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Although much of the information on this page isn't strictly autocross specific, it's still very useful for an autocrosser - chances are good you are doing most, if not all, of the work on your car, so you'll need some tools. And while I strongly recommend buying parts from the Corvair vendors, I have listed part numbers for some common items in case you need them the day before an event.
For tools I strongly recommend buying good tools. Having a tool break in the middle of a job is irritating at least, and good tools won't slip off the fasteners as easily. There is great debate as to which tools are best, and certainly if you have the budget buying Snap-On or Mac is the way to go. Like most of us I don't have that sort of budget, so generally I buy Craftsman - they hold up well and you can get a replacement if one should break just about anywhere in the U.S. Whatever brand you pick, make sure you get a lifetime warranty, and don't buy junk.
First of all, if it's broken, best to fix it before you get there. Don't carry around parts because something is wrong and you haven't had time to repair it. However, you may need some spares if something lets go at the event. Some of that depends on what sort of event you're running - if it's an autocross there isn't much you can fix between runs, but a track day or race allows for at least some amount of repair time.
Below you'll find a great little toolbox list, and some parts to carry on trips. For autocross or track events there are certain parts that are more likely to give problems than in normal driving, here are some suggested items to get started:
Certainly a fan belt is prudent, and some extra carb linkage clips, wire ties, tape, extra fluids - that sort of thing can help if you just need to keep it together long enough to get in another run. I'd suggest a portable air compressor in case you discover a slow leak, and a torque wrench, extension, and socket if you need to swap tires. Finally, little cans of penetrant, carb cleaner, and brake cleaner to clean the car with, plus a couple shop rags and a tube of hand cleaner for you.
For a one day track event start with the above, additionally I'd go with some of the easy to replace stuff like an alternator, fuel pump, clutch cable, etc. (some folks carry this sort of thing on long trips, so review those suggestions below). A complete spare axle for earlies, or ready to go hub, halfshaft, and diff yokes for lates is smart too. There's a Tech Guide tip on modifying a late hub to fit on either side, yours should be set up that way. Front hubs rarely fail, but they do at least fit on either side without modification if you want to carry one.
At a weekend race the limit is really your budget and manpower. A spare powerpack (engine, diff, trans) might not be out of line. This list could be really tough, as it depends both on your budget and crew. Perhaps as much of a long block as you can manage, ditto for a transaxle.
Robert Marlow posted the following tool kit to Virtual Vairs for an "on the road" set, this an excellent set to take to an autocross. You should have some basic tools with you for minor adjustments and in case something lets go at an event, or breaks on a friend's car. It's also a good start for building a more complete tool set if you're starting from scratch. Here's his post:
After my post about carrying a spare axle and bearing assembly and the related tools, several persons asked me to post the contents of my "on the road" tool kit for Corvairs. This is it:
- 1/4"-drive socket set with 3" and 6" extensions
- 3/8"-drive sockets, 6-point: 1/2", 9/16", 3/4", 7/8"
- 3/8"-drive sockets, deep, 6-point: 9/16", 5/8", 11/16", 13/16"
- 3/8"-drive handle with 3" extension
- 1/4" to 3/8" drive adapter
- Combination wrenches: 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 9/16", 5/8", 15/16"
- John Moody's "bentwrench" (for changing fanbelts)
- 12" adjustable crescent wrench
- Long nose pliers with wire cutter
- 8" slip-joint pliers
- 5/8" cold chisel
- 12-ounce ball peen hammer
- Flare nut wrenches: 3/8" x 7/16", 1/2" x 9/16"
- Vice Grips
- 1/8" screwdriver
- Xcelite #25 screwdriver handle with #RB-1, #RB-2, #RB-3 removable slotted/phillips bits (Update: You can buy them online here. Thanks to a reader for the tip)
- Snap-On ratcheting screwdriver with four magnetic bits
- Bryan's note: I have substituted a Craftsman ratcheting screwdriver with 15 1/4" bits stored in the handle for the above two screwdrivers.
