drawing was held Bill Vaughan won the 1 icense platE gift with 491 ) Other winnErs WEre Bob Tho11pson ErniE lloy Cave Thomgtson and Jon Chastain Gifts WEre provided by the TCA
ft tEch sEssion followEd and for sale itEms announced
The mEEting ad journEd at B 45 PImiddotI
RESPEctfully submittEd
~
---- - -
LUCV POST
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Lucy Post on Thurday March 9 1989 Funeral services were held on Monday March 13th at the Broadway Christian Church Lucy s erved as Recording Sec retary of the Tucson Corvair Association for marlY
years and was loved by all We will miss her
ECClrlClrny RLlrI By Don Rob i -lson
Februar y 19th was a beautIful warm day and the balloons were taking off from Cortaro Farm dlld the Intel-state Corvai~s
were gasing un and taking off from Pa rk Av e and th~ In terstate it was the start of the Valentille RUll to Bisbee Dile hUlldled
miles through a l ot of histor y in Benson St Da vid and Tombstone to Bisbee
lJe had a r est stop at the Tigel- Mn-ket south of Benson dlld
there realized for certain that the Bakers were not wit h us LJe speculated that (a ) Da v e t-Iad found a I IEW secret passage to Bisbee (b) Da v e was awa re of a bou nty on hlS head i(1
To rnbst o le (c) they had stopped to s mel J the FloW Ei-e 1n 8e soI1 or Cd) Corval rs are faster and mar e re llable tha n Buicks
After the Tiger Mal-t we proceded Slowly as we met the Vision Quest wagon train
Ch urche~ in St Da vid l~e-e well atte llded ad the Clty was quiet
01 thl- ough Tombst o lle and up Mule Moultaio illto Bisbee The weath er was still perfect Do wn the other slde of Mule Moul ta in - great for coasting ald sev eral fuel- free miles
The mo untai n mining cit y wa s bustling with tourists a l~d slghtseers EVEI- vwhere We saw sEvEral DeTGmasu Pante- as a d concluded that club wa s on tour wi th their ~ al- 5 too l
We gased up at the bottom of the big hill 3d proceded to the Copper Queen Hotel for lunch The hotel was as graci ous and charmilg as ever After lunch e v el~v one wf-nt 11ff to thell own pursuit s
~ht happened to the Baker-s7 SpeculatlO- -s a) (b)
each contains some of the fart s middot
VALENTINE RALLY RE S ULTS - Fpbr uar y 1989 - I )i stan~e 100 mll e~
Williamson Ale x Thompsol ~ R Thompson D Sanfol-d Qu arantino Leam on Robinsoll Bakelshy
COl- v ail-COl- - air COI- va ir COI v ai I Co- a 11shy
Cal-va 1 1shy
COl- vail-C v n J 1shy
BUILk
Fuel Used Gals
36 43 39 33
30
- -----__--_
- - -- shy11 i I eage
MPG
27 8 233 250 3 0_3
bull
__ J I
EOlTORS NOTE ~~ apolDq12e for nDt printing Vairs and Spares middot this ionth It ~ l ll be p~bl1shed in the ne ~ t Iss~e 6i thE CDr Y~lf5~tion
Wrecking out over
100 Corvairs
Ben amp Son Auto amp Truck Salvage (formetly Jerry Bishops)
4260 E Illinois
Tucson Arizona 85714 748-1444
TRESURERS REPORT
Balance December 31 1988 $46785
IncomE DuEs 13000 Cor vairsation ads 2950 RafflE tickets 74 25 Merchandise sales 13850 Aluminum cans bull 6754 Miscellaneous 250
Total Income bull $442 29
Expenses Corvairsation 6780 Raffle prizEs bull 6860 PO Box rent bull 3900
Total EpensEs bullbull $17510
AdjustmEnts LEss
bull Two NSF chargEs for Christmas Party checks 2500
bull Unlocatable difference in treasur y books 2000
Total Adjustments $4500
BaJance March I 1989 $690 04
Vic Howard
Camper Boots Convertible Tops Furniture Custom Interiors Tonneau Covers Landau Tops Boat Covers
Hernandez Upholstery Ramon amp Mercy Leon
5970 S Mastersonmiddot Suite 14 250 W Missouri Tucson AZ 85706 Tucson AZ 85714 889middot7704 889-4122
Vehicles OHIQe Equipment Mfg Equipment LEASING INC CommunkeUon Equipment
R L (BOB) THOMPSON Broker
Irs The leased We Can 00 For You
9273 E 3Qth St Phone (802) 28$7688 Tucson AZ 65730 j
I
CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
---- - -
