I had a short version of a 63 corvair convertible that I bought from an officer at Schofield barracks on Oahu. I only gave him $200.00 and never had one bit of trouble. It drove fine and I drove that baby all over the island. It had no heater , it was built for tropical climates.
Dude if you read the book. It was letting people know that the issue was one side or the other side would bounce of the rear end of the suspension then the rim would dig in to the pavement and the rear end would swing around. Add all that to someone who is a newer driver the car could get away from that person. In the book it said that a stablelise bar would stop the bounce keep things planted to the ground. The book says that the later Coviair with the Corvette independent suspension didn't have that issue. In the book it said that a proper set up Covair track race car was not something to mess with even if you had a Cobra or had something German. The car did well on the race track. The book also talked about some of the bad tributes of a solid axle with leaf springs like axle rap, axle hop in the cars of the day. Other cars were talk about in the book like the Ford Edsel the bad build quality that they had so bad that the Edsel went back to the factory for a rebuild that is why you see Edsel today. The other car was Harley Earl Cadillac was also in the book because the fins could slice you open if you were riding a bike of the day with bad brakes. OK take a look at today's Cars They look like a bar of soap but if you get hit by one you have more Chace of living because of safety laws. Back to the Covair . If GM would have fix the problems right away and not take the low road fight against the idea the car was with flaws. It's just the car was so ground breaking it had some teething problem that needed to be worked out and they didn't want to do it. It was not the book that killed the Covair but the lawsuits brought against GM did who wreck the car or worse. After reading the book I still like the Covair. I just would make sure it is set up with a stablelise bar or look for one with the Corvette independent suspension. o
That is the 1st v-8 in the back, I have ever seen. I had a mid engine, v-8 , and 2 corsas, and 2 110hp models. I absolutely love that rear v-8 you show here. Thanks for the video.
I'm very happy with my 1966 turquoise Monza 4 door hardtop, 110 horsepower engine, Powerglide and factory A/C. I restored her mechanically (had the body work done at a shop) and she runs and drives like when she was new!
Dad had one. What a car ! 62 Monza. 4 speed stick, 6 cylinder, air cooled. It was a suburban sports car. A car that size with 140 to 160 HP...guess what ? You do well off the line !
My grandfather, Frank J. Winchell, was GM’s expert witness in the defense of the Corvair. In total there were 294 cases brought against GM, totaling claims of over 100 million dollars. Of these, 10 were tried to jury convictions. Of these, 8 verdicts were in favor of GM. Of the 2 loses; "Chart v GM," where 2 of the 5 occupants testified in court that the driver had a quarrel with his girlfriend and that after a 2 1/2 hour stop at Bronco’s Beer Bar, where the driver was chug-a-luging his beer, and later they warned the him that he was driving recklessly and at an excessive speed, that he failed to make a right hand turn, locked up his brakes and struck a telephone pole. In what is know as a comparative negligence verdict, the jury found the driver 75% responsible, the girlfriend 3%, the state highway 5%, the county highway 5% and GM 12%. The other lose was "Canthos v GM," where the jury found in favor of the plaintiff, however, the judge set the jury’s verdict aside stating “There is not a scintilla of quotient evidence to support the claims against the handling characteristics of the 1960-63 Corvair.(paraphrasing)” He went on to describe the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert witness as “perhaps the most incomprehensible gibberish that this court has ever heard.” A Untied Sates Senate Committee spent 2 1/2 year investigating the safety of the Corvair, the DOT as well as many other institutions, even Nader’s own NHTSA came to the same conclusions as everyone else, that the Corvair was not defectively designed nor a defective product. In fact, it performed as good, or better than all cars on american roads at that time.
@@motorhead6763 .. I had a Beetle once... knew 2 people that had to get cut out of them with the "jaws of life" ... they won't get near one now.. and neither will I.....
That was a beautiful 1963 Monza coupe between the two late models! It even had the optional rear speaker! Was hoping you would have shown that car! I love Corvairs and have several! Although it wasn't the first unibody American car, that was the '49 and up Nash Ambassador/Statesman. Corvairs are awesome cars!
