looks good with the rally's.. i have a bunch of rallys i just think they belong on anything but a t bucket project. by the way how i ended up with my corvair engine was it was a running spare that came in a corvair powered trike built in the 70s. crazy thing.. anyhow, i was gonna put it in a vw baja bug about that time my bad leg stop me from playing with stick shifts.. so down the road went the baja bug, shelf engine.. chris.
Back in 1966 I had a '62 2dr.4 speed 'Vair with dual glaspacks coming out of aftermarket brackets that mounted on the side of the rear grille. It was dark blue with a red racing stripe up the drivers side and baby moons. It wasn't fast but it sure sounded good. We had more damn fun with that car. There were five of us that hung around together that had them at the same time. Saturday afternoons we'd take two of them,pile every body inside and head for a beer store in NY state.(Drinking age was 18 in NY ) Buy a couple of cases each and a shitload of bags of ice. Load up the trunk and ..... INSTANT COOLER. We'd drive around all night drinking and raising hell. Next morning we'd just reach in the trunk,pull the rubber plug and drain the water out. One guy had a '64 that none of us could beat. I found out years later that it had the optional low gears in the differential that made it really get off the line.
I've had several and enjoyed them, still have a few parts, including a sbc adapter to a corvair trans. was in a mid eng sports car in the 70s.
I like Corvairs and wouldn't mind having one eventually. My dad has about a dozen of them he is selling, so I know I've got one for a project when I get done with some others. Here is a Southwest Bell fleet vehicle Rampside we had a while before it went to a guy who is says he is going to restore it back to how it originally looked when it first joined the fleet. I would so love to make one of these. Any pics of it with the hood opened? Also what do you call those things on the hood behind your head?
here is mine , doubt ill ever do anything with it. i bought it sight unseen and was told it was a 65. i think this body style is less than atractive, but that just my opinion.
The red Spyder 'Vair with the headrest fairings is an all-time favorite. I have the Car & Driver issue with at one somewhere. I'll have to dig it out now!
Here's mine, a '67. I've got new wheels and tires to put on, just haven't gotten around to it get: During a long roadtrip:
They were refered to as the "Rampside". I believe all Corvair pickups were configured this way. Kinda cool, makes it much easier to get things in and out, especially because of the step in the rear of the bed over the engine.
Regarding the Corvair vs Camaro vs Mustang discussion, here's a cool video about marketing the Corvair against the Mustang before the Camaro even came out. This was before anyone knew what the "Pony Car Era" was, or had any idea what was to come of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao8yBhqeRDE
My siss had one in highschool in the early 60's,I put 3 clutchs in it for her,in 3 years,but it was a fun car for her
I believe the majority of the Corvair Series 95 pickup trucks were Rampsides but not all of them. The rest were called Loadsides.
Cool. I wasn't 100% sure. Now that think about it, I don't know that I've ever seen a Loadside up close, but I sure do remember that designation.
I've just seen pics of the Loadside. Anyone have any idea how many of them were made and were they done all years? Any 2 door Corvairs with the early long roofs? 2 door custom or 4 door turned 2 door?
1961 95 Rampside, Model R1254 10,787 95 Loadside, Model R1244 2,475 1962 95 Rampside, Model R1254 4,102 95 Loadside, Model R1244 369 1963 95 Rampside, Model R1254 2,046 1964 95 Rampside, Model R1254 851
I would have neve thought a Corvair engine could lug around a 5000+lb. motorhome! The Ultra Van is a unique motorhome. Powered by a Corvair engine and transaxle, it was designed by David Peterson (a professional aircraft designer) in the early sixties. These units were produced in limited quantities by the Ultra Van Corporation of Hutchinson, Kansas until June of 1970. As a true monococque structure, the Ultra Van has no chassis. It is constructed like an airplane with aluminum ribs covered with riveted sheet aluminum on the top and sides. Compound curved areas (front and back corners) are fiberglass. All wheels are independently sprung with coil springs and tubular shock absorbers. These units cruise easily at 60 mph and deliver 15 plus mpg. More than 200 of about 370 units produced are still on the road, many with between 100,000 and 500,000 miles of use. The Corvair Society of America (CORSA) recognizes the Ultra Van as a true Corvair marque. Interior Layout Specifications Length: 22 feet Wheelbase: 152 inches Height: 8 feet Width: 8 feet Price (New): $8,500 - $12,500 Dry Weight 3-4,000 Ibs Price (2009) $5,000 - $15,000 Touring Weight:4,500 Ibs-5800 lbs http://www.corvair.org/chapters/ultravan/</PRE>
It's a 64, last year of the first generation. Still has swing axles but with improvements that tamed some of the anti social qualities. My personal favorite of Corvairs, I like the style better than the 65 up.
Here is the '65 4-door Monza 110 HP Auto I used as a daily driver for a good part of the 80's. Lots of fun... especially telling Zits the gas jockey to fill it up when I had the engine lid open. Dumb shit was tryin' to open up the oil filler cap!
The Jalopy Journal
