1961 Corvair,, Pics Please?? I got one for Free!!!

Just got an email from a friend out west,,,, Looks like I am going to be the new owner of a 1961 Corvair 4 Door... all I have to do is pay for shipping, or drive out there to get it!!!

Here are a couple of pics..




From what I was told, the drive train is all there, but not running right now. Interior is in Great Shape, with a new carpet kit not installed yet. Couple of dings on the body but other than that no holes that I can see...

Good thing for the DRY HEAT OF TUCSON!!!!

Anyone got one of these?? I've never messed with a corvair before, just curious if anyone has any pics of one done yet or not...

The straight lines of the body are just SCREAMING for some scallops

 

We had one just like that only white when I was growing up... it was my Mom's favorite car she ever had (until she got her 67 Catalina) cuz it was so easy to haul us kids around in. It finally rotted away in the back yard and I sold it to a friend who needed the engine for a restoration project in 1981 for $150 and bought wheels for my Mach I with the money. Ah, memories...

 

i owned dozens, cars staion wagons vans, pickup, and drove them through all kinds of weather,and traffic and terrrain, fun stuff if you like to work on things ,and if it is not running you will need alot to make sure you can get anywhere with it , a new belt for sure, they flew off enough when new let alone when the motor hasn't turned for along time, the cars will need to be gone through ,gotta make sure the generator is gonna work ,they take a special long narrow battery , you cant just put a regular one in it, unless you replace the cable with real long ones, brakes are standad chevy stuff, if it is a auto, and looking at the picture 'i can see the block of wood for parking it," it is a powerglide, there is no park position in the auto, gotta make sure you have a parking brake, or a chunk of wood,that is dangerous,haha, manual is a four speed ,the clutch cable likes to just snap whenever it wants,rear wheel bearings are prone to seazing up, again if this car has not been driven regularly i would have it shipped or tow it back on a dolly , backwards, ,i defiantly would get it ,however you choose

 

Damn, man, do you understand how desperate I am for one of those things? My tagline says it all, I think. Sadly, the only way I can afford one for now is if it's free.

Cut out the floors and drop it over a '79 Malibu frame with a small block up front!

 

Dont forget to check the bolt at rear that holds the motor in place. My sister had one of those and I remember having to go and coat hanger the motor up to get it home !!!

 

I always thought one of those would look bitchin gold with gold flake roof, Radirs, and pinner whites, with white tuck and roll.

 

Clutch cables are not a problem, I drove mine without a clutch in 5'oclock traffic on a Friday, to get it to my buddys shop.

Viton O-rings are a must too, otherwise you'll put oil in the top and it'll come right out the bottom.

He's right about the wheel bearing, on the early ones, the rear bearings were also the axle retainers, if they are worn, you'll be dragging the car home, literally. put the rear wheels on the dolly and grease the hell out of the front ones.

They aren't hard to keep running, just some odd quirks, like the power goes through the diff. (through a hollow splined shaft), then the transmission and then through the diff. on it's way to the wheels. So the engine actually mounts to the diff, not the trans.

Oh and you won't need a cherry picker, only a big floor jack with a trans attachment. it's quicker to do repairs to the engine out of the car than in.

 

oh man, you're in for a lot of work. corvairs are a nightmare. my fiance has a '64 monza. the oil release valve stopped working, i had to drive 130 miles to pick her up, then 130 back to pick it up. the engine fell out once. another time the rear leaf springs dropped off. i can't even rember all of the problems with that car that have left her stranded. recently it had a vacuum problem, her corvair specialist "fixed" it. she's out of town right now so i had to move it for street cleaning last night. it was the first time i've driven it in about a year. the vacuum problem is not fixed, it is FUCKED! i swear that car has a top speed of 10mph on a downhill. i have too many other projects to work on it, so i guess it's back to the corvair "specialist". my advice... don't even get one for free!

 

Now you definitly have way to many cars. I'll take the corvair. Thanks
Lil Joe

 

Too bad it aint a 2-door, It would make a neat road racer.
Neat score, wish I could get a free car. Dammit.
-Crew

 

[ QUOTE ]
another time the rear leaf springs dropped off.

[/ QUOTE ]

uhh... dude, Corvairs have coils all around.

 

Nader was wrong

cool car

 

No pics yet but I have a '61 that I got for free and my wife always wanted a convertible so I made it one without the top.Painting it next week so I'll post a pic after that. Does anyone make cool wheels for these?

 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
another time the rear leaf springs dropped off.

[/ QUOTE ]

uhh... dude, Corvairs have coils all around.