***** thanks man - and as a footnote: Corvair taillights won LeMans1967 (Shelby used them on GT 40 MkIV) & the (miniature, lightweight) automatic transmission won Brands Hatch & Nurburgring (in Chaparalls built by Jim Hall) - Corvair was SCCA d production champion twice, I think. Shamefully, Ralph Nader missed the environmental bonus of small-displacement cars
People keep forgetting that GM redesigned the Corvair in '65---it no longer used swing axles, it used a fully independent setup. Unfortunately, it's reputation was already tarnished by the time the second generation models came out.
most corvair owners are fairly knowledegable, I currently have a 1966 corvair corsa in lemonwood yellow, and its a turbo that produces 180 hp. I happen to be restoring it now. anything you wanna know about them contact me.
Carl needs to find us a Spyder Corvair Turbo with 150 H.P. There was never one of those according to my research. They made the 2 carb 110, 4 carb 140 and a Turbo 180 H.P. engine, nothing else.
Your research is wrong, the Spyder came with a 150 Turbo engine. The last year of the Spyder was 1964. Go here for your info! www.corvair.com/user-cgi/pages.cgi?category=corvairhistory
I think Nader did more to raise the mystique of this car than he did to destroy it. I have had the chance in my life to talk with those who drove these cars and all said they were a fun car. Yes, it was mentioned the rear engine setup did make for different handling, but nothing to the extent that Nader said it did. So, Ralphie-boy, thank you for making this car the collectible it is. You done good!!!
Nader had an agenda, and he tended to pick the worst case scenarios and depict them as commonplace. In his attacks on the auto industry, he did it to more than just the Corvair. Yes, the 60-64 rear swing axle design was quirky, if you didn't maintain the recommended tire pressures, or understand the handling of rear engine cars in general. The Porsche 356 was a similar swing axle design and a car also well known for its eccentricities, until you understood how to drive it. I had a few old cars when I was younger and my 62 Corvair project car was the one I really regret not getting to finish.
It's very likely Ralph knew very little about mechanics at the time. He may have not been much of a driver either. What he did see though, were injuries from my angle on his quest with Detroit. The fact that he recognized manufactures didn't put much into safe design etc. was a good thing to shed light on, especially with the public who didn't really understand how to prevent injuries they were getting from impacts to the interior of cars including dangerous interior/exterior design. I'll give him that much but as far as the Corvair being a one car accident design, I'd have to disagree as there were several other cars made the same in that era. Auto industry made changes as injuries and fatalities came forth and that's too bad. Today, I'd like to see a youngster take a drive in any old car and find out how easy they have it compared to autos in the 1960's. No fuel injection, no ABS, no disc brakes, no power steering, no air bags, no bucket seats and consoles and so forth. They'd have a hard time just starting a cold engine with the old design carburetors and choke let alone figure out how to keep them running until they got warmed up.
I have a 65 Corvair Monza Conv and I love the styling! I have a gummed up carb and my mechanic is guiding me to stay with the original two carb setup and not modify/upgrade to a four carb set up. Any thoughts out there from someone with knowledge about this? Also, thoughts on a cam shaft swap and exhaust upgrade to add more air and get it out faster? Thank you!
My Dad has a 66 Corvair We got to get the engine rebuilt it over Heats but when it ran it was fun to Drive it was always to get to oil checked because they would always try to pop the hood up front - Charles
Nice looking Corvair. I've always liked Corvairs, both the early Corvairs and the later Corvairs. If I were to buy a Corvair, I would've replaced the air-cooled boxer engine with a water-cooled boxer engine, possibly a Porsche or a Subaru boxer engine.
BLOWIN SMOKE You're welcome. It'd probably take some modifications to install a radiator and water cooling equipment, but I would think it could be done, if someone knew how to do it right. :)
The problem of a fan belt could have been solved with a round belt with deep grooves pulley when you put a v drive belt in that that spot is the belt is twisted causing the belt to get thrown off easy that normal
I am undoubtedly missing something here, but how does 4 carburetors supply fuel to six cylinders? Each carburetor will have to supply to 1.5 cylinders? 🧐
Thanks for the comment, Rich. I wasn't knocking the car. I did put a question mark after that statement. I think most car guys know Ralph Nader was full of crap back then.
