<VV> Baffle Installation Snafu

[Byron Comp]

OK, let's see if I can answer/respond to most questions all at one time. Tim 
Shortle asked on another post why they weren't done in the first place.  So, 
here goes.

When I got the car running before actually starting all the restoration work, it 
wouldn't shift into first gear and also balked at the rest when under way. So I 
knew there was some kind of problem with the clutch/throw-out bearing. I dropped 
the drivetrain and proceeded to take things apart, but being the newbie that I 
was/am, I failed to notice in what order the heads, push-rod tubes and baffles 
came apart. My BAD! When I discovered that the throw-out bearing snout was 
broken, I decided I didn't want to tackle rebuilding the differential and asked 
a member of the closest chapter of CORSA to recommend a shop who could do the 
work. He did and I made arrangements to take the pieces down to the shop for the 
owner to examine and rebuild/replace as he saw it was needed. He had the heads 
and valves re-done at a machine shop and installed all new rings, as well as a 
couple of bearings which looked worn. I supplied all the parts, purchasing them 
from Clark's. The total labor bill was over $2,100.

When it came time for reassembly, I didn't know about the baffles, and he never 
mentioned them. To be honest, the shop owner was the only one there with Corvair 
experience, and he assigned my job to an older, trusted mechanic, who had 
apparently never worked on one before. Also apparently, the shop owner didn't do 
too good a job of supervising but just let the guy go. All on his own he painted 
most of the parts moly-orange, '"cause it's the Chevy color."

So that's how the mess occurred. But I have one additional question. I posted my 
original question about having to remove the tubes and push-rods to install the 
baffles here about a week ago. I got lots of repsonses about what needed to be 
done, but not until I posted this time about damaging the tubes by twisting them 
with a pair of channel locks did anyone mention, "Oh, by the way, there's a tool 
for doing that; a good Corvair shop should have had one." Seems like a bunch of 
"good" Corvair techs on this forum should have mentioned the tool when I asked 
the question the first time. Or was I supposed to guess about it on my own?

Guess that's all for now. I've included the three responses which are in this 
post. As I said above, there were others in later posts, but I've tried to 
respond/answer those in here also. Hope I don't piss anyone off too much, but 
newbies are still newbies and need all the good advice they can get. I'd rather 
have said, "Yes, someone mentioned that tube extraction tool and I've got one on 
order already.", than to have made the mess we ended up making. You can't see 
them, but I know they're there.

Byron Comp
'64 Vert
Gainesville, FL

>Byron,
>
>There is a tool for pushrod tube removal which does no damage to the tubes. 
>A Corvair shop would have one.
>
>Later, JR


>To me, an orange paint job on a Corvair engine is my first warning sign that 
>a non-Corvair mechanic has been in there.

>SOMEONE should have provided a pushrod tube tool for this job before it 
>started!  At times I've lacked that and instead hace used a screw type of 
>hose clamp to fit on the tubes and used it to pry the tubes off using a 
>screwdriver as the pry bar.  Don't go to a "channel lock mechanic"!
>RonH