<VV> The first Corvair??

[DaveL]

That was a GREAT story!


Dave Lynch
'66 Monza 110/PG
President
Tucson Corvair Assoc.
www.corvairs.org


----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Mackintosh" <dougmackintosh at yahoo.com>
To: "Virtual Vairs" <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Cc: "Dick and Dee Charest" <dickndee at cetlink.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 5:10 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> The first Corvair??


> My first Corvair was my first car, purchased (very) used in 1969 with
earnings from my summer jobs. It was a 1960-3/4 model. The previous owner
had welded the front end (up to the windshield) of a 1960 model to the back
2/3 of a 1961 model. Besides the mixed sheet metal, it had plenty of bondo.
It had a gas heater and the manual chokes of a 1961. It was painted Ford
Truck Chrome Yellow (about the color of the yellow stripe in the middle of
the road) and had a red interior. I paid $225 for it as I recall. It was a
Monza coupe with 102 HP / 4-speed. I drove it for about 2 years.
>
>   I put chrome reverse wheels on the back. Being a teenager I generally
ran the cheapest used tires I could find. The ones I remember were nearly
treadless studded snow tires. At night, when I hit a bump, they would hit
the top of the wheelwell and throw an impressive shower of sparks out back.
>
>   This is the car I used to run at the drag strip (no autocross). Did
pretty well against the slower Falcons and such. At some point I broke a
crank. I thought it was a bad rod bearing, but when I took it apart I
discovered a break across one crank cheek (between the #1 and #2 rod
journals). I still have the piece of crankshaft! When I ran at the strip,
the crank would tip up enough to throw the belt when I dropped the clutch,
giving me a few extra HP. At the end of the strip I would put the belt back
on and drive back!
>
>   I also remember breaking the clutch cable and learning to start moving
with the starter, and double clutching to change gears with no clutch. Still
amazes me how easily it shifted. I drove it clutchless for 2 weeks!
>
>   My cheap tire practices finally did me in. Having worn my rear tires
down to the 2nd layer of tire cord, I had resolved to go buy some "new" used
tires after school. Lest you think I was some sort of daredevil I should
point out that tires had 4 layers of cord back then, so I still had a couple
layers to go! Anyway, I was driving to school in the rain by way of
Interstate 40 in Winston-Salem, going East, and just as I had let off to
take my exit I hit a puddle. Next think I knew I was going backward in the
next lane at 60 MPH. I remember looking in the rearview mirror to see where
I was going and expecting to glance off the median curb. Instead, I went
over the 2-step barrier into the Westbound lanes. I don't remember what
happened there, but from where I ended up I obviously rotated another 180
degrees as I crossed both Westbound lanes and came to rest at the base of
the Westbound entrance ramp, facing up the ramp. As the car was still
running, I decided to drive up the
>  ramp before any pesky cops came to ask me questions. But I only got about
1 foot before the left front ball joint separated and my wheel plopped over.
>
>   My pal that drove a wrecker somehow discovered my situation and came and
got me before any authorities came. We tried to fix it, but it never quite
drove right after that!
>
>
>
>
> -- Doug Mackintosh
>   Corsa member since 1996
>   Corsa/NC member since 1996,  Virtual Vairs member
>   Corvair owner 1969-1971 and 1996-on
>