Magnum I was going to forward the video to friend but was afraid he woudnt open because off title because he is a big corvair fan but I do understand ? Mark now Thank you for responding so quickly
what they should have done is put in a regular rearend instead of the transaxle rearend and it would have been safe at anyspeed and we wouldn't have that problem
What is the point of having a corvair if your going to put a liquid cooled V8 in it?? The whole thing that is unique about the Corvair is the flat air cooled 6.
My wife bought a 64 Corvair convertible as her first car in 66. We drove it to Niagara Falls on our honeymoon in February 1967. Snow, no problem. Too bad it was so under powered. If it had been a stick, I might have never sold it.
I have a Concours Corsa Senior Division 66 monza pg coupe with factory ac, 3500 miles, and a 65 Concours monza convertible almost done, just top and interior to install..... in the last 2 years, The value of my coupe went up 1k to $19000, but my convertible shot up almost 10k to $29000 ... A Corsa convertible in my highly desireable factory color combo of Artesian Tuquoise, White power top, White interior just sold last month for $37,500.. Corsa's normally sell for just a tad higher.. but it was the factory color combination that propelled the price into the stratosphere.... Since my car has been at the restorers.. every person that has seen it has expressed interest and asked if it's for sale..... I think I'm going to sell it when it's done, because it will be 0 miles, and flawless... I'd lose too much money if I started driving it.... I'll just buy another cheaper one with a 4 speed, and do a respray in Artesian, and put in a new interior myself... for 1/3rd the price.... Then I can drive the crap out of it !!
Frank L Ralph Nader is neither a Mechanical engineer, fabricator,welder,machinist,or race car driver. He's not even qualified to evaluate a tricycle! I modified an old '64 monza,I lowered it,put bilstein shocks,interpart springs,and sway bars to a far greater level of performance! Making adjustments in tire selection,pressures,shock rates,and other misc. made that car a formidable machine! Ralph Nader can take a long walk off a short pier! He's no one to judge any car!
I am not a fan of the v8 corvair because it takes away from the amazing engineering that GM did. Regarding late models corsa's came with a 140 4 carb motor and 4 speed. a monza came with a 110 and 3 speed with optional 140, 4 speed, or 2 speed powerglide. There was also a 500 line that was the base model. coupe convertable and 4 door were all that were avalable 65 and later. Early's came in a 4 door, coupe, convertable, rampside, loadside, greenbrier and corvan. proud member of NTCA.
That's funny... I've just sold ALL my cars with those features.. and am driving Classics ONLY now... People lived without them for 80 years... I grew up without them... and I could care less about them...
Jeez, Americans that act like normal people. Amazing. Haha. You would not give that first guy almost 70 years, by the way. On the cars, I never seen one. Probably they were not sold in Europe. Really an interesting car.
I found 4 day before 41,236 miles 1966 corvair 4 door sedan 90% original barn car 26 yrs park was in garage, if any one wana buy call me Red color every thing factory i replace gas tank
The fate of the Corvair was really a shame, all the negative (Nader) press emerged from the first-generation cars, which had a swing axle. Second-Gen `vairs solved that problem by using a scaled-down Corvette suspension. They were quite well-sorted out, and would have really helped GM avoid getting massacred by the Japanese a couple years later. The cars brought out by GM (the Vega and Chevette) were real pieces of shit, certainly no competition for the Datsun B210, Corrolla, etc.
I have 2 Late Models.... a '65 Monza Convertible in Restoration, almost done... and a Senior division show car '66 Monza Coupe w/factory AC, along with an unrestored '68 Austin Healey Sprite... Corvairs are Awesome Cars, Far superior handling than ANY american car of the era... GM made a huge mistake stopping production... They already had a new engine designed for it....If they had continued with that plan it would've been right up there with the Porsche 911.... I'm selling both of these Corvairs though.. Sick of owning Show Cars I don't dare drive.... I'll be replacing them with another Corvair that I'll keep or restore, if need be, to "drivers level" , So I can be free to drive the crap out of it with no such worries anymore... I got rid of my "modern" cars.. '01 BULLITT.. and lately my '17 124 Spider, and am planning to have classic cars as my daily drivers ONLY.. Not only are they more "fun".. I'm paying $60/month FULL Coverage Insurance on 3 cars !! .. no mileage limits.. .. Keeping my Sprite.. Getting a driver Corvair, and possibly an MGB / adding supercharger, maybe V6 or V8 Engine Swap, AC, etc.. .. Or possibly a TR8.. The British Corvette, as they call it overseas.. =) ......
