<VV> gas gauge

[Padgett]

>My '65 Corsa's gas gauge quit working this past Monday.  It's pegged at way
>past Full, and hasn't budged in days.

Is fairly common particularly when a car sits for a year or two without any 
fuel stabiliser. Believe it or not but many GM cars (and I suspect the 
Corvair is one) use a fuel sender that is essentially an exposed coil and 
slider. Get some gum and corrosion and the coil gets attacked. Typical 
action is a gas gauge that is usually pegged but will occasionally read 
correct for a minute or two then swing back to over full.

In a modern car this is usually when the in-tank fuel pump quits because 
the sock has gotten rotten but mechanical pumps can survive. If this is 
what is happening, the only answer is to remove the sender and either clean 
the windings or replace the sending unit. If this is the problem it would 
also be a good idea to dump and clean the fuel tank (see: Phosphoric Acid 
but do not let any get on a concrete floor).

Padgett