LUCV POST
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Lucy Post on Thurday March 9 1989 Funeral services were held on Monday March 13th at the Broadway Christian Church Lucy s erved as Recording Sec retary of the Tucson Corvair Association for marlY
years and was loved by all We will miss her
ECClrlClrny RLlrI By Don Rob i -lson
Februar y 19th was a beautIful warm day and the balloons were taking off from Cortaro Farm dlld the Intel-state Corvai~s
were gasing un and taking off from Pa rk Av e and th~ In terstate it was the start of the Valentille RUll to Bisbee Dile hUlldled
miles through a l ot of histor y in Benson St Da vid and Tombstone to Bisbee
lJe had a r est stop at the Tigel- Mn-ket south of Benson dlld
there realized for certain that the Bakers were not wit h us LJe speculated that (a ) Da v e t-Iad found a I IEW secret passage to Bisbee (b) Da v e was awa re of a bou nty on hlS head i(1
To rnbst o le (c) they had stopped to s mel J the FloW Ei-e 1n 8e soI1 or Cd) Corval rs are faster and mar e re llable tha n Buicks
After the Tiger Mal-t we proceded Slowly as we met the Vision Quest wagon train
Ch urche~ in St Da vid l~e-e well atte llded ad the Clty was quiet
01 thl- ough Tombst o lle and up Mule Moultaio illto Bisbee The weath er was still perfect Do wn the other slde of Mule Moul ta in - great for coasting ald sev eral fuel- free miles
The mo untai n mining cit y wa s bustling with tourists a l~d slghtseers EVEI- vwhere We saw sEvEral DeTGmasu Pante- as a d concluded that club wa s on tour wi th their ~ al- 5 too l
We gased up at the bottom of the big hill 3d proceded to the Copper Queen Hotel for lunch The hotel was as graci ous and charmilg as ever After lunch e v el~v one wf-nt 11ff to thell own pursuit s
~ht happened to the Baker-s7 SpeculatlO- -s a) (b)
each contains some of the fart s middot
VALENTINE RALLY RE S ULTS - Fpbr uar y 1989 - I )i stan~e 100 mll e~
Williamson Ale x Thompsol ~ R Thompson D Sanfol-d Qu arantino Leam on Robinsoll Bakelshy
COl- v ail-COl- - air COI- va ir COI v ai I Co- a 11shy
Cal-va 1 1shy
COl- vail-C v n J 1shy
BUILk
Fuel Used Gals
36 43 39 33
30
- -----__--_
- - -- shy11 i I eage
MPG
27 8 233 250 3 0_3
bull
__ J I
EOlTORS NOTE ~~ apolDq12e for nDt printing Vairs and Spares middot this ionth It ~ l ll be p~bl1shed in the ne ~ t Iss~e 6i thE CDr Y~lf5~tion
Wrecking out over
100 Corvairs
Ben amp Son Auto amp Truck Salvage (formetly Jerry Bishops)
4260 E Illinois
Tucson Arizona 85714 748-1444
TRESURERS REPORT
Balance December 31 1988 $46785
IncomE DuEs 13000 Cor vairsation ads 2950 RafflE tickets 74 25 Merchandise sales 13850 Aluminum cans bull 6754 Miscellaneous 250
Total Income bull $442 29
Expenses Corvairsation 6780 Raffle prizEs bull 6860 PO Box rent bull 3900
Total EpensEs bullbull $17510
AdjustmEnts LEss
bull Two NSF chargEs for Christmas Party checks 2500
bull Unlocatable difference in treasur y books 2000
Total Adjustments $4500
BaJance March I 1989 $690 04
Vic Howard
Camper Boots Convertible Tops Furniture Custom Interiors Tonneau Covers Landau Tops Boat Covers
Hernandez Upholstery Ramon amp Mercy Leon
5970 S Mastersonmiddot Suite 14 250 W Missouri Tucson AZ 85706 Tucson AZ 85714 889middot7704 889-4122
Vehicles OHIQe Equipment Mfg Equipment LEASING INC CommunkeUon Equipment
R L (BOB) THOMPSON Broker
Irs The leased We Can 00 For You
9273 E 3Qth St Phone (802) 28$7688 Tucson AZ 65730 j
I
CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
Wrecking out over
100 Corvairs
Ben amp Son Auto amp Truck Salvage (formetly Jerry Bishops)
4260 E Illinois
Tucson Arizona 85714 748-1444
TRESURERS REPORT
Balance December 31 1988 $46785
IncomE DuEs 13000 Cor vairsation ads 2950 RafflE tickets 74 25 Merchandise sales 13850 Aluminum cans bull 6754 Miscellaneous 250
