I want to know how to get the most horsepower out of my corvair without going to a V8 conversion ...... Any Suggestions???
Don't know if they're still in business or not but Crown Engineering(Ted Trevor)used to make a lot of speed parts for them.So did John Fitch in Connecticut.That was a long time ago. Crown also made V-8 conversions using the Corvair transaxle turned around and using modified Corvette half shafts.Reeves Callaway had one when he worked at Autodynamics in Marblehead M***achusetts(I used to paint their race cars)and it went like the hammers of hell.
There's an email message board for Corvairs that can answer any and all questions about those cars. I forget the name of the group (it's taped to my old monitor, packed in the garage) but you can find out at like corvair.org or somesuch. Good luck.
I think there's a club called CORSA or something like that. They'd be able to help. Also, maybe get a copy of "How to keep your Corvair alive" by Finch. There's alot of basics in there, kinda like a shop manual for dummies. Yeah, I have a copy. And no, I don't have a Corvair. Jay
How much HP are you looking for? I saw a VW drag car (yes a 4 cyl. air cooled) with twin turbos pumping 750 HP once. So I would say if you want HP from the original 6 then a turbo is the way to go. (I've had some experience with turbos). Just have to beef up the bottom end & install big valves & pump some pressure to it... ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Crown is out of business. Clark's Corvair Parts has what is left of the Crown inventory. Way back when I had an Autodynamics Deserter GS with the mid-mounted Corvair engine. I started out with a stock 110. Then I upgraded to 140 heads and an IECO four barrel spider manifold and carb. And then I had the manifolds on the 140 heads milled off in favor of Crown intakes and Weber 3 throat 40IDF3C carbs. I also poped in Crown's hottest cam. Idled like a puring kitten and ran like a scalded dog. But overall, I think the turbo conversion is the way to go today. The Crown V8 conversion took up a lot of room. Really pushed the friont seat forward. I theink a 4.3 V6 would be a better choice. The best setup I ever saw was an Olds Toronado drive train in the back. Simply awsome. And lots of front seat room. If you use a 4 door Corvair you have a real sleeper with good access to the engine. Just do it!!!
Power is there if you want it. There are a few Corvair forums out there, I've lurked on few since I bought the wife one. But then again you can always just put a v12 in there like this guy...
I wish I could find one of those old GS cars;they were one of the fastest vehicles I've ever ridden in. The original GS that Alex(Dearborn)built was used as a test mule for trying out various suspension and wheel combos.He wanted to run it at Pike's Peak one year so he got Ted Trevor to build him an engine. It was a turbocharged Corvair that dyno'd at 375+hp and was designed to live for about 8 hours.They had a variable waste gate on the turbo and had dialed in as much as 32 lbs. of boost using a single DCOE Weber with a water/alcohol injection system.All this in a car that weighed 1180 lbs.(less driver)ready to run! This thing did nothing but haul ***! Unfortunately the motor got smoked on the dyno when they were trying to pull MORE power from it.They wound up running a 200 hp VW motor and it wasn't very successful. Those things were the closest thing to a Group VII car for the street at the time and they'd probably still run rings around just about anything even today. There were a couple built with Porsche motors and one with a Buick aluminum V-8 but I don't think that one ever got sorted out.
There was one here locally with an aluminum Buick V8 mounted behind the transaxle.(stock 6 cyl. location) He claimed it was 50 lbs lighter than the stock cast iron 6. It was impressive.
Tommy: Was that a Deserter or a Corvair?If it was a Deserter,did it have a chopped windshield and maroon gel coat?If so it belonged to a friend of mine(Bruce Marsden)who worked at Autodynamics.That one was built on a VW pan and you couldn't keep the front wheels on the ground.He finally added about a hundred pounds of weight to the front axle just to be able to drive it on the street.
The one I saw was in a 65 up coupe body. I can't remember where the radiator was. I just remember it being a nice conversion. Some of them got real cobby with air ducts in the hood for a radiator. It was a surprise when you walked around back and saw the V8. It was a sleeper.
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