V-8 Registry Newsletter, Volume 7, Number 5
Registry Members,
Many of you have or are about ready to put your conversions away for the winter except for you lucky ones in the southern and western USA. Mine was winterized today and is resting comfortably under a car cover in my shop. Here's a piece of advice that I received in September while attending a Mecum Auction about winterizing your car. A representative with STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer made a few observations and suggestions. When storing a car for a period of time, try to use the highest octane premium fuel that you can find that contains NO alcohol. Alcohol is the culprit when it comes to 'spoiled' gasoline. He indicated that fuel stabilizer can extend the life of this grade of gasoline up to 4 years or longer. To improve the stability of the fuel, he indicated that there's nothing wrong with adding a little more than the recommended quantity, but their literature doesn't state this fact.
REGISTRY FORUM
How many of you have spent time on the Registry's Forum? Based on the number of postings over the past 4 years, not as many as expected. The Registry Forum is a great asset to Registry members looking to find parts, cars, advice or to share information that may be of interest to other Corvair Conversion owners/builders. I encourage you to logon and try it. Most everyone who was a member of the V-8 Registry when the Forum was set up by Rick Andersen, our VP and Webmaster, was assigned a username and password. Perhaps you forgot your logon. Send Rick an email and he will refresh your memory. Newer members have the choice of registering themselves or having Rick assign a logon. If you want to try again and don't remember your logon, send Rick a short email note to: [email protected]
At the age of 76, I'm somewhat 'old school'; so the Forum scarred me when Rick first introduced it. I must admit that I was somewhat intimidated at first, but if I can post pictures and surf the site, anyone can. It's just a matter of jumping in. Once the volume picks up, there will be plenty of reasons for everyone to consider the Registry Forum as a valuable tool. I hope that you will give it a try today.
MERCHANDISE FOR 2020 RENEWALS
It's that time of year again when we request that you go to the Registry Website and renew your membership for 2020. Last year we set up some new rules for renewals to reduce the workload on the officers. We no longer accept renewals without a renewal form sent electronically from our website. No hand written copies are permitted any longer. If you are paying by check, make sure that you complete the electronic form before a check is mailed because Paul Beck will not accept checks unless there is a renewal form posted to his computer. Each officer relies on these forms for various records that we keep on file annually. So, if you are not willing to complete the form electronically, we are sorry, but you are not eligible for membership.
For the past 5 years we have offered Registry t-shirts to members signing up for Deluxe Membership at the $30 rate. NO shirt this year. We can do better. Thanks to a healthy bank account we are offering you a bonus for the same fee. It's our way of giving back to our loyal members. A lightweight unlined polyester jacket with an embroidered Registry logo will be offered with Deluxe Memberships. This is an upgrade that we feel members will appreciate. Rick Andersen, our Webmaster and VP is asking one favor from you. When you renew, include one photo of you or your car for inclusion on your personal page to qualify for a jacket. For those that would prefer a t-shirt or both, we still offer a t-shirt, but you will need to order it separably from our website. Shirts are available for $15. This is a reduced price and the price goes back to $22 after the renewal period ends. Here's a link to the order form:
https://www.v8registry.com/license-plate--t-shirt-order-form.html
V-8 Registry license plates are also available on this order form for $15. A picture of the jacket is shown at the end of this newsletter.
PALM SPRINGS GFBT EVENT
The Registry apologies to those that sent an RSVP indicating that they would attend the Pizza Party during the Great Fanbelt Toss in Palm Springs, CA last month. We cancelled the event on short notice when only three members indicated that they were attending after Rick Andersen sent a second notice. It made no sense for Rick to arrange for the event and drive from Bonita, CA to meet with 3 members. Usually we have 15-18 members in attendance. Not sure what happened this year. As it turns out 5 members reportedly attended the GFBT.
Hopefully, next year's attendance will be up and members send an RSVP. Since we are primarily an Internet group that does sponsor functions for members at Corvair events, it's important that you let us know your intentions when we ask for your to response to an invitation. Otherwise, we will cancel a scheduled party at events such as the performance workshop, CORSA convention, GFBT or other regional events. Your response drives our programming.
CORVAIR PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP 2020
As of this publication, the Registry has limited information on the location or month for the 2020 workshop. Tracy LeVeque indicated last week that she plans to host an event in their new Tennessee shop for the first or second weekend in March. She is not planning a formal program, just an opportunity for the racers and other gear heads to hang out and talk shop. Details will be posted when available.