Thanks for the comment. I understand your feelings about owning show cars you don't dare drive. Had the same issue with my Corvette. Garage Queen. Shame to treat a car like that.
If my girlfriend was outstanding looking and also generous at helping to serve me (a self centered idea, of course) I could take her to the hospital and have here breasts cut off and install a retractable tray table there. Now, would not that be a smart idea? No? And why? Because the person she is would be changed, among other things. But, yes, she'd be a little more capable. So why take out the heart of a Corvair, which is the boxter air-cooled engine? The name would lose its meaning; "Corv" = "Sporty Chevy." And "Air" = "Air Cooled." A Corvair is an air-cooled sporty Chevy. Installing a Buick aluminum V-8 with Oldsmobile heads and other equipment is somewhat a changing of the personality of the car. Corvairs sounded different but good. They handled different but good. They looked different but good. But take away the differences and what do you have? A typical American car- not something different. I think a 2nd generation Corvair convertible could be given Camaro tail lamps and a V-8 engine and look and sound very much like a Camaro. So why not just drive a Camaro?
I've owned in the past both a '68 Camaro SS.. and a '69 Camaro RS Convertible.. Yes, they're very pretty cars... BUT... They were the Worst handling cars I've ever owned... plus Camaro's are Everywhere..... and so many original base cars have been RUINED.... cloned into SS cars.. I have NO desire to look at Camaros at car shows.. UNLESS .. If they had a 6 cylinder "Secretary's Car".. YES.. I'd be thrilled to look at THAT ! Corvairs are a LOT rarer, and MUCH more Unique...
A terrible car, and unsafe. Those swing axles would tuck under during emergency maneuvers. I have first hand experience with this. Also had another bad swing axle with an army jeep in 1971, but wasn't driving this time.
![Unsafe At any Speed... Testing The 1963 Chevrolet Corvair | REVIEW SERIES [4k]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IKIYWl0JSD8/mqdefault.jpg)
I loved it. It was small for a family of 4, but we made it. That car was a hot little baby !
I had a short version of a 63 corvair convertible that I bought from an officer at Schofield barracks on Oahu. I only gave him $200.00 and never had one bit of trouble. It drove fine and I drove that baby all over the island. It had no heater , it was built for tropical climates.
Awesome story! Thanks for sharing it.
Dude if you read the book. It was letting people know that the issue was one side or the other side would bounce of the rear end of the suspension then the rim would dig in to the pavement and the rear end would swing around. Add all that to someone who is a newer driver the car could get away from that person. In the book it said that a stablelise bar would stop the bounce keep things planted to the ground. The book says that the later Coviair with the Corvette independent suspension didn't have that issue. In the book it said that a proper set up Covair track race car was not something to mess with even if you had a Cobra or had something German. The car did well on the race track. The book also talked about some of the bad tributes of a solid axle with leaf springs like axle rap, axle hop in the cars of the day. Other cars were talk about in the book like the Ford Edsel the bad build quality that they had so bad that the Edsel went back to the factory for a rebuild that is why you see Edsel today. The other car was Harley Earl Cadillac was also in the book because the fins could slice you open if you were riding a bike of the day with bad brakes. OK take a look at today's Cars They look like a bar of soap but if you get hit by one you have more Chace of living because of safety laws. Back to the Covair . If GM would have fix the problems right away and not take the low road fight against the idea the car was with flaws. It's just the car was so ground breaking it had some teething problem that needed to be worked out and they didn't want to do it. It was not the book that killed the Covair but the lawsuits brought against GM did who wreck the car or worse. After reading the book I still like the Covair. I just would make sure it is set up with a stablelise bar or look for one with the Corvette independent suspension.
o
Man that silver Corvair is beautiful,Great video Michael.
That is the 1st v-8 in the back, I have ever seen. I had a mid engine, v-8 , and 2 corsas, and 2 110hp models. I absolutely love that rear v-8 you show here. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching, Bob. Glad you enjoyed it.
