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1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza
Detroit, 9:51 PM
Sat Nov 28
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
03/29/09
03/28/09
It's got a beak, it's shiny and kinda evil-lookin', and it appears to be called "Corva".
Hm.
03/28/09
03/28/09
03/28/09
As I was 15, and lacking a license or a strong grasp of the whole gas-clutch-shift dance, I asked my brother to drive it home. It made it most of the way there, and I think we had to push it the rest. No big deal. I have related previously how this car, and the kindness of a stranger in mentoring my efforts to make the little six strong again engendered my love of wrenching on cars.
It's true what they say; you never forget your first.
03/28/09
03/28/09
I've always really liked Corvairs and one of these days I'll break down and buy a 2nd generation car. You've got to be a true car freak to appreciate these things (or at least never heard of the Corvair and Nader before).
03/28/09
Or the Approved by GM sticker on the front?
Or does it have the GM approved and Nader is a commie sticker on the side?
03/28/09
03/28/09
Transaxle from an early 1960s Olds F-85, completely sanitary installation, and the car's factory a/c even works. He's some king of engineer (well, duh, but I mean by trade) who planned the car back in the '60s and bought the Corvair new with the intention of going front engine / rear drive.
03/28/09
03/28/09
Aye!
03/28/09
03/28/09
1) The LeMons Corvair is now running. Not great right now, but running none the less. Watch for pictures and postings.
2) I discovered a local guy who purchased a modified Corvair, and it's called a Torvair. It's a 1967 Corvair Monza Coupe, with an Oldsmobile Toronado 425 CI V-8 stuffed into it. Pictured, and a complete write up soon.
03/28/09
03/28/09
03/28/09
03/28/09
03/28/09
03/28/09
Very cool, too bad about the rust-through on the hood- er, trunk.
03/28/09
And assuming there's no rot on the front fascia or the trunk pan, you could just bolt on a replacement lid.
03/28/09
It's good to know that Corvairs have rabid fanclubs. I was a kid when they came out and then, and now, they seemed to represent a US automaker making a genuine effort to create a European-style small car--and they succeeded for the most part, Nader be damned. (For a lot of reasons.)
And they had drop tops, turbos, spyders and even wagons!
03/28/09
03/28/09
The Chevy Ii sold much better as a family car, and the Corvair was shifted to focus on the booming sporty coupe market. Indeed, the Mustang was spurred by the success of the early Corvair coupes. But once the Mustang was launched, the Corvair's days were numbered for one very simple reason that had nothing to do with Ralph Nader: The Corvair was too weird.
Think about it: By the mid-1960s the big boom was in boy racer-type coupes. You know, take a compact or mid-sized body and plop in it the biggest V8 that will fit. The Corvair, in contrast, didn't even offer a factory V8. Compared to the Mustang the Corvair may have been the more interesting (and European) design, but it didn't measure up as an American-style performance car.
Now, certainly Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed" sealed the Corvair's fate. But my bet is that even if Nader had become a chef instead of a lawyer, the Corvair would have been quietly phased out by the end of the decade because Americans have pretty traditional taste in cars. Aside from their love affair with the Beetle, rear wheel drive never made much headway here in the land of the thundering front engine.
03/28/09
It was wonderful to have so many choices in the 60s.
03/28/09
03/28/09
I had a buddy in high school who, along with his dad, restored Corvairs. They would buy one, fix it up, my buddy would drive it for a while, then sell it. My favorite was the white Corvair pickup he had for a while.
03/28/09
03/28/09
Really?
Or were you refering to the badge itself perhaps?
03/28/09
Actually.. Seeing as I am probably the only Alaskan here, its probably not too early where ya'll live. Or is it? I dunno, I'm tired.
03/28/09
BTW, it's almost 10 on the opposite end of the continent.
03/28/09
AK4LYFE!
03/28/09