Lucas Flamethrower

Sometimes, you just get lucky. While on the job in Louisville, Kentucky, Rick met a co-worker and fellow hot rodder who, after seeing some pictures of the Corv-8 under construction, said he had something Rick might be interested in. The next day, he walked in and plopped a couple of Lucas Flamethrowers down on Rick's desk. They were used, but in their original boxes, and complete with a pair of replacement bulbs.

Rick asked what the fellow wanted for them, thinking the price would be high.

"Twenty bucks," came the response, and Rick couldn't get his money out fast enough! The Flamethrower was the high speed driving light of choice in the '60s, and was an option on Fitch Sprint Corvairs (see the Fitch section of this site).

Reassembly continued with the installation of a good used '66 grill bar and NOS key door purchased during the parts finding stage of the rebuild. A re-chromed bumper with original bumper guards was bolted up and the original headlight bezels were polished and screwed on. Stainless mesh was used to protect the radiator from stones and other highway debris, and a Z-28 spoiler from Corvair Underground was added.

Completed engine bay

This close up of the engine bay provides a good view of the final configuration with heat insulation installed. Note that the area under the engine is open to the road. Rick was concerned about driving in the rain and getting water all over all that polished hardware.

One day, while returning from a cruise-in, he got caught in a heavy rain storm. The engine stayed, as he put it, "as dry as a popcorn fart." The question was, "Why?"

He later concluded that under cruise, the engine bay is under positive air pressure. This is evidenced by the fact that if the engine cover is loosened, a substantial breeze blows through into the cockpit. On the other hand, with the cover sealed in place, this is no air movement.

"This is the reason these beasts are so hard to cool," he told me. "No air moves over the engine."

It's worth noting that the approaches to the cooling system we examined earlier in this feature have proved successful. Rick has experienced no problems with overheating, or abnormally high operating temperatures in either slow moving city traffic or spirited highway driving.