<VV> professional repair

[shortle]

And yet still another viewpoint on "professionals". I bought my first Corvair in 1977 and started to work on it/fix it up myself with the help of our local neighborhood mechanic who was also into Corvairs. This is a guy who's been into these cars probably 40 years now. I had him reseal my diff. for me a couple of years ago and he promptly ruined it by "setting it up" for me. I was lucky I got 900 miles out of it. I had a couple of carbs rebuilt by a guy that owned his own Corvair shop for 20 years. I couldn't make these run properly and had other problems with them.I found throttle shafts very loose and worn as well as 2 different sized metering jets (one was a 49 and one was a 51).  I had a self proclaimed "carb master" rebuild my '69 carbs and he didn't even bolt in the venturi clusters on the secondaries and gave me carb tops that were jammed up against the smog pump and then he tells me "They only made 1 secondary top for all 140's and maybe I have incorrect equipment on my car" (28,000 miles original with original paint, top, interior, engine, etc.).I then bought Bob Helts book on Corvair Rochester carbs and redid them myself. Now I will let only a couple of people near my Corvairs as these "professionals" are butchers with big egos not accepting responsibility.In fact I pretty much do all my own stuff these days now that I have help in my shop and more of my own free time.
Timothy Shortle in Durango Colorado
Fed up with Corvair "professionals" with egos



-----Original Message-----
>From: Jay Pitchford <jay.pitchford at gmail.com>
>Sent: Mar 1, 2010 4:02 PM
>To: Tony Underwood <tony.underwood at cox.net>
>Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org
>Subject: Re: <VV> professional repair
>
>Tony et al, another viewpoint on professional repair:
>
>I am old enough (50) to have worked on my first Corvairs (65 & 66 Monza
>coupes in '77), but quite frankly lacked the talent. My stepfather, who can
>look at anything and fix it, was the family mechanic. Goodness knows he
>tried to train me, but it was like making an opera singer out of Donald
>Duck.
>
>So now I'm back into Corvairs, because I love the design and uniqueness of
>them. However, I will constantly need an 'experienced' Corvair mechanic to
>help me keep my 65 Corsa 'vert on the road. I have the pocketbook to
>(reasonably) support my habit, considering I bought mine to be a driver and
>not a concours vehicle.
>
>Consider this, however: Those coming up behind me in Corvair ownership -
>those that will buy them from you or your heirs - largely bought their first
>cars in an era when it was less and less possible to be a shade tree
>mechanic. The skills so many VV'ers have are dwindling. There will be a
>continuing need for experienced mechanics, unless a large number of Corvairs
>fall into the hands of those specifically looking for a car that's pretty
>easy to work on themselves.
>
>That's not out of the realm of possibility, but I'd also bet that means the
>value of the cars won't see the rise in value many hope for either. Shade
>tree mechanics are a thrifty bunch. Part of the love of repairing something
>yourself is the satisfaction of knowing you saved a bunch of cash!
>
>Jay Pitchford
>65 Corsa 'vert
>Columbus OH
>
>
>On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 12:00 AM, Tony Underwood <tony.underwood at cox.net>wrote:
>
>> Ever since my first Corvair, anything that's ever been done to any of
>> them, I did... Anything else, from body work/paint to engine overhauls to
>> interior
>> and upholstery work and suspension alignments, I did.   It's not
>> because I was anything "professional".  It was because I am a
>> cheapskate, simple as that.   I learned how to do anything that
>> needed to be done and I did it.   Besides, if I do it myself there's
>> nobody to blame or complain to if it's not done right.
>>
>>  It's kept my '60 4-door running as a daily (mostly) driver for a
>> quarter century.   It's also still keeping the others going after
>> many years.   There's not a lot to a Corvair I've not had apart and
>> put back together... not because I'm a "pro" but because it costs too
>> much to have someone else do it.    I work for cheap.
>>
>>
>> tony..
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