What are the pros and cons of the corvairs??

I've never really given them a second look all these years,however, I found a pretty cheap one sitting in a barn. Its a 1962 Load/ramp side truck, it seems quite clean and rust free. I've always heard horror stories about an aluminum block,air cooling and zero power. Does anyone know about these, good,bad or ugly?? Thought it could be a neat addition to shop. thanks in advance

 

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Pro: Unique

Con: Ralph Nader. Unsafe at any speed

 

Pro: they quit making them
Con: they made them

 

Ralph Nader !!! >>>>.

 

Its kinda like "that 6 of one and a half dozen of the other" thing.

Pros: They're weird looking and unique.
Cons: They're weird looking and unique.

If you like the looks of it then slap a "good" motor in it and drive it for a shop truck. Especially if its cheap enough... Cheap is always a good factor...
-GothY-

 

When done right they run like a top. Ive had two and would go anywhere in them. The last one I sold went iowa and the guy drove it home from texas. Just be sure to keep it full of antifreeze!

 

my father had several Greenbriars years ago and hauled a lot of stuff around with them. if you get the mechanics checked over (brakes, belts , etc) i see no reason why the Rampside wouldn't be a great shop truck/parts hauler

 

I think the con is pretty much that they're Corvairs

 

That was the beginning of the end for the convertible for many years....THANKS RALPH!

Dad always told me to be kind to my webfooted friends, for a duck might be someones mother. "and Bob's your uncle"

 

I stopped in at a gas station the other day , Was talking to someone about putting a headliner in my 55 and before i left the cashier " an old fella" asked me if i wanted a corvair ? I said sure and laughed , then he gave me directions to an abandoned barn about 12 miles from me , told me to go load it and swing by his house and he would have the****le waiting on me . When i get there to look at it , it is a 1964 monza spyder with a factory turbo on it lol. Everything is there and he said it ran good but pulled it in that barn and shut it off in 1999. Its rusty and the floor pans are shot but he said it ran good . I figure ill drag it home for swapping fodder.

 

hahahaha!!! thats a good one.

got any pics of it??

if it is cheap and you like it buy it.

 

Ever own one?

 

Heat in the winter only bad thing I can think of,,they def have a cool look..

PS and make for great field cars

 

Nope, nor do I care to. If I wanted something with a flat 4, I'd buy a VW.

 

A corvair has 6 cylinders not four.I owned a few 66 Corvairs back in the mid 1970's They handled pretty damn good compared to the sloppy barges of that era.They were also very rugged from my experience,I beat the***** out of the 4 carb Corsa I had and nothing broke.Of course you have to properly fix the oil leaks

 

I had a 63 Monza with factory a/c. Fun to drive. Sold it to a Navy Chief in 1974 with orders to Navy base at Gitmo in Cuba. I'll bet that car is on the streets of Havana today!

 

I kept and obsessed over Corvairs for many years. Still do, actually.

Good points.

Unique styling
Decent reliability

Bad points

Can be tough to locate some of the more unique parts.
Oil leaks.

Now the oil leaks are easily fixed, you just have to know the right things to do. Avoid RTV, it's your enemy. Use cork valve cover gaskets, and viton pushrod seals. DON"T overtorque the bolts!

There are a few vendors that are worth their salt. Lon's Corvair Underground and Clark's are two of the major suppliers. But there are plenty of small part houses that can help.

Now on to the handling thing. Early model Corvairs have a strange feel to them. Not like a beetle, and definitely not like a standard American sedan of the time. But I have spanked some ricers through the passes in a '62 that was dropped about 2". And I have made the rear kick up and get squirrely too. It just takes times to learn the abilities and weaknesses. Like any car really.

The heat can leave a lot to be desired, but it is no worse really than a beetle.

A set of stinger type exhausts on one sounds bad****!

If you really are set up with a Spyder, I would have the turbo gone through. They had a chincy carbon seal in them. And the Carter was prone to leaking, some people put them away and replace them with modern carbs. But they can be updated to work better.

They aren't speed demons, but you can get them up to a ton and I always had a blast driving them.

YMMV

Edit: I forgot to mention, the belt throwing rumor is utter*********. They only only toss belts when they are not properly adjusted. Do not try adjust them the same way you do a standard engine. Tighten the belt until you can just barely move the Gennie/Alt pulley with a finger. You want some resistance, not a lot. Too much tension will cause them to flip from the twist, just like not enough. I went through a lot of belts before I got that lesson. And then ran the same belt for years until it died of natural causes.

 

SUre am and thanks for the tips . Im gonna trailer it home on saturday and ill get some pictures of it then.

 

I'm one of the dumb-asses that flipped one (a '60) back in 1961 or 1962. I never sued GM, because I knew it was MY fault, not the swing-arm rear suspension. The later models went to a fully-independent IRS design, but only a drunk or a clueless dweeb would have ever managed to flip the earlier design. (Hint -- I don't consider myself a clueless dweeb, but I may have been chemically impaired when I misjudged that curve and where the driver's side rear wheel would catch the curb).
Bottom line -- I'd buy a convertible today if it was priced right and it had at least 10.000 miles before the inevitible rebuild/valve job to stop the oil blowout out the rear that challenged the Exxon Valdez for environmental damage.

The cars -- absolutely great. The engines -- good enough before the valves go south and the oil bath begins.

 

Ralph was way wrong...*****er didn't even have a drivers license.

LMAO... now that's funny....

 

I bought a 63 Van in the day and used it as a HVAC service truck. Baught it for $40.00, cause no one wanted it. Drove the wheels of of it. Than baught a 64 Van and did the same. It had doors on both sides, and had a factory Hi pro engine, 4 carb engine with only 2 carbs, very few were sold. If that body is in the condition you say it is, you got a winner, buy it. Contact the Corvair Club and ask them. Ramp sides are very hard to find. The engines are very tough, they use them in ultra lights with some changes to make them air worthy. Not for drag racing, but will get down the road and will turn lots of heads. Iceman

 

[ Of course you have to properly fix the oil leaks[/QUOTE]


Ya think that's why they called them road oilers? Never owned one but had fun in quite a few coupes, and convertibles...ghost

 

man sure glad a educated gentleman, who obviously knows Exactly what he is talking about chimed in =)

do your research buddy and try not to be so closed minded.... ive had my corvair for over 12 years and i drive it every day

 

Convertible or Club Coupe?

~Jason

 

What he said for sure.

 

I have this sick desire to own all of the GM experiments in unibody drivetrains from the early 60s. I have a '61 F-85 (front engine/trans), now I need a Tempest (front engine/rear trans) and a Corvair (rear engine/trans). I know I'm not right in the head.

 

I saw a nice one with a mid engine SBC at a Swapmeet a couple of weeks ago.

Good thing I'm broke.

I could see that thing with Webers, 180 exhaust, and big wheels & Flares like this one.

 

Fuckin' A, brother!!!!!

~Jason