This page contains material from the March 2001 newsletter.

MEETING TIME: First Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM LOCATION: Galles Chevrolet, 1601 Lomas Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110 PRESIDENT: Hurley Wilvert 281-1732 hurley.wilvert@fmglobal.com VICE-PRES: Robert Gold 268-6878 beisbol30@hotmail.com SECRETARY: Charles Vertrees 299-0744 vertrees@swcp.com TREASURER: Wendell Walker 892-8471 defarge505@aol.com MEMBERSHIP: Sylvan Zuercher 299-7577 zuerchero@hubwest.com NEWSLETTER: Jim Pittman 275-2195 casa unm edu DUES: CNM: 12 months $15.00 or 26 months $ 30.00 CORSA: 12 months $35.00 or 26 months $ 70.00 BOTH: 12 months $50.00 or 26 months $100.00 ===== CONTENTS: Dues Due Sylvan Zuercher February Meeting Chuck Vertrees Board Meeting Notes Chuck Vertrees Billiken Mark Morgan The Driver's Seat Hurley Wilvert Cars and Parts For Sale Everybody Coming Events: March meeting Robert Gold CNM Ladies Anne Mae Gold Tour the Big-I Larry Blair Space Odyssey Richard Finch Seven Years Ago Jim Pittman Garage Tour Jim Pittman & Joel Nash Buy some Tech Guides, Please! Dennis Pleau TECHNICAL: Cam choice for 140 or turbo Bryan Blackwell (VV) Camshafts 101 Ray Sedman (VV) Tri-State Costs Dennis Pleau (VV) Tri-State Activities Kenneth Schifftner (VV) COVER: Members who attended the February meeting ===== DUES EXPIRED OR DUE OR APPROACHING DUE: Wayne Christgau 12/2000 Jerry Goffe 01/2001 Carl Johnson 02/2001 Steve Lesher 02/2001 Clayborne Souza 02/2001 Frank Stadler 02/2001 Bill McClellan 04/2001 David Patten 04/2001 Boedean Belt 05/2001 Dennis Pleau 05/2001 Terry Price 05/2001 If your membership is due or has expired, please send your dues to: Wendell Walker, CNM Treasurer, 301 Utah Meadow, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 Note: the Club will mail in your National dues when you renew, but only if you send us the renewal form from CORSA Communique! The CORSA Home Page: http://www.corvair.org CNM's home page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871 ===== FEBRUARY MEETING NOTES Chuck Vertrees The February meeting was held at Galles Chevrolet on 2/7/01. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as printed in the newsletter. Sylvan Zuercher reported that there were no new members to be introduced. Treasurer Wendell Walker was unable to attend but reported to your secretary that CNM had $427.03 in the checking account and $5,434.46 on the Money Market account for a total worth of $5,861.49. Mark Domzalski reported that Debbie Pleau was now officially the Merchandise chairwoman for CORSA, and that merchandise will be shipped from Colorado. Mark just returned from his pre-convention trip to Chicago, and reported that everything looks good. Everything will happen in one facility, which will mean that all events should be within walking distance. There are lots of various tours set up and there are many other things that you can do other that the formal tours. OLD BUSINESS: The Big-I Tour will be on March 17th, Saint Patrick's Day. We will meet for lunch at Little Anita's near University and Menaul. There may be videotape to watch. We will then go to the Construction Company's employee parking lot. It is all right if you want to bring guests. Wear comfortable walking shoes. You will be provided with hard hats and safety vests. (More detailed information will be elsewhere in this newsletter.) NEW BUSINESS: Of the 19 members present, 13 have Internet access. Steve Gongora has done a lot of work on our web page. Someone who works for Microsoft said, "It is short on flash but long on content." I think content is what is needed. Steve has added new items, and you can branch to Jim Pittman's newsletters, to CORSA and to Galles. The two possible designs for the name badge were circulated so the members could vote for their preference. The #2 design was the outstanding winner. The #2 has "Corvairs of New Mexico" under the name instead of above it. We are not going to J.B.'s tonight after the meeting because of their unfriendly remarks last time. We will try the Route 66 Diner on Central. Jim Pittman passed around a listing of a car for sale (where did it come from?) and also commented that he found the last issue of CORSA Communique especially good. He recommended that the publishers be complimented if you find a chance. The meeting was adjourned at 20:11. ===== FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING NOTES Chuck Vertrees The meeting was held at House of Covers on February 21st at 17:20. Members present were Jim Pittman, Hurley Wilvert, Steve Gongora, Robert Gold, Ollie Scheflow, Sylvan Zuercher, Wendell Walker, and Chuck Vertrees. Remember, all CNM members are welcome to attend. The minutes of the last board meeting were approved as published in the newsletter. Treasurer Wendell Walker reported that CNM had $612.03 in the checking account and $5,460.43 in the Money