- Stubby screwdrivers: One slotted, one phillips
- 13/16" Spark plug socket, 3/8"-drive
- Oil pressure switch socket, 3/8"-drive
- Harmonic balancer/axle yoke puller
- Fuel Inlet Nut wrench
- Spark Plug thread chaser
Please note, this is not a list of essential tools for performing Corvair work at home or in the shop; rather, it is my recommendations for a tool kit that is as small as possible while enabling you to perform virtually any Corvair repair (short of catastrophic driveline failure) at the roadside.
In addition, my idea of roadside repair is that which is necessary to get you to the next exit or to the nearest source of "real" help, not necessarily permanent repairs that let you resume your journey. This is why there are very few "specialty" tools in this kit (such as brake tools). Nor are these tools necessarily the best tools for doing some jobs. Again, the goal is roadside repair out of the smallest possible box.
This kit fits in a small plastic tool box that in turn fits neatly in the trunk of a Corvair (in front of the spare tire in wagons and A/C cars) and under the back seat of a Greenbrier. It can even fit behind the seat in a Rampside, with the seat fully rearward.
For on-the-road problems that can't be patched together using these tools, you need to carry a AAA card and a cell phone. I do.
Jim Davis wrote the following response:
Robert,
A great list. I think I have used every tool on the list on mine or other Corvair away from home. I add:
- 2 each push rods, rocker arms, valve springs, retainers, and 4 keepers.
- KD valve sping compressor, and air fitting for spark plug.
- A couple new rocker arm nuts if you don't use polylocks.
Wrap in a oiled paper towel, in a zip-lock freezer bag (place in crevice above the right wheel well by the heater resister (lates)). Hope you never need it, but carry it to help some less prepared soul.
On long trips (2,000 miles or more):
- Delcotron drive end frame, fan and pully.
- Starter drive housing (These two go under the metal trim panels in the front of the trunk).
- Complete distributor and timing light (I use electronic ignition and have tried to swap out the point plate at night - yes it was the reluctor) goes back by the rear antenna and spare tire.
- Fuel pump (an addition suggested by a couple folks on VV). I'd carry it in the front of the trunk as well.
- 2 plastic wheel chocks (either side of spare tire).
- Wood 2" x 6" x 8" (back side of the battery - to put the jack on while changing the tire in the Louisiana gumbo).
- #12 Jumper wire with alligator clips to run from battery to the coil.
- Coil of heavy wire.
- Small bundle of various size nylon tie-wraps (added by Bryan).
- Assorted cotter pins or safety wire (added by Bryan).
- Electrical tape.
- Checking Top Dead Center. I made a checker by knocking the ceramic insulation out of a spark plug and threading a 3/8-16 stud into it. Leave about 1 inch sticking out. Insert in no. 1 spark plug hole. Turn engine one way till it stops and mark the harmonic balancer referencing a point on the rear housing such as the zero timing reference mark. Turn the other way until it stops and mark the harmonic balancer at the same ref. point. Bisect the two marks and that is TDC.
NOW. What is interesting that this engine has a new harmonic balancer which hasn't slipped (inner vs outer) has the groove marked five degrees off TDC. This of course, throws off the timing adjustment/setting using a light. Mark a new line and time from it.
- Fran Schmidt told me first about using water to temporarily seal a vacuum leak and allow the engine to smooth out. The "opposite" way is to use a flammable fluid along the vacuum leak, let it get sucked in and the engine runs faster. Well, most of the flammables are REALLY flammable (Seth, inflammable to you). The solution is propane. Take a hand held-propane bottle (not the kind you use for your outdoor grill...) valve, pipe/tubing adapters to a push-button valve like an air hose gun, then a hose adapter to 3' of tygon tubing to a nozzle preferably plastic or nylon. Use this along suspected vacuum leak sites until the propane is sucked in and it speeds up. I think SNAP-ON sells this set-up for a gazillion dollars.
- Use the hollow spark plug by threading the outside-the-head side of the plug with a pipe thread to tubing adapter. This can be used with compressed air to hold valves up while you change springs, etc. You can listen for air escaping past valves, etc.
- Lastly, a large tapered punch clamped in a vise vertically makes a great carb holder so you can work on it (the carb, not the punch!!)
Following some posts on VV about the super two in one cylinder head nut tool that Snap On and Mac (and maybe others) made for Corvairs, I recalled there was a description in the CORSA Tech Guide for making your own. I've also read a few other tips regarding sockets to use on the head nuts, so I combined all of the info I had together.
