<VV> Re; Corvair Reliability Question

[David B. Neale]

"Chicago to Dallas in 15 hours.  Miles around the Dallas area.  Return to 
Chicago with much of the trip in 90+ temps.  Probably 2000+ miles for that 
one."

My '65 Monza 140 convertible suffered no mechanical failure in a trip of approximately 4000 miles; to be fair, the journey began on a trailer from Chicago, continued by ship to England and was again trailered to me here in leafy Leicestershire. 

But, seriously, I had a number of Corvairs many years ago here in England, and was rewarded with great reliability.  I had been concerned regarding reliability, because spare parts are, naturally, not so quickly and easily obtainable as in the country where the car was born.  I needn't have worried.

It would be interesting to determine just which parts are most likely to fail, in particular on a long journey.  One presumably knows the condition of the silencer(s), (mufflers).  Front wheel bearings on a late-model are easy to grease and adjust, and should then prove trouble free.  For the cost of an idler pulley, it might make sense to replace once every few years.  The blower bearing can, I believe, be greased in-situ, and should present no problems if occasionally so treated.
Fan belts can easily be checked, and a spare is always carried .... it takes minutes to check the goodness, or otherwise, of ignition components occasionally, and certainly before a long trip.  A spare fuel-pump takes up little room.

Most problems on a car, at least here in Britain, are electrically related.  On any car of this age, a thorough check of the system and its connectors, etcetera, should reveal anything unpleasant, and occasional checks, and a once-yearly examination
should prevent the vast majority of faults.

The Corvair can be so easily maintained.  The horrors presented by a modern car and it's nonsensically-complex electronics and computer systems, which manage to baffle even 'trained' mechanics, are thankfully not present on our waterless wonders.

Hats off to those who designed the Corvair!

David