[FC] '61 Rampside

[Dale Dewald]

At 18:01 1/07/2011 -0500, Glenn wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I have recently purchased a '61 rampside and I need some advice. I am
>by no means new to corvairs, but up to now I've only worked on lates
>('65-'69).  My truck was originally equipped with a four speed and
>whatever the FC 4 speed engine was.

The original engine would have been an 80 HP with some special 
enhancements, most notably rotator caps on the exhaust valves.  If it was 
an early '61 FC, the 4-speed would have had a special low 4.26:1 1st gear 
and a 3.27:1 differential ratio (essentially 3-speed w/ overdrive).  The 
later 61-63 FC's all had 3.89:1 differentials and the 4-speed had a 3.65:1 
first gear ratio.  The 64-65 FC's came with the 3.55 differential standard 
and the 3.89 optional.

>  It now has a 110 from a '64 car
>and a 3 speed with 3:89 gears and what appears to be the incorrect
>engine mount (the engine is not square in the engine bay). The engine
>runs but is quite tired, and the trans axle is of unknown condition.
>Therefore, I am looking to other areas for power and propulsion.

My observation is that the original Corvair engines wore out more quickly 
in the FC, somewhere around 50-80k miles.  By that time, in the 
late-60's/early 70's it was more cost effective to buy a good used car 
engine from a salvage yard and whatever combination of transaxle components 
were available to get the truck back on the road.  Of the four non-running 
FC's I own, three were used as commercial vehicles.  All three of these 
have LM car engines installed in them.

>I have a '66 convertible with a nice 110 and 4 speed with 3:55 gears;
>both of which i know are excellent. Here is the question: How do I
>make my late drivetrain work in my FC?

First of all, is your convertible a parts car?

The '66 110 engine will work nicely in the FC.  All you need to do is swap 
the sheet metal. However, I think the '66-69 design 3 and 4-speed 
transmission will not fit the FC without making a custom front crossmember 
bracket.  The '66-69 MT differential has different lubricant passageways 
that are compatible with the '66-69 transmission, but not the '61-65 
transmission design.  Therefore it would be best to keep the '66 
transmission and differential together and use them in your convertible or 
some other LM car.

>   Do I need an FC rear engine
>mount or a early car mount or something else?

The rear mount from the '64 car engine in your Rampside may be exactly what 
you need, but it will have to be compared to another known part to be 
sure.  Other people on this list can specifically answer this 
question.  What you want in an early mount (actually the stamped metal 
bracket attached to the rear of the engine) with enough offset to clear the 
harmonic balancer that should be fitted on the 110 engine.

>  What about the speedo-cable?

A '65 car differential can be milled to accept the speedometer cable 
drive.  I have the plans and a fixture for doing this because I wanted to 
make a correct replacement differential for the one in our '65 
Greenbrier.  This modification requires complete disassembly and rebuilding 
of the differential.

>   Would it be easier if i just located another early
>trans-axle?

This would be the easiest choice.  Make sure to also get a FC 4-speed front 
crossmember bracket; it is different than the 3-speed bracket.

 >>snip<<

Dale Dewald
Hancock, MI