912 with a corvair engine?

[otto_kretschmer]

I'm thinking about my next project

but maybe I should finish the one I'm in the middle of now

I'm toying with finding a ratty 912 that I wouldn't mind doing anything to

I want to play with a couple engine combos, like a 912 with a corvair engine

I hav two 914 transaxels and I would think they would work with a corvair engine

and I've always wanted to play with a Buick 215

[jadewombat]

Would be interesting. Maybe Kennedy has adapter plates laying around. The 912 used the same 901 box as the 914 I think. Try and get some measurements of the Chevy flat-6 first though.

Buick 215 seems like a waste of time though, lot of plumbing and fabrication for something that would be a heavy dog on power compared to a modern Subaru four banger for almost the same amount of work.

[otto_kretschmer]

the corvair would be a fun engine to play around with, but I don't know about the parts availability

I'm sure bearings and valve guides are still available but I don't know about pistons and cylinders

the buick 215 (I think) weighs about the same as a porsche aircooled flat 6

watching Daytona now. Nascar is turning this race into a circus with all the prerace BS

[Laneco]

Please take my points here with a grain of salt...We've had Corvairs and whereas I think they are neat cars, the engine isn't anything to write home about.

The engine is reverse rotation. Not a big deal, because with a 901, you can flip the R&P. The engine is not all that light. Does not make much horsepower (110 to 140 stock and normally aspirated - just 180 with a turbo). Not much aftermarket support (compared to a Type IV, etc). Air cooled is a plus.

If I had a 912, and wanted to stay air cooled, I'd look into a stout Type IV. It will make more power than than the corvair, weigh less, and require essentially zero mods to the car itself.

If mods don't bother you, go turbo subaru and terrify everyone for a budget price. Buick 215? Waste of time. For the mods required, you can put in an LS engine - with you choice of all alumimum (as was the buick) or heavier/cheaper iron block. Much better engine in every respect than the 215.

angela

[Steam Driver]

As a long-time Corvair fan and driver I can tell you that the engine should fit the 912 quite well. A LONG time ago I was involved in putting a Corvair engine into a 356A coupe (not mine). It went in quite well. At that time there were adapters available to mate the Corvair to VW transmissions. And there was some fiddling with clutches, etc. to make it all work. But it's been too long ago for me to remember the specifics of it. We flipped the ring gear to accomodate the reverse rotation, but at the time there were also reverse rotation camshafts made for the Corvair. Maybe still. An excellent source for parts is Clark's Corvair Parts which can be found on the web. Lots of N.O.S. and reproduction parts.

One thing I do recall though is that one issue was the exhaust system. Not enough room under the 356 body for a decent sounding system and the one the guy used (on a budget so it wasn't custom-made) ended up with the outlets under the bodywork. So the whole car was an echo chamber.

It performed like a rocket ship, and the extra weight of the Corvair "decambered" the 356 enough to where any change in handling was really noticeable.

This was in the midwest; Manhattan, KS (home of Kansas State University) in about 1964. Porsche was '57, I think. It started out life as a Normal, which threw a rod. Then it had a 1500 Super engine for awhile which also suffered a major mechanical issue.

In the end the Corvair ended up being replaced bya 36hp VW and in that guise it was traded off to an unknowing Mercury dealer in the K.C. area around 1966. The Corvair conversion set-up ended up in a VW van!

That is all!

[914agogo]

I had a beautiful 70 911 Targa with a Corvair automatic in it hooked to 911 exhaust, it sounded just like an air-cooled six should... loads of power but nothing like a 911 more like a peppy 912. the automatic is what slowed it down, had it been hooked to a 901 it would have been a contender.

meet my old 1970 Tarvair

[johnsjmc]

I too played with Corvairs years ago. The engine pic in the post above is shown with a 140 hp label but the 2 carb engines were 85-110 hp max.depending on year and displacement . The 140 hp had 4 carbs
Stock pistons in all engines even the turbo were cast and prone to cracking below the rings.
The barrels are iron and heavy and NLA new.
Forged pistons were available years ago and I used them in a turbo rebuild but even back then I had to source them from several warehouses to find a full set.
Doing it today I would also look for a type 4 VW engine and build it up as many more parts such as oversize pistons and barrels are available.
GM has forgotten they ever made Corvairs and other than a couple of specialty places like Clarks ,parts are very hard to source especially performance parts.