I am the grasshut just signed into a different email right now. A little sealant on the case halves would not be bad, but you need to use the right stuff. If you go to a motorcycle dealer, in the parts department they sell a sealer that is made for motorcycle case halves. This would be the stuff to use, and use VERY lightly. If you can see it on there, it is enough. I would also only use it where the case parting line is visible.
Thank you! I worked at a place and built 50 engines with 1 tube of Lucas bearing lube. My boss built 7 engines with the same amount! I would have 1, 2, maybe 3 dime sized drips in my drip tray, his drip trays were filled with bearing lube!
0:04 I'm thinking that if you mill out the oil passages in the bearings, the oil pressure in the bearings is going to drop, and the oil flow across the bearing surfaces will be lessened. I wouldn't try to outsmart the 1960s GM engineers---who were smart and educated and experienced and paid and working full time to design a good engine. Or am I wrong?
I am milling out the area BEHIND the bearing, making less resistance to flow TO the bearings. This will NOT reduce oil pressure. This will increase the supply of oil available to the bearings. Also remember that manufacturers build products for the average of the target demographic, they do NOT do the best job they can. These cars were originally designed as low power grocery getters and work just fine for that. Start modifying and you need to make improvements. Just like I changed the rod ratio by a good bit to reduce p Frictional power losses
The biggest issue for potential power is the cylinder heads. They are 9 degree heads which is nice, but they are 9 degrees in the wrong direction. So the included valve angle is 18 degrees away from where it should be. The valves are off center, and open towards the cylinder wall not away from it. But even with that issue, you can still make good power. EFI will not make more peak power or torque over carbs, (assuming good carbs) but what EFI will do os allow much better tuning so all those spots that are not peak power or torque can be optimized. My 110 HP corvair makes about 150, has efi and distributorless ignition, and some very mild porting in the bowls. The cam is small and about the same as the GM 304 cam. Another issue is case strength and the fact that the flywheel flange is pressed on the crank. All that said 250 plus is achievable
Thank you. There will be more, right now my day job keeping be busy, have 2 cars supposed to be racing in FL in March, plus I am getting a new knee. Will do what I can, do have some planned, so more will be coming!
Hi, you had given me an email address when I asked about your corvair videos. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind skyguynca@ you have the rest, thanks
I have 6 dynos at work and none will fit a Corvair engine! HP numbers are always kept secret, no need letting people you may be competing against know exactly what they are up against, but I will say when all done this engine should make well over 200. My day job building race engines keeps me quite busy, hard to find time for my own stuff!
hi every one . i have been building and racing vws for 30 years .i love air cooled motors .and corvairs . great vid. but i have to say some thing about the vw 94mm cyls.i hope what i have to say is not taken the wrong way . over the years i have found out that the vw 94 cyls are great for drag racing . but not that great for street motors . they have a very thin cylinder wall and do not hold up on the street . and after 10,000 miles they start to have blowby and the motor start to lose power . i have found out that the new 92mm thick wall cylinders being sold now . have a way thicker cylinder wall that helps cool the motor and helps stops cylinder blowby we have used these 92mm thick wall cylinders on are drag race motor and and found out they made more power than the 94 thin wall cylinders and we ran better ET times with the 94cyls we ran best time of 11:00 1/4 mile with the 92 thick wall cyls we ran 10.60s at 131 mph in the 1/4 mile this is just my two cents take or leave it
Never take data respectfully delivered by someone knowledgeable! I had heard they were prone to cracking, did not hear anything about blow by. I know most ships never measure surface finish. I have very specific numbers for RPK, RVK, and RK. Having proper finish creates the gasket needed for rings to seal. Of course as the engine is run the RPK and RK will get less and eventually the RVK will diminish also requiring a new hone. Not sure how long these jugs will last but if I need to change every year so be it. I should also look and see if darton makes a sleeve that would be usable. Those would last many hone jobs! My 94mm jugs will have slightly thinner walls than others as I plan on making them straight and round, which they are not. So probably .002 or even .003 will have to come out of them. I appreciate your comments, always good to have more data!
Meant to sat never take the wrong way! Just looked and see I said never take! Always interested in hear from others with experience, nobody knows everything, so I am always open to learning!