In a related matter, no information is available on a follow up Performance Workshop in association with the Corvair Museum. A well attended workshop was held this past April in Decatur, IL, but since the Corvair Museum is moving to Springfield, IL no plans for 2020 have been announced. Again, we will post the information when it becomes available.
FIRST V-8 CONVERSION
For a number of years now, the Registry has concluded that Art Silva produced the first V-8 Conversions around October 1964 on a 1962 Monza Coupe. Although Art offered the first kits for converting an early model Corvair to V-8 power, we now find that another gentleman by the name of Bob Sottos produced an early model with V-8 power before Art. Bob Sottos built a 1960 '700' coupe with a 1961 283 cu in. Chevy engine equipped with a Chris Craft reverse rotation gear and camshaft package in late summer of 1961. Reverse rotation was required because the front of the engine was facing rearward. The stock 3-speed manual transaxle was used along with 3.89-1 ring and pinion gears. Additionally, a 10 inch diaphragm clutch assembly with a short T/O release bearing was used. Clutch control linkage and shifting controls were standard Corvair. We are aware of this information and more because Russ Brandenburg, our Founder, has a signed, but undated letter in his archives from Bob Sottos detailing the build. What we have on file will be posted on the Registry History page. I'm also waiting for more details about Bob Sottos from Dave Rogers, one of our members, who has access to more information from a friend who knew Bob personally. Like Ted Trevor and Art Silva, Bob Sottos passed away several years ago.
SAN DIEGO SUB-CHAPTER
In late July 2018 a group of seven V-8 Registry members met together in Oregon City, OR. Fortunately they all lived within 40 miles of Oregon City. They formed an informal sub-chapter of the Registry and have continued to meet with the assistance of Ethan Schoonover and Lonnie Gilbertson.
A survey of Registry membership in California was made to see how many members live close to Los Angeles and San Diego. We were quite surprised to find that 24 members and inactive members live within 146 miles of San Diego. Reducing the distance to 50 miles still shows 8 members in the San Diego area. Gurdon Hornor, one of our east members members who recently moved to the San Diego area has offered to host a meeting of members from the area. Another member Mark Spies also volunteered to assist Gurdon; so the San Diego sub-chapter will be tested first before we see what interest there is in the Los Angeles area. I will be sending out a note to everyone within 75 miles of Gurdon's home to survey the members for feedback on starting this new sub-chapter. Once we determine interest in the area, Gurdon will arrange to host a meeting. It's your opportunity to interact personally with other members. No action will be taken if interest isn't shown.
With the CORSA Convention scheduled in San Diego next July, I'm hoping that this group can interact with the convention host committee to make the 2020 Corvair conventions one of the best for V-8 Registry members attending. Our hope is to have 20 or more Corvair Conversions in attendance. There were 12 conversions at the St. Charles, IL convention this past July. That was a record number.
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING UPDATE
If you have not seen the instructional guide that's been posted on the V-8 Registry website, I encourage you to review it. A lot of time and effort went into this guide by a group of knowledgeable members. One member of that committee has recently suggested that he noticed some frame movement in the area of the steering box when the steering is engaged from lock to lock while the vehicle is not moving. This possible issue is under evaluation and will be reported on as soon as further information is available. If a solution is deemed necessary, we will post that information in the guide. It's also possible that no modification of the frame rail is necessary. If you have added EPS to your Corvair, we suggest that you check your frame for any flexing as a precaution.
V-8 CONVERSION WINS CONVENTION AUTOCROSS
A new award was added for presentation this year during the CORSA Convention in St. Charles, IL. In honor of Ted Trevor, 'The Father of the Corvair V-8 Conversion', the Ted Trevor Award is now awarded to the autocross driver from either Class SM-2 or SC-1 who turns the Fastest Time Of Day (FTD) in a V-8 Conversion. For the second year in a row Cory Black has won this award. He also won the Don Yenko Award because he had the best time for the autocross event. His time was 31.484 seconds. That's almost 2 seconds better than the second place finisher. Congratulations to Cory for his win in that super quick white conversion that he and his father John Black drive.
If you have ideas or suggestions for improving the Registry contact an officer. Drive fast, but safe.
