THIS WEBSITE NO LONGER FEATURES MY INTEREST IN THE CORVAIR HOBBY OR MY CARS OR CORVAIRS OF NEW MEXICO . I HAVE HOWEVER CHOSEN TO CONTINUE TO USE THIS WEB ADDRESS BECAUSE IT IS LONG ESTABLISHED AND ASSOCIATED WITH ME AND HOW PEOPLE I KNOW FIND ME. THIS CONTENT IS HOWEVER PERSONAL FAMILY RELATED.
Michael April 6, 1978 Albuquerque, New Mexico Jon September 24, 1981 Honolulu, Hawaii
A few pics . I have hundreds more and will post at a later date.
One of the first Shogun warriors I bought for Michael at garage sales . One was from a toy store. I was the one who got his collection started.
EVERY ITEM BELOW IS UNRELATED
Pic of my 1974 VW superbeetle used as an advertizing tool for my business : Precision School of Driving . And my 2003 Saturn used for a driver ed. vehicle . First new DE vehicle April 12th 2003.
My cousin Bruce and his 1972 TR-6 . 2009 Dover, N.H.
Jim and Marci's 1968 VW and 1980 Harley La Mesa , New mexico
Felix and Lupe's collection 1960 Corvette and 1929 Dodge Brothers 3 window coupe Mesilla , New Mexico
Cheryl's RX-7 taken back in the 80's -NH Ken's 2000 XK8- Roswell, Ga. Larry Smith's 1963 Corvette split window
coupe-Albuquerque- Thanks Vanna
coupe-Albuquerque- Thanks Vanna
Rich's 1965 black over tan GTO / Jerry's 1966 black over red Malibu convertible. Me at 17 .Blond over white thin 125 lbs. The one and only pic. of
these cars.
these cars.
Bob Johnson's 1957 Chevy Belair-Wichita , Kansas 1966
1965 Chrysler -1966 Prom night- . Me. 1956 Desoto black/yellow convertible-1958 Jerry's prom night
John's 1966 Pontiac Bonnevile John's 1972 Grand Ville John & Lorna 1965
Saw these in Italy(Oct 2010).A SMART car (sports car version), two different versions of a BMW scooter with a roof and trunk
See below. This was our 1961 Olds F-85 all aluminum V-8 but it was not the turbocharged version. That didn't happen until 62. I'm attaching this article below because of the significance of the F-85 Jetfire (1962-63) and it's relationship to the Corvair Spyder/Corsa or the era. As far as I know, these were the only 2 brands factory equipted with turbo chargers. Challenge this if you have more information.
1962-1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire's Turbocharger On April 16, 1961, Oldsmobile added what would come to be the 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire's predecessor -- an F-85 Cutlass coupe with bucket seats and a luxury interior -- as its response to growing demand for sporty compacts like Chevrolet's Corvair Monza. For 1962, the Cutlass coupe and its new convertible companion got the 185-horse V-8, but halfway through the model year, Oldsmobile had a bigger surprise on tap.
Placed on sale in April 1962, the Jetfire two-door hardtop -- based on the F-85 Cutlass -- held a turbo-boosted edition of the 215-cid V-8 good for 215 bhp at 4600 rpm and 300 pound-feet of torque at 3200 revs. That figure of one horsepower per cubic inch, first achieved in 1956 by the Chrysler 300-B, was a nearly magical number to enthusiasts at the time.
From any angle, the Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire's
215-bhp Turbo-Rocket engine was impressive. See below.
A turbocharger boosts the strength of the air-fuel mixture as a way to get more power out of a given engine without increasing its size. So does a supercharger, albeit via a different power source. Essentially, a turbocharger is a shaft with turbine impellers at each end. As exhaust pressure is directed against one impeller, it begins to spin. Meanwhile, the other impeller draws in air, sending it via centrifugal force into the intake manifold. This process boosts air pressure and forcefully feeds the fuel-air mixture into the engine for better combustion.
Turbocharging wasn't a new idea in 1962. Its history dates back to the early twentieth century. In 1905, according to Canadian historian Bill Vance, a Swiss engineer named Alfred Buchi patented an exhaust-driven supercharger for use on diesel engines.
As World War I brewed, General Electric and other U.S. companies were working on turbos for aircraft. GE's Dr. Sanford Moss, later named "father of the turbocharger," put a GE turbo on a V-12 Liberty aircraft engine. In high-altitude testing, it showed a dramatic power boost. After proving their worth in the Great War, turbocharged engines saw extensive use on World War II fighter planes.
Bentley and Bugatti made early use of superchargers in cars. In the U.S., makes such as Cord, Duesenberg, and Graham also used "blowers" prior to World War II, and several others resorted to them in the 1950s.
If turbochargers presented a bigger mystery to American enthusiasts in 1962, at least they would get a crash course in them. Anticipating a lack of understanding of turbos, Olds used the special Jetfire promotional folder to teach as much as to sell; a cutaway drawing explained the flow of intake and exhaust gases and a Q-and-A section tackled questions a prospective buyer might raise about the turbocharger's operation.
A month or so after the Jetfire's debut, Chevrolet launched the Monza Spyder with a turbo version of the Corvair's air-cooled flat six, also generating one horsepower per cubic inch. (Historically, then, the Jetfire is the first volume-production turbo car in America.)
This is the story of Ken's Corsa as told in a recent email from him; Your questions about my Corvair bring back lots of memories. Since all the graduating cadets needed a car and almost all bought new cars, the class invited local dealers to bid for the right to attend a car show at the academy. Those offering the best prices were allowed to display their cars over a weekend. There were all kinds of cars. I had a hard time picking between the Pontiac GTO, the Ford Mustang and the Corvair. Always felt I picked the worst of the three. Mine had a stick shift and the clutch cable was badly designed. On one of my first trips, I was in D. C. and the clutch cable broke. Luckily, had some good friends there and they got it to the shop and had it repaired. The second time it broke was much worse. I was in Germany and getting that clutch cable took about 6 weeks. After that, was always worried that when I stepped on the clutch, the cable would break again. Had the car for about 4 years. While driving, again in D. C., was rear-ended by a guy driving a rental car. My car was totaled. The purchase price when new was almost exactly $2000. At the time I graduated, I was making $222 a month. At that time, banks only allowed 2-year loans on cars so my payments were about $80 per month. Years later learned I would have been much smarter to buy a cheaper used car. Then I could have bought a much nicer first home because I didn't have that car payment. Would have always been further ahead in the real estate market. But it was fun being young and stupid.
