Why would she catch up on bills to go into MORE debt 6 months down the road??? You need to be the "big brother" and "enlighten" her as to how ridiculous that is. Anyway,Rant over.... Corvairs are really cool.I've never owned one but have friends that have and they are really cool cars. Parts are easy to get for them. They haven't been hit by the "collector" mentality as much as some other cars have. The only problem is finding someone near you that is adept at working on them. I will ad that one of the funniest quotes on here is this one.... Originally Posted by Splinter With that Corvair, you're one "Sig Heil" away from being a ****ing VW driver.
She is not going through the bankruptcy, my other sister is. The car is in the ohter sisters name so this sister(the one that is considering the corvair) sees this as an opertunity to get out of her car loan that she is upside down on. She only needs a "beater" for like 6 monthes so she can catch up on bills, and then she is going to get a new car, Mini Clubman most likely.
hey wait a dang minute! I am not a Gm man but was a Gm mechanic in my youth. I did all the corvair service at our dealership. I liked working on them. The old dudes did not. They were not a bad car. Raph "the idiot" Nader who killed them did not even have a drivers license when he wrote the book. The critique was reversed in the courts by but by then the damage was done. The corvair. (Hang on Chevy guys, this will hurt some of ya) is the body style the Camaro was based on. The camaro just stretched out the hood a bit but put the two cars side by side and you will be shocked. The engine was an excllant one. two problems I remember, The oil cooler seals used to deteriorate and leak and the flywheel on standards trans would sometimes work loose where it was rivited togather causing a knock sounding like a engine knock. The engnes are easy to overhaul. The ultimate was the tubo with the 140 HP 4 carb being next. Syd Sloan in Montreal used to drag race them very succesfully. They are a fun car to own. Occcasionally they would bust a starter nose but I have seen that on recent GMs too. Early ones were boxy looking but the later versions were sleek. 65s handle very well.
I'd suggest an early Valiant for her. Here's why. I'm a big Corvair fan, had four of them when I was in school. I considered getting one for my wife when we were looking for a fun daily driver for her, but they do take a little more fussing than a similar compact of the same era, and I didn't want her to have to keep an eye on the tire pressure and v-belt, not to mention the lack of decent heat here in the Northeast. After nixing Falcons due to high prices, we chose a 1964 Valiant coupe, black with a mint red interior. She LOVED the car, it was rock-solid reliable, and easy as hell to fix. Never had to send away for anything, all brake/electrical/carb/gaskets were available via NAPA or Autozone. A slant six will never die, and these cars are really sharp looking. Here's a nice '64 convert so you can see what they look like. Show your sister this pic and I bet she'll want one
Sorry, got confused on sisters. I guess then the best thing to do would be to have her look at tons of pictures of old cars and let he decide what she wants. I am sell mine if you want to go the Corvair route. Then there is the Falcon, Nova, Valiant as mentioned above. There is also the '61 - '63 Slylark, F85 and Tempest that are along the same lines. Sadly these 3 do not have the aftermarket support of the Corvair, Falcon and Nova but are very nice. There have been a few posts within the last couple months about putting disc brakes on the Skylark. I do know there are kits for the Corvair. There are also smaller cars like the Morris Minor and Anglia 100E that will get good milage but do not have a lot of power. Somrthing that would be different if you can find one is a Hudson Jet but parts would be hard for it as well.
If she wants a beater just for a little while, in my opinion, I think she should stick with the rice burners. She can get an older Honda Civic or Accord or some Mazda (it seems like gas mileage is a big thing with her) and drive it until she get's out of the hole. It may go against the grain here, but WTF. Are you sayin' she can't afford to keep the Nissan? Any rice burner will get more mileage than any older American compact unless it's wore completely out.
Early Tempests had a four cylinder engine that was half of a 389 V8 most survivors today get over 20mpg and the car rides like a fullsize car. A first generation Tempest is arguably the most technologically unique car of it's day. They are reliable, comfortable, economical, mechanically fascinating and historically interesting but they are not the car you get for your sister. The care and feeding required is not for the faint of heart and it's handling can bite you if pushed beyond it's limits. It's an acquired taste and like sushi, nothing compares with it. (I love my '63 Lemans four-cylinder four-barrel four-speed 24mpg cruiser)
I've been driving my '65 Corvair daily for over a year. My daughter is building one for her first car. But seriously if she isn't into being hands on with an old car do the Honda.
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