<VV> Art Silva and the 215 V8 air flow

[rbuckridge at comcast.net]

James, 

I usually make a post with the "as I remember" or something like that because of the lab tech in me. Making the same post with a different voice, say like an engineer would have been something like this; 

Art Silva was a member of Bayshore Corvair and one heck of a character. He saw everything from an engineering prospective. At one of the Bayshore meetings, Art entered the meeting room and announced that new Corvettes were "dead meat". Art had his V8 215 Olds Corvair with him that night, a light green 65 Coupe with a huge dent in the right rear 1/4 panel just aft of the door. 

The year was 1985 and Bayshore as a club was headed to Lime Rock for the NECC Time Trials. As usual we would caravan to Lime Rock as a group looking out for each other. On the way up Art had over heating problems with the V8. We stopped and he was in the process of ripping off the front air dam. He had this huge front air dam blocking off all the air from entering the underside of the car. As he explained to me, "The air dam is keeping the air front the underside of the car and this is where I take in cooling air for the rear mounted radiator". He also told me that he blew the air up and out through the rear air inlet grill. 

Once the air dam was removed, we continued to Lime Rock without incident. Art ran the car in the time trials, entered his car in the concours and drove home without any over heating problems. 

What I loved so much about his car was the fact it looked TOTALLY STOCK. It had a full back seat, NO cutouts for cooling air and the ONLY thing you noticed was the louvers in the tail panel which was also cut out so it could be removed and that is how he slide the motor in & out. 

Art ran 15 X 8 Corvette wheels and brakes on all four corners of his car, and with the rear louvers with removable tail panel, these were the ONLY changes he made to the body. If he didn't open the engine lid and you didn't look under the car, you had NO WAY of knowing their was a V8 in the car. Nice car. 

The last I knew, Art is still living in New Tripoli, PA, but I haven't heard from him in a very long time. 

The stories of Art Silva are legendary in the Bayshore Corvair club, ask ANY member from the 80's and each one will have a few to tell you. 

Roy - Bayshore Corvair