Market account for a net worth of $6,072.46. The first item of business was a consideration of how much we should give Jim Pittman to help offset his expenses in publishing our newsletter. The board approved the amount of $125.00 and Wendell wrote Jim a check. CNM members should really appreciate the amount of work and time Jim expends each month in putting out our newsletter. Member Will Davis, who now lives in Florida, told Sylvan that the newsletter is worth its weight in gold to him. He wants to start a "CNM East" where he lives because the local clubs are real snooty and not at all like CNM. We wish we had Will and his family back. The "Route 66" cleanup is set for March 10th, July 14th and October 6th. Put these dates on your calendar. The more who come out, the less time it takes. There is a possibility that we may have some help from an R.O.T.C. unit. We looked at scheduling for the year. The July meeting will be changed to July 11th because the first Wednesday is the 4th. Also, the Museum show and the Tri-State are the same weekend. Since there is no way to alter either date, those who don't go to the Tri-State can go to the museum show. This has happened in the past and has not been a big problem. Going to the Route 66 Diner after the last meeting was discussed. The service was good and the people were friendly. We decided to continue going there. It closes at 11:00 PM, not 10:00 PM. The name badges were voted on at the last meeting and the #2 design won. This is the one with "Corvairs of New Mexico" under the member's name instead of above. It will cost $1.00 each when we have a member's name engraved. Steve was authorized to order 50 new blank badges and have them made on pure white background. The question was brought up as to whether we get to keep the silkscreen. Steve will check. Sylvan is checking into the difference in having patches made by silkscreen as opposed to embroidery. He will get prices on both methods. President Hurley will be out of town at the time of both the regular meeting and the board meeting in March. Vice-President Robert Gold will preside. Robert has a number of things lined up for future meetings. These will include tapes of old automobile advertisements, a presentation from Clark's which will include some presents, and Hurley on windshields. Continuing the discussion on the CNM awards, the Boydston award will be given at the Tri-State meeting in May. A committee consisting of Sylvan Zuercher, Kay and Tarmo Sutt, Jim Pittman and Mark Domzalski will consider the criteria for each award, and present their findings to the board so that a decision can be made before the Christmas dinner. Jim reminded us that the newsletter deadline is Friday the 23rd, and the meeting was adjourned at 18:15. ===== FOR SALE, TRADE OR WANTED FOR SALE: 1964 front clip. Cheap. Joel Nash 8845064 FOR SALE: 1963 Monza Conv. Lee Olsen 316-525-6526 102-HP, Powerglide, new paint, motor runs great, no smoke. New brakes, new top, boot is white, red interior. 66,000 miles, a rust free Kansas car. You may have seen it at last summer's Tri-State in Albuquerque. $4500.00 Lee Olsen E-mail: obros@ruraltel.net or call with questions. FOR SALE: 1965 Corsa Conv. $1500 Call Bill Reider 299-4597 Ground up restoration Have good 140 engine with new valve job. Rebuilt flywheel Extra front end, Org. needs rebuilding Extra top bows New top in box w/pads Inst. & Glove box panels powder coated Needs front seat FOR SALE: 1960 Monza coupe $800 Call Bill Reider 299-4597 Automatic, Radio, gas heater Ground up restoration Powder coated engine shrouding Full set of 60 Monza wheel covers Extra front & rear suspicion with less that 27000 miles Assembly & Shop Manuals for the 60 Corvair Extra gas heater parts FOR SALE: 1966-67 Corvair $1500 Call Bill Reider 299-4597 Automatic recently rebuilt. 110 engine with recent valve job. New black carpet needs to be installed. New black headliner needs to be installed. New black rear package area carpet needs to be installed New black dash pad White bucket seats in good shape, rear seats need recovering Dual master cylinder Needs battery Body straight WANTED: 1962 to 1964 Corvair air conditioning unit, less the compressor and Corvair evaporator. Richard Finch, Tularosa, NM 1-505-585-8037 Office, e-mail: finchbird@juno.com. FOR SALE: 1961 Rampside. White with red trim. 74,167 miles. $4000.00 Ruth Boydston 505-821-1506 CNM ADS ARE FREE TO CNM MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-CNM MEMBERS ===== SEVEN YEARS AGO IN C.N.M. March 1994 Volume 20 Number 3 The 20th Anniversary cover showed tiny copies of nineteen CNM newsletter covers, one for each March from 1975 to 1993. President Del ran the meeting. Treasurer Will said we had $886 in our piggy bank. A guest was Kit Tras. We intended to produce some "Corvair" belt buckles as a fund-raiser if we obtained permission from the Atlanta club. We voted not to