Total Income bull $442 29
Expenses Corvairsation 6780 Raffle prizEs bull 6860 PO Box rent bull 3900
Total EpensEs bullbull $17510
AdjustmEnts LEss
bull Two NSF chargEs for Christmas Party checks 2500
bull Unlocatable difference in treasur y books 2000
Total Adjustments $4500
BaJance March I 1989 $690 04
Vic Howard
Camper Boots Convertible Tops Furniture Custom Interiors Tonneau Covers Landau Tops Boat Covers
Hernandez Upholstery Ramon amp Mercy Leon
5970 S Mastersonmiddot Suite 14 250 W Missouri Tucson AZ 85706 Tucson AZ 85714 889middot7704 889-4122
Vehicles OHIQe Equipment Mfg Equipment LEASING INC CommunkeUon Equipment
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Irs The leased We Can 00 For You
9273 E 3Qth St Phone (802) 28$7688 Tucson AZ 65730 j
I
CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
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CORVE II Emid-engine What is so critica I a bou t where the engine sits By Paul Van Valkenburgh
o So you want il mid-Inginc CorvCUI You think Ch~vro lct ought to produce a mid-engine (orvCllc anti youll uo lIlyl hing t) huy one When ytlU get t()g~ (hlr with othl r Vetle owners that all yuu wlk unOU I --whllhcr JIlU when Your nu me i- at Ihe Inp 01 Ihl lisl at your nearest Chevy Jcaler youll hod the l hin Of sell ytHtr
firstho rn yt) U hilVC pClitil)neJ G M Ind you huy cwry clllhuia
magi17ine Ihal cwn hinL- or tit Cilr
Won il he great ttl haw the Ie __ fint one Climh down nto il - rid up your ch id - middotand I rube through tow n 10
where Ih gtng hltl ng~ oul 11~
collective [ongue Why Wh at is so Moody cri icfll
al-HlU I liNt the en gine s il~ 111 a rlce cu r it ~ father impMtanl hili nOI for the same rcason-- il would he impunant in J ~lree t-Jri vcn sport~ CJr In the lirsl plan il all ow the rear wCl gh l di~trthulion tll hc raiseJ 10 Ihc opmiddot limum-say perh-lps tll 60middot65 pcnclll shyfor maximum (u rne ring ilnd 1I1l krlshytioll Th-lt s Ihl If rc uson hUI II al( allow the Jriver t) si l Ilwlr witllllit a drivelin In comp~te wilh H a hig hunk til Sct ove r and il gelS II 11111 raJinl heal inhl Ihe ur hehind him Many people I I-lim Ihat il abo help~
hantlling by lowerIng Ihe polar nwshyIllcnt or Inrtia (p lacing all the Ihavy masses clost hI Ihe Ic nter or ~l v jly) hut in fac t current mid-engine race car rea1 f1SKr thln a driver middotan anyshyhow so that crrect i 4ucQi(lnuhlc
Nllw what d(H~ Ihat nH 1l III the
~ -
houlevtl rdler Probably 99 percent of all Corvette Jrivers have never taken a high--pceJ IMn lr at the limit nor do thlY know where the limit io o r what Ihe Iar dtlcs at that pl) inL Movi ng tile - ngine hI the rear tllight rai-e Iht maxshyimum -pee d in II lll rner by two or three percent BUi what Jues Ihat mean in cv(ryday usc Will l l akt yo u 10 the grocry tore o r ~ ell tile nr( h)wn an y filqer Sllre thl heencJ road-r OJcshycr~ wmt il thc) 1I(ld II Ihy hUVt to have It hut whcll the) huy il the cla~es will be drr u)fed ~() that it is still only Iven l) Clll1Pl llIive wi th uth r cars AnJ the flW palent of illl (h~
Corvettt owners In the world wh() race i ~ n(It a very great number
Relelltly I 1llid-enginl rirehird Wl
hulll hy an inderc1hh-nt WC rna race C IT -11ginecr POJul Lunar unJer tile wllhf1 eye llf POllt l Th e enshygille 1- merely muvld int o th hJd --eat I(ea reerMd1I1d dflvrn through a Townild~J IlII Ol11atH lO Ihe live rcar axil- Everylhmg ehc w- ulHhan ged except fllr sprln r and anti-roll har unshying and lJl lll - were moved a flw itlmiddot he ~ fl)rwarJ And yt)U CiHI110t te ll Ihe dilflrlllee Th e eltl tc r Ill g ravit~
wa lIlovd ncarly J fout 10 Ihl rear and even on the okidpad Ihe increase in cornering powcr was alm ost i ndi-lingu i~h il hIe
The g r ele~t vllue of mid-engine cars s(ems to he stiltu~ th ill S all I wa nt a mid-engine (lrvette hleause hilt how roc( ea r Irr hulll