John, President
Registry Members,
Many of you have or are about ready to put your conversions away for the winter except for you lucky ones in the southern and western USA. Mine was winterized today and is resting comfortably under a car cover in my shop. Here's a piece of advice that I received in September while attending a Mecum Auction about winterizing your car. A representative with STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer made a few observations and suggestions. When storing a car for a period of time, try to use the highest octane premium fuel that you can find that contains NO alcohol. Alcohol is the culprit when it comes to 'spoiled' gasoline. He indicated that fuel stabilizer can extend the life of this grade of gasoline up to 4 years or longer. To improve the stability of the fuel, he indicated that there's nothing wrong with adding a little more than the recommended quantity, but their literature doesn't state this fact.
REGISTRY FORUM
How many of you have spent time on the Registry's Forum? Based on the number of postings over the past 4 years, not as many as expected. The Registry Forum is a great asset to Registry members looking to find parts, cars, advice or to share information that may be of interest to other Corvair Conversion owners/builders. I encourage you to logon and try it. Most everyone who was a member of the V-8 Registry when the Forum was set up by Rick Andersen, our VP and Webmaster, was assigned a username and password. Perhaps you forgot your logon. Send Rick an email and he will refresh your memory. Newer members have the choice of registering themselves or having Rick assign a logon. If you want to try again and don't remember your logon, send Rick a short email note to: [email protected]
At the age of 76, I'm somewhat 'old school'; so the Forum scarred me when Rick first introduced it. I must admit that I was somewhat intimidated at first, but if I can post pictures and surf the site, anyone can. It's just a matter of jumping in. Once the volume picks up, there will be plenty of reasons for everyone to consider the Registry Forum as a valuable tool. I hope that you will give it a try today.
MERCHANDISE FOR 2020 RENEWALS
It's that time of year again when we request that you go to the Registry Website and renew your membership for 2020. Last year we set up some new rules for renewals to reduce the workload on the officers. We no longer accept renewals without a renewal form sent electronically from our website. No hand written copies are permitted any longer. If you are paying by check, make sure that you complete the electronic form before a check is mailed because Paul Beck will not accept checks unless there is a renewal form posted to his computer. Each officer relies on these forms for various records that we keep on file annually. So, if you are not willing to complete the form electronically, we are sorry, but you are not eligible for membership.
For the past 5 years we have offered Registry t-shirts to members signing up for Deluxe Membership at the $30 rate. NO shirt this year. We can do better. Thanks to a healthy bank account we are offering you a bonus for the same fee. It's our way of giving back to our loyal members. A lightweight unlined polyester jacket with an embroidered Registry logo will be offered with Deluxe Memberships. This is an upgrade that we feel members will appreciate. Rick Andersen, our Webmaster and VP is asking one favor from you. When you renew, include one photo of you or your car for inclusion on your personal page to qualify for a jacket. For those that would prefer a t-shirt or both, we still offer a t-shirt, but you will need to order it separably from our website. Shirts are available for $15. This is a reduced price and the price goes back to $22 after the renewal period ends. Here's a link to the order form:
https://www.v8registry.com/license-plate--t-shirt-order-form.html
V-8 Registry license plates are also available on this order form for $15. A picture of the jacket is shown at the end of this newsletter.
PALM SPRINGS GFBT EVENT
The Registry apologies to those that sent an RSVP indicating that they would attend the Pizza Party during the Great Fanbelt Toss in Palm Springs, CA last month. We cancelled the event on short notice when only three members indicated that they were attending after Rick Andersen sent a second notice. It made no sense for Rick to arrange for the event and drive from Bonita, CA to meet with 3 members. Usually we have 15-18 members in attendance. Not sure what happened this year. As it turns out 5 members reportedly attended the GFBT.
Hopefully, next year's attendance will be up and members send an RSVP. Since we are primarily an Internet group that does sponsor functions for members at Corvair events, it's important that you let us know your intentions when we ask for your to response to an invitation. Otherwise, we will cancel a scheduled party at events such as the performance workshop, CORSA convention, GFBT or other regional events. Your response drives our programming.
CORVAIR PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP 2020
As of this publication, the Registry has limited information on the location or month for the 2020 workshop. Tracy LeVeque indicated last week that she plans to host an event in their new Tennessee shop for the first or second weekend in March. She is not planning a formal program, just an opportunity for the racers and other gear heads to hang out and talk shop. Details will be posted when available.