require our treasurer to be bonded: it would be too expensive. We learned that former member Roland Pool had died. Much of the meeting revolved around plans for the year's events. We planned a 20th Anniversary party on March 26th and heard more about the Tri-State in Pagosa Springs in May. Debbie reported on the many activities of the "Vairs in the Air" committees, getting ready for the 1996 CORSA convention. (Our first planning meeting was held 11 October 1993; we really did spend two and a half years getting ready for this event!) FOURTEEN YEARS AGO The March 1987 cover showed a 1960 engine compartment; do you know what two (or more?) things make it unique? Vice-president Tarmo ran the meeting. We were rich with a $798 bank balance. New members were Terry Lingle and Bill Wallace. Francis planned to check prices for a Club name tag with CORSA logo. President Clayborne wrote about robbing convertible parts to keep his sedan going through the winter, then robbing them back to keep the convertible run during the summer. LeRoy listed items to be auctioned in March. Steve Goodman told us about the fun to come at the Tri-State in Ouray, Colorado. Francis told us about the heater hose gremlin which robs your battery of power by making a short to the starter solenoid connector. Bill Reider told us the hows and whys of rear suspension alignment and said you could do it yourself but it was pretty tricky. TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO The March 1980 cover showed a Rampside and we were six years old. Our meeting was at Norm Brand's office and 28 members showed up. The Club made a $100 donation to the New Mexico Kidney Foundation in memory of Ike Meissner. John Lawrence suggested an annual award to the CNM member who best exemplified Ike's enthusiasm and help with the Club. Tech tips included a list of theoretical modifications to a turbo engine, the "wet newspaper pulp" method of removing a pilot bushing and a table of front and rear suspension specs for 1960-1964 Corvairs. And, how many of us knew that Lakewoods have a removable floor plate to get at the starter from above? ============================================================================ C O R V A I R S o f N E W M E X I C O C O M I N G E V E N T S ============================================================================ | | | | | M a r c h | A p r i l | M a y | | | | | | : : : : 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | : : 1 2 3 4 5 | | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | | 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 29 30 : : : : : | 27 28 29 30 31 : : | | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | ============================================================================ Wed 7th Mar 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 10th Mar (early) Route 66 Clean-up - Ollie Scheflow Sat 10th Mar 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - Kay Sutt's home in Santa Fe Sat 17th Mar 1:00 PM Tour of the Big-I - Larry Blair Wed 21st Mar 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 23rd Mar 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 4th Apr 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 7th Apr 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - Rita Gongora's -- ONE WEEK EARLY! Wed 18th Apr 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 20th Apr 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed-Sun 25-29 April Space Odessy 2001, Tularosa, NM (Group Ultravan) Wed 2nd May 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 12th May 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - OPEN AT THIS TIME Wed 16th May 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers 18-19-20 May ....... Tri-State Meet - Pikes Peak Corvair Club Sun 20th May ....... Albuquerque Museum - NMCCC Car Show - Old Town Fri 25th May 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 9th Jun 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - Brenda Stickler's =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= MARCH MEETING PROGRAM Robert Gold Do you remember when there were two, maybe three TV channels? You'll now have a chance to be transported back to that time during the March 7 CNM meeting. We're going to be showing a video of TV car ads from that long ago era. See all those fins when they were brand new. See cars that ride on bias ply tires. Watch cars that run on 29.9 cents a gallon gas. Rekindle memories of that special car you've always wanted -- maybe even a Corvair! See you there. Robert L. Gold, PE USGS Public Information Officer email- beisbol@usgs.gov phone- 505-830-7930 FAX- 505-830-7998 CNM LADIES Anne Mae Gold Happy belated Valentine's Day to all. In February we met at Ruth Boydston's house. Thank you Ruth for the wonderful posole and Valentine goodies. Those of us who attended were sent home loaded down with Valentine's Day cake. Here is our