A GDYNETS® PUBLICATION © 2013, G. DAVID YAROS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Car Collector Chronicles ®
Volume VI, Issue 5
Exploring:
Ca
High RPMs
• Car Collecting Today • Classic Rides • Reports From the Field • Oldsmobile (1897-2004) • Cadillac (1902- ) • Allanté (1987-1993)
• Corvair (1960-1969)
◄ = Clickable Link
IN THIS ISSUE: High RPMs
1
GDYNets On the Web
1
Power of Net
2
The Corvair
3
As a decision has been made to go to the Spring Carlisle, I have to get the May issue in the can far earlier than usual. We have booked our room. It is in Mechanicsburg. That means we shall have a 10 mi. drive, oneway, daily to the fairgrounds. I really do not know what to expect? Nor do I know that we shall hang in there for all five days of the event? What I do know is, you shall get a full report next month. We shall be taking our cameras with us to document all that is Carlisle. In the meantime, I am drawing up a list of items to search out at the swap meet. It is not a lot, but includes a gear shift knob for the The Gray Lady, sunvisors for our Allanté, steering/ suspension components and a rear speaker grille for Saved 62. Speaking of the Allanté, the Mrs. Is no longer infatuated with it. That means it may be leaving the Yaros Car Barn in the not too distant future. I have yet to
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Olds To the Rescue! 5
CCC® Forum EMail:
◄
OldsD88@gmail.com ◄
put it up for sale, but will entertain any/all inquiries from interested parties. The other car barn activity that shall be happening soon is giving the Mohawk A-7 lift a tune-up. The lift mechaniic shall have to come up from IL to perform the work. It will cost a few bucks, but is money well spent in my opinion. I have stumbled upon a web site that is old car related. It presents itself as a warehouse of information. I see pages and pages of documents listed. They are in .pdf format. However, what I do not see is any way to access the info. Maybe it is just me? I shall keep on trying to find and access the available info. For any with an interest, the site is RestoreCars.com. ◄ If anyofne is familiar with the site, do feel free to share with us what you know about it. Ok gang, we are off to Car-
lisle. Let’s hope by that by the end of April it will be warm there! Get those rides uncovered, fired up and out on the road! May Milestones—Last Model T (1927)/Corvair (1969). DeSoto introduced(1928).
GDYNets® on the Web Find GDYNets on the web:
The Chevy Vega Verta-Pak
April 2013
s
CCC® -THE FORUM ◄-A web site to discuss the newsletter, the hobby and our cars. Car Collector Chronicles ◄ Saved 62 ◄-Our 1962 Olds convertible, Ransom Eli Olds and things Oldsmobile related web site. The Gray Lady ◄-1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville web site.
SAVED 62: A website devoted
to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.
THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville, lots of Caddy information and an extensive repair library.
DAVE’S DEN: ◄-A site devoted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive information on the “Steel City” of Gary, IN. There are also offerings on steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14 assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, IN Police Lt. George Yaros.
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Car Collector Chronicles
Power of Net I do not know about you, but I never cease to be amazed at the power of the internet. Both what people expect and what is actually accomplished defies imagination. On the AACA Forum there is a “What is it?” ◄ sub-forum. Folks will offer a pic, seeking make, year and model identification. Quite often the photo shows only a portion of whatever it is that is sought to be identified. That does not deter individuals from proffering their opinions. Quite often, the opinions are set forth only after the responder has blown up the pic and thoroughly studied it. Here is a prime example - The info accompanying the pic read: “Found this chrome bumper in rafters of garage. It appears to have a 37 stamped on it, measured 75" long & 18"deep. Thanks so much for your help!” Want to hazard a guess as to what it is? Believe it or not, the bumper was correctly identified as coming off of a full-size 1961 Pontiac! How they do it, I do not know? Yet another - “Can anyone identify the year and model this horn button came from? We found it on an old rusted car. It was a 1930’s Dodge.”
The answer: A 1936 Dodge Brothers horn button on a 1936 Chrysler Airstream 8 cylinder steering wheel center. The Chrysler wheel had the ring … the Dodge Brothers wheel did not. How is that for specifics?
“As I listen to this … I can hear what sounds like a slight header leak.”
Perhaps the most amazing of all is this: “My engine developed a tick, I thought it was valve train noise or exhaust leak but then today I took it around the block, tick got louder and then started making a very weird noise I shot a video ◄. Can anyone tell me what this might be? It sounds like it could be real bad.” Answer #1— I wouldn’t consider that a tick....more like a knock. Answer #2— Loose flexplate bolts sound almost exactly like that.... you'd better hope. ANSWER #3— As I listen to this, the frequency of the sound appears to be too slow to be top end. I can hear what sounds like a slight header leak (or rocker possible adjustment (issue) at twice the frequency of what sounds to me to be a bottom end rod knock. Sorry, but that's what I'm hearing. When you hear a (unprofessional representation) a tickety-tickety-tickety, in contrast to a tick-tick-tick, the latter is a bottom end issue, maybe a collision with the oil pan or maybe worse, usually the latter. I hope for your sake I am wrong. Answer #4— Spun a rod bearing and piston is hitting the head. Sounds exactly like the motor we just pulled with this problem. YES! I was inspecting the flexplate bolts and converter bolts, everything is solid down there, but I did shine flashlight up toward headers, guess what, TWO missing header bolts!!!! and I could visibly see where exhaust is coming out, I don't want to call victory yet, but that sure seems
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Car Collector Chronicles
Power of Net—Cont’d. like the culprit! I couldn't see the missing bolts with all the AC stuff in the way, and I'm guessing the lazy bastard who owned the car before me didn't want to remove the AC stuff to install the headers. WOOT should be a easy fix. Well, that was it! I put in a new exhaust gasket and everything is just peachy! You want/need long distant, remote diagnosis? Well, I guess there really is an app for that?
The Corvair In “High RPMs” we took note of the fact that this month, forty-four (44) years ago, the last Corvair rolled off a GM assembly line. Its demise was brought about by a number of factors. One of them was an individual named Ralph Nader. He campaigned vociferously against the car. Unsafe at Any Speed, the title of his book, pretty much summed up his attitude toward the car. Of course, we now know that his safety concerns held little or no relation to actual reality. Don’t take my word for it. Read what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had to say on the subject:
“[T]he NHTSA concluded that no safetyrelated
A. The NHTSA concluded that the handling and stability performance of the 1960-63 Corvair does not result in an abnormal potential for the loss of control or rollover, and that its handling and stability performance is at least as good as the performance of some contemporary vehicles, both foreign and domestic.
defects exist
B. Based upon its analysis of all available data, its own comparative vehicle testing, and the recommendations of its advisory panel, the NHTSA concluded that no safety-related defects exist with respect to the handling and stability characteristics of the 1960-63 Corvair.
to the
with respect handling and stability characteristics of the 1960-63 Corvair.”
Car Collector Chronicles
The Chevy Vega Verta-Pak
[Unable to attribute authorship]
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Car Collector Chronicles
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Olds To the Rescue! This is a pictorial. I have been collecting these photos for a while, and now is an excellent time to publish them. I present to you pics of 1956 Oldsmobile ambulances.
– Ok, I’ve had my say for the month. Now it’s your turn! I invite/encourage submission of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to CCC® at OldsD88@gmail.com. –– Now that you have finished reading this month’s issue of the newsletter, come start/ join an ongoing dialog with other CCC® readers and like-minded car collector folk on the CCC® Forum. Stop by, check us out and share your views … . ______________________________________
-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!
COMING NEXT ISSUE: • Spring Carlisle Report