<VV> Decode body plate help

[N. Joseph Potts]

Heather -
     You and your boyfriend should be VERY careful about applying things you
"know" about cars (front-engined, water-cooled ones) to the Corvair,
particularly its engine and suspension. Example: on those "other" cars,
wider brake shoes go on the front, narrower on the rear. The Corvair is
"backwards" in this respect, among many, many others, and it'll catch you
(this one caught the people composing the official SHOP MANUAL) if you've
got experience with those "other" cars. It'll put you in touch with one of
the big reasons why the Corvair was discontinued: it was different.
     A book by Bob Helt (bobhelt at aol.com) just came out and I've been
reading it. It's called "Corvair Secrets" and it may be the best orientation
to Corvairs for someone who only just knows they exist that I've ever seen.
It's for people who ARE knowledgeable about cars in general. For someone
diving into a resto, Bob's other book, "Classic Corvair" is absolutely
must-have, particularly as a guide in the decisions whether to restore or to
modify and if to modify, in which way(s) to modify. Who knows? Maybe Bob
would give you a break on the two ordered together (at LEAST on the
shipping).
     Corvairs may be a bit like New York City: people who don't hate them,
love them above all other cars. There's NOTHING like them.

Joe Potts
Miami, Florida USA
1966 Corsa coupe 140hp 4-speed with A/C

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org]On Behalf Of Heather O'Leary
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 11:27 PM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: Re: <VV> Decode body plate help


Thanks for the quick info everyone. I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions
as my boyfriend and I dive in to this car.  He's had a ton of muscle cars,
and just built his first hotrod, a 31 model A. This is my first "project
car" of any sort!
Heather