I I IIWrVI r Gelleral Mo It~ J hlo shy
il of profiting by produeing what peomiddot pie want If enough pen pi I wan I rear stcering and ILIt-frllntmiddotwhee1 d r iv e OM will try 10 givl II h I them And beeau~e of all Ih~ ou tside interes t in relocating engi nes they have spent a cons id e rable number of years investiga ting the situa tion Not only do they howe it great deal of experienceshygood and very h~tI-wjth all those i ixshylylinder rear-engine produeti(n clrs anJ mid-engine prutntyp~s hut they have built a numher o f V-S p()wcred te-t car- as well At thi s writing there hilVC hcen al Ic~ ~ t 42 Cilr s huilt by Chevrole t with a V-8 engine located el sewh~re than up front (Ca rs that could be put into production that is ) There are 101 o f other funny car layshy(lUiS runnin g ahout the house there but not 1- produ-tion prototypes
Th vr- earlJe~t pl11 to put together ~ mirJ- nSIOe Corvc-tte began in 1959 under the prodding of Dunlov ilnd with the enth usiasm or EtI Cole and Bill Mitehell The th r~ e of them were strongly inrr u~nlc d hy its potc-nllul pertormanmiddotc a nd hy experience with the new Cnrvllr MItchell even wen t so far ltIS W d~~ign numher of fullmiddot~ie day - t) ling huck s with vurious styling innova tions and cooling aIr illkt loca shytions 0 fit Dun tov laYouts However you Ilave III realiz- 111-1 thi~ was 11gt51gt ~nd nn one re dly ~ new OJII the answer or evcn so me ~)f th e prohlcms with rta r-engine rtTs in high Jltrformance AI Ihat tim nil (lne hild ever pUI il hCil vy V middotX enginmiddot in the hlrk (If an
I Thi HlIr-lnJilll COn-NI euro mockup middotIl hllill in sccnl tamplc by (h~ ~middotmiddot lnginc(ri nA cll p~rlmcnf as rar had ii 1951) al llun(Uo request
2 Th( Shlnodil-deiigntf hnd~ of lirca 1966 rcslmblcd purr r~ccn
of Ihl link 1Idlin1 nf this cWly hlyuut lefl II Inl In Ilt dcsin-d
- -
II sports care 01 Ino wOfld1972
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
American produ~tion Iar_ II wa~n t unshytil early 1971 that Bill Sadler nuil the first rear-enginl Chevy road - rallr and provctl that it rCillly woultl wo rk in competition _ And l0_ hLloaus( or t Iud oC expe riene_ it was de(idetl nol to Iry sUlh a radical ~t(P _ To ruh (h( car iOlt
protlultion woulJ have m~ant phenomenal devdopm ~ nl ()I~_ antl the produ~tinn 4uantities on Corv~lh_
would not JusliCy thal Blit Dunlov -w ent ahcld willl IXplrillllntatiun a)
best he Iuuld with a Ijl11it~J time budgshycentI and put tog~lher thi CU-tV- 1 Tht was his mid-englnt singk-scentltlIer that probbly prouultJ more puhli-ily nd knowledge of (orvelte indepentlnt rear suspen sIons th an il tl id Iht produ(tion applillIion ur a rLi ul-lIIU engi ne _ So tht ftrst p roposa l r(lr the mill-engine CorVltlc hartlly CVCIl went 10 ho halrway poinL
Then Frank Winlhell 1ltll1It llung_ As director or Chevrolet Reea rch und Development he was responsihk ror he mid- and rear-engine (orvair Monshyza GT show cars and due 10 prnnlems with production Corvair hantililll he was starting to researc h chich Jynlmshyics_ One or his earliest projects wal thc construction or a pra(li cal (clonumilitl ror produllion) combination of CorshyYelle and Corvair
As were most or Chevrolets serious studies ror production ychicks it was cobbled-up oul or an cxisling hassis and then coyereJ up as well us possible with custom shcctmela1 to make II itS inconspiluous as pu_siblc_ If yo u liwu
