Sometimes watching the cutting, grinding, and fabricating is just so relaxing.

@ronaldrey8474

Жыл бұрын

Exactly ! Very SATISFYING watching...

"If I don't know, I'll just make something up" words spoken by real men everywhere

@ronaldrey8474

Жыл бұрын

Don't forget "you made it to the end" wish my wife would say that... hehe

I find your welding, fabrication & machining skills, as excellent as they are, easily eclipsed by your ingenuity and thoughtfulness. This is a wonderful series and I can't wait to see the bodywork all painted and shiny, ready for that mahoosive motor!

Engineering/Fabrication - AWESOME! Glove caught in the clamp - PRICELESS!

@darrenswails

2 жыл бұрын

Do you also enjoy the adventures of project binky?

@malcolmcapps8816

2 жыл бұрын

Build me a Corvair

My dad was a pilot who loved building engines. So, of course his retirement business was a full machine shop. 30 years later I still can't get enough. I love this kinda thinking.

Your comments are priceless. I have a L-5 & L-2 Burst fractures & fusions w/ chronic pain . Please don't stop video of your projects, only way I can escape besides drugs. Your important to me for learning & MENTAL HEALTH ! Thank You John.

I always thought these cars could have been so much better if only someone would have put a little more effort into them. Holly cow this is going to be a beast.

@oceanhome2023

2 жыл бұрын

That is the way I have always thought ! Just imagine what could have been done to upgrade this car !

You are truly a genius!! love how you keep adapting to the 'new problems" Sounds & looks like you were once a Marine, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome"

Nice engineering I really like the swing arm toe adjustment angle Chevy should have done that years ago.

Very nice. When I was in high-school a local racer took the front wheel drive from a 455 Toranado and made a mid-engine Corvair. Wickedly fast and fooled many unsuspecting street racers.

@alwaysalways6210

2 жыл бұрын

In the late 80s there was a corvair with the same set up terrorizing the streets of Las Vegas. That thing smoked what my buddies and I had!

I wish you were my neighbor so I could just come over and visit while you work. A joy to watch.

Your trailing arms remind me of single-sided swingarms on motorcycles. A very elegant solution.

very cool! back in the 80's i saw one a guy had that was mid engine and it was awesome! hope yours is even better!

@dcraexon

2 жыл бұрын

Tune up shop in Glendale Az had one as a mid engine quarter-mile dragster with crinkle walls did a wheelie through the intersection on the way to pick up parts😂👍

Your weldments should be in a museum, priceless workmanship. I am gob smacked to say more. all the best, looking forward to the next installment. Take care and peace out!!

You really doing a nice job John.

I enjoyed the drive axle and sprocket idea. I think a Hayabusa swap would make a lot of sense here. after months of welding you would end up with exactly the same horsepower as before :)

Awesome shop. Tools, tools, tools! Great respect for a guy that has the skills to put them all to use!

The way you weld a tight radius ellipse into the swing arm for the rear suspension is to bend the tip of the tungsten and extend it so that you can fit it into that small radius, get a bigger cup and then turn up the gas supply. If you can build up a non-combustible dam around the area of the weld to constrain the gas flowing out of the cup from flowing out of the area, so much the better. It isn't a wonderful way of doing it, but it is functional and gets the job done.

As a Aerospace TIG Welder for over 40 years - You need to use Backup Argon Gas then you can put your Tungsten out as far as you need to Weld. Make like a Tent out of Aluminum Foil or any non flammable material to keep the argon gas into place.

@patrickshaw8595

2 жыл бұрын

Heh - heh . . . Grey Hair for the WIN !

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Good point about the shielding gas. The bigger problem was that the torch would have to be nearly horizontal to the joint. I've heard of ppl bending the tungsten to do such a job but a mid plate was a easier solution.

Your fab skills are just something else. Truly amazing work!

Love the idea, once owned a Corvair like this one. Had to subscribe and will follow this project closely. Work is top notch and I am excited to see it being built. You are a craftsman for sure.

John, you are one heck of a Fabricator, sir! this car is shaping up really nicely!

