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Air Camper Construction Log
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Date:  9-15-2014
Number of Hours:  10.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Corvair College #30 – Mexico, MO

Since I was unable to complete my engine and test run in San Marcos, Texas, I came to Mexico, Missouri to button things up and see if she would run. There was another snag along the way that needed to be addressed, which was the fact that there had been some light shed on some sub-standard components that I have installed in my engine… more specifically, the rocker arms. I purchased my rockers from Clark’s Corvair Parts, as had been recommended in past years. What I did not realize is that country of origin for these components is Communist Red China, which we all know equals… low grade garbage. The problem with these is not the grade of material, but rather, the manufacturing process. These parts are stamped, much like the process used by General Motors back in the 1960s, which is a perfectly acceptable practice… the difference is, the area where the rocker ball comes into contact with the rocker arm is thin, making it subject to failure. GM used material that was thicker in this particular area as it will become thinner when struck, or stamped… the Chinese (50 years later) did not take this into account, which is when their rockers are thinner than the OEM parts. Either just plain dumb, or don’t care. I would suggest both to be the case. These parts might be ok for a car on the road, but not acceptable for an airplane in the air. There have only been a couple of reported failures with these parts, neither of which were catastrophic, or resulting in major damage or injury… they were lucky. So, priority #1 for my stop in Mexico, MO would be to remove the Chinese rockers and replace with cleaned and inspected rocker arms manufactured in the USA for GM back in the 1960s. Even in used condition, the GM parts are far superior to the newly manufactured Chinese junk.
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Mexico, MO - Home of Zenith Aircraft Co.

Mexico, MO - Home of Zenith Aircraft Co.

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Rockers Swapped and Ready for the Test Run

Rockers Swapped and Ready for the Test Run

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