in Dctrolt 10 13 YlIU Olil ) haw I~middott ll the first rear - cngin~ Corwilc protulyp~ being drivtn nn (hl strec t anti you never wuultl lIl kllUWIl II It wa a fuirly cummull-iouklllg -bS lHvir Menla-from Iht rear wl)(I forwltirJ _ But seeing It parkd Ihxt III Inllth r Monz woulJ have illuHalcd JII t how uncommonly Inng th r ar end lIa_ TIl l out~ the 37 Chlvroilt V-8 mountcd on the blCk of thl U-Jlbt _lk Illcallt slrCuhlng IIII r lr ud~ (lver t lglll inches_ It wuulJn1 hlvl hlu 10 hi l0 long th ou~h_ if th riltlatllr WLrtIl- mounHd in Ihe 1_lrCrnl rCIr Another giveaway [hen wa~ Ih l louverttI rcm Ccntltrs tllI V anti rttrwartl of the whcd o pening wh ich tluctetl Jir to th l rudiator Abo Iht lid Wl~ hUlllpltI [ll elcr thc larhuf1hlr Inti ran_ Willi
-would have eVir t-uctl rill I t- I rnginler) Ihoroughly enjuycu ~hOlklll unsu)pccting ~port tr Jriver) at Sillpshylights_ even Ihnufh hamperlu hy the Iwo-gtpeed powergllue Iransmi_~sjon_
Nor cven Ih sountl was a givcltiway blOeaue with Iht l)JJ_ craOl pcJ lIIurshyning yslem thl car l)ul1utd I rilnjdy more lik- a GreylIlIlIlJ Ihltin a V-H_
11 diJ haw JevdopOlent problellh_ thougll_ AI you illlght exptci mollllg was Lllarglilal hl-laU~ 01 Ihl rauiatM 10(alilln bICIUM or Iht indlilicnty or thc itlt Iu~r tnll h-au -gtc IlItrl Wa _ no lIr cirClIllIitln IhhlUgh the rlIllpeJ engin t-II11pallllltlIl _ Aou _ Itlh ugh il Id1 sati rat-hl r) ILl IInrma l slrCli1 u tlut to lit fJlc1I IC If weif hl hiu shyovcr 70 prt-nt 111 thl rl- a r whecls -II
11111 nlJl itlve guoJ hltiildling dwrItltfIII- ill Ihl limit IU U thl ka t 0 thc III her hIltl th c JUL- Ih11 It w limJled In tire 1_l htilllt ur lillo ~I(ld hn LIIU whcll openings meallt Ihll 1 1 nl)( cntirllY ithIUI redt-1Il1Ilg pruJutlillll pOll-nILd _Thlollshywt_ 1111 hupL Ihat wilit wlJe _ 15-lllch -het I nd tifc) OIl ka~t oil the rca r II would h~ pogtlhk ill IIV t-rcollll thc -- t111-wlg_ -JUg IClltllIlCY
AI Iht plJlnL we OrHC to il n~nlLtuu p) lill -tI 4LJC tlllll of rc ~ plllllhilll) overlilp_ Dunhw Wlti Ih- heiLJ llf III CllrvlIC dign_ hu[ hi nud gl tnJ radii Ii wcrl linwed Wlltn it 1lml to reiLfh IlIJ dC cllulllnL Uut WIOshydlCIl hatl a vry hroutl rlpun~ jhilil Y 10
phlJUt njln(erlOj knowIrJgl_ rnort (If Ics IIlY wily hI ~aw iiI ill almI_1 all ft-I ht tt)ultl Jutlly So he hegan huiltling the rirst aclual pro totype r(~lrshyt-nglll Corvctlc _ hascd (In cxperilnce with thl rlar-Ingine V-R Corvair IOU varil)us o lhL-r mitl -cngine sportl cari 11tJ1 hOlJ hlln Mound Ihl tlcpartnlenl for nJlysis_
The Jrivdint WJ hailllly the -u Oll with a 327 V-6 hung out Ihe bad drivshyIng Ihwu~h a l1Iodilied Pontiu TeOlshyPII ((In uxk Tt ) redu ltil Ilngth _ howlvcr JnJ 10 Iry anJ regain a beller (ront rcitr htlanl-c the radialor Wl~ nwveJ nJck up (ront _ Wit h Ihis layout Iht uflvcr Wl~ pOlit)lIeti in a rallliha r ilK-atlu ll - mmcJiil tdy in fr~lnl of thc rt1f whlch middot- anJ hatl a rtasl)na hl tagc l1ount ( Ir lrush spltiec - ahc LJ_ The gr[t-_I IJVl lltilgt-_ huwvcr 1-gt
~POfli l lgt 0 1 Ine worlO 1972 69
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
qg_RV~~L- ~_~I_DENGINE thai it all owLJ the ltlb minimumHJlut wh~dbast anti packtcJ JII the composhynent~ inlU a very small ov~rall padage The Lngln~ UIJ up lilt fIa r tll~rhan~ ralliilhH and dUlting UMlI up the fmnt overhang and Ihl pIscngl rs hatJ cverything he tween the nk With Ihe lIrivcr in the s lanJard posi tlnll he tuuld he movcJ oUlhl)mJ without thl front whtdwclls cncruuhinr Ilil fIlII
room which made room rnr a huge backbo ne chasois dllwn the ccnler ~)r the tlf
One or the higges t prohkm In
production sports cars i~ where (0 put the jramC When you lilh auvantilgc or a rlur engine hy Illwlring Ihl ~Ci I entry becomes a fcul prllhkm It simshyply is not acceplabk 10 hay to dimh ove r huge roder paneb a~ on 1 rulc Iar So thc Je igncr Lnr) NI~ separated thl s~at wilh a IOmhlllltilm ~quarc ht)x frame Ind ru1 I(mlainer This arrangement il11()wIJ the Jllll r In ultuilll_y open JIlwn the hl(llm ~) the ruder panel righ t up w th ~ edge o( hc seat When the J tlO r was opcn )OU