I'm very happy with my 1966 turquoise Monza 4 door hardtop, 110 horsepower engine, Powerglide and factory A/C. I restored her mechanically (had the body work done at a shop) and she runs and drives like when she was new!
That is awesome that you brought it back to it's original glory. Those cars are classics and we need to keep as many of them around as we can.
3:00 The Olds Jetfire was the turbo version, not Buick. Very nice job on the engine swap.
Dad had one. What a car ! 62 Monza. 4 speed stick, 6 cylinder, air cooled. It was a suburban sports car. A car that size with 140 to 160 HP...guess what ? You do well off the line !
FRANK - Thanks for watching and for your comment. I bet you have great memories of that Monza.
Well done!!! I owned a 64 Monza Spyder in High School, and like a lot of folks, wish I still had it!
I hear you.
My grandfather, Frank J. Winchell, was GM’s expert witness in the defense of the Corvair. In total there were 294 cases brought against GM, totaling claims of over 100 million dollars. Of these, 10 were tried to jury convictions. Of these, 8 verdicts were in favor of GM. Of the 2 loses; "Chart v GM," where 2 of the 5 occupants testified in court that the driver had a quarrel with his girlfriend and that after a 2 1/2 hour stop at Bronco’s Beer Bar, where the driver was chug-a-luging his beer, and later they warned the him that he was driving recklessly and at an excessive speed, that he failed to make a right hand turn, locked up his brakes and struck a telephone pole. In what is know as a comparative negligence verdict, the jury found the driver 75% responsible, the girlfriend 3%, the state highway 5%, the county highway 5% and GM 12%. The other lose was "Canthos v GM," where the jury found in favor of the plaintiff, however, the judge set the jury’s verdict aside stating “There is not a scintilla of quotient evidence to support the claims against the handling characteristics of the 1960-63 Corvair.(paraphrasing)” He went on to describe the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert witness as “perhaps the most incomprehensible gibberish that this court has ever heard.” A Untied Sates Senate Committee spent 2 1/2 year investigating the safety of the Corvair, the DOT as well as many other institutions, even Nader’s own NHTSA came to the same conclusions as everyone else, that the Corvair was not defectively designed nor a defective product. In fact, it performed as good, or better than all cars on american roads at that time.
Very interesting story, Nick. Thanks for the comment.
Nick F. Gigante what about crappy VW beatle death trap? Corvair was good car
@@motorhead6763 .. I had a Beetle once... knew 2 people that had to get cut out of them with the "jaws of life" ... they won't get near one now.. and neither will I.....
That was a beautiful 1963 Monza coupe between the two late models! It even had the optional rear speaker! Was hoping you would have shown that car! I love Corvairs and have several! Although it wasn't the first unibody American car, that was the '49 and up Nash Ambassador/Statesman. Corvairs are awesome cars!
Thanks for watching and for your comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
***** thanks man - and as a footnote: Corvair taillights won LeMans1967 (Shelby used them on GT 40 MkIV) & the (miniature, lightweight) automatic transmission won Brands Hatch & Nurburgring (in Chaparalls built by Jim Hall) - Corvair was SCCA d production champion twice, I think. Shamefully, Ralph Nader missed the environmental bonus of small-displacement cars
Rear engine, cold air intake, optima battery, and a convertable, cool car. There all great.
This old man frickin GETS IT! No where near those pretentious assholes at pebble beach. He said it perfectly "We build them...to DRIVE them!"
People keep forgetting that GM redesigned the Corvair in '65---it no longer used swing axles, it used a fully independent setup. Unfortunately, it's reputation was already tarnished by the time the second generation models came out.
most corvair owners are fairly knowledegable, I currently have a 1966 corvair corsa in lemonwood yellow, and its a turbo that produces 180 hp. I happen to be restoring it now. anything you wanna know about them contact me.
Carl needs to find us a Spyder Corvair Turbo with 150 H.P. There was never one of those according to my research. They made the 2 carb 110, 4 carb 140 and a Turbo 180 H.P. engine, nothing else.