Really enjoying this the details and your engineering design thoughts during these build videos

You Sir are genius, and I'm not, for the quality of work you do, nobody could afford a kit, however nice it is to think 🤔 about. Outstanding beautiful welds, everything is top notch

Thank you for your videos. Your efforts are an inspiration. I’m very impressed with your fabrication skills and garage engineering.

Once upon a time I was involved in a 66 Corvair Crown conversion. At that time I was simply a mechanic with fab skills. Now, I appreciate & participate in machining processes as well. Your vision drives you to make it as you see fit. All I can say is, "Hope it exceeds your expectations!"

I love this kind of " garage engineering" you are brilliant, And I'm going to keep following. Not to mention, I want to do a corvair as well.

Man, I love what you're doing with that Corvair. Don't let the negative comments bring you down. I put a jet engine in my Mustang last spring, and the chicks really dig me.

Still watching. Love the workmanship !

I found ya thru miss Nicole and the SUPER DOOPER BEETLE, and I have to say that you are an awesome fabricator and I love your vision, man. Thanks for bringing us along

I enjoy your video's. Thank for taking the time take them.

John Reynolds, You know what amazed me you are making the parts that you planned long time ago and you know already how to make the next suspension parts that can handle the massive engine torque that is going to be transferred to the rear wheel. Excellent fab. Thanks for sharing.

Was wondering how the progress was going. Those arms are artworks. Thanks for the update!

This man and this build are mindblowing. Period.

Love these keep them coming. I am inspired to do a similar conversion with my 66

Always fun to watch it done the right way, great ideas too

Impressive design and workmanship in limited space

I wish I could work on cars like John. His work and design is top notch !

@BillyReed68

2 жыл бұрын

Having all full machine shop with lathe and milling machines helps.... A LOT!

Very nice craftsmanship

Master craftsman nodout.

very cool stuff you're doing, Wish I had all of those toys!

Love how this is developing

You are an awesome fabricator

John, it's been 3 weeks I'm looking for another update, welding fabrication, talking what ever you've got. I can only watch this video so many times. 😂 🤣👍

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I got side tracked but should have next update by Monday. There's 50+ hours of work on the project between videos.

NASA would probably love to have you building things, top notch you are right up there 👆 with the greats in welded made things, nice 👍 thanks BigAl California.

Thanks for the show

Looking good, thanks John

Hot diggity dog this is turning out to be one hell of a vlog. Another hundred mill or two (views) and Al Gore's rhythm just might recommend you. I can't wait to see this thing roll out in the spring. You're definitely killing it. Going to be one hell of a car when it's done. The transverse LS4 idea was brilliant. Really making use of the available space. There's a build out here on the interwebs, a Vair Monza with a 283 that doubles as an armrest. He took Mid engine to heart with that build. It doesn't have an engine cover. I don't know how long I could tolerate a 283 riding 3rd wheel screaming over everyone else. With that said, I still give him an A+. Everybody talks, rarely does someone do.

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

This is my first build that will be all video. Previous builds have been done with just pics on forums. It's a niche crowd that will watch it so I don't plan to set Al Gores rhythm on fire. Yeah, the North/ South engine arrangement has been done hundreds of times and it's always the same problem: the valve cover doubles as an arm rest. Still can't use a back seat with an East/West configuration but at least, you would have to reach way back to touch the engine.

This man John Reynolds can build anything .

Holy cow that shop is huge!! Nice work tho!!

Impressive!

Very very nice job, thanks.

Your welding better that Factory welding. Perfect..

I have a freind that put a 327 in the front of a corvair and put the floor and the hump of a s10 in with a rear axle turned out really nice. Made a nice 1/4 machine

Porsche got around trail arm twist strengthening by putting tubes along the length of the trail arm to join both sides together . Welded outside . I would stitch weld inside also but I’m a back yard engineer from a country seaside town in Australia and don’t speak German.

This guy is amazing!

I love your work. I should be with you have a look your work.

