You may be right but this will basically be a show car that will run to get it on and off the trailer at a show. It will be modeled after the 1967 Ferrari 312 F1. The engine will be mostly covered with the fake exhaust pipes and velocity stacks. More to come with pics as I go.
Thanks for your comments, any are welcome.
Mike

I worked on parting out my imposter 66 Corsa a little further this last weekend.

With the recent sale of the wire wheel hup caps and the front seats, I have now broke even on my investment and yet still I am driving around this winter in an enjoyable 66 Monza convertible with a great 140 engine.

A few club members asked for help in getting their Corvairs running again after the long quarantine left them unable to be started. I loaded the trunk with some tools and repair goodies and Cathy and I have been doing free mobile Corvair repair here or there. Nothing major of course. Mostly bad gas, vacuum leaks, flat tires and dead batteries but a good excuse to take some long drives with the top down and enjoy getting outside the house for while.

Some days I'm not sure I like these rims I put on it but after owning and storing them for 15 years it's like they were free to me, right? However, after seeing what they sell for on eBay they may be in a shipping carton soon.

Dave W. / Gilbert Arizona
65 Corsa 140/4
66 Corsa 140/4
66 Corsa 140/4 w/factory A/C
66 Corsa 455 Toro V8
65 Monza Convertible 110/4
66 Monza Convertible 140/4 A/C
65 Monza 4DR 140/PG w/factory A/C
65 Monza 4DR EJ20T/5

I've been working on updating the instrument cluster for my '66 Monza - dual cylinder head gauges, oil pressure gauge, and air conditioning. Not something which stands out when installed in the car, it struck me today how beautifully integrated the a/c outlet was with the gauge pods.

Scott
Danville, In.
'65 Corsa coupe basket case
'66 Monza coupe

Scott,
Wow, super clean. Like the idea of having two head temp gauges.
Your work looks flawless. I look forward to seeing the finished product.
Sergio

S. Vellani
Bellevue, NE
65 Monza Convertible 180/4-speed

You mean like this --- two temp gauges in A/C dash. Started life as a Monza.

Thank you for the compliment, Sergio, have a long way to go.

Honestly can't remember if you were the inspiration, Bob, but likely were, so, thank you, too. I installed a Corsa dash when I first built up my '66 Monza, but the speedo gave up the ghost long ago. Local Corvair wizard, Dan Brizendine, had an inspected, lubed, and zeroed speedo for sale, so that kicked off the replacement Corsa dash. I'd been lucky, able to pick up Corsa instrument pods at conventions and meets the last 3-4 years. That gave me the extra head temp gauge, and cutting out the back of the pod and screwing it in place of the clock was simple. Sectioned the lens and blockout panel (to get rid of the clock adjustment stem hole) and epoxied them together. I sanded the green paint off the lenses and repainted them with Tamiya red taillight lens paint, and plan to install red LED bulbs, also.

This week, the tachometer and oil pressure gauge will go to the same shop in Illinois that calibrated the temp gauges, the tach for new internals, and the oil gauge for cosmetics. In another post, a fan recommended a Chevy truck gauge, found one for a 1978-'87 on e-Bay. The can is the same size as those used in the smaller Corsa ones, so will fit fine, one extra hole needs drilled in the pod. Though the face looks much larger, the rivets that hold it to the can appear to be spaced the same as Corsa gas or temp gauges. Rotary tool removed the face off a Corsa gauge, it and the pointer will go to Illinois to be fitted to the truck one. Same rotary tool was used to remove the vacuum gauge lens, and careful grinding and file work helped me downsize a speedo lens so the vacuum numbers won't be present in front of the oil gauge. Shop advertises cosmetic work, so should be able to paint the 0 30 60 on the oil gauge lens. Don't know yet if they'll be able to engrave the plastic for the lettering, hoping for a factory installed appearance.

