BSCC- March Communique

John Weigel jwvair65 at verizon.net
Wed Mar 14 19:50:19 EST 2007 

Sorry about that.  Unfortunately I let the steering column go with a '69 
conv I sold about 12 years ago.  Had I known how rare that column was, I 
would have kept it.  20-20 hindsight.  That 69 500 was a fairly high SN - 
5329 or 5239 if I remember correctly.  I assume it received the telescoping 
column because parts inventory was just being used up by that point?  I 
can't imagine anyone special ordering a 500 with a tele column.  I think I 
dropped Mark Ellis a note about that car for his 69 registry book.

That blue 69 500 is actually a source of some entertaining memories of 
younger days and dumb luck.  Here's the story:
I bought it for the tele column and never intended to drive it (it was badly 
rusted).  But I needed a car for the winter and it ran (kind of).  The 
brakes and suspension were safe, so I decided I would drive it until it 
stopped.  It ran like a toilet, but never quit on me, so I ended up driving 
it for the whole winter.  Frequently it started with a spectacular backfire 
("key bang"), so I knew an exhaust valve was bad and the muffler was being 
filled with a fresh fuel-air charge.  The muffler seam was long blown out. 
When I finally parted out the car, I pulled the heads off just to see what 
was wrong.  I was amazed to find the valve seat simply dangling on the 
valve.  The area where the seat would have normally been was plannished 
perfectly hollow and smooth.  I had driven the car for over 6000 miles like 
that!  That's a phenominal testament to the abuse these engines can take 
(sometimes) and how much luck I had - that car never once failed to get me 
where I was going.  Oh, and half of those miles were driven with a broken 
clutch cable.  The front swaged end had broken off, so I just clamped a pair 
of vice grips on the loose end.  I'd operate the clutch by hand to get 
started, then shift without the clutch until I had to stop again (69 3-spds 
have 1st gear synchro).

See you at one of the meetings.

John

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John" <jcwingle at comcast.net>
To: "Bay State Corvairs (MA)" <bsc-list at corvair.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 6:32 PM
Subject: Re: BSCC- March Communique


> Hey John, Didn't realize you had already rejoined! Welcome aboard [again]!
>
> For the record..The 69 500 was black [originally white] with green 
> interior. You helped me put a fuel pump on my 69 Monza as partial payment. 
> I also seem to recall you just beating me to the punch on another 69 500 
> for sale in Foxboro or Walpole [?] back in the 80's. It was blue with 
> black interior. A 3 speed and a TELESCOPIC STEERING COLUMN! You were 
> writing the check as I pulled in the driveway to look at it.....It seems 
> we still have a score to settle..:]......What ever happened to that 
> steering column????
>
> How's that for a Corvair memory???
>
> John
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Weigel" <jwvair65 at verizon.net>
> To: "Bay State Corvairs (MA)" <bsc-list at corvair.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 11:46 PM
> Subject: Re: BSCC- March Communique
>
>
>> Hi John -
>>
>> Wow, what a memory!  The 69 I bought from you was white with the green 
>> interior, right?  Already did rejoin, just last month.  I'll try to make 
>> as many meetings as I can, but probably won't make that many events, as 
>> my schedule revolves around my two boys' sports and activities.
>>
>> I took a "Corvair timeout" in 1998 because I was tired of dealing with 
>> rust. I was finally found the time and money to get a solid car from the 
>> southwest last spring (the 69 Monza in "Suzy, The Little Blue Coupe"). 
>> Then I bought a nice 65 Monza conv from Texas last fall which led to the 
>> sale of the 69.
>>
>> Thanks for the thoughts.
>>
>> John Weigel
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "John" <jcwingle at comcast.net>
>> To: "Bay State Corvairs (MA)" <bsc-list at corvair.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 11:20 PM
>> Subject: Re: BSCC- March Communique
>>
>>
>>> Also, A former member John Weigel [Not to be confused with Wingle.] from 
>>> Natick is mentioned several times in an article titled "Suzy, The Little 
>>> Blue Coupe". John was a member of Bay State several years ago. Even 
>>> before my time. I remember selling him a 69 500 parts car back in or 
>>> around 1988. I wonder if he's interested in re-joining?
>>>
>>> Johnny Wingle
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "David McMillan" <dmac632000 at yahoo.com>
>>> To: <bsc-list at corvair.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 10:11 PM
>>> Subject: BSCC- March Communique
>>>
>>>
>>> Has anyone gotten a chance to read their March CORSA Communique yet?
>>>
>>> I received mine in the mail yesterday and noticed something familiar...a 
>>> couple of names...
>>>
>>> On page 19 you'll see a Mr. Steve Silvia's article on Interior Detailing 
>>> and a Mr. Don Silvia's tech brief article on Carbon Remover!
>>>
>>> Congrats to both of you for your articles "making the big magazine!"
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> This message was sent by the BSC-list mailing list, all copyrights are 
>>> the property
>>> of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, 
>>> mailto:bsc-list-help at corvair.org
>>> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America, 
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>>> Post messages to: BSC-list at corvair.org
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>>> _______________________________________________
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> This message was sent by the BSC-list mailing list, all copyrights are 
>>> the property
>>> of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, 
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>>> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America, 
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>>> Post messages to: BSC-list at corvair.org
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>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> This message was sent by the BSC-list mailing list, all copyrights are 
>> the property
>> of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, 
>> mailto:bsc-list-help at corvair.org
>> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America, 
>> http://www.corvair.org/
>> Post messages to: BSC-list at corvair.org
>> List info: http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/listinfo/bsc-list 
>> _______________________________________________
>
> _______________________________________________
> This message was sent by the BSC-list mailing list, all copyrights are the 
> property
> of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, 
> mailto:bsc-list-help at corvair.org
> This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America, 
> http://www.corvair.org/
> Post messages to: BSC-list at corvair.org
> List info: http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/listinfo/bsc-list 
> _______________________________________________
>

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