WIP - Customer's Poncho-6 Powered Corvair

As if it wasn't obvious enough, this project is from the same customer that I did the straight 6 Nova, the Slant 6 Super 7, and the road racing Falcon for. :icon16:

Kit is an AMT '69 Corvair, I've just roughly mocked it up here, and it will be using the 4.1 SOHC straight 6 from an AMT '69 Firebird--it will also be supercharged or turbocharged, depending which one I can fit easier.

As you can see it will also have a road racing flavour--I've removed the roof and windscreen, and it will have a Speedster body, with a small low-cut windshield and an engine cover where the back seat used to be. Why? Because a stock Corvair is rear-engined, and this car will be mid-engined. I cut the transmission off the kit's air-cooled engine, turned it backwards to face to the rear, and mocked up the engine just in front of the rear wheels, instead of behind them. The suspension geometry will therefore stay the same, and there's JUST enough room between the motor and the back seats to put a firewall...

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip1.jpg

The layout is proving difficult, but I think I've made some progress... Got the rollbar installed, made of various pieces of styrene and solder... Firewall directly behind it, just enough room to clear the fan pulley on the front of the engine (no fan of course, it'll be on the rad), so I think my basic layout is figured out now. I just need to fabricate a nice engine cover that includes flying buttresses up to the back of the rollbars... which should prove challenging. :headshake

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip2.jpg

Is this based on a real car?
What are you using for trans/transaxle?

Nope. Engine swaps are common in Corvairs, but I must admit I've never seen a straight-6 one before. But I've made it fit, as explained above. The transaxle is cut off the back of the flat 6 engine from the kit, and glued to the back of the straight-6, just turned around.

John,

How've you been? I see you'v still got some nice projects going on! Its been too long since I've been active on here! Did you ever get that grille worked out? So sorry that I wasn't much help. If you haven't, get with me and we will see what I can do, Maybe I can get it mastered and start producing some resin copies. Shoot me an e-mail [email protected]

Russell

For the Olds? Ya, the hard way:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=910766&highlight=custom+cruiser

No worries. :tongue:

Though I do have another Olds CC owner interested in one... maybe in the future. I'm strongly considering a "hiatus" for the business (it's part time these days anyway) because I'm really getting burnt out on the creative side of things... fun stuff like this Corvair is great, but I'm really starting to get sick of wagons... :headshake

For the Olds? Ya, the hard way:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=910766&highlight=custom+cruiser

No worries. :tongue:

Though I do have another Olds CC owner interested in one... maybe in the future. I'm strongly considering a "hiatus" for the business (it's part time these days anyway) because I'm really getting burnt out on the creative side of things... fun stuff like this Corvair is great, but I'm really starting to get sick of wagons... :headshake

I'm finally in the last stages of production for the fox body coupe. I've got other projects that I want to get done but I just don't have the creative juice. this mustang has really got to me. All that is left now though is to finish of the vacuum box and get some successful pulls from it for the glass and she's complete

Working away on the engine cover... created the flying butresses with thin pieces of styrene, heated and moulded round after being cut triangular.

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip3.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip4.jpg

Dude, it looks like a go cart...lol I would so drive this car!!!! Looks killer :)

This kit is a challenge to make any mods on. I built one for my uncle who has a 1:1 and was going to do a custom for a 2nd as a joke on him. It turned out the joke was on me! I was going to make it with a targa top single seat mounted in the center....well after several attempts the interior tub was lost. It seems like the body is to scale (it was a very small car especially for that time period). But the kit tub almost seemed like it was an afterthought design and just crammed in there to fit how ever they could.

The build is looking good so far hang in there with it.

There, I figured out the air intake--between the flying butresses.

Paint's applied, Jeep Red Rock Pearl. Has not been wet sanded or polished yet though.

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip5.jpg

Now that's going to be interesting. I like crazy conversions like this one!
What are you going to do with the original engine? If I remember correctly it's rather nicely detailed?

Sure is. Doing nothing with it...

Engine basically assembled, just need to do some detail work. 4.1 SOHC 6 cylinder from a '69 Firebird, with a single turbo (made of styrene tube with solder wrapped around it) feeding a 600cfm Holley 4-bbl. The blower hat was fabricated from a sanded-down mini-air cleaner and painted. Distributor is wired, hard to see on the other side of the motor though. Going to enclose the engine bay in sheetmetal while I'm at it.

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip6.jpg

Wheels and tires fitted--only small stuff would fit, so I stuck with the 14" kidney-bean style wheels from the kit, painted gloss black with the provided tires. Ride height and stance are just right, I think... Need to get to work on the chrome and body detailing, engine bay detailing, and figuring out how to make the engine cover fit better...

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip7.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip8.jpg

http://www.tigersdenhobbies.com/gallery/rhetts%20corvair/rhett_corvair_wip9.jpg