No idea if Poland Franklin parts would interchange. My guess would be not. Also, I am unfamiliar with what AP/IA stands for. Could you educate me on that? Thank you!
So if I understand what you said the clutch is smaller in diameter than stock. Seems like a larger diameter would reduce slippage due to load. If the ceramic clutch face was used on a single larger clutch eoukd it just be as good,,? Could the ring gear flex out of round with so o much material removed. If the aluminum plate was steel could it be made thinner?
Grasshut replying from another account here. The ring gear is on steel, and is plenty strong even with all the material removed. When you pit in a larger clutch disc, with pressure plate remaining the same, you have fewer PSI pressure on the disc than if it were smaller. Now the dual disc has the advantage of more square inches of clutch disc, but you do not lose PSI on the disc. Just using made up numbers here, let's say you have a 7 inch disc with 100 PSI. If you double the size of the clutch area to say 14 inches (that would not be double the area, but let's keep this simple!) you would have 50 PSI on the disc. Now let's make it a dual 7 inch disc. You still have 100 PSI on each disc. Make it a triple disc, still 100 PSI on each disc. Plus you have the advantage of the rotating mass closer to the center so there is less moment of inertia. It is a win, win! The clutch can be purchased from Ken Hand his web site is corvairmechanic.com
Grasshut here replying from another account. You could put a hose around the top of the bucket, would not hurt. It is really not needed, the bucket has a nice flat along the top and is far softer than the aluminum do it will not hurt the aluminum at all.
I assume you are not a fan Plastiguage. Or are the mikes just something you're comfortable with? I mike everything but always final check with Plastiguage. It has saved me embarrassment a few times.
No not a fan of plastigage. The right way to do it is with a mic and dial bore gauge. I have worked with George DeLorean, Bob Glidden, Dick Arons, Harold Martin, Richard Maskin, and one thing they all have in common is they don't use plastigage.
@@rpmqualityautoservice8337 Good for them! I do as many checks as are possible. That's just me, I wasn't suggesting you or anyone else take it up as a practice. However, you say you're not a fan, what is your specific dislike of Plastigage? If there's some sort of hidden hazard, I'd be grateful to know.
Nice clutch assembly. The clutch has long been an issue from day one with the corvair. Long time coming. Thanks for fixing a problem that GM struggled with. Stay healthy.
Is this engine for competition/off road, or a wicked street machine? What kind of HP did this engine wind up achieving? Great information and craftsmanship. P.S. with all due respect, did anyone ever tell you, you sound like Adam Corrolla?
This is just for a street machine. As I have mentioned, my day job is building race engines, pro mod, comp dragster, top dragster, etc. The slow ones run in the 6's. Believe it or not, I have not finished this engine! Finished many others for customers, but mine is always last (I hope in building only LOL!). Anyway, I recently got a gig working in engine development for a major OEM, and am hoping to have a bit more time to devote to my stuff. Realistic time frame to have this done is mid to late summer of 2022. I did recently get my rings made, had clear idea of the ring pack I wanted to use, and tension I wanted. Total Seal is great and will happily make any ring you want! I had them gas port my top ring, so I did not have to do that to the pistons. offers some advantages over porting the pistons too.
Fantastic attention to detail. Learned quite a few things, I never knew. Wish i could afford to build a hot rod engine, for my Greenbrier, like this. thanks for sharing. JT: Orlando, FLA
Thank you. My day job is building race car engines, mostly comp dragster, top dragster and Pro Mod. So the engines range from small like 632 with as little as 1200 or more HP to big (lets just say between 800 and 900 inches) and anywhere from 3500 to 5000 HP. So details are important!
I have been considering milling the outside cylinder mount side of the Corvair cases down to add a 1 inch 6061 plate on either side of the engine. This will allow me to place cylinder jug studs anywhere I want. At which point I can use 911 Porsche jugs at 108mm. With air cooling, cutting billet heads in any shape you want is a piece of cake. 429 Boss style heads are about as good as it gets for 2 valve chambers. Billet 3.3 crankshaft and boss style ports will make a 911 destroyer. Add a 5th bearing on the flywheel/prop mount end and use a Velvet Drive damper flexplate and a Duramax Allison billet planetary for 1000% indestructible speed reducer and cam it for 5500rpm. Now you've got a motor that will make 350hp easily turbo normalized to 36fl. In a car it could handle 1000hp boosted. Or somewhere in between for a Reno plane. With low timing, properly designed cooling cases, you will be good to go. Low frictions, dlc, and ceramic coatings would be have to be used everywhere possible to manage heat in an air cooled powerplant. The weight saving is beyond incredible. No water, no radiator, no mounts, hoses, clamps etc. Oil coolers and piston spray bars will be necessary for longevity.