cllu ld prltl cticltIlIy fall (lut t) 1I the gl und a few inth~s bel)
Sinc~ ill the componenl c(xept thc engine werl lightly hunched inldc Ihl lire L ltI rry ShiIH)Ji the ~tli 1 responsihlc for mo [ of (hevrnlct~ aUshyvuneeJ hoJics of Ihul Imiddotra haJ lIIlW 1 I fre~ hanJ as to where I II rut the hllJ ) li ne s It nOI urpriiJl Ihat Ihl rl~ult shyilnl shupe loohmiddotJ ver y mudl 11l1 1
coup~ verlti on of -lIme or tlH~ faII1 porl~ rec Iilr 1)1 146( PCtri lmiddotd lmiddot Ihc Chilparral The rlc mhblHI w ~ run her hli1Il~n~J h) thl rir nnt -rHX appearance of (hI Chaparral lakc-apltln cas t alloy spoke wheels Hut all in all il had 10 bc )ne of Ihe mO ~ t wellshy
~t~an(eJ deilgn va rroduted hy ShlnoJa or Nle or Will(hcll from tht standpoint o( appea rallce o r driver-PiJdaging
Bemiddota u t or til l hU- IIc enginc hnwcvshyr WI- Jill PilCIllularl y t11 bulanttd Jn (hI hnJliJ1 ~ dmiddotPllntH n A hunch )f room had h~middot 111 1I1wed for th higshyglq rear Irt~ IVilll lhlc In wIlrk nul Ih e an t il iplIed ler minil OV fi-leer plohlems hut Ih all ~wcr JiJIl 1 t(lmc 111 11 ca il y When i( wa Ji(ovcrd just I w se vere Ihe prl hlm 11 - alJ approshyuLhl Wfe allI~middot lcd III filld I (ure Th~ car ~ ltIud h -~t up [II hanJlc Ph)prly )n ~klJ pad In gt1aJy- tal tornlrtng hut [he Iran ItIlI bull 11 I IllIllIC rponsc w~ nearly IIllcnnrn llahlt- 11 Ih~ limit AI (lfle sliIgl te l drivc r W I ~ Ir)ing high spced 101 thangI- whipr ing hilCk and Inrth Ilmiddot r I w(-Ialll tc 1 Irilltk lnJ Ihe 1 11 ~P I OIlC ~Ier lhlaJ If 1111 JrlLr ~ ImiddotII iftImiddotlion Allhough Ihe guurt1 rail ~ ~Irl Iihlly 11l0f Ihall a (ar knglh arm the ca r was tven nwrt= unl() ntrolllh1c If uvcling iidcshyWily ilnJ Ihe hCilu tilu (O IM-malched II rt1 hlJH humpcrs were PUI I () 1 durilh ili ty IC nltl ss it t ting (he replacement or Ihei r fihtrglass bl1 dy pald support ~ tlllllIrt ~
Whilc thlmiddot hd~ ~ 1 hein t rcpl ircJ work conlillUld 11 11 Oocr-ller Th e Ctllllplllcr 11 n)lI - ullCd Illr ~uggc-shy
liun lnJ LiJlnge Imiddotrlmiddot lIlildt in tiH rla~ gcol1ltlry fr llil t g1 )nh lry Pflg~ lntl-r)11 hilr~ allJ Whll l alld II vshy 11 tl IllI cxlrlJllC I 111 -111-11 wide ra lshying tlrl ltIll till rlar [I 4 ii Id Ihl if a llt(rl1l1 lire wldlh froill -I ll- rea r WlfC
IhI nl~wcr Ihll I n k l1r( co uld he 1lt1 it Iht all hdJ IiiI Im~ diamettr
Hut there wcre t)[hlr prnblcms For exalOplL thc priltticl of JUtling hot raJ i at~ l r ilir OUI ( 1) hlp of Ih~ oc e Va
nelmiddot( Siil ry [ 0 reduce ilenJJynamic lirl ill ~pceJ JUi1 a ~ on a race lmiddotar- an J it adshydeJ Ihat ra ) im age However on a pruuulmiddottion i puns car there appeareJ the Jif1ilult y of th en klcping the hut air oul l)r tht paslllgcr comparlmlJ I Wllh th e roof panel rem uved or even with Ih WIOJowS rulleJ Jown then was no way to kecp the passengers coul o n il Wlrm Jay And uf course as with an y firs t o ne-on d e ~i2n (here were man y pie(s incJuJing ~the frame that we re either tn o h~ilvy o r nOt rigid enough
11 allY ralt i wa simply a nseurch program and it WilS certainly produtshyIllg opcrientt in st) I lng vehidc dynalllit probk m Nel- huJ the Imiddotilr running In early 66 (l nJ h~ ~ pent mO~1 of thai year developing il As a show Car il cou lJ have slOlcn orne o f thl impac t For~ r)~ulmiddotcJ in Ih~ howing ~r Ih clr m IJ~nSJnc Mad 2 in early 07 hut Wlnchdl wa having prohllm cnough with law uil - t(lncmiddotrning rtarshytnglOc tars that ovcr~leCrI J AnJ ~() o ne ut [hI most eXIi1inS (urveltc proshylotype was 4uieLly put hI rcil wi thoul eVcr hi ng seen In puhhc