agenda for the next few months... Ladies, please feel free to join us for any of these get togethers, there are no dues and no membership...just good conversation and companionship! March will see us carpooling to Santa Fe to Kay and Tarmo Sutt's home. April will see us in Albuquerque and at Rita Gongora's home... this one we've moved up one week to accommodate for Easter and Spring Break, we will meet on April 7th, NOT the 14th. May is open June will be Brenda Stickler's turn. We always meet form 1 to 4 pm. Snacks are provided by the host and it is always a good time. For March's meeting any Albuquerque resident can go to Ruth Boydston's home on Kelly, park and ride up in the Gongora's van. Since we start at one, what say we rendezvous there no later than 1:00 PM and make like the March hare up the hill. We'll be back by 5:00 PM or so, so guys it'll be your night to cook dinner! For those of you who want to join us up there here are the directions provided by Kay: I-25 north to Santa Fe. Take St. Francis exit North 2nd light is Zia Rd... turn Left Cross the RR tracks (1 block West of Zia) At Galisteo St turn Left Go to the 3rd street - Camino Lumbre- turn Right Make an immediate Left onto Calle de Rincon Bonito It'll be the 3rd house on the Left 2504 Calle de Rincon Bonito Hasta la pasta y'all, have a good one! Anne Mae TOUR OF THE BIG-I - MARCH 17th Larry Blair We will have a rare opportunity to tour one of Albuquerque's major construction projects on Saturday March 17th. The tour will start at 1:00 PM at the employee parking lot on the south side of Menaul, one block west of I-25. You should wear leather boots or sturdy shoes and comfortable, warm clothing. Hard hats and safety vests will be supplied. Kids are welcome, but must be supervised. Those who'd like to get together for lunch will meet at Little Anita's at Menaul and University (that's on the EAST side of I-25) at 11:30 AM. There will be more information in next month's newsletter and discussion of this tour at the February and March meetings. - Larry SPACE ODYSSEY 2001 - 25-29 APRIL Richard Finch We are expecting about eight Ultra Vans and four to six other brands at this upcoming event. It should be like a mini-convention here. On Wednesday and Thursday, we will have visiting and coach inspecting with pot-luck barbecues under the trees in the evenings. On Friday, we will tour the Space Center in Alamogordo and then take six or more Ultra Vans out to White Sands Monument for a group picnic. Saturday will be a tour of Tularosa, a 140-year old village on the National Historical Register. We are easy to find, just thirty miles west of Ruidoso on highway 70. Apple Avenue is across highway 70 from the Basin Lumber Company. Call us if you get lost, but you shouldn't. There's room for 12 to 16 Ultra Vans with electric and water hook-ups and dump station. Hosts, Richard and Gayle Finch. 1-505-585-8035, Tularosa, New Mexico. ===== NEW MEXICO COUNCIL OF CAR CLUBS CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS May 6 Route 66 Rodders Swap Meet May 9- 10 - Hot Rod Power Tour (5/3-12, Detroit to San Bernardino) in ABQ MAY 20 MUSEUM CAR SHOW (proposed). June 16 6"' Annual Hub City Mopar Fest (BELEN) June 17 - 22 - CHROME ON THE RANGE Chrome Glidden Tour (Chinle AZ) July 20 - 22 - 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Festival of Route 66 Albuquerque Convention & Visitor's Bureau (247-9101) July 28 VMCCA Jemez Falls (formerly Cochiti) Picnic ALBUQUERQUE CRUISE NIGHTS: Owl Cafe (Eubank & 140) - Pre-1960 Rides - first Tuesday of each month May thru October Owl Cafe (Eubank & 140) - Muscle Cars - third Thursday of each month May thru October Christian Rods & Customs and Route 66 Rodders (SONIC at Juan Tabo & Candelaria) - third Saturday of each month April thru October ALBUQUERQUE RACING VENUES: Albuquerque National SpeedWay - (505) 873-2684 (Event Line 299-9478) Sandia MotorSports Park - (505) 352-8888 ===== GARAGE TOUR REPORT Jim Pittman & Joel Nash CNM members and guests who attended the February Garage Tour were: LeRoy and Emma Rogers; Steve and Bernadette Gongora; Bill Reider; Mike Stickler; Joel Nash; Ollie Scheflow; Carl and Jeff Johnson; Norm and B.J. Brand; Larry and Kathy Blair; Robert and Javier Gold. Jim and Heula joined the group for lunch, which was delicious! We can heartily recommend Milly's Sandwich Shop at 2100 Candelaria NE if you happen to be close by at lunchtime. (Our 1965 Monza and LeRoy's Rampside made the cover of this issue, well, their noses, anyway.) The group went to the Triple-R Tool & Toy Museum at 1:00 PM. (This was a repeat visit because we have visited it before in years past.) We were again amazed by the variety and numbers of tools, both common and specialty types. For time and organizational constraints, the glassware and toys were not viewed on this occasion, but the group spent about two hours enjoying the many tools and artifacts. This was an unusual opportunity since the museum is not at present open to the public and we wish to express our appreciation to the proprietor and curator, Richard Reinhart. We saw a beautifully restored 1925 Chevrolet truck, and we admired a 1962 Chevrolet convertible. We marveled at a 10-ton steam traction engine. Our thanks to LeRoy for organizing the event and picking an excellent restaurant. A good time was had by all. ===== FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT Hurley Wilvert Well, there are signs that spring is on the way. We had a great week of warm weather last week. That means it's time to start thinking about getting your Corvair ready for the spring and summer activities. If you're planning on going to the Tri-State, you should be thinking about servicing because it is a long drive and it will be here before you know it. There are also several car shows coming up, so sprucing up the finish and the interior would help. I have the rust all repaired on the dash of my '68 Monza Coupe and almost have it ready to put in the new windshield. It came out much better than I had expected. I was planning on selling this car, but I may just have to keep it now. I may even be able to enter it in a show one day. I wasn't able to make it, but the tour of the tool museum went well, according to those who attended. The lunch at Milly's Restaurant on Candelaria was good too! We now have the dates set for our Route 66 cleanup activity. Check the web-site calendar for dates. This is a worthwhile community service that keeps a historic highway looking good. Thanks to Ollie Scheflow for setting these up. Our web-site seems to be working well, with Steve Gongora keeping it up to date. He has been adding links that will take you directly to a site that has more information about a particular subject covered our web page. One of the latest ones was for the painting of the Big I bridges. A link on our web page took you directly to the web page where you could vote on the colors that you preferred it to be. Speaking of the Big I, remember next month is the tour. This will be a great chance to see how this structure is actually made. Next month I will be traveling the day of the membership meeting. Robert Gold will run the meeting in my place. Come on down to Gales Chevrolet and meet your fellow members and find out the latest in what is happening with your Club. The change of our coffee and desert venue to the Route 66 Diner has worked out really well. Contrary to the announcement at the last meeting that they close at 10 PM, they actually close at 11. That gives us plenty of time for discussion and goodies. Thank you all for contributing to our great Club! Hurley Wilvert - President ===== CORSA TECH GUIDES Dennis Pleau (dpleau@efortress.com) Subject: I need HELP! As some of you know, Debbie has volunteered to be the CORSA merchandise chairman, chairperson, chairwoman, take your pick. Well, when I got home tonight there were eight boxes of Tech Guides in the living room, maybe some are supplements. Debbie said "Those boxes sure are heavy, you need to haul them downstairs." (How's that for a chair delegating.) Now if all of you who don't already have Tech Guides would order them, them I would have less boxes to move around and store, CORSA would have some more cash, and most importantly YOU would have the greatest collection of Corvair tech tips under two covers (Tech guide and Tech Guide Supplement). Look in last month's Communique on how to order from the CORSA office. As soon as we hear from CORSA, we will get your order right off. -- Dennis ===== CAM CHOICE FOR A 140 AND '65 TURBO (VV) Bryan Blackwell (bryan@colltech.com) CC: Virtual Vairs (virtualvairs@skiblack.com) No surprise there are lots of opinions. My take on cams is that it is they are changed far too often for no good reason and more often than not the stock cam is replaced with a cam that's too big resulting in lower performance. Without dyno sheets or 1/4 mile times it's very difficult to compare cams. A few general thoughts: - A non-stock cam may have a different base circle, so it's prudent to check the valve train geometry. - Cam designers are limited by lifter size, valve springs, and mathematics. A cam with a given duration on a given engine can only have a certain amount of area under the curve (which is what actually matters). Basically, any 270 degree cam (for example) ground by a competent grinder will perform much like any other. - More duration means a peakier engine. - For a street engine, peaky is not really good. - If at all possible, find someone who has a setup similar to yours and find out what their results are. If they built a whole new engine and it "runs really well" this does not guarantee that it ran any better because of the cam. It means that the cam choice doesn't suck, nor does the engine builder. If they swapped cams and found 20HP