Just to be different, will paint the housing and glovebox surround in the '65 style with exposed accent line. Haven't decided on a top coat yet, silver, again to be different, or copper, to compliment my Aztec bronze interior and exterior. Shop has a very slow turn around, so may not be any updates for four months or better.

Scott
Danville, In.
'65 Corsa coupe basket case
'66 Monza coupe

Yup. just like that.
Making me want to jump ahead to doing the instrument cluster and glove box.
Still have to shakedown the powertrain before I start on the body.
Thanks for the inspiration.

S. Vellani
Bellevue, NE
65 Monza Convertible 180/4-speed

What's the name of the shop in Illinois?

S. Vellani
Bellevue, NE
65 Monza Convertible 180/4-speed

Here you go, Sergio.

[www.clocksandgauges.com]

Hadn't seen an add on cluster like that, Phil, reminds me of the rally clock/ tach seen on early Mustangs. Where did you find one like that?

Never accuse me of taking the easy way out. Picture of my '66 Galaxie, still trying to wire up a '65 Mercury dash. Similar to substituting a Corsa dash in a Monza, more instruments.

Scott
Danville, In.
'65 Corsa coupe basket case
'66 Monza coupe

Is that one of those driverless cars?

Joel
Northlake, TX
5 Ultravans, 141 Corvairs and counting...

Finally working on the rampside again , I got a replacement ramp, started to grind off the paint and ended up taking at least two gallons of bonds off to find it had been badly repaired.

Wayne in Glide Oregon
63 spyder conv.(wifes car finished ,owned 17 years)65 monza conv.unfinished 14 years and never driven,yet!!!.61 rampside (new toy and distraction)

Doors. Doors, Doors and more doors. For the last two weeks. Doors are stripped, damage repaired, sanded, primed. All trim is polished and the window guides and fly window hardware has been blasted and primed, the fly window risers (??) go to plater on Monday.
Can catch my breath while the plater does his magic.
Joe
P.S. Kids keeping me busy lately, now have become a pet and automobile sitter. Got son's cat and three cars to tend and exercise.

Joe in South Ga
1965 Corsa 2 dr Coupe Turbo 4sp because I love the looks
18ft Chaparral 180 Sport because I live on a lake, seemed like the thing to do
Chevy Pickup to tow boat and tote things
2013 Toyota Corolla

Bye the way, I would like to say I got VERY lucky on the doors. Both were in very good condition. Not even pitted, NO bottom rust or rust anywhere. They cleaned up very nicely.
Joe

Joe in South Ga
1965 Corsa 2 dr Coupe Turbo 4sp because I love the looks
18ft Chaparral 180 Sport because I live on a lake, seemed like the thing to do
Chevy Pickup to tow boat and tote things
2013 Toyota Corolla

Took out the front and rear seats. Ripped up the old nasty carpet.The seats will go to the upholsterer next month. Carpet is on it's way from Clark's. Baby Steps.

Joe
Corsa member #034013
Midwest City, Oklahoma
1966 Monza Coupe 140HP 4-speed
Holley 390 4-barrel carb

Black water tank valve replacement on UltraVan #299. An aluminum spacer between the plastic valve and the stainless tank was not a good choice. Electrolysis over a 10 year period finally ate through the spacer. Last year, 4 trips away from the end of the camping season it started leaking..... Enter the necessity for the super special fiberglass and The Right Stuff diaper to get us through the end of the season. Today was a messy day Yes Matt, my posts on "What Did You Work ON" always seem to involve our black water tank !!! Going to replace the aluminum spacer with plastic to eliminate the problem, plus putting in a brand new valve.

Dan Kling
1961 Greenbrier Deluxe, 110 HP, 4spd, 3.89 stump puller
1963 Spyder Coupe, restored, converted to 4spd Saginaw
1967 UltraVan #299, The migration has begun, we're on the road again......Save the Whales!

Photos of our Greenbrier, UltraVan and work-in-progress @

[www.flickr.com]

Yesterday I took the '65 Monza convertible out of hibernation.
It took a few minutes to start it and I had to resort to a can of starting fluid to accomplish the task. Once it was running, I noted the fuel pump was leaking again but snugging the screws around the top seemed to resolve this issue.