By 11lt 66 Niclt no Winchell had 1HleJ lookingIt ToronIJo drivelinc ttl prtltluct an etl)nomical mid-engine layo ut hUI when thty aw Ihe Mtth 2 tht) dccldld Il) rush through il onc-lIp er ~it) n using a morc ton ve nti o nal JnvcllJlc The aOic hl slt tW(HPIImiddotJ aulOmltiIJc wa~ u cd hut Ihc higger 111shyglnC - nt lw Ihl wcighl of it 427 wulJ he lllkralcJ- wiI pl actJ ahcuJ of il Since a nlw hcllh0usi ng Jifkrcn iiai e ling huJ 10 he mhk an y how In ril Ihe automutil I hI Ingint WilS fC VI r-t J in Iht thOli~ 10 ohlilin Ih t uhsolutt maxshyIOlUm pOlssenger spalmiddotc Everything thOlt waS prtviously Jriven at Ihe fr o nt uf Ih hl)d was then a thc rear ou t o f
I Tht (p~ ur Al ro II -how ur IIr I~ Ul-d Turnnadu drinlin( tlImpUnlm SlInlLhuM Ih i HO( dOlgt nol umtgt lcrO~ I Ita IIIl-w(r
2 NIIM Ihi~ om I)f~in In lunk like 1amp flal tulil mid-io~ine CT nn The XP-H82 (mid ln likeh Ixgt pruduccd and hwH it citl (xillk lOid(o~int GT ( IH pricc wdl
70 sports cars of Ihe wOfQ 1972
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
Ih~ way of the dri vers back and the fr~me whiL h spli t fro m A backbone to a wishbone to go Ol round the engin~ It also moved the WOllrr pu mp and outlets closer to the rad ia to r which had been moved bllck to the (ul Expenments (by the author) plrrormed on a GT-40 which Che vro le t happened to have around hau proved the eHitiency of that location prov iding th e ducts We re properly de) igned and located and it elim inated the undeslrllble dri ve r heatshying Lh at exis ted on Ihl previous litr
Many o ther ilems were ca rrieu OVer from Ihe earlier dcsign The body wu5 basically very smilar excepl fa r the missing front radi ato r du cts and the smoothly tapered Lail whkh no lo nge r had to cove r an enli re 4ng in~ The doors still open ld deeply intO the roc kshyer panels becau)c of the same lype o r backbonc str Ull ure but hecause the driver had 10 be moved lillward h~
was also moved inward to ~el the pedshyals around th e front wheelwdls The Chaparral-type wheels Wlr~ Iso carshyri ed over alth ough (bea u ~ the hanshydling haJ been imp roved considerashybly) Ihe same size wus used rront and rear To Sltve development lime mll ny o r the suspension com ponents from the rear-engine car were used on the mid shyengine deSign such as reur knuckles and axles bUI many dirferenl stamped sheet-slee l contro l arms were being experimented with to determine th e optimum strength weight cost T he fra me wa s also simi la r nut o nl y in shape but in the fU~1 thaI it was made up o r si mple li ght-gaug shed tcl stampings spo t-wdded togelhlr in tne interests of pradu tion ewnomy
Although its wight had risen ove r 400 pounds from the previo us Corvette prototype (which was und~r 2700 pounds dry) due to the larger engine
and cha)si) Ihl handling hud improved grlill ly By gUlng fh lnl 70 per rrn l re r weight down hi OIJ plr 11 111 li nd lJkl lIg auvan lJgl or tli Ihl su)pcn)lun k~Ollm
lea rnd the lUf was ulmosl hugmiddotfrlc from Ih hq1I1Illllg AluI rllltuJlJtl y So beca use il 111 Ihe shops ulmo) t a) soo n as it wt ~ running and immeuIltlhshyIy begun u world middotwide tOllr as th c ASlw 11 th fi r)1 mlu -engi n Corve lle 10 b~ publicly uck nowleug~d
But that wa~n t good t nough ycl As the car progre~d it wa~ onsIJlIl l being IXllmiddota niJ lyd and Ihe dflvdine wus sl ill lIot sa tisLIlOry hC~HISC it WtS
o nly a W1 k tW Il- pu uUlolu tic LvshyII helorc Astw II Icft ucsign luu is Wlr( undr Wl on the flflh hadshyeng i lll~ lay)u d (rCIII Hi(r( pos iti un utilizing th XilIllg Corve ll sprung dirferential anu th xj ting T Ofl lllu do Turbu-hydro mountd unuer the fl)f middot ward hetJd With 1111 - - IUp the only nw dri vllllC omrH)nn t neded wa ~ a righ t-anglt Jriv ll ll the output ~hilrt or the transmisilln gOlllg rlrward umh r the englO 10 Ih l (titrrenl tI
Th is cut drivdill~ e() ~ (s hut n ther consid ralto Jl ~u h OJ ) safe ty reL ulre- ments upped Ih In to in othe r areJ ) The bILI-ogtne frlfile wa) given up tt l a rull perimeter -1 1 cage whic h pro shy