And one person can carry the long block around easily. If it's a hit then newer formula magnesium MMC can be used without fear of stud creep or corrosion to further reduce aluminum part weight by 30% with an increase in strength.
@@curvs4me the fifth bearing is an excellent idea as is the idea of plates on the sides of the case. The bid issue is controlling heat. 108mm jugs would leave only 7.468mm between the pistons. After adding 6.35mm for cylinder wall thickness there is not much room for cooling fins. The corvair has a 4.840" bore spacing.
Fascinating using modified VW cylinders for a 6 cylinder Corvair engine. I knew nothing about them but found these videos but have been curious about Corvair engines after having a couple of VW's years ago. I'll be interested to hear one of these engines running!
Well it will be a bit because my regular job building race engines (pro mod and comp dragster mostly) keeps me busy, but I am doing a quick freshen up on my EFI 110HP engine, so that will be running soon.
Sorry I did not reply sooner, did not see your message till today. No I did not quit building, but have been hired by a company as lead engine builder. We do restos, to race engines, building lots of comp dragsters, and some pro mods, so my time gets eaten up there pretty well! I am working on a few things and hope to have some more videos soon.
Just started my first Corvair project thanks for the video very informative. Can you tell me what are the pros/cons to installing 140 heads on a 110 block and if it can be done or not?
Sorry it took so long for me to reply. Yes you can put 140 heads on the 110 case. You will need a set of late model jugs, as the head gasket surface is a little wider on late model heads (140 and others) than it is on the early model heads (64 and earlier). the advantage is your engine will breathe better and make more power.
would you recommend to run a full syntetic oil after a complete rebuild? i know that VW people get alot more cooling after going to a fully to a full syntetic oil
Nice piece of kit (like the British say). ;-) I had a concept idea of mounting a Corvair engine forward of the cab of a Caterham 7 (Super 7) with the transaxle behind the cab but first there would need to be an adapter to change the rotation of the input to the transaxle after engine and clutch, have the adapter and clutch attached to the transaxle or have the clutch on the engine and adapter on the transaxle (weight distribution and torque management)? I heard (long time ago), that (for Corv8) you can rotate the transaxle, do some miner mods and you're done (I'm dubious)? ;-)
What engine are those going on (110hp, 140hp?) and what HP are you expecting? I'm guessing this modification isn't recommended for 150hp or 180hp turbo "Spyder" engines?
Hey hope youre Still Healthy,.. Iam sitting in Germany and waiting for some New videos to build a corvair Performance Engine too,.. your Video gives a lot of good Informations and important examples ,. Enjoy it,Greets from Germany
Is this a corvair or Porsche? I rebuilt my corvair engine in 1985 and didn't do anything special and it ran quite well. Only problem was it wouldn't do 80 mph off a cliff.
Sorry for the 2 year late reply, day job is building real deal race motors, so time is VERY limited. It is a Corvair. Lots of guys do engine work with varying levels of effort. I know of parts stores that "build" engines, never check clearances or ring end gap, etc. The engines "run" how long, and how efficient they are and how much oil they use is another story. There is a BIG difference between Building and engine and Assembling one. I build engines. I have a basically stock 110 engine in my 1962 Converitble just upped the compression to 10:1 and put in an isky 260 cam (210 @ .050 110 LSA), the car has been up to 90 and still accelerating, just did not want to do more than that on freeway. It does have a nice EFI system and distributorless ignition. Also established proper rocker arm geometry
Yeah, I have to get to that. I am working building pro race motors now, mostly dragsters, so time is a big issue. But there has been some work done toward #3. I have changed things just a bit and have 2 turbos to add to the motor! Should be fun. Please be patient, have a very demanding job, not to mention my cancer relapsed so will be having to fight that again, it is a slow cancer so may be able to wait a year or so, till then we watch, still heavy work load at job, dr visits often, and have some of my own cars to fix! But we will get to it!