Your research is wrong, the Spyder came with a 150 Turbo engine. The last year of the Spyder was 1964. Go here for your info! www.corvair.com/user-cgi/pages.cgi?category=corvairhistory
I think Nader did more to raise the mystique of this car than he did to destroy it. I have had the chance in my life to talk with those who drove these cars and all said they were a fun car. Yes, it was mentioned the rear engine setup did make for different handling, but nothing to the extent that Nader said it did. So, Ralphie-boy, thank you for making this car the collectible it is. You done good!!!
Nader had an agenda, and he tended to pick the worst case scenarios and depict them as commonplace. In his attacks on the auto industry, he did it to more than just the Corvair. Yes, the 60-64 rear swing axle design was quirky, if you didn't maintain the recommended tire pressures, or understand the handling of rear engine cars in general. The Porsche 356 was a similar swing axle design and a car also well known for its eccentricities, until you understood how to drive it. I had a few old cars when I was younger and my 62 Corvair project car was the one I really regret not getting to finish.
It's very likely Ralph knew very little about mechanics at the time. He may have not been much of a driver either. What he did see though, were injuries from my angle on his quest with Detroit. The fact that he recognized manufactures didn't put much into safe design etc. was a good thing to shed light on, especially with the public who didn't really understand how to prevent injuries they were getting from impacts to the interior of cars including dangerous interior/exterior design. I'll give him that much but as far as the Corvair being a one car accident design, I'd have to disagree as there were several other cars made the same in that era. Auto industry made changes as injuries and fatalities came forth and that's too bad.
Today, I'd like to see a youngster take a drive in any old car and find out how easy they have it compared to autos in the 1960's. No fuel injection, no ABS, no disc brakes, no power steering, no air bags, no bucket seats and consoles and so forth. They'd have a hard time just starting a cold engine with the old design carburetors and choke let alone figure out how to keep them running until they got warmed up.
I have a 65 Corvair Monza Conv and I love the styling! I have a gummed up carb and my mechanic is guiding me to stay with the original two carb setup and not modify/upgrade to a four carb set up. Any thoughts out there from someone with knowledge about this? Also, thoughts on a cam shaft swap and exhaust upgrade to add more air and get it out faster? Thank you!
We used to race my '64 Corvair Spyder up and down Woodward and it was so much fun. The only one I couldn't beat was a Corvette.
My son had two of these when he first started driving.
My Dad has a 66 Corvair We got to get the engine rebuilt it over Heats but when it ran it was fun to Drive it was always to get to oil checked because they would always try to pop the hood up front - Charles
Nice looking Corvair. I've always liked Corvairs, both the early Corvairs and the later Corvairs. If I were to buy a Corvair, I would've replaced the air-cooled boxer engine with a water-cooled boxer engine, possibly a Porsche or a Subaru boxer engine.
You're probably on solid ground with that idea. Thanks for watching!
BLOWIN SMOKE You're welcome. It'd probably take some modifications to install a radiator and water cooling equipment, but I would think it could be done, if someone knew how to do it right. :)
great video, thank you GUNZandCARZ.
Thank you so much for watching, and for your comment. I appreciate your support.
Hey nice video I love the corvair I owned a few of them My friend has 4 corvairs one is a v8 with a ford engine very fast and he has a rampside truck
i own 3 my dad left me project cars he worked at tonawada engine plant 40 years R I P dad
Greenbrier trucks and vans cool collectables . Rear engine added traction.
Yes, it was really unique at the time. And it WAS quite "sporty" for the time.
The problem of a fan belt could have been solved with a round belt with deep grooves pulley when you put a v drive belt in that that spot is the belt is twisted causing the belt to get thrown off easy that normal
Very nice video!Well put.
Thanks for watching and for your comment. I'm glad you liked it.
I am undoubtedly missing something here, but how does 4 carburetors supply fuel to six cylinders? Each carburetor will have to supply to 1.5 cylinders? 🧐
Right out of the stall- '66 Corvair w an Olds motor. Jeeez!
Thank you, however I do not have the equipment to do so.
are these the cars that would sometimes throw the fan belt off the pullies if you accelerated hard?
+inkey2 That kind of rings a bell. My son had two of these, and I kind of remember an issue with the serpentine belt.
