<VV> Good pre-rally shake-down cruise this afternoon (wordy ;-)

[Jim Steinborn]

Greetings Good VVers,

After collecting parts for a couple years and procrastinating seemingly
forever, I *finally* buckled down and completed a bunch of small
projects on my 66 Monza:

-install trunk, engine compartment & courtesy lights
-install VDO tachometer in OEM clock blanking plug
-add 3-gauge panel with dual cylinder head temp gauge, 
 	voltmeter and (windup) aircraft clock
-install E-code H4 headlamps along with uprated wiring and relays
-add 40A main fuse right at the battery
-improve grounds for dash, instrument panel and headlamps
-strip, blast & have painted 15" 1974 Olds 442 wheels
-get Yokohama AVS dB S2 tires: 205/60-15 F & 225/60-15 R
-find and install 1995 Mazda MX-6 seats
-have Mazda seats reupholstered to match
	
You can see pictures and some notes here:

	http://www.steinborn.org/jim/corvair/mods.html

We took our first drive in it this afternoon. From Fort Collins, CO up
the Poudre Canyon Highway (CO Hwy 14), over Cameron Pass (elevation
10276 feet) to Walden. That's about 110 miles, most of them twisty ;-)

The new tires are very quiet (cant really hear them at all on asphalt -
noisier on concrete, but still quieter than "regular" tires). I can't
believe what a difference decent tires make. I've driven the past couple
of years on Cooper Weathermaster snow tires (185/80-13). The Coopers'
tall sidewalls really squish over while cornering, making the car list
even more in turns. 

The dB S2s on the other hand have shorter and stiffer sidewalls, making
the car actually corner much flatter. I was really surprised. I was also
gratified to find out that while they make for much better cornering,
the sidewalls are pretty compliant, making the ride - if anything -
*more* comfortable than with the old tires. Thumbs up on tires!

The 225/60-15 rear tires are just about as tall as I was willing to bet
would fit in the rear wheel wells. Seeing how well the 225s fit, 235s
would probably also have gone in there. Like many others, I like the
big/little combination of tires rear to front. I was paranoid about the
ride getting too harsh on those roadway expansion joints, so I didn't
want to use a tire with an aspect ratio less than 60%. The 205/60-15
front tires are very close in circumference to the old tires, to the
speedometer reads the same.

All the other lights and instruments are hardly vital, but pretty nice
to have.

The seats are absolutely fantastic. I no longer have passengers
scrambling to find something to hold onto while cornering. The MX-6
seats have nice bolsters on the bases and the backs, holding each person
nicely in place. They're also *much* more comfortable and have moder
features like lumbar support and angle adjustable seatbacks. Thumbs
*way* up!

The new H4 E-code headlamps are absolutely astonishing compared with the
old T3s. They are 60W compared to whatever the T3s were (35W?) So I ran
a pair of 10 ga wires up from the battery to a relay box (magnetically)
mounted in the trunk. I also added grounds under those horn bracket
bolts on the backs of the headlight buckets and made sure the headlamp
ground wires have excellent grounds, too.

I've read too many stories involving the Horrid Plastic Thingy (HPT?),
wiring harnesses, clutch cables, etc., etc. causing precious Corvairs to
catch fire that I was only too anxious to install a 40 A main fuse at
the battery. Those bladed fuses come in at least 2 sizes "normal", mini
and HUGE). I found a HUGE fuse holder with snap-on dust cover at NAPA -
it has 6 or 8 ga leads. Now I'm a bit more comfortable that I won't let
too much smoke out of the electrical system ;-)

I'm still working out tire pressures, and will futz with the wheel
alignment a bit before heading to the Tri-State (UT, NM & CO) Corvair
rally in Ouray, CO (SW part of the state) this next weekend.

Please keep your fingers crossed that luck holds and I didn't overlook
anything vital in my setup and preparations.

Thanks for letting me ramble,
Jim

-- 
Jim Steinborn	Fort Collins,CO		http://www.steinborn.org/jim/