Hello, That is funny. When I drove my wife’s 62 Corvair coupe, it was always fun. Step on the gas pedal and the motor just hummed and moved forward. It was a small lightweight car and between all of the big trucks and sedans taking up the next lanes, it was a little intimidating. Similar looking color and stance... I have an appreciation for my wife being able to drive this little dinky car since her senior year of high school. Then, we met, got married after two years of college graduation, then traded off driving the Corvair and El Camino started and the concept has continued to this day. She liked the 65 El Camino better than the Corvair, but did ok as long as the Corvair drove well and it was not raining or windy. When I drove the Corvair from Huntington Beach along the coast highway roads, I was always looking at the coastline surf spots as I whizzed by. But, when the Santana winds were blowing from the mountains and valleys heading for the ocean, there was nothing in the way along this portion of the highway. So, the offshore winds were always strong as I started my continued drive north heading for Seal Beach. The cross winds were so strong and yes, this is even the same route my wife drove for years. The strong winds hitting the dinky car shoved the car to the left and the oncoming cars headed the other way. They were being shoved to their right, away from our lane. But the handling was suspect during those strong winds. Being so low, one would think the winds would just blow up and over. But, the buffeting made handling a little sketchy. With the 65 El Camino and its wider tires, plus stronger suspension, handling was much better. I wonder if that was the reason my wife always liked taking the 65 El Camino shopping or visiting friends. Ha! 125k worth of fun road trips through thick or thin hazards Jnaki Guided missile, indeed… she never got a ticket for anything, speed or otherwise. But, she never drove in the rain as the El Camino was the car of choice then. I had to drive the Corvair with water sloshing into the cab when I went through deep intersections and coastal flooding areas. Yikes! If the Corvair had better tires and rims, a more powerful motor, it would have been ok. It ran fine until it didn’t, when it trapped my wife in East Los Angeles on the busy freeway, in the center divider zone. After that scary incident, the “guided missile” found its way to another buyer…YRMV
Must've seemed like a good idea at the time, spraying asbestos right in front of your face! Who knew?
The Jalopy Journal
