<VV> Picking is OK.

[James P. Rice]

Tony:  Sorry I'm tardy getting back to you all with the real info.  I've
been off with our kids and g'kids, dealing with stuff and working on my
stack of what Pete Egan referred to as " The things they will immediately
sell (or throw out) the minute you are dead."  OK, it may take a couple of
weeks, but they have no use for most of my inventory of stuff.  My oldest
grandson, age 9, recently asked me if he can have all my model airplanes
when I die.  I said sure, and anything else you want.  We lost his other
Papa a year ago.  The other grandfather parted this life as we know it
before any of our other daughters 3 children could form any memories.
Sometimes it is very uncomfortable being the only living grandfather to our
5 grandchildren.

So, Tony, you are absolutely correct about the 4-speed history.  This is
what happens when you read a story as a 16 yr old in R&T, save the picture
of the Corvair, but not the article or the magazine.  When I found that
issue many years ago, I read it again and file it in a folder for a
Communique article named "Corvair Racing: 1959 thru 1968".  Then forget to
remember to check the article before telling the tale which Tony correctly
called me on.  Sorry.  My bad.

OK, here is briefly what happened at the first road race the Corvair was in,
fall of 1959.  They got beat by Falcons and Rambler Americans for two
reasons.  First, all the cars had 3-speeds.  Because of the final drive
ratios (hay Frank, remember those things!), the Corvairs had to drive the
entire course in 3rd.  The Falcons and Ramblers had a different rear axle
ratio, which allowed them to use 2nd gear coming off the corners.  Corvair
would catch them in the corners, they would pull away on the straights.
Only way to get by was if one of them made a mistake.  But the pass would
not stick for long.  Then there were the tire problems.  Two different
brands for the Corvairs.  The left rear tire on for brand x would wear out
and them blow out.  Causing at least on 'vair to flip.  Brand Y would merely
wear out, but there weren't enough of them.  So to many pit stops.

Round 1 to them.  It didn't get much better for Corvairs in sedan racing.
Ever.  Next race, Corvairs had 4 speeds and Duntov in the pits.  Not much
better.  Yenko Stingers five years later, were a different story, but they
were not sedans according to the rules.

Not stuck in a car that will barely keep up with its shadow, I remain,

Historically Yours,
			James

PS: Lates eat earlies on road courses.  Unless Smitty or Marlow are driving.
Then watch out.  VBG!!!

*************************************

Message: 8
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:02:20 -0500
From: Tony Underwood <tony.underwood at cox.net>
Subject: Re: <VV> Smitty beats most everybody.
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>

At 06:29 PM 2/24/2011, James P. Rice wrote:
>PSS:  One of the main reasons Corvairs got beat in their very first ever
road race was because they had 3-speeds and the Falcons and Ramblers had
4-speeds.  Multiple gears matter.  Oh. wait, that's the historian speaking.
Oops.  Sorry.  Actually, no I'm not!!

Not to pick...

But when did Falcons have a 4-speed gearbox before 'Vairs?   By the time
Falcons were available with 4-speeds, Corvairs had already had them a year.
Ford rushed the Falcon 4-speed into production in order to compete with the
Corvairs that had 4-speeds, and to do it they had to use an English 4-speed
with a case casting that had a Ford small bellhousing bolt pattern.

It was a light transmission, think it was originally for an Anglia.  I could
pick one up and lift it up over my shoulder with one arm.   It was not the
most durable gearbox ever... the Falcon 6-banger would bust it with ease.
And did.   A holeshot in an early Falcon with even the little 6 (144) would
shear teeth off the cluster gear if the car had any sort of tire on back.
My buddy up the street from high school days had a sweet little Falcon his
dad bought
new.   Very clean, straight, baby blue, went everywhere in it.   Wayne HAD
to have a 4-speed... original 3 speed was simply not cool enough.

It was a mistake.   He managed to turn up a 4-speed and got it in the car.
It broke in less than a week.   Another 4-speed... broke it.   A 3rd.  This
as you could guess began to get expensive...  he resorted back to 3 speeds
because there were no more 4-speeds in the
local junkyards.   He started breaking them too, since by this time he'd
gotten some tires on the back.   After a couple more 3-speeds and at least
one more 4-speed, he'd had enough.

By the time he gave up and put a 302 with a T-10 in the Falcon (I spent a
weekend with him at the machine shop where he worked fabricating various
bits and pieces to make all THAT work out), there was a pile of busted 3 and
4 speed gearboxes in back of Wayne's house, stacked like cordwood by the
shed.   I am serious... there must have been a dozen or more.

Keep in mind that Ford was supplying Rambler's smaller cars with manual
transmissions at that time (Chrysler,GM, and B-W (later, Ford) was supplying
them with automatics) and the only way a Rambler got a 4-speed in '62 was if
Ford sent it to them in the form of that English thing.   If 'Vairs were
getting outrun in those road races, it sure wasn't because of the
transmissions of the day.   The Ford-import 4-speeds would have broken
before the race was over.   Likewise any Mopar compacts, which didn't get
4-speeds til '63 (T-10) and didn't get their own (A833) in-house 4-speed
until '64... unless you count that ultra-rare sweet shifting French 4-speed
gearbox that went into some earlier Chrysler 300s.    In fact, the Mopar
compact-car 3-speed wasn't much better than the Ford compact 3-speed and
tended to shed a tooth or two off the cluster if you horsewhipped it.
Never saw a Mopar 3-speed in a Rambler...  did see T-10s in later V8
Ramblers though.

It wasn't the lack of a 4-speed that caused any roadrace injustices.  In
fact, Corvairs had 4-speeds "regular" before any of the other compacts in
the USA.   And, I know for a fact that an early Corvair gearbox, 3-speed or
otherwise, was more durable than the competition at the time.

...just thought I'd mention it.

tony..

PS:   Chrysler and Ford turned the tables on beefiness with their own
4-speeds, A833 and Toploader, both of which are legendary for strength and
durability