1960-1963's had a heavy Steel fan that caused the belts to fly off.. it was replaced in 1964 by a lighter Magnesium fan that solved the problem..
Great video lousy title why nock the car in title those guys love Love there cars
Thanks for the comment, Rich. I wasn't knocking the car. I did put a question mark after that statement. I think most car guys know Ralph Nader was full of crap back then.
Magnum I was going to forward the video to friend but was afraid he woudnt open because off title because he is a big corvair fan but I do understand ? Mark now Thank you for responding so quickly
Thanks for sending it to your friend!
Umm, the Ford Falcon was also a uni-body, produced in 1960. I guess the Corvair owners just want to boost their egos.
reverse rotation? is the a boat engine?
what they should have done is put in a regular rearend instead of the transaxle rearend and it would have been safe at anyspeed and we wouldn't have that problem
What is the point of having a corvair if your going to put a liquid cooled V8 in it?? The whole thing that is unique about the Corvair is the flat air cooled 6.
Good question.
My wife bought a 64 Corvair convertible as her first car in 66. We drove it to Niagara Falls on our honeymoon in February 1967. Snow, no problem. Too bad it was so under powered. If it had been a stick, I might have never sold it.
Richard Mott They probably got around good in the snow because of the rear engine set up. I bet you wish you had it back.
Corvairs will become more valuable as collectables soon. As did Pacers and Gremlins Avanti etc.
I have a Concours Corsa Senior Division 66 monza pg coupe with factory ac, 3500 miles, and a 65 Concours monza convertible almost done, just top and interior to install..... in the last 2 years, The value of my coupe went up 1k to $19000, but my convertible shot up almost 10k to $29000 ... A Corsa convertible in my highly desireable factory color combo of Artesian Tuquoise, White power top, White interior just sold last month for $37,500.. Corsa's normally sell for just a tad higher.. but it was the factory color combination that propelled the price into the stratosphere.... Since my car has been at the restorers.. every person that has seen it has expressed interest and asked if it's for sale..... I think I'm going to sell it when it's done, because it will be 0 miles, and flawless... I'd lose too much money if I started driving it.... I'll just buy another cheaper one with a 4 speed, and do a respray in Artesian, and put in a new interior myself... for 1/3rd the price.... Then I can drive the crap out of it !!
corvair tubo charger mufflers a hotrodders dream headder muffler in 1976
If you're interested in the old Corvair, here's one you'll enjoy.
Thanks for posting. Although I've never owned or driven a Corvair, I've always been interested in them. :)
I still wonder what provoked Ralph Nadar to take aim at the Corvair.
Frank L Ralph Nader is neither a Mechanical engineer, fabricator,welder,machinist,or race car driver. He's not even qualified to evaluate a tricycle! I modified an old '64 monza,I lowered it,put bilstein shocks,interpart springs,and sway bars to a far greater level of performance! Making adjustments in tire selection,pressures,shock rates,and other misc. made that car a formidable machine! Ralph Nader can take a long walk off a short pier! He's no one to judge any car!
I am not a fan of the v8 corvair because it takes away from the amazing engineering that GM did. Regarding late models corsa's came with a 140 4 carb motor and 4 speed. a monza came with a 110 and 3 speed with optional 140, 4 speed, or 2 speed powerglide. There was also a 500 line that was the base model. coupe convertable and 4 door were all that were avalable 65 and later. Early's came in a 4 door, coupe, convertable, rampside, loadside, greenbrier and corvan. proud member of NTCA.
Personally I don’t feel safe in any vehicle w/o head restraint seats, 3 point safety harness, & front airbags
I don't blame you at all.
That's funny... I've just sold ALL my cars with those features.. and am driving Classics ONLY now... People lived without them for 80 years... I grew up without them... and I could care less about them...
Jeez, Americans that act like normal people. Amazing. Haha. You would not give that first guy almost 70 years, by the way. On the cars, I never seen one. Probably they were not sold in Europe. Really an interesting car.
