Stripgear

I have these if you need them. I do not have the rubber. You can have them for the cost of postage and a beer.

I have 2 that are good for parts if anyone needs them. One is a three bolt mount, one is a 4 bolt mount. Just cover shipping and maybe a little beer money.

I've been driving mine here in Texas for 10 years, they work just fine. Scott

Kanter has them. I bought 4 last year, they work fine. Kanter Auto - Product Detail

Steve, When I rebuilt my 215, I got it all together except for the last head bolt. I had the torque wrench at the absolute minimum in the manual. I could feel it was going to strip, but what are you going to do? I pulled the head and helicoiled it. Put it back on, and another stripped. At this point I wasn't happy. I didn't want to do this again at 1000 miles, with the engine in the car, so I pulled it apart and helicoiled every last one of them. I don't know if that's over kill or not, but that was ten years ago and I trust my engine. If you want or need to helicoil the head bolts or anything else, you need to get the long ones as stated in the thread repair section of the shop manual. Mine had to be ordered. Scott

Although I don't know about a '37, the same thing happened on my '62. The piston in the kit was slightly longer than the original. This would not allow the cup to uncover the bleed hole in the reservoir. Take a fine wire and make sure that passage is not blocked. I had to grind down the length for it to clear.

I've been in the bearing business for 30 years, and here is my two cents: Front wheel ball bearings are very slow moving items and are not used on anything else. That's why the prices are high, especially for anything American made. In the '60's some companies made roller bearings as been mentioned. Everybody stopped making them long ago when the demand fell off. If the Chinese make either the ball or roller bearings then the price will come down, but I don't know if the demand is there. Roller bearings can handle more load than ball bearings which is the reason for the swap in the first place. I'd be a little nervous on using Chinese ball bearings on our cars. Scott

You can change the compression ratio with different pistons. When I rebuilt mine, the only pistons available were the Egge Machine #L2153, which were for the Olds engine. My receipt doesn't list the compression ratio, but as I remember, it was 9.25 or something close to that. I tried looking at their online catalog, and it's not loading right now. You can probably call them and get the C/R. They offer more pistons now. Anyway, even with the lower C/R, my Skylark requires premium, or it will knock. I rebuilt my car top to bottom and I'd be glad to answer any questions you have. Scott

Willie, Thanks for the input. I will will definitely do some more checking after the weather cools off some. However, this really seems just to some "junk" in the carb. I took it apart and blew it out, and now it runs fine. Scott

The hardened seats are already there. The compression on the 4 bbl is 10.25 to 1, you might consider lowering that for todays fuel. Unless the threads in the block for the head bolts are in excellent shape, you might consider helicoiling them. That way they won't strip later. Scott

1962 Skylark Complete restoration in 1995. New engine (balanced), radiator, transmission, suspension, interior, top, top motor and cylinders, dash, brakes, all weatherstriping including top. Everything replaced or rebuilt. 9,000 miles since rebuild. New brakes again last year. Runs well. Has power steering, power top, automatic trans, A/C, all works. Contact me for more details or questions. $12,500. Car is currently in Texas. Thanks Scott

My '62 Skylark (215 V-8) started running rough when warm. If I manually close the choke, it runs great. So I take the carb apart looking for either a vacuum leak or fuel restriction. Well, I found a "vacuum leak". If you look at the pictures, you will see an intentional path to allow unmetered and unfiltered air into the carb above the throttle plates. I have a spare carb and unopened carb kit, and they are all the same. I've never seen this before. I guess I'll never hose down the engine... Scott

They said they can add new epoxy and then turn it smooth on a lathe for $45. I'm a little nervous about "epoxy", but if I can't find one I'll give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion. Scott

Thanks Scott

The heads are aluminum, so they already have alloy valve seats. How hard are they? I'm not sure, but I've got 10,000 miles on mine after rebuild and they are fine. If you are thinking about changing them be sure the machine shop knows what they are doing. Aluminum expands more than steel, so if they are not done right, they can fall out.

Thanks, The tubing looks interesting. Here it is: Thermo-Tec : Heat Sleeves Scott

I live in central Texas and have a '48 Super, '62 Skylark V-8 (A/C), and an '82 RX-7 (A/C and electric fuel pump), all with carbs. The Skylark and RX-7 both have vapor return lines. I have had all of these cars over 15 years and have never had any concern about driving them anywhere, anytime. I've never had any problems with heat EVER until last year. Starting last summer, anytime the temperature is over 100 degrees, when I get off of the highway and get into an idling situation (like in line at a car show or a parking lot) I better get where I need to go and get parked fast. If I don't, it's going to start to miss and finally stall. It's not going to re-start. When I open the hood and take off the air cleaner, I can see the gas boiling over into the venturis. I've never gotten stranded, I've just got to wait 20-30 minutes and then I can go on my merry way. I've used different gas stations and I use premium in the '62. I kind of ignored it with the "old" Buicks, but when the "modern" RX-7 did it this week (at 103 degrees) I really bothered me. I think they've finally got the vapor pressure of the new gas so low that carbs just can't handle it in triple digit temps. Any comments? Is this happening to anybody else?

Thanks, I'll give them a call.

I had a knock on my '62 Skylark A/C. At first, I thought it was the clutch bearing. After I took it apart, I found the bearing in good shape. The problem is that the outer hub (the piece that the belt wraps around) is a two piece and these pieces are loose. The compressor is the standard A-6, but the clutch is different. The bellt is located all the way towards the back, so this is not the standard A-6 clutch that everybody sells. Does anyone know of a place that can rebuild this, or does anyone have a spare? Thanks Scott

You might check your pickup tube for a crack/pinhole leak at the 1/4 full level.

Here's my contribution, taken by my grandfather in 1952 in Georgetown, Texas.

The early Corvairs are related to Skylarks. Try Clarks Corvair or Corvair Underground. They sell new chromed plastic units. They "should" be the same, but check it out first. http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog....IN&page=299

Doncastor is correct, it is solid and unique to the '53 Skylark. I think you "may" have made a mistake by putting the car up on Ebay. There are many parts that I saw in the pictures that are unique to that car. All the side trim, all the SS trim aroung the vent windows, the interior SS trim under the rear quarter windows, the front seat backs, etc. Plus many rare items like the hydralic switches and valve under the rear seat. I restored a car not quite that bad. (see attached) I had some spare pieces left over and I was surprised by what I got for them on Ebay. I shudder to think what that horn ring would go for. There are several guys in Sweden,Norway, etc. and they really bid the prices up. If it doesn't sell, contact me and I'll try to get you a list of the valuable items. Scott

I'm not laughing...complete restoration...Barn find... Here's what I spent several years on in the '90's.

'60-64 Corvair wheels should also be the same.