on the dyno at an RPM you're interested in with a combo similar to yours, you have a winner. - It is generally accepted that the Corvair 140 head flows better on the intake than the exhaust, and on most engines more exhaust duration works well. So a little more duration on the exhaust side is probably a good thing, especially on a 140. Basically, for a stick shift 140 I'd pick a cam of no more than 260 degrees made by a reputable cam maker. A split pattern cam is fine, but you won't find an additional 20HP with one. For the turbo I'd go with something close to the stock cam in duration, but talk to someone who has actually built some turbo engines for a better opinion. IMHO, for a given duration you're probably not going to see more than a 5HP difference between makers - ads that claim 70HP mean the cam didn't match the engine in the first place and the new cam is wildly different from the old one. A couple caveats to the above - this isn't entirely true for turbos - they usually use a smaller cam than an n/a engine. Also, the above assumes you have full control over the engine, this applies to a Corvair but not to a pollution controlled engine with a stock engine controller. Finally, there are "cheater" cams and roller cams which break the assumptions above. -- Bryan Blackwell bryan@skiblack.com http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/9164 '61 Corvair Lakewood, '64 Corvair Greenbrier, '65 Corvair Corsa, '66 E-type, '69 Road Runner, '76 Ford F-250, '88 Acura Integra, '99 Neon R/T "Why do something if you're not going to obsess about it?" ****************************** This message was sent by the Corvair list, all copyrights are the property of the writer, please attribute properly. To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@skiblack.com with "unsubscribe virtualvairs" (without the quotes) as the first line of the message. To post, mailto:virtualvairs@skiblack.com. For help, mailto:vv-help@skiblack.com. ****************************** ===== CAMSHAFTS 101 (VV) From: "Ray Sedman" (rsedman@earthlink.net) There has been some good posts on VV regarding camshafts, grinds and profiles. I have received private posts from many people on this thread, so I thought I would post some general responses to the list. The following is a very brief overview of camshafts. There are many liberties that are taken here so this note is best read with a grain of salt. Corvairs respond very well to head work and performance camshafts. It is helpful to think about the heads and the camshaft as a single item, "a set", not two separate items. Leave the heads and camshaft out of the mix and most stock rebuilt and performance engines will look pretty much the same. It is the camshaft and the heads that will have the major effect of determining the operating character of your engine. This post is about camshafts, but since we are thinking along the lines of the heads and the camshaft as a single item, lets talk about heads. Corvair cylinder heads can be broken down into two groups; small valve heads and 140 HP heads. All small valve heads, from all engines will share the same valve size, port configuration, valve angles, intake plenum cross section and a single carb mounting pad on each head, etc. The differences between years and applications are basically limited to valve spring diameters and chamber shapes. 140 HP heads have larger valve size, different and larger port configuration, different valve angles, larger intake plenum cross section and two carb mounting pads on each head. All turbo heads are small valve heads. As a general rule, 140s will show larger percentage gains (flow bench CFM) on the exhaust vs. the intake for the same amount of port work. This is because the 140 intake side is actually too large for most street engines. Small valve heads will show comparable gains on both the intake and the exhaust ports based on invested port work. [Note: the above are our observations based on our port and flow bench work. These findings may vary based on port work and testing of other people and their experiences] Corvairs have unique camshaft requirements based on the head design. In the stock from, the exhaust port is fairly restrictive and the intake plenum is not a great help in making the intake side flow well. Most cam grinders have profiles developed for more common engines and their requirements. In this manner, you would not expect a camshaft profile which was developed for a 327 cu. in. Chevy V-8 to be an ideal match for your Corvair. I am not going to list specific grinders or suppliers of camshafts, as things always change and even a camshaft with a specific grind number may have many different incarnations along it's development line. It is safe to state that if you look at the grinder's/supplier's camshaft list and a "270 Hydraulic" cam which is listed for Corvair has the same specifications as the same 270 cam for