I drove it up the street then to the gas station and topped off the tank.

Once I was back home I replaced the top boot with a new 2nd that I got through Clark's during the winter.

I then got out the new RetroSound radio to install and got a surprise.
As much as these things cost, I was expecting a radio that was ready to install and would fit like the OE radio.

Overall I was disappointed that I had to assemble all the components and the face plate adapter did not fit well in the stock faceplate and required some serious modification and tinkering to make it work acceptably.

I had also purchased the replacement dual front speaker and found that there was no lock washers or lock nuts to keep things from vibrating loose over time so I applied Loctite on the threads. Mounting the speaker also required some tinkering.

In the end, instead of spending an hour to install the new radio and speaker, I spent about five hours which included a trip to the store (with the convertible) to purchase wire terminal ends that I had not anticipated needing to complete the installation.

Once the radio was in the dash and working, I was tired of tinkering so the defroster duct work, ash tray, and the replacement glove box will wait for another day.

Sorry but I didn't take time to document this with photo's so maybe it was a bad dream. I hope not because I don't wand to go through that again.

1962 95 F.C. Van
1964 Greenbrier Deluxe
1965 Monza Coupe
1965 Monza Convertible
Westminster, Maryland

MID ENG enthusiast &
prior Kelmark owner.

Above I mentioned taking the convertible out of hibernation and tinkering with it some.
After a full day of this, I was tired so I did not get around to disassembling the portable garage.
Sunday evening I got some help from Mother Nature. Monday after work I finished the task.

When I had the car in the garage, I had a couple of 1X4's with eye hooks threaded into them. The tires held the boards in place.
Due to rocky soil, I wasn't going to trust the screw in anchor system to hold things securely in place. I was amazed how well the anchors held.
I ran ratchet straps to the horizontal braces that were about halfway up the side of the garage.
The weight of the car on top of the 1x4's and the straps held the garage in place during the hibernation period and several days of high winds.
It wasn't until the car was out and safely in a better garage space that the temporary garage was vulnerable to the winds Mother Nature was so generous to provide.

1962 95 F.C. Van
1964 Greenbrier Deluxe
1965 Monza Coupe
1965 Monza Convertible
Westminster, Maryland

MID ENG enthusiast &
prior Kelmark owner.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2021 03:30PM by Caraholic4life.

I helped my son rebuild the shifter in his car using the Clark’s kit. It wasn’t simple because the inner shift tube was bent and corroded but we got it done and it shifts incredibly well.
We were helped by a great local shop in Greer SC. They heated and straightened the shaft and wouldn’t take a penny even though we just showed up covered in grime and they were very busy.

The inner shaft still required a lot of sanding, grinding and trial fitting in the new brass bushings. When it finally went through smoothly we were really relieved. We added a new shift coupler, new pin and cotter and new bushings.

Next we used a wire wheel to remove the surface rust from the bottom of the passenger compartment and tunnel pans, then painted them with RustOleum rust converter. There are several areas with more severe rust that will require Por 15.

Although the car is a Monza 140, it has a thermister. The case is XXA a factory replacement. A previous owner put in a Corsa dash but the wire for the thermister is connected to the thermister but hanging cut off outside the lower shroud. Tomorrow we’ll run a jumper wire to the gauge and see if thermister and gauge are working. If so, my son will run a permanent wire to the gauge.

Lots of fun ahead!

Fred Gillam, southern SC coast
Former Corvairs from teens and 20's.
3 65 Corsa 180 convertibles
63 Spyder
66 Monza 110 PG, "Moldo"
65 Corsa 140
Currently helping son with 65 Monza 140 4-spd coupe

Put in Clark's Ultimate Starter with new starter wiring harness. I can't believe how much of a difference it makes. Should've done it sooner.

Doug
65 Monza
Cincy, OH