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JAhmed
JAhmed Reader
11/3/16 12:55 p.m.

So I posted this link in the Craigslist lust thread, and have been reading whatever I can find about these cars on Google (Curbside Classic, etc), but I realized that I still just don't know much about these cars and wanted to ask the hive about them. My understanding thus far is that the models after 1965 have an improved suspension design at the rear and the styling changed.

I am intrigued, the price is appealing of this particular car, and I am very tempted to try one of these out. Am I going to die? Thanks.

Jumper K. Balls
Jumper K. Balls UberDork
11/3/16 1:18 p.m.

In the market segment of import fighters from the early 60's I like the Corvair the best.

I have owned a 63 Falcon and a 63 Rambler American. I have driven the other competitors like the Valiant and Chevy II. The Corvair is a much better driving car out of the box. I have a strange anti GM bias and didn't want to or expect to like the car but after 10 minutes in the drivers seat I wanted one badly.

When it comes to upgrades to make the cars handle modern traffic better (brakes, transmissions, rear end gearing ect.) the Front engine, rear drive cars come out way ahead, but as they left the factory I prefer the Corvair.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
11/3/16 1:33 p.m.

I've had three; rust is the enemy, they go like hell in snow because of the weight over the drive wheels, they don't turn in snow because of the lack of weight up front.

Click around the GRM site, Margie has a nice one (a nice Corvair piggies) and I believe there's a build thread on it.

Dan

NOHOME
NOHOME PowerDork
11/3/16 1:45 p.m.

There was or is a kt to install a V8 engine in the backseat. I have been carrying this information around around for 45 years and still think it is cool.

81cpcamaro
81cpcamaro Dork
11/3/16 2:22 p.m.

Corsairs are cool in an oddball way. I have seen LS swaps with the engine facing rearward, puts the pulleys real close to the tail panel though. One of my oddball builds in my head is to put either the Boxxter/Cayman or 911 driveline into a Corvair, possibly with the suspension as well. That may tick off a few of the P owners. Might be good that I can't afford to build what I have in my head.

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
11/3/16 2:26 p.m.

We did a Corvair project car for Classic Motorsports a while ago. You can see the web updates here.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair UltimaDork
11/3/16 2:29 p.m.

You could die in any car. Might as well be unique!

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
11/3/16 2:54 p.m.

I very much enjoyed my opportunity to autocross one (well, two different ones). They are really fun to throw around. If you know it's coming, the lift of oversteer is a blast!

NickD
NickD Dork
11/3/16 3:01 p.m.
81cpcamaro wrote: Corsairs are cool in an oddball way. I have seen LS swaps with the engine facing rearward, puts the pulleys real close to the tail panel though. One of my oddball builds in my head is to put either the Boxxter/Cayman or 911 driveline into a Corvair, possibly with the suspension as well. That may tick off a few of the P owners. Might be good that I can't afford to build what I have in my head.

See, I've always thought one of those 700hp Kenny Duttweiler/TA Performance twin-turbocharged, intercooled all-aluminum, 273ci 3.8L-based Buick V6s would be the way to go for some crazy mid-engine/rear-engine supercar-ish thingy

petegossett
petegossett UltimaDork
11/3/16 3:13 p.m.
NickD wrote:
81cpcamaro wrote: Corsairs are cool in an oddball way. I have seen LS swaps with the engine facing rearward, puts the pulleys real close to the tail panel though. One of my oddball builds in my head is to put either the Boxxter/Cayman or 911 driveline into a Corvair, possibly with the suspension as well. That may tick off a few of the P owners. Might be good that I can't afford to build what I have in my head.
See, I've always thought one of those 700hp Kenny Duttweiler/TA Performance twin-turbocharged, intercooled all-aluminum, 273ci 3.8L-based Buick V6s would be the way to go for some crazy mid-engine/rear-engine supercar-ish thingy

Nah, this is crazy!

BlueInGreen44
BlueInGreen44 Dork
11/3/16 3:17 p.m.

I want one. I think it's a great combination of good looks and classic quirkiness. There's one in my neighborhood, fat tires on steelies and perfectly faded red paint.

2 things wrong with it: It's not in my driveway and it needs a GRM sticker

That's all I have to contribute here.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
11/3/16 3:19 p.m.

Yenko was famous with Corvairs before he did any other type Chevies.

BlueInGreen44
BlueInGreen44 Dork
11/3/16 3:26 p.m.

There's a Yenko Corvair that shows up at the Waterford Hills vintage races, it sounds mean.

Rear-engine goodness chasing more rear-engine goodness

NickD
NickD Dork
11/3/16 3:27 p.m.
petegossett wrote:
NickD wrote:
81cpcamaro wrote: Corsairs are cool in an oddball way. I have seen LS swaps with the engine facing rearward, puts the pulleys real close to the tail panel though. One of my oddball builds in my head is to put either the Boxxter/Cayman or 911 driveline into a Corvair, possibly with the suspension as well. That may tick off a few of the P owners. Might be good that I can't afford to build what I have in my head.
See, I've always thought one of those 700hp Kenny Duttweiler/TA Performance twin-turbocharged, intercooled all-aluminum, 273ci 3.8L-based Buick V6s would be the way to go for some crazy mid-engine/rear-engine supercar-ish thingy
Nah, this is crazy!

There was also the time that Pontiac bolted two of those transaxles together to make a 4-speed, and then put a dual-quad, solid-cam, high-compression 421 with aluminum exhaust manifolds ahead of it. Ahh, the good old days when GM was verifiably insane.

car39
car39 HalfDork
11/3/16 3:38 p.m.