vides [Ollrc Implet prOle~ tlo n anJ Iso elinuHcll the p) sihdit y (If removJhlc rOClf pilnc1 s At th e - ame lime th e radiator wa on l~aill moved hall- tll the fronl to try )1111 unuther dUdlng arrange me nt-tlul pa 1Ihe frnlll wheeI-
All in 11 howcv r th latest mid shyengin~ ( l rvelL turned u ut to be more of a puhlicit ) ~lI l1 mld Ihtn true promiddot tOIYP or rl -elreh ve hid T il hlnshydling Ia pah llil ics l(L prowll Just ah)u t every pos~ lh layou t hugt hcn exshyplored euch tine hiJ ~ hen cnstcd lul for producti on and lit public dllland
i ~ wd t knllwn Hut nu Olle - nut eVen Juhn l)eLoflan-middot knuws whcther you wi ll ever bl ab to buy on~
Anu why nut Wdl Itt ) review the diflicultles in olng 10 a rrurwa rd V-H eml I ~ ucJJllldy ltJ malor con~IJeLI middot Liun Th e ha~ pr i oj th ca r wulJ he -shyI much 1 $ 1000 more AnJ the r are it 10 1 or (nglnec rin g JifricullH that nul u ra ise the ~us l that much ltIga in What i) th heSI compromise for driwr packugi ng VCr)us (omponen t I(cu lion Is (I nc)a ry III offe r holh a n aUll)Ill Hi~ anu a stanuurd trammJS~i ln
Wh i h rtdiIItH 11 )(l l lon and eng lllL po~i (jtln ha~ the lewCf drawhad s How do you stop all (he noise in 10 inches httween the cngi ne anu the driver s head Where is it best to put thl strucshyture ilmong all th o~e tight ly paded JIms How can yo u kep such a hmiled-protluetion car up to da te on 111 the i-=cdcr al emissio n and sa felY tanJarus pcwlly the fron t Impact reLuircmc nt An d th e n th e re i- the un poken 4u(- lion of 4ualily Whenlvshy(r Iv n t minn r usign c htngt is OIIII mptcd un iLn(lipal~J or und iscovshyred pro hllnb ulwu)s ~ rop up after prld uctlOn bg ins making perhap) the Jir~ t fw hundred th)usand vehides u II chncy REM EMB ER THE ( middotOKVAIK middot Why tak ( h anes ( i ~lIlmiddotrd Mot rs hoi prohlcms enough a t I ll mom~nl They have ulso lllll plctdy e l llu iJ ld the ntid-tngln r M iurt GT-40 and Mangu s ta and----- (IunJ Ihllll ul b ullabk fo r )I rlt a( ulla middotp tltJhlt pr is so why Lmiddoto mpt With lil I
AnJ wllJt is Ib er~ 10 he gained 8dshyt r weigh t Ji-Inhut illn for an innni tlslshymltJ1 gain in corneri ng L~s he lt raJ ia shylil)n from the - ngine A lower el l with ulttlr vl-ih ility And whutevr Y (Jll r plr shyo llal nlU tivls mighl be W
sparl s cals 01 the world 1972 71
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
CUNNINGHAMS I 747-7113 0_ CORVAIR AUTOMOTIVE 1033 N Sonoita Tucson
Between Craycroft amp Wilmot
Barry Cunningham - Larry Dandridge
Corvair Special ists foreign amp Clometic cars too
8 am - 5pm Mon - Fri no appointment necessary
Sdturdays bj apPointment
New amp Used Parts Tune- Ups
Engine Resealing Towing
Detailing
FUN STUFF SALES SPECIALIZING IN TRUCKS SPORTS CARS
RVS amp MOTORCVCLES
(602) 293-6668 RICHARD amp PEGGY
631 E PRINCE AUFMUTH
TUCSON AZ 85705 PROPRIETORS
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
TUCSON CORVAIR ASSOCIATION REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
FOURTH WEDNESDAY of each month Piccadilly Cafeteria 6767 E Broadway Tucson
630 pm Parking Lot Bull Ses sion 700 pm Dinner (Optional) 740 pm Meeting Starts
COMING
MID- MONTH
April 15 bull bull bull
bull bull
March 22 March 29
EVENTS
ACTIVITY FOR APRIL
Piccacho Peak Picnic Meet at McDonalds on Ina and Thornydale at 1000am ) part at 1030am The Cholla ramada at Piccac ho Peak State Park
has been reserved for nur use The Club will provide boft drinks Bob Thompson - Event Chairman - 296- 7688
Regular Monthly TCA Meeting TCA Board Meeting 730 at JBs Swan amp Spe edway
~========-=~-========================================~1 Tucson Corvair
--A550ciation
PO Bo)( 5001 Tucson Arizona 8 5 703
J--_ ~~Nt
Ass~(ff
=_ ==~======================~=- =- =~-=-=--===============dl