a 327 Chevy, then you can pretty safely assume that that profile was not designed specifically for your Corvair. Camshafts are advertised with certain numbers that help describe their operating characteristics. Most common are the camshaft lift and the duration. Most people are familiar with a cam description of 270 degrees, 260 degrees, etc. What does all this mean? A 260 camshaft will have an advertised duration of 260 degrees. The key word here is "advertised" and we will discuss this latter. You will also see a number which is described as lift. Lift is a measured distance that the valve will lift off its seat at full lift. A typical number for a 260 cam will be around .420 inches. Another important number is overlap. Overlap is the amount of time, in degrees, that both the intake and exhaust valve are open. Overlap is important as more overlap generally causes loss of low end torque and poor fuel economy. Camshafts with higher overlap will tend develop more power in the higher RPM range. If a cam has the same advertised numbers for both the intake and exhaust valves, this is considered to be a single pattern cam. A dual pattern cam will have different advertised numbers for the intake and the exhaust valve. For example, a 260 single pattern cam will have 260 degrees of duration and .420 lift for both the intake and the exhaust valve. A dual pattern 260 cam may have 260 degrees of duration and .430 lift for the intake and 268 degrees of duration and .420 lift for the exhaust valve. Lift, duration, single and dual pattern are all important things to consider, but all of this is solely dependant on the actual shape of the camshaft lobe, commonly described as the lobe profile. It is the lobe profile that heavily determines the actual camshaft operating characteristics. You may have three cams with very similar advertised lift and duration numbers, but they will behave markedly differently as it is the lobe profile differences between the cams that make them different. Lobes can be symmetrical and asymmetrical. A symmetrical lobe will have the same shape (mathematical curve) on both sides of the lobe. An asymmetrical lobe will have a different shape (mathematical curve) on one side of the lobe as compared to the other side. Asymmetrical lobes can have many advantages to symmetrical lobes. For example, an asymmetrical lobe can lift the valve quickly off its seat to help establish valve flow earlier, but on the back side of the lobe have a more moderate lobe profile to gently place the valve on its seat to prevent seat and valve damage. A symmetrical lobe will lift the valve off the seat, bring it to full lift and place it back on its seat in the manner. The advertised lift and duration of the cam are the common specifications published for the cam. A more accurate way of describing the actual working lift and duration of the cam is measured when the tappet is off the base circle by a prescribed amount. The base circle is the round part of the cam which does not move the tappet to lift the valve. The lift and duration numbers when stated in this case would be called the "checking clearance" or the effective duration of the cam. The checking clearance is important since it not only makes a more precise way to degree the camshaft, but it gives a more accurate "yardstick" to compare different grind profiles of specific cams. Most camshafts use a checking clearance of .050, but some use a .020 checking clearance. Others may use a different clearance or will not give any checking clearance. A checking clearance, or when the tappet has moved (risen) .050 off the base circle will tell you more about the camshaft lobe profile then the advertised lift and duration. This is because it takes time, in crankshaft degrees, to lift the valve off the valve seat to establish flow. The valve does not magically pop to full lift and then back it its seat, but must be gently raised off its seat and then gently placed back down. All these gymnastics are call the "ramp" of the lobe. A camshaft with long ramps will take more time to raise the valve to full lift and place it back down to its seat. In this case the camshaft will have less effective duration than a camshaft with faster ramps. Two camshafts may have similar advertised list and duration figures, but when the effective lift and duration numbers are viewed you may find a difference in effective duration between the two camshafts. The advertised lift should be the same as the effective lift since lift is the gross mechanical amount that the camshaft will lift the valve. This is a set number that is not affected by ramps or checking clearance, assuming the cam is ground correctly to its published figures. With the information lightly discussed in this note, you may have a better understanding of how to select a replacement camshaft for your engine. How much camshaft do you need for your engine? Well, this