[/ QUOTE ]
check your facts. the 1964 corvair uses leaf springs in the rear, and don't call me dude.

 

I think shipping would have to be very cheap.

 

Put a 327 in it!! Make it a CorV8!!!

 

[ QUOTE ]
oh man, you're in for a lot of work. corvairs are a nightmare. my fiance has a '64 monza. the oil release valve stopped working, i had to drive 130 miles to pick her up, then 130 back to pick it up. the engine fell out once. another time the rear leaf springs dropped off. i can't even rember all of the problems with that car that have left her stranded. recently it had a vacuum problem, her corvair specialist "fixed" it. she's out of town right now so i had to move it for street cleaning last night. it was the first time i've driven it in about a year. the vacuum problem is not fixed, it is FUCKED! i swear that car has a top speed of 10mph on a downhill. i have too many other projects to work on it, so i guess it's back to the corvair "specialist". my advice... don't even get one for free!

[/ QUOTE ]

Whine whine whine. fix the damn thing already. Or maybe she needs to fidn someone who can.

I'm going to look at a '64 tonight. It belongs to one of the older guys from the local Corvair club. I've talked to him about them at the last three or four local car shows. And it'll piss Nader off....

 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
another time the rear leaf springs dropped off.

[/ QUOTE ]

uhh... dude, Corvairs have coils all around.

[/ QUOTE ]
check your facts. the 1964 corvair uses leaf springs in the rear, and don't call me dude.

[/ QUOTE ]


1964s had a single transverse leaf spring in addition to the two coil springs. It was a band-aid fix for one year only until the '65s were introduced, although EMPI had an aftermarket kit available before Chevy put it on the '64s.

The center of the leaf is attached to the diff case, and the ends are attached to each swing arm with a long, single bolt with rubber bushings. If one of the long bolts snaps, you get a collapsed rear suspension, along with an ugly stain on the driver's seat - I found out the hard way that cheap carriage bolts are no substitute for Grade 8.

 

I always kinda liked the looks of these cars but they were never anything I wanted. That being said I wish I could go back in time for you guys because I knew were several were that I could have gotten for basically free for years because nobody wanted them at the time. I was offered all of them at one point and I said no. These poor cars were destroyed and man if I had only known...one of them (the worst one and it was not bad at all really) was the hot rod later spyder (?) that everyone wants now.

Hell, one sat in back of my Dads car lot most of my life when they were in downtown Dallas with two Metro rag tops.


Wish I could give you guys those cars now...I would say live and learn and I try to convince myself not to let it happen again...problem is I know were two cars are right now I could probably have for free, but will people want Yugo's 30 years from now?

 

Seriously 57, if you dont wanna save this one for a rainy day lets talk....i got a model A frame that would look great under that body you just bought.
Lil Joe

 

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously 57, if you dont wanna save this one for a rainy day lets talk....i got a model A frame that would look great under that body you just bought.
Lil Joe

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Joe, I may have something different for you,, a friend of mine just bought an income property that needs to be gutted and re-habbed (sp?)

He called me last week and mentioned that there was an old AMC (he thinks) in the garage that is coming with the house. He isn't much into cars, hence the reason he called me and asked if I wanted it.. I think I am going over to look at it this weekend, and see what it looks like...

If it is decent and dosen't get added to our stable,,, I will give it to you... Just have to find a place to put it.

 

I stand corrected, I never had a '64, it was a one year only thing. Leaf springs in the rear.

Sorry, dude.

 

That would be awesome Steve! Thanks!
Lil Joe

 

One of my all time favorite vanity plates was on a Corvair. Said "FNADER".

 

[ QUOTE ]
He called me last week and mentioned that there was an old AMC (he thinks) in the garage that is coming with


[/ QUOTE ]

please be a Gremlin! please be a Gremlin! please be a Gremlin!

 

Do I detect a corvair challenge at the next HAMB drags????

 

I used to rent a room off a guy that had a 62? auto 2 door, what a POS that one was, I could never figure out how to keep it running, he eventually gave it away. We went to some corvair shows and I was turned on by the V8 & V6 ones, one guy had a turbo V6 in a corsair and it was awlsome.

I vote V6 (get FatHacks set up)

 

[/ QUOTE ]please be a Gremlin! please be a Gremlin! please be a Gremlin!

[/ QUOTE ]

Even as car illeterate as the person who told me about this car is,,, I think he would know what a gremlin looks like..

But if it is a Gremlin,,, we may have a battle of the Joe's to see who gets it...

 

But if it is a Gremlin,,, we may have a battle of the Joe's to see who gets it...



You bet we do...
Lil Joe