Damn, Congress was unsafe at any speed back then !
they are great cars
engines can run forever & great car in the snow but the heating ?????
i had a push push button power glide in mine i loved it
I found 4 day before
41,236 miles 1966 corvair 4 door sedan 90% original barn car 26 yrs park was in garage, if any one wana buy call me
Red color every thing factory i replace gas tank
The fate of the Corvair was really a shame, all the negative (Nader) press emerged from the first-generation cars, which had a swing axle. Second-Gen `vairs solved that problem by using a scaled-down Corvette suspension. They were quite well-sorted out, and would have really helped GM avoid getting massacred by the Japanese a couple years later. The cars brought out by GM (the Vega and Chevette) were real pieces of shit, certainly no competition for the Datsun B210, Corrolla, etc.
Thanks so much for your informative comment. You obviously know a lot about these classics.
runs a V8 .....not an air cooled flat six corsair engine ....
I have 2 Late Models.... a '65 Monza Convertible in Restoration, almost done... and a Senior division show car '66 Monza Coupe w/factory AC, along with an unrestored '68 Austin Healey Sprite... Corvairs are Awesome Cars, Far superior handling than ANY american car of the era... GM made a huge mistake stopping production... They already had a new engine designed for it....If they had continued with that plan it would've been right up there with the Porsche 911.... I'm selling both of these Corvairs though.. Sick of owning Show Cars I don't dare drive.... I'll be replacing them with another Corvair that I'll keep or restore, if need be, to "drivers level" , So I can be free to drive the crap out of it with no such worries anymore... I got rid of my "modern" cars.. '01 BULLITT.. and lately my '17 124 Spider, and am planning to have classic cars as my daily drivers ONLY.. Not only are they more "fun".. I'm paying $60/month FULL Coverage Insurance on 3 cars !! .. no mileage limits.. .. Keeping my Sprite.. Getting a driver Corvair, and possibly an MGB / adding supercharger, maybe V6 or V8 Engine Swap, AC, etc.. .. Or possibly a TR8.. The British Corvette, as they call it overseas.. =) ......
Thanks for the comment. I understand your feelings about owning show cars you don't dare drive. Had the same issue with my Corvette. Garage Queen. Shame to treat a car like that.
If my girlfriend was outstanding looking and also generous at helping to serve me (a self centered idea, of course) I could take her to the hospital and have here breasts cut off and install a retractable tray table there. Now, would not that be a smart idea? No? And why? Because the person she is would be changed, among other things. But, yes, she'd be a little more capable.
So why take out the heart of a Corvair, which is the boxter air-cooled engine? The name would lose its meaning; "Corv" = "Sporty Chevy." And "Air" = "Air Cooled." A Corvair is an air-cooled sporty Chevy. Installing a Buick aluminum V-8 with Oldsmobile heads and other equipment is somewhat a changing of the personality of the car.
Corvairs sounded different but good. They handled different but good. They looked different but good. But take away the differences and what do you have? A typical American car- not something different. I think a 2nd generation Corvair convertible could be given Camaro tail lamps and a V-8 engine and look and sound very much like a Camaro. So why not just drive a Camaro?
I've owned in the past both a '68 Camaro SS.. and a '69 Camaro RS Convertible.. Yes, they're very pretty cars... BUT... They were the Worst handling cars I've ever owned... plus Camaro's are Everywhere..... and so many original base cars have been RUINED.... cloned into SS cars.. I have NO desire to look at Camaros at car shows.. UNLESS .. If they had a 6 cylinder "Secretary's Car".. YES.. I'd be thrilled to look at THAT ! Corvairs are a LOT rarer, and MUCH more Unique...
Yes, other cars had swing axles, including VW and Porsche. A terrible example of engineering.
they ignored the nazi vw junk. Corvair was a cool car. I drove them a spyder.
Maybe Nader was a nazi.
Chevy would have a winner of they brought it back. But they won't, and GM is sinking like a rock.so sad
Would have been nice to see the actual cars, the old farts talking about their cars are a serious snooze.................
replaced by datsuns & Toyota's good thinking Ralph communist Nader
ralph let the Japanese car market get a foot hold in america
trying to fix the 1 million flaws in the Chevrolet Corvair
A terrible car, and unsafe. Those swing axles would tuck under during emergency maneuvers. I have first hand experience with this. Also had another bad swing axle with an army jeep in 1971, but wasn't driving this time.