Basically, the tool is two sockets that can nest inside one another, with a 3" piece of 3/8" square stock and a spring joining them. That way driving one turns both, and the spring automatically extends the inner socket for you. For the sockets, I used a 14mm, which gives a snug fit on the top 9/16" nuts, and a 13/16" spark plug socket for the rocker studs. On the 13/16 socket, I filed the chamfer off since the hex on the rocker stud is so short. The 3/8" stock is retained in the 14mm socket by slightly mushrooming the end, the other end has a 8-32 screw and washer.
Once assembled, I taped a 7/8" socket on the drive hex at the end of the spark plug socket to drive the whole shebang. There's just enough room under the intake for the tool to fit, and with the tight 14mm socket it helped to spray the outside of the upper nuts with WD-40 so the socket would slip on with the light spring pressure (a stiff spring would make the tool tough to use). A few photos are below if you want to make one yourself. It does make things a lot easier, especially if you are torquing a head on an installed engine.
Smitty Says:
For a lot of people balancing brings up visions of gram weight scales and exotic machinery. I have been doing it for years the same way. I have never known how many grams I have removed or what final weights are, and I don't care, but I will put my balance jobs up against anyone. I do it with a length of piano wire clamped in a vise so that it sticks out parallel over the work bench. A section of headliner stay works well. I stand a piece of 2x4 about a foot long beside and near the end of the wire. I fix a hook on the end of the wire. Then I hold a rod in a horizontal position with the big end hanging on the hook at the cap parting line, and then find a block to rest the small end on to keep it horizontal with the big end hanging from the wire. Next I make a series of index marks on the long block where the piano wire is next to it about 1/8" apart. I mark the nearest mark as zero and put numbers on the marks above and below that. I don't care if this turns out to be the heaviest or lightest rod of the bunch. It is only providing a reference to set the tool up. For a street engine I balance opposing rods together. If one tries to get 6 of them the same weight he has his work cut out for him and sometimes can't be done with one set.Next I balance them for total weight which always upsets the big end weight a little. You can take this as far as you want to. A variation of this is used to balance pistons. The key to this is repeatability of how and where you hang the component. Each must be hung exactly the same way. It always throws me when someone asks how much difference do I find in rods. Oh, about three marks. ggg
If you'd like to shop for tools from the comfort of your home, Amazon has added an online tool store:
Here are some part numbers for common wear items - you may find that your local parts store doesn't have Corvairs listed in their computer. If you find yourself somewhere that can't get one of these, the dimensions for the belt are 3/8" by 56" - just be warned that a regular belt might not last at high RPMs, but it will get you home.
Smitty says:
The belt #15560 or 15565 is a National standard number. You will find the number on some belts with a letter added or some other thing to make them proprietary to that company. Some times you will find a totally different number for a company part number and then find the National numbers down in the corner of the wrapper (or not at all). I used to know what the first two numbers meant. I believe they identified the degree of the cut once but I am not sure. The third, forth. and fifth numbers stand for the length in inches. That would make the two a 56.0 inch belt or a 56.5 inch belt. The 56 inch belt is called for in most belt lists at your local store. That belt usually requires the aid of a screwdriver to put it on and the idler will ride very close to the shroud. The 56.5 inch belt is a comfortable fit and puts the idler in what I think is a ideal position. I learned about the numbers in the 50s so forgive my memory lapse on the first two in the series.
From Mike Ioanes on VV:
The "15" or "17" refer to 32nds of an inch (width). Many other belt manufacturers use the same or similar numbering systems i.e. Goodyear, Gates, etc. Napa's #s are totally foreign. Autozone sells Kelly Springfield belts, which use the same kind of #s. I've sold a lot of belts over the years.
I'll add that those first two numbers are probably a nominal size, much like a 2x4 piece of lumber. A Corvair belt is supposed to be about 3/8" wide, which would only be 12/32.
Note: Bosch is using a new numbering scheme for their plugs, the only one I have so far is the W8AC is now a number 7502. Another application for this plug is a 1970 1600cc VW bug. Thanks to Ed Corson for the info. The replacement is Bosch Super Plus #7902.