Corvair Engine Colors?

[espo]

16 hours ago, Jack L said:

corvairs had a oil cooler mounted above the air exhaust duct near the left rear corner of the engine

Thank you for the information. I wasn't aware of them having an OEM Oil Cooler and that might be one of the reasons none of my friends had an over heating issue. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

The factory oil cooler is visible in that first photograph, directly under the alternator.

You can also see how the belt has to turn 90 degrees. Early cars could be prone to throwing them, as already stated, but factory fixes and aftermarket tensioners improved reliability.

As the belt drives the charging system, when it goes you get a big red light on the dash. It means stop. 

One cause of "overheating" related engine failures was thermostatically controlled cooling doors, or the bellows that controlled a "ring" on the fan in early cars...but these were largely seen on abused or very high-mileage cars. 

Turbo cars used a pressure-retard distributor to limit ignition timing advance while under boost. A failure, or somebody trying to get more power without understanding the possible consequences, could easily result in holes melted right through piston crowns from destructive detonation. Also attributed wrongly to "overheating".

Edited February 6, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 2/5/2020 at 1:00 AM, Vietnam Vet67 said:

I bought a new Corvair in 1964 and had it for 6 years. The block and heads were aluminum. The pan was painted black and so was the fan shroud covering the top of the engine. Put 96,000 miles on it and except for one pushrod punching through a rocker arm it was bullet proof and leakproof.

I envy you having a new one. All of mine were tired when I got them, but after engine rebuilds with new seals, naturally, I also found them to be tough little buggers, mostly leak-free.