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The Chevrolet Corvair engine was a flat-6 piston engine used exclusively in the 1960s Chevrolet Corvair automobile. It was a highly unusual engine for General Motors: It was air-cooled, used a flat design, and was all-aluminum. Two years after its 1960 debut, the Corvair engine gained another unusual attribute: Along with the Oldsmobile Jetfire V8, it was the first engine ever to be equipped from the factory with a turbocharger!
140
The initial Corvair engine displaced 140 in³ (2.3 L) and produced 80 hp (60 kW). The high performance "Turbo air" version produced 95 hp (70 kW).
145
In 1961, the engine received its first increases in size via a larger bore. The engine was now 145 in³ and the base engine was said to produce the same 80 hp (60 kW), but 84 hp (63 kW) if equipped with the optional automatic transmission. The new high performance engine was rated at 98 hp (73 kW). In 1962 the high performance engine was rated at 102 hp (76 kW) and the Spyder model became available featuring a turbocharged engine rated at 150 hp (112 kW).
164
The engine was stroked out to 164 in³ (2.7 L) for 1964 . Power output was boosted to 95 hp (70 kW) for the base model and 110 hp (80 kW) in high performance N/A engine. The Turbocharged engine remained rated at 150 hp.
A 140 hp (104 kW) version with 4 linked carburetors was introduced in 1965, with the turbo now up to 180 hp (134 kW).
Problems
The Corvair engine design was so unique that good dealer service and maintenance was spotty. Out of warranty engines frequently and incorrectly were diagnosed as needing "valve jobs" early in their life. In fact, the valve train in most engines usually functioned perfectly for well over 100,000 miles. Racers found that the mass-produced engine and its hydraulic valve lifters would function perfectly at over 10,000 revolutions per minute (rpm), a characteristic no similar contemporary mass produced engine duplicated. Chevrolet engineers also designed a unique fan belt for the air-cooled engine that many owners and dealers replaced with an inappropriate design. The correct fan belt, properly installed on the loose side, worked well at 0-10,000 plus rpm. Any other belt, installed loose or tight, would rarely perform above a measly 2-3000-rpm, giving the engine fan and belt design an undeserved bad reputation.
See also
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