The best bet as far as keeping everything lined up and turning freely is simply to have a reliable assistant spin the rear wheels as everything is tacked into place. If it all lined up initially then it still should provided the "poor man's jig" tip is followed faithfully. Lots of thought to your engineering. My choice when confronted with access issues when welding is adequate gap to weld thru into a copper or brass backing strip which is then sacrificed and cleaned up to smooth at those spots. Also have used ceramic tape for 100% backup strip. "I know, lets show some heat straightening and annealing with a torch and wet rag video".

Ingenious.

Watched the Volkswagen test drive with Nicole Johnson, then a few others and now the Corvair series. First video that reminds me of Ronald Finger videos. Funny parts.

the sprocket joke was really funny lol

This is fascinating. I have a 65 Corvair, but the body is set on an 88 s10 Blazer chassis and will be front engine. The mid-engine looked like way beyond my fabrication skills.

Bravo maestro

i said this on the bug video and ill say it again... you're a genius !! well well weld ! LOL

phenomenal ;-)

Ive seen a Olds Tornado drive train in the back of a Corvair.. Yes the 455, it was in the 70s

Ford Courier 4 x 4 front lower control arms were bending, the fix was to replace them with arms with mid plates. so it is proven to work

Average person:- “You can’t put that engine and trans combo in there “ John Reynolds:- “Hold my beer”

Sure wish my hubs were that precise, had to shim my wilwoods with some washers for my sandrail with a Subie of course!. :)

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, we do what we have to do. Shims aren't a bad idea.

Love the content and the build ! Any way we could get more footage close up while welding

Great!

You have a nice shop and some great tools and the car is looking good I always liked the late model vairs what motor is it 1,2, or 3 ls

I've seen an Oldsmobile 455 Toronado engine and TH425 transaxle installed in the rear of a Corvair. The engine was in where the back seat used to be. Pretty sure they used the front suspension as the rear suspension for the Corvair. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it go anywhere. I imagine it probably went pretty good.

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing. Why no foot pedal for your drill press?

Have you saw Mat's Off Road Towing .? He Took a 700 Four Door Made It Egn. In front 4x4 Rock caller . He Called The Morevair.

When I installed a B-61 Hydrogen Bomb in the tail of my Fiat 850 Spyder I just used Advanced Search on Ebay and found a set of control arms to fit it for only $5 apiece, free shipping !

If you did one inch long stitches every three inches and working cold bits before moving back to hot bits until every panel has a stitch every three inches you can then close up the gaps with the work pieces experiencing minimal distortion. An alternative to the center plate or in addition to would be to get some thick wall half inch or 10 mm tube and pass it through so it transects the bend then weld the tube to the walls it intersects with.

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Those are other ways to do it I suppose. It been my experience that no matter how you put 5’ of weld on a fabricated structure, it’s going to shrink and warp. Pretty common to use fixtures when doing this kind of work. Thick wall tubing is certainly strong enough if you’re not concerned about weight.

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Also, even though I welded each arm with 6 opposing sections, I prefer to weld the entire project in one session to avoid repeated heat cycles.

Oh yeah, you should build a kit, if possible when finished, an old friend (r.i.p.) had several corvairs and I have always been a fan of those. Screw Ralph Nader, real men love danger

Holy shit John! I had no idea this was your vision when you were talking about your suspension design ideas when you first started this project. Beautiful work! Really enjoying your progress on it.

It's just too good, but maybe needs more tire to swing arm clearance, can't wait for the next episode!

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Hard to see, but it has nearly a half inch clearance. As long as I stay out of the mud I should be fine.

@johnbreadsell1401

2 жыл бұрын

@@JohnReynolds661 High load sidewall deflections ? Nice work don't tell Noam.😉

@christopherbrown6697

Жыл бұрын

You can run narrower tires in the winter so you have room for tire chains. 😁

16:50: I am SO glad I am not the only one that does that...

Just a tought, When trying to position the caliper, what if you put the caliper in place, use some compressed air to tighten the pucks on the rotor, then the caliper will be in it's position, then tack and weld. Hard to explain in english I Really enjoy your work.

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

That's a good idea.

@azfxr1919

2 жыл бұрын

@@JohnReynolds661 I have used 180PSI to center & hold the caliper while welding caliper mounts for years. Works great, fast & easy.Caliper is not spinning so if it is off be a 0.005 or so not a big deal, pistons will correct any minor misalignment. Great work on your build sir.

@b-lopez394

2 жыл бұрын

@ Michel Party, It will work if the caliper is one sided piston design but if the caliper has pistons on both side the caliper has to be aligned equal distance to both side of the rotor before welding the hanger.

@azfxr1919

2 жыл бұрын

@@b-lopez394 I center 4-piston and 6-piston calipers with 180lb compressed air. You should confirm correct centering with a feeler Guage, but most often I find it very close, just like when you apply the brakes.

Nice work! What is your background? How/where did you learn metal working/welding?

👍😊

If halfshafts are part of the trailing arm suspension,trailing arm pivot points have to have some give. "Up and down" motion of trailing arms will pull in an in and out "at the halfshafts. Unless, halfshaft ends can slide "in or out" as trailing arms go in an "up and down" motion, due to road surface conditions.I owned a corvette C3 and trailing arm pivot points cpuldn`t be solidly bushed at pivot points. I hope you solve this situation and come up with something better than the old corvette style rear end.

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, the C3 and original Corvair rear suspension are similar in that they rely on the half shaft as one of the fixed suspension points. My arrangement uses inner and outer plunging CV joints and two lateral control arms so the axles have plenty of room to breath.

ok, now, make me a set!! 🤣

Weld, weld, weld, weld... Hahaha.

Beautiful work/craftsmanship! Did you pre-heat the bungs?

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, since the bungs are normalized 4130 , I didn’t see any need to pre-heat them.

How many things u take apart when you was little? Just to see how it worked? What was or is your job? Do you have any video of that truck in garage? In first video I think you see it when going to look at transmission and engine.

T 2 or 3 1.5" tubes between the arm skins would have been strong enough!

Those control arm pivot points are going to be under a lot of stress.

The rear end suold have 2% toe in, rite , loll, nice a mock up straight axle, is straight, right, lol, nice you put some adjustments in place to get the 2% toe in, if you don’t have that , the real of the car will fish tail, it will vary easily swap ends, loll,nice thanks BigAl California. I’m buggy I built way way back in the day with no toe in on the rear end coused it to fish tail all over the place , nice roller coaster 🎢 ride , lololol, nice you will love it thanks BigAl California.

@mikewills6753

2 жыл бұрын

Engrish is hard!

👍👍😎👍👍…… weld, weld, weld, weld, weld, weld…… 🤣😂🤣. To me it’s all about seeing how others fixture, setup and tack, yet it was really helpful to see the arm rest in action. I imagined how well they might work and now I’m convinced the smooth action arm rest could help a lot, again, depending on the setup. Thank you. Is the tubing notcher something you made or purchased?

I'm curious if you need an heir? I'm particularly fond of that Super Beetle

I thought I was hot stuff because I can do a brake job, talk about feeling inadequate! Lol

Damn, sprocket drive would have been so cool. Those yellow numbers look like the same kind as we use for transformer numbers. You work for a power company?

i really want to build a Corvair with a Subaru flat 6 and maybe a 996 C2 transaxle.

Hi, if you would be interested I saw a guy that took a second gen. and made it a hatchback maybe you'd be interested it looked cool and gave more room and looked factory the way he did it.

Hi John, great work as usual. Question about you checking the caliper to rotor clearance shown at about 7:35 - what is a desired dimension here? I've never seen a spec for that. Thanks!

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

I think what is important is to center the caliper in the rotor. The gap should be the same between pad and rotor on both sides. The gap dimension is not that important.

@kisoia

2 жыл бұрын

@@JohnReynolds661 Got it, Thanks

I was wondering if motor mounts could pivot with trailing arms a bit it might solve side pressures. I like your project though, quite inivative.

@JohnReynolds661

2 жыл бұрын

The main objective with the motor mounts is to make it easy to drop out of the bottom, 'cause, you know, it will probably be coming out for various reasons.