really comes down to how much head work has been done to your heads. Remember, we want to view the cam and heads as a set, not two separate items. The other factor is how much of the engine's stock character do you willingly agree to give up? Generally speaking, Corvairs will benefit from a dual pattern camshaft, based on our prior discussion on Corvair head design. Turbos show gains with asymmetrical lobe designs. Just keep in mind that the most important factors when installing your new cam are: 1) degree it, 2) make sure your rocker arm geometry is correct. Even the most fancy, high tech, new camshaft will not perform properly if you gloss over these two very important steps. If you are not sure of what cam to get and you have narrowed your cam selection to two grinds of the same cam grinder, pick the smaller of the two. This assumes that you will drive your car on the street. If you are in serious doubt, stick with a factory camshaft. They are very well designed and are good performers. I wonder how many people will understand and follow this recommendation? :-) We have invested a fair amount of time slicing, dicing and understanding Corvair head and port work. With this understanding we developed camshaft profiles for our solid tappet roller cams. We have also used this understanding and developed specific camshaft profiles for flat tappet hydraulic Corvair cams. Cheers! -- Ray http://www.American-Pi.com ****************************** This message was sent by the Corvair list, all copyrights are the property of the writer, please attribute properly. To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@skiblack.com with "unsubscribe virtualvairs" (without the quotes) as the first line of the message. To post, mailto:virtualvairs@skiblack.com. For help, mailto:vv-help@skiblack.com. ****************************** ===== TRI-STATE MEET - DOES IT COST TOO MUCH? Dennis Pleau I volunteered to help with the driving event at the annual Tri-State meet this spring in Manitou Springs, Colorado. For you who don't know about the Tri-State meet, it is a spring low key Corvair gathering which the hosting is rotated between Rocky Mountain Corsa, Corvairs of New Mexico and Pikes Peak Corvair Club. This year it's hosted by PPCC. My initial thought was to have either a poker run or econo-run to the top of Pikes Peak and back. The cost to drive the road is $10.00/person to a max of $35.00/car. Do you all think this is to much for Corvair owners? There is a lot of beautiful country around here, if we don't go up Pikes Peak, we will find another scenic trip. -- Dennis ===== TECH SESSION IDEAS (VV) Kenneth Schifftner (scrubbr@ix.netcom.com) Thanks to everyone who sent me Tech Session ideas. The following are a few of them. This might help other clubs set up interesting and helpful sessions for your club too. 1. Carb balancing and basic tune up 2. Carb rebuilding 3. Fuel gauge float and gauge issues (done by Lew Rishel at the Toss) 4. Tachometer issues (Lew will do this at the 'Fling) 5. Points replacement (yes, the dreaded Pertronix debate out in the open). 6. Heater box rebuild and blower upgrade 7. Headlamp replacement (halogen or higher intensity), wiring issues 8. Dual Master Cylinder conversion on earlies 9. Generator rebuilding 10. Generator to alternator conversion (Kevin Raphael is doing this for us in March) 11. Master cylinder rebuild and possible smaller piston discussion 12. Rim/Tire Selection, off-set, back spacing, clearance, king pin angle, etc.) 13. Off car front suspension rebuild (ball joints, bushings etc.) EM or LM 14. Wheel alignment basics following Johnson's booklet (Larry Forman) 15. Cylinder balance test (Larry Forman) 16. G-Tech Demo (Larry Forman) where we had space to drive one 17. Radio/Speaker issues 18. Seat belt location, care, particularly for EM convertibles 19. Painting basics, what to ask for and expect from a paint shop 20. Paint job care basics 21. Brake lining differences materials and brake jobs. 22. Emergency repairs you can do yourself. It might be good to encourage folks to bring their Tech Guides and hand out preprinted inserts on the topic of the day that could be three hole punched and inserted in the suitable related section. Same goes for the Beginner's Guide once it is published. Please send me any other ideas you may have. Hopefully the above will get the brain cells going and result in some good Tech Sessions for everyone. Ken Schifftner '64 Vert (still in primer, but runs great) ****************************** This message was sent by the Corvair list, all copyrights are the property of the writer, please attribute properly. To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@skiblack.com with "unsubscribe virtualvairs" (without the quotes) as the first line of the message. To post, mailto:virtualvairs@skiblack.com. For help, mailto:vv-help@skiblack.com. ****************************** ==end==