There's a guy that shows up at the NHRA Museum Twilight Cruise that has an early 'vair, flat 6 with a 4-71 sticking out. Must work well, he drives it in
I had a Corvair in '65 - clutch cable kept breaking - one time in NYC - another time in Medicine Bow, Wyoming - and some other places - put 55,000 miles on it the first year - the right front suspension collapsed in Miami - and I was parked in Jerry's Drive-In having a burger and fries, and the engine wiring suddenly caught fire and burned up even though it hadn't been running for 15 minutes...
Talked with my friend yesterday that had a bunch. He sold most and kept 3. He is working on a disc brake conversion that is cheaper than the only one he could find. The other company would sell the just the brackets but wouldn't say what calipers to use. Only wanted to sell theirs at a high price. This is the same guy that made my MII front end so he knows what he's doing. When he gets it all set and road tested I'll let you guys know the details. They will all be hand made by him only, no farming out any piece. They will be just the basic parts and and you'll have to get the calipers, rotors and such. Most likely powder coated black if premade but he could do other colors too.
Have a younger friend who started building a V8 corvair about 10 years ago. The chassis , the floor the engine install and some of the engine work is done as is the magor body work. It has a narowed ford 9 inch on ladder bars. he is moving west and will be selling everyhing.. The engine in it is a 350 with factory 327 2X4 barrel manifold and carbs. If you are interested PM me and i will give you his name and number. The car is near Belleville Ontario and has been stored inside. I believe it is a 65. He also has some corvair engne stuff including an unused set of reconned heads (140 HP) still wrapped in plastic. Don
"The other company would sell the just the brackets but wouldn't say what calipers to use." www.scarebird.com sells brackets for $75 to $95 depending on the buy it now on Ebay. They say to use S10 4wd rotors and either S10 or FWD GM calipers depending on where you want the hose to exit the caliper. I put a set on my friend's '34 Ford with a Corvair front end.
I got a chubby when I saw this Steve Stanford rendering of a Nova with a Corvair roof in a Hotrod mag. I wouldn't be surprized if someone is building this now...
This truck is pretty local to me,imported from Vegas a couple of years ago... was put up for sale as soon as it hit land,but not sure if it has sold yet.
$400? Great score! You're my hero, you've had so many cars you've forgotten which ones. Mike Bodenhafer at EN high school in Kendallville IN had a V8 later Corvair, it was said to be fast until it caught fire around the engine. (Class of 76) Funny, I just talked to a guy about a 63 Spyder that sounds like a great score as well. http://www.corvairproject.com/cgi-bin/home.cgi Has a Jay Leno's Garage vid and other Corvair links, like "Not Found on eBay: A Crazy Half Breed, the Torvair "
That was a concept car, or a race car, I forget. Either way, it was not put into production. There were a lot of really cool Corvairs like it though. The '62 Super Spyder is my favorite. It kicks all kinds of ass.
The other company's brackets are probably for 70's dodge colt calipers. Also, replacement rotors have a different offset than original so you may need to use spacers between the bracket and caliper. Is the guy you know just copying the other company's? If not, what calipers and rotors will they be for? Inquiring minds want to know!
He already made the first one and it is on the vehicle in fully working order. I think he used MII brake stuff because it is so readily available on the aftermarket with lots of choices. He is still figuring out how he wants to do multiples but he may be will to make a set if youy call him. Ask away all questions you have, he is helpful and straight forward. Erich Olsen of Olsen Motorsports, 530.949.7214, let him know Eric Hall sent ya.
they have coil springs front and back,like a 60's impala..rear axles will fall out if you ride laid in the back too much though,happened to me back in the day
OK so I was a bit wrong. His uses GM 10 1/2" rotors and GM metric calipers. S10, caddys and others used those and the only difference is the angle the brake line attaches to it. He said a little machining to the rotor and the stock Corvair bearings fit. About $150 to $175 depending your exact needs. Made by him to your order. His new business name is Flamingo Hot Rods (his wife talked him into it). flamingohotrods@aol.com
good grief charlie brown . Corvairs ...gettin ready to small block & tub A 68. YA KNOW YENKO DID SOME CORVAIRS. CORVAIRS REALLY SUCK GM GAVE ALL THE RIGHTS TO CLARKE (BIG DEAL)
Boy does this thread bring back memories. Had 22 vairs in my life. Loved every one of them for different reasons. 63 Spyder, 65 and 66 Corsa Convertibles (both Solo SCCA Autocross cars) couple of Greenbriars, a 66 4 door with factory air, 65 Monza and on and on. The 65 and ups were great handlers and could be competitively autocrossed if set up right. This is how Don Yenko got his start with Chevy. Someone mentioned a couple of the concept cars but didnt see a mention of the Astro-Vair. That one is still around in models and it sat at Astroworld in Houston for years. Dont know what ever happened to it. The RV's were really different and were manufactured by an aircraft company if I remember correctly. I even owned a factory Greenbriar camper conversion with jalousy side windows, fold down bed and dining table and had the old a/c unit mounted in a pod on the roof. Wish I still had that honey as I have never seen or heard of another one. Big mistake on Vairs was opportunity to buy one of the original 100 Yenko Stingers (Stage III) road race cars about 15 years ago but just couldnt justify the $12k asking price. How bout bets on what that puppy would be worth today. Wanna bet on six figures? Much maligned cars for all the wrong reasons. Those things would just about run forever with very little maintenance after you changed out the pushrod o-rings to synthetics and stopped the oil leaks. I have pics somewhere but who knows where.
heres my project for next year 1964 greenbrier heres one of the last 69 covairs that my grand uncle bought new in 69 only 10,000 miles heres a friend of mines 69 turbo monza one of the shop teachers at wyotech has a nice 61 rampside and...... and his monstrous mid engined 383 strokered 66 monza!
I built this old amt Corvair coupe in lime green pearl with split '63 Corvette bumpers and frenched '60 Impala taillights. Now who's up for building it in real scale?..
Here is one I picked up not too long ago. '61 Monza 500, 65-68 110hp engine, needs a head. Somebody's old custom that came up from California. Any Cali guys recognize it? Interesting that it ended up in Alaska.
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