Tech Tips
More on ZDDP
If you have been following these pages, Virtual Vairs, or to a recent meeting, there
has been much discussion on SM rated oils and ZDDP. Well the fact that there are plenty of older cars with flat tappet
engines out there that would be damaged using SM oils has not fallen on deaf ears. In addition to the excellent Brad Penn oil that Bob had advised of us of, Castrol has a new synthetic high ZDDP oil especially for classic cars. Clarks has a new additive as well C379X. Surely others will follow.
Click below to read Richard Widman's Oil Article
This Tech Tip comes from Jerry Hollister:
I decided to 'refurbish' the starter on my Corvair since it was
hitting intermittently. I took it apart and cleaned up the contacts in the solenoid. Turning the copper battery terminal 'bolt'
180 degrees is an old trick and gives it an almost new life as it allows for a new contact point whereas the old one becomes
oxidized from the constant electrical hit. I decided also to replace the brushes. I was at AutoZone and asked if they could
get me a set. Yes, they could. They are $3.99 for a full set of 4. Also, they have a 'kit' for $19.99 that includes: the brushes, a
new 'overrunning clutch assembly', spring and 'collar' which includes the gear that engages the flywheel. All of this plus
a thorough cleaning should make a Corvair starter last another 20 years.
Jerry
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This tip is from Eric Prosise of Corvairs Minnesota
Adding an AUX input
to a Stock AM Radio by Eric Prosise
I have never found an aftermarket radio that I liked in a Corvair. They never fit correctly, unless the dash is modified, or just “don’t
look right”. I decided that AM wasn’t for me, and I didn’t
want to fork out the big bucks for a factory AM/FM Radio for my convertible. I
already had an iPod, and thought it would be fantastic if I could connect it to my factory speaker, and use the stock radio’s
volume control. Also, when the input is disconnected, the AM still works! This conversion works with both push-button, and manual tune radios.
In this article, I will describe the process
of installing an auxiliary input jack onto a stock Corvair AM Radio. This is
a pretty simple project, and will produce a pleasing result, if you are OK with MONO output from your device (still working
on the stereo version). You will be able to connect any input device (Mp3, portable
cassette, portable CD, etc) to the radio with a MALE – MALE stereo mini plug cord available at your favorite local electronics
store.
You will need:
1/8” Male to 1/8” Male Audio Cable, length of your choice
1/8” phone jack, normally closed (should have 3 connection points)
1/8” Female to 1/8” Male Stereo to Mono Adaptor
Jumper Wire (24 gage)
First, the radio must be removed from the vehicle. For instructions, see
the shop manual related to your specific model. Once removed from the vehicle,
remove the top and bottom covers of the radio. Next, remove the front face of
the radio. Be very careful not to disturb/ break off the pointer needle for the
tuner. I found removing the face on the early model radio to be trickier then
the late model, due to small pieces of the tuning mechanism. With the face removed,
the volume control potentiometers should be visible. There are 2 on the volume
control rod; the first is for the tone control, the second controls the volume. On
all early and late model radios that I have seen, the AM signal input to the volume control is a light blue wire. This should be the farthest leg of the pot towards the center of the radio.
The leg closest to the outside of the radio is the ground.
Typical Volume control rotated
90 degrees clockwise
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Unsolder the light blue wire from the terminal. Solder a piece of jumper wire to this terminal, and also to the ground terminal. The pieces of jumper will need to be long enough to reach the location you wish to
mount the input jack. Also solder (or use a solder-less connector) a jumper wire
to the light blue AM signal wire that you removed. At this point, you are done
working with the volume controls, so you may wish to put the front portion of the radio back together.
Connect the ground wire you attached to the volume control to the ground location on your input jack. The jumper wire that you soldered to the old input on the volume control goes to the connection on your
jack that will contact the mini plug when its plugged in. The light blue wire
coming from the AM circuit goes to the remaining connection on the jack. Without
something plugged into the jack, the AM circuit should be complete, and the AM radio will function as normal. With the input device plugged in, it will play through the speaker, AND you can control the volume with
the AM radio’s knob.
Next, find a suitable mounting location for the input jack. I mounted
mine just to the left of the antenna input, on the bottom cover of the radio, for ease of disconnecting the input cable. I use the Stereo to Mono adaptor in the input jack, and then plug my stereo cable
into that. I assembled a test station, with a spare speaker, and a 12V power
source to verify proper operation before I reinstalled the radio into the car.
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Once everything is buttoned back up, reinstall the radio into your car and
hit the road enjoying your new tunes. Good Luck, Eric Prosise
Author is not responsible for any damage to either the radio, the car, or any personal injury that may come from performing the steps in the article.
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