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Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:04 pm

Holy crap! Chevy made an aircooled rear-engine coupe?

Does anyone have an opinion on these? Are they designed as well as aircooled VW? I think they look pretty cool. And they're cheap too!

Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:06 pm

first car I ever drove... There is a sad little one at the bottom of my hill. It was well loved but bought by someone who just doesn't get it... Now it sits in a parking lot with a for sale sign and no takers for more than a year. Poor thing just keeps getting more dull by the day...

Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:15 pm

Nader said they were 'unsafe at any speed'... I found them very fun to drive.
The guy who owns the car has a resturant downtown and the car is parked there. Downtown is at Sea Level and I live at 400 ft. I would love to see this car go to a loving home. I hate seeing vintage cars go to waste. i guess that is why I have 4...
Cheers

Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:26 pm

Haha yeah I read about that "unsafe at any speed" thing. Wonder what the opinion of the Bus was???

Well, I'm gonna look into one then!

Thanks!

Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:32 pm

they look a lot like a 34 Ghia...
Cheers

Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:45 am

Much as I respect Ralph Nader, he wasn't entirely right about the early('60-'64) Corvairs and early(swing-axle) VW bugs. Thousands of swing axle buggies have been driven all over the place without roll-overs, and those that did roll 'em were probably doing severe side-hilling. Heck, I've seen more solid axle Jeeps roll than buggies.

The real problem was, and still is, inadequately-trained & tested drivers. But... that shortcoming represents a continuing windfall for vehicle and fuel sales, not to mention the powerful roadbuilding lobby's financial well-being.

In the swing-axle department, Porsches, VWs, and... YES... even Corvairs had been out there in competent hands, winning races for several years before Ralph wrote Unsafe At Any Speed. Oddly enough, that would (IMHO) have been a perfect title for a book-expose about the crappy driver training and (especially) driver licensing practices in the U.S.

Off soapbox now. '65-69 Corvairs had full IRS rear suspensions, and were absolutely amazing cars. They had a few engine sealing and belt throwing issues, that have been easily solved by private parties.

What really killed the Corvair was that G.M. was all set to make much greater profits on the Corvair's p.o.s. successor... the Chevy Vega, and its equally-dismal clones from Pontiac/Buick/Oldsmobile-land. Shipped in rail cars on their noses; they should have just buried them like that too.

Not a Chevy guy at all, but I liked the Corvair. Air-cooled aluminum flat six with two carbs, four carbs, or a turbo, right out of the factory, 33 years ago! Where's the problem with that? Sweet.

J.R.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:25 am

I had a '64 Monza Spyder Coupe. It threw fan belts and, as I recall, I put three voltage regulators in it too. Don't know what that problem was. The biggest problem I think drivers had with them is that there was no weight over the front wheels and dumb bunnies would put the same tire pressure as the rear - 32 or so lbs. That would cause the front end to wander all over the road. IIRC the front pres. was 17 psi. Big difference driving. When I tromped on it and that turbo kicked in, I could watch the gas gauge go down. But, it could scoot. A friend had a Jag E-Type and I could take him up to 60 or so, then he just walked away from me. With studded snow tires and that rear engine, it would bust through snow drifts as high as the hood. (Sigh) Those were the days.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:34 am

BITD I built quite a few Corvairs. Very easy to build a reliable 200 HP motor. They were very fun to drive. The belt problem was easily fixed by adding a spring to the idler pulley.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:22 am

Theres a really nice show up here in Massachusetts during August at Heberts Candy Mansion in Shrewsbury that mixes all aircooled VW's and Corvairs.........Hmmmmmmmmm...........I wonder if I have any decent pictures....... :-k

Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:58 am

I like all cars, so here are some pictures of the other 'vairs.

They also had a van:

and a pickup (RAMP side, appliance deliver folks loved these.)

and the engine powered a camper: The Ultravan.

My favorite though, the Yenko Stinger: http://www.corvaircorsa.com/yenko01.html ... ROAD racer.

Though in the back of my mind, one day I'll flip the transmission and run a V8 in the back seat.

2700lbs with 400 horsepower, 4 wheel independent suspension and a mid mounted engine... Humina Humina!

:shock:

Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:23 am

check this out Harrison:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2309320&highlight=#2309320

Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:07 pm

Hah! I remember poking around a junkyard in Los Angeles about 12 years ago. I opened the engine compartment of a old bus and lo and behold a six cylinder aircooled motor.

I don't know much about the conversion, nut I doubt my mechanic would work on it for me!

Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:28 pm

I'm currently building a Corvair engine for aircraft use. Long story, but originally I was going for a VW conversion, but the airplane I wanted got heavier and hp requirement went up from 80 to 100. A 2180 cc VW cannot put out 100 continuous hp, especially when limited to 3000rpm or so by the propeller.

Significant internal differences between the VW and Corvair are that the Chevy has hydraulic lifters and the case is aluminum, so there are no cam bearing inserts. Also, pressed instead of floating piston pins.

Other than the number of cylinders, other external differences include,
Top and bottom case covers, so that you dont have to split the case to look inside
An accessory drive case so the distributor, oil pump, fuel pump, oil cooler, oil bypass valves and oil filter adapter are all grouped together.
Bellhousing is part of the engine, not transaxle.
Horizontal cooling fan.

Oh, and it turns in the opposite direction.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 3:14 pm

[quote="Buscuss"]I had a '64 Monza Spyder Coupe. It threw fan belts

Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:54 pm

I know where there is a whole yard full of Corvairs, sedans, convertibles, and vans.

The man who owns them bought them locally for years, most is pristine condition, drove them home and then just parked them. They've been sitting there for at least thirty or forty years. I had a 1968 Corvair when I was sixteen, 1974 and he offered me $75.00 for it. Since my family had just gotten it for me for $300.00, I just laughed.

But, there they sit, rotting away.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:10 pm

Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:27 pm

Had a 67 vert (in'79) that was fun while it lasted- burned so much oil I got a ticket for excessive pollution.

Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:11 pm

There are tons of Corvair vehicles in the junkyards in Phoenix.

There's a '62 Corvair 95 drop side pickup near my house - $3500. Runs and driver, crappy paint, bed is all rubberized. I was going to buy it to flip but everyone I talked to said it's only worth $2000 or so...

Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:57 am

EverettB wrote: I was going to buy it to flip but everyone I talked to said it's only worth $2000 or so...

That's the bad thing about 'em. To be a Corvair guy, you gotta be even more hard-core than a VW guy. They are more rare (as in less made), less durable, and not as versatile as VWs.
But I'd love to have one. Any one. :wink:

Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:24 pm

one of my good friends died back in 94. he had a spyder and a 2dr hardtop in various states of restoration. his mother asked me if i wanted them and i really hate that i had no place to keep them since i was in college and my parents lived in mississippi at the time and the cars were in northern indiana. being a broke college kid i had no money to pay to ship them down.

ill always regret not finding a way to get those cars to get them going in his memory.