Part One — Crankcase, Camshaft, 5th Bearing, Safety Shaft, Propeller Studs
The following pictures show how a short block Corvair flight motor is built. It starts from freshly disassembled (after 40 years in a junkyard). I spend a lot of time cleaning it up. But here the cleaned parts are assembled and each major step is depicted, and it comes out looking mighty awesome after getting the propeller end done. I used the Sport Performance Aviation Corvair Engine Assembly Manual which I consider a requirement to avoid costly and possibly very dangerous mistakes. I did the work at William Wynne’s hangar in Florida. It’s a great one-on-one way to learn from a guy who’s been building Corvair flight motors for over thirty years. Each pic below is hyperlinked to a much larger picture so you can get a really good look at the quality parts that William and SPA provide for flight motor conversions.
This was work was done in late February 2020. Terry Hand and Dan Sheridan were at the hanger as well. Excellent company and help all around. Next time I’m buying food and drink though. I plan on doing the final assembly at William’s as soon as I get a chance early in 2021, with the goal of running it on the test stand. The pictures of the test stand below were not my motor of course but rather William and Dan were doing carb setups for customers. They did mine and I took it home with me. Brilliant stuff, awesome and inspiring location. And a master to learn from. You can’t beat it.
Short Block as Disassembled:
Corvair Core Disassembled
Short Block Assembly At William Wynne’s hanger:
