<VV> please help!

[Nick Elzinga]

Hi Art,

This is most likely a stuck hydraulic lifter.  Is your oil level full and is
the oil clean?  Sometimes an oil change can fix it and sometimes a drive
down the road will make it go away.  Ultimately you might have to install a
set of new lifters. 

My 65 Monza used to have a knock on start up, but it went away and I haven't
heard it knock in years.

Nick Elzinga
65 Monza 110 coupe
60 700 sedan

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-admin@corvair.org [mailto:virtualvairs-admin@corvair.org]
On Behalf Of Arthur Landis
Sent: 31 October 2004 04:34 AM
To: virtualvairs@corvair.org
Subject: <VV> please help!

What next?  Just when I thought things were finally going well...Here's the
story:

A week ago, I finally got my '63 monza, pg running after 7 months of
ownership
and headed out for the body shop.  On every incline the car would stall and
die.  I'd push it over the hill and she would start (this happened 3 times).
I finally got the car to the body shop.  I left her there so they could
start
on some initial body repair work.  They never got to work on the car because
they couldn't get her started.  Never bothered to call me either, but don't
get me started.  Anyway, yesterday I go there to "show" them how to start
the
car (you gotta pump the gas when cranking) that was running fine (as long as
it was on level ground).  I get the car started but now the engine sounds
like
a thrashing machine.  An obnoxious loud knocking at low RPM (idle) that
wasn't
happening when I left the car is now going on.  At hi RPM, when I rev the
gas,
the harsh knocking subsides but resumes as soon as I let off the gas.  The
belt came off and ripped (second time this has happened) while I was trying
to
figure what the source of the loud knocking is.

Does a bad harmonic balancer make a loud racket?  I'm told by the guy that
sold me the car in April that this engine was rebuilt a year ago (they never
drove it after the rebuild 'cause of the body damage) but the sound reminds
me
of a bad wrist pin or busted rod.  The engine fires right up and other than
the noise, she seems to be running strong and smooth.

I know it's impossible to diagnose sounds without hearing them but since I'm
new to vairs I have hope that maybe this might seem familiar to someone.

Thanks in advance,

Art in  Missouri