-Hi,i had a repair shop in Brazil years ago and i was very fond of rebuilding VW air engines and american V8's,i had the opportunity of rebuilding a few Corvair engines with ultra-high mileage and years of abuse,and i got really surprised of how little wear those engines had,it's a real tough engine,built to last forever.
-Can't go wrong with forged crank and rods,perfect for airplane application.
-I never seen a crankshaft with excessive wear or a cracked head,amazing.
Those corvair powered homebuilts sound so sweet, way better than the 3300 Jabiru and even larger factory engines. I've read they are prone to cooling issues and cracking cases, though (yes I know, I've READ it, but who knows...)
@hodgejr , can you point us to any links that describe the cooling and case problems? I can't find anything like that. Look on mylist.net/archives/corvaircraft or flycorvair, those are the people who fly the Corvair and they don't mention those issues.
You are confused with the VWs. They have magnesium cases which crack and the heads can only dissipate the heat of about 45hp. The Corvairs have had crankshaft issues on the higher power conversions, but those are being dealt with by nitriding the cranks and installing a 5th bearing. The corvairs cool very well and have an oil cooler as well as large fin area.
Best sounding engine this side of a Merlin!
h2otek 5 months ago
-Hi,i had a repair shop in Brazil years ago and i was very fond of rebuilding VW air engines and american V8's,i had the opportunity of rebuilding a few Corvair engines with ultra-high mileage and years of abuse,and i got really surprised of how little wear those engines had,it's a real tough engine,built to last forever.
-Can't go wrong with forged crank and rods,perfect for airplane application.
-I never seen a crankshaft with excessive wear or a cracked head,amazing.
peter455sd 1 year ago
The best growl a Wag ever had.
tboltjohn 1 year ago
@tboltjohn DITTO!
sbd45acp 11 months ago
Those corvair powered homebuilts sound so sweet, way better than the 3300 Jabiru and even larger factory engines. I've read they are prone to cooling issues and cracking cases, though (yes I know, I've READ it, but who knows...)
hodgejr 1 year ago
@hodgejr , can you point us to any links that describe the cooling and case problems? I can't find anything like that. Look on mylist.net/archives/corvaircraft or flycorvair, those are the people who fly the Corvair and they don't mention those issues.
TheRooster602 1 year ago
@hodgejr
You are confused with the VWs. They have magnesium cases which crack and the heads can only dissipate the heat of about 45hp. The Corvairs have had crankshaft issues on the higher power conversions, but those are being dealt with by nitriding the cranks and installing a 5th bearing. The corvairs cool very well and have an oil cooler as well as large fin area.
sblack48 1 year ago
Is it the "jet color" dope or is this ship much fster than a stock Vagabond?
whizbang47 1 year ago