Pretty good parts support for a quirky car that was discontinued 47 years ago.

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
11/3/16 4:04 p.m.

Ooh, ohh, I know the answer to this one!

I will add a few tidbits, and please feel free to ask anything else:

Don't get to hung up on the "late suspension is better" thing. I have both, (64 mostly stock Convertible and 65 coupe modified car). With modern tires and in good condition you will not notice much difference unless you are doing performance driving. Even in that case the earlies can be made safe and reasonable handling cars (see pic above), they are just a bit more limited (swing axle defines camber). The real reason to choose between the two is what styling you like (I prefer the styling of the early convertibles, and the late coupes)

Probably the biggest "issue" with the cars is that the drivetrain is VERY different from Amercian cars of the time (BTW suspension parts in general is very similar to US cars of the time). Because of this difference, many people have no idea where to even start with them, but there are plenty of people out there who do. Because of the difference there is also very few new parts for major components (e.g. no new heads, block or cranks).

Because of this, full engine rebuild are relatively pricey (heck even aircoooled VW's are a bit pricey these days). A quality rebuilt can push over $3000 easy. Cheaper ones can be done of course (depending on condition etc.)

As with any 60's GM car (as noted): RUST RUST RUST. Earlies are actually a little better with rust in a way. They will rust the floors and trunk bottom of course. The primary area to look are the rockers, specifically the drain in front of the front door, the area from the doors back, and the rear area (splash from tire). Doors also have some very nice places to capture crap an the front and rear bottom.

The water drain for the rear windows is silly to say the least. I am just finishing up doing a bunch of (California) rust repair on my 64, so I am very familiar with the goofiness. If you are interested, I can post some pictures of the issues on my car so you can see what I am talking about.

Good cars can be found pretty cheap. Buying a really cheap poor condition car is almost never going to be worth it unless you are a masochists.

One important note about "restored" cars. Corvairs have been cheap for a LONG time. In general, there has been little reason to put money into a restoration, because of that be VERY careful with cars that have been repainted or "restored". There is not shortage of Bondo bucket Earl Shive special Corvairs out there. Original pain, even very poor paint, in general is highly preferred.

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
11/3/16 4:10 p.m.

Linked car is a 63 Monza convertible 4 speed and almost certainly a 110hp two carb motor. With the optional bumperettes. A 63 is a swing axle and does not have the camber compensator (transverse leaf spring) of the 64, so aggressive driving in stock form could get exciting.

Here is a somewhat famous pic I took at a Corvair convention of a Greebrier with the same suspension:

Paint looks suspiciously nice almost certainly a repaint. Given the location, you will NEED to look under those rocker covers!

The interior is bronze, the interior doors are painted white, and I cannot tell what the radio pod is painted (should be the same as the doors I am pretty sure). I am note sure if bronze interior came with a white interior paint, but I would be suspicious the car may have originally been white.

Get a shot of the the body tag (engine compartment, rear frame rail) to get the original equipment and paint.

Price is good, but maybe suspiciously low given the nice top and good overall look.

BTW - Early convertibles are very stiff cars (no cowl shake). Late convertibles are much less rigid.

SnowMongoose
SnowMongoose SuperDork
11/3/16 4:41 p.m.
iceracer
iceracer PowerDork
11/3/16 4:57 p.m.

I have a friend that built a full race Corvair.

His thing was track days usually with a Corair club. It is one of the fastest in the country.

It is now for sale an I believe details are on the NECC Northeast Corvair Council.

yupididit
yupididit HalfDork
11/3/16 9:47 p.m.
914Driver wrote: Yenko was famous with Corvairs before he did any other type Chevies.

What does it take to get one that low?

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
11/3/16 11:00 p.m.

Front end is easy, it the same as all Chevies of that era. Rear is easy on a late. On an early though, you either need to accept a lot of camber or you would have to move the transaxle up in the body, which will be a bit of work.

I believe someone has put a late suspension in an early, but that is clearly a lot of work also.

The one in the pic though may not be as low as you think, I think it's mostly really low profile tires. Stock tires are very tall.

If you want to slam one, you will have to deal with some pretty severe camber:

yupididit
yupididit HalfDork
11/4/16 12:36 a.m.

That Yenko one is perfect as far as it being low. If probably want it a little higher though, so i can get in my driveway.

Datsun310Guy
Datsun310Guy PowerDork
11/4/16 6:13 a.m.

Watch the Jay Leno Yenko YouTube.

Then you'll want one.

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse SuperDork
11/4/16 7:41 a.m.

The 64 is the best of the "earlies" from a suspension stnadpoint, though the '64-specific mods could be done on any of the earlies. If you prefer the look of the "lates" then you automatically get full IRS.

I have a '64 convertible I drive on nice days. I love it, it always gets tons of reactions (usually positive) and parts support is easy. The 4 speed manual box is a bit clumsy going through the gears (especially the 2-3 shift, you have to "stir" it a little) but fun in that "this is how they were back in the day" way.

In the 9 years I've owned it, I've only spun it once- braking hard going into a turn, a rookie mistake I made early on.

fasted58
fasted58 UltimaDork
11/4/16 9:00 a.m.

Wheeler Dealers did a '63 swing axle vert recently. Edd added the camber compensator, center of leaf bolts to transaxle and end links to hub carriers, looked pretty simple really.

Definitely worth it to watch if you're a Corvair fan. Surprising how many repro parts are available.

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