<VV> Frustrating weekend

Sun Jun 15 13:44:59 EDT 2008

What is the condition of your oil? Is it full of gas and other contaminants? I would carefully check all your main electrical connections to/from the battery-both positive and negative at each point.My Rampside has the ground cable attatched to the battery, then about 5 inches away to the body, then about 8 inches away at the engine cylinder head.I also have a few smaller ground cables from the engine to the body.On my positive side I have the cable going straight to the starter and a junction cable off the starter to a positive junction block on the frame rail.I am running my main positive cable (up to the front) without going thru the harnessable connector in the engine compartment- another source of problems due to heat,grime,overheated connectors, etc. What is the condition (currently) of your spark plugs? I might try cranking the engine over with all plugs removed (ignition OFF obviously using your remote starter).Lay rags over the top shroud where the spark plug holes. You may be amazed how much liquid can come FLYING out of there.Be careful.What about your ignition points and point gap (dwell angle)? I am using the Pertronix system as well as an electric fuel pump. Finally, how about air/vacuum leaks? I once put a Corvair carb. on without installing any gaskets or insulator plates (indeed my early days).The large vacuum hoses at the equalizer tube at the front of the cylinder heads?You sound as if you have more than 1 issue to deal with but as these are "old" cars, they are not too complicated.
I hope this is helpful to you.
Timothy Shortle in Durango Colorado

-----Original Message-----
>From: Ron <ronh at owt.com>
>Sent: Jun 14, 2008 11:32 PM
>To: virtualvairs at corvair.org, Chris <vairchris at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: <VV> Frustrating weekend
>
>Preset the timing with a test light or ohm meter by setting the crank at the 
>correct ignition point and then turning the distributor until the points are 
>just opening.  This should get it pretty close.  Once it's running OK it can 
>be fine set with your timing light.
>Did you remove, clean and replace the battery cables on the battery?  Just 
>an idea.  Also, turn the engine with a 3/4" box wrench on the flywheel nut 
>and see if it feels extra tight for any reason.  Also, make sure that the 
>cylinders aren't filled with gasoline from a stuck float valve.
>RonH
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Chris" <vairchris at gmail.com>
>To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
>Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2008 2:15 PM
>Subject: <VV> Frustrating weekend
>
>
>> Sorry in advance if this is a little long, but I need the advice to be 
>> good,
>> so I want to be thorough.
>>
>>
>>
>> A few weeks ago, I decided to deal with a problem I've been having with 
>> the
>> choke on my 61rampside.  It has a 62 80 hp engine in it, so it has 
>> automatic
>> choke, but the choke rods were broken off below where I could get to them 
>> by
>> the previous owner.  It was frustrating because it took 10 min to get the
>> thing going whenever I wanted to go for a ride, and sometimes it would
>> mysteriously stall and take me a while to get it going again.  I decided 
>> to
>> take care of several things at once, so I replaced the inline fuel filter
>> and the fuel pump with new.  I replaced the choke coils and rods, and I
>> swapped out the carbs for some nicely rebuilt ones from Grant Young.
>>
>>
>>
>> With all that done, it, unfortunately, ran worse.  The problems seemed to 
>> be
>> mainly on the right side, with backfiring out the exhaust and, to a lesser
>> extent, out the carb.  It would stall every time I came to a stop, and I
>> would have to pump the gas a couple of times if I wanted it to start.  It
>> also had less power than it had had before I started (not than an 80 HP 
>> has
>> much power to spare).  I got some advice from here and from Grant Young on
>> how to trouble shoot my problems and set out to get it running perfectly. 
>> I
>> discovered that the timing was way off, so I set about adjusting it.
>> Problem is, I'm working alone, and, did I mention, whenever the truck is
>> stopped, it stalls.  So, I was trying to adjust the timing and use the
>> timing light and keep the engine from stalling and restart it whenever it
>> would stall all at the same time.
>>
>>
>>
>> Before I could get the timing right, it stalled again.  However, this time
>> when I tried to restart it, the starter would not respond.  I figured I'd
>> run the battery down, so I put the big Sears charger/starter on and set it
>> to 40 amps and came back ½ hour later.  This time, the starter would 
>> barely
>> move (like with a cold battery in the dead of winter in Northern 
>> Minnesota).
>> So, I kicked the charger/starter to the "jump start" mode and tried again.
>> It would still barely rotate the engine as I cranked.  And as I glanced at
>> the charger, it was showing that it was delivering over 200 amps, so the
>> starter was really pulling all the juice I could put out.  The cables on 
>> the
>> charger even heated up.
>>
>>
>>
>> And, when I stopped cranking and let go of the key, the fuses on my stereo
>> both blew.  That was weird, since it is a whole other circuit.
>>
>>
>>
>> So, I figured there was a short in the starter somewhere and I pulled it
>> out.  I drove over to my local parts store, and they put it on their 
>> tester.
>> It tested perfectly and sang like a brand new starter (it actually looks
>> like a brand new starter).
>>
>>
>>
>> So now, I'm thinking one of two things.  It could be that something 
>> happened
>> inside the engine to make it too hard for the starter to turn.  That seems
>> less likely to me because the starter will turn it, albeit slowly, and I
>> don't hear any unusual sounds coming from it.  So, it's not seized and 
>> there
>> is no clanging, banging or other ominous noise as it goes through its 1
>> revolution every 20 seconds.
>>
>>
>>
>> My other thought is that I must have a short somewhere else that draws 
>> power
>> whenever I'm cranking the starter.  I just don't know where that would be.
>> I tried cranking it with a remote starter lead, in case there was a short 
>> up
>> in the ignition switch or something, but that didn't make any difference.
>> And wherever the short is, why would it surge power into the stereo 
>> circuit
>> when I let it go?
>>
>>
>>
>> A few people had suggested here that the problem I was having with
>> intermittent stalling might actually be a sign that my coil is on its way
>> out.  Could something in the coil cause all this to happen while the 
>> starter
>> is active?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks in advance (and again) for all your help.
>>
>>
>>
>> Chris
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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