In a related matter, no information is available on a follow up Performance Workshop in association with the Corvair Museum. A well attended workshop was held this past April in Decatur, IL, but since the Corvair Museum is moving to Springfield, IL no plans for 2020 have been announced. Again, we will post the information when it becomes available.
FIRST V-8 CONVERSION
For a number of years now, the Registry has concluded that Art Silva produced the first V-8 Conversions around October 1964 on a 1962 Monza Coupe. Although Art offered the first kits for converting an early model Corvair to V-8 power, we now find that another gentleman by the name of Bob Sottos produced an early model with V-8 power before Art. Bob Sottos built a 1960 '700' coupe with a 1961 283 cu in. Chevy engine equipped with a Chris Craft reverse rotation gear and camshaft package in late summer of 1961. Reverse rotation was required because the front of the engine was facing rearward. The stock 3-speed manual transaxle was used along with 3.89-1 ring and pinion gears. Additionally, a 10 inch diaphragm clutch assembly with a short T/O release bearing was used. Clutch control linkage and shifting controls were standard Corvair. We are aware of this information and more because Russ Brandenburg, our Founder, has a signed, but undated letter in his archives from Bob Sottos detailing the build. What we have on file will be posted on the Registry History page. I'm also waiting for more details about Bob Sottos from Dave Rogers, one of our members, who has access to more information from a friend who knew Bob personally. Like Ted Trevor and Art Silva, Bob Sottos passed away several years ago.
SAN DIEGO SUB-CHAPTER
In late July 2018 a group of seven V-8 Registry members met together in Oregon City, OR. Fortunately they all lived within 40 miles of Oregon City. They formed an informal sub-chapter of the Registry and have continued to meet with the assistance of Ethan Schoonover and Lonnie Gilbertson.
A survey of Registry membership in California was made to see how many members live close to Los Angeles and San Diego. We were quite surprised to find that 24 members and inactive members live within 146 miles of San Diego. Reducing the distance to 50 miles still shows 8 members in the San Diego area. Gurdon Hornor, one of our east members members who recently moved to the San Diego area has offered to host a meeting of members from the area. Another member Mark Spies also volunteered to assist Gurdon; so the San Diego sub-chapter will be tested first before we see what interest there is in the Los Angeles area. I will be sending out a note to everyone within 75 miles of Gurdon's home to survey the members for feedback on starting this new sub-chapter. Once we determine interest in the area, Gurdon will arrange to host a meeting. It's your opportunity to interact personally with other members. No action will be taken if interest isn't shown.
With the CORSA Convention scheduled in San Diego next July, I'm hoping that this group can interact with the convention host committee to make the 2020 Corvair conventions one of the best for V-8 Registry members attending. Our hope is to have 20 or more Corvair Conversions in attendance. There were 12 conversions at the St. Charles, IL convention this past July. That was a record number.
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING UPDATE
If you have not seen the instructional guide that's been posted on the V-8 Registry website, I encourage you to review it. A lot of time and effort went into this guide by a group of knowledgeable members. One member of that committee has recently suggested that he noticed some frame movement in the area of the steering box when the steering is engaged from lock to lock while the vehicle is not moving. This possible issue is under evaluation and will be reported on as soon as further information is available. If a solution is deemed necessary, we will post that information in the guide. It's also possible that no modification of the frame rail is necessary. If you have added EPS to your Corvair, we suggest that you check your frame for any flexing as a precaution.
V-8 CONVERSION WINS CONVENTION AUTOCROSS
A new award was added for presentation this year during the CORSA Convention in St. Charles, IL. In honor of Ted Trevor, 'The Father of the Corvair V-8 Conversion', the Ted Trevor Award is now awarded to the autocross driver from either Class SM-2 or SC-1 who turns the Fastest Time Of Day (FTD) in a V-8 Conversion. For the second year in a row Cory Black has won this award. He also won the Don Yenko Award because he had the best time for the autocross event. His time was 31.484 seconds. That's almost 2 seconds better than the second place finisher. Congratulations to Cory for his win in that super quick white conversion that he and his father John Black drive.
If you have ideas or suggestions for improving the Registry contact an officer. Drive fast, but safe.
John, President
