To Build or not to Build

In the meantime here is a photo that I had taken of a T-Bird down in KC

 

Maybe a dumb idea, but I did some measuring once and figured a GM FWD drivetrain would fit neatly into the back bay ala Fiero. It would still leave plenty of room for a rear trunk. And with a supercharged 3.8 or a v8 conversion it would haul ass, too.

 

Yup, I have also seen one (later model) with a 3.8 Turbo out of GNX, hanging off the rear diff, not mid engine. radiator up front.

CORV8 conversions are also for late 'vairs. The Fiero conversion would fix the rear axle retainer/axle bearing problem. Early Corvairs have a rear axle bearing design that makes the bearing the axle retainer. When the bearing wears out, things get interesting.

 

Here are some of the Corvair pics.

The first is a cover shot from Car & Driver - Nov 1931.

The car is a shortened Corvair convert GM concept car
- twin cockpit spyder.
Very Racy!

 

Next up - another shortened Corvair spyder, also a GM styling model.

More angular, akin to later Corvette styling, but very sleek and racy,
Check out the rear exhaust pipes - I like this styling cue because it emphasizes the rear-engine.

 

Starbird's Forcasta - Corvair power - new body with bubble top. Pushing the envelope!

 

Here is Dick Dean's personal car. Corvette grille, bumper bombs, and '60 Mercury taillights - a nice trick on this car.

There were lots of Corvair customs in the early sixties, but some just didn't quite work. The problem was that the 'Vair was pretty cleanly styled from the factory, there wasn't much trim to remove and no grille to play with.

I think the best ones went with the sportscar theme or a simple custom paint job with candy colors and/or light metalflake top. Find some early sixties custom mag wheels - Rader or Indy or EMPI or the 12-spoke Mini-Motolita - and you're done. Cheap and easy!

 

wow... thats a hella way to ponder what the hell moves your mind. be it with a corvair or a deuce... digit

 

Ten or more years ago, I stumbled onto a CORSA (Corvair Owners and Restorers Society of America) meet. I had the chance to talk lots of owners about their cars. Some were 100 point restorations, some were hot rods, some were customs, all were drivers. Nice bunch of people.

Porsche engines were a popular swap - flat fours and sixes. I wonder how a modern Carrera engine would work? I think I also remember a FWD Olds Toronado V8 stuffed in somehow.

One fellow had a an average looking second generation Corvair with a set of those flat five-spoke aluminum wheels from the eighties Camaro. Looked good. The owner picked them up cheap with tires at a swap meet. He claimed that the added width and slightly lower profile transformed the handling (which was already pretty good in the second-gen 'Vair)

 

Natas,
I was just thinking the other day why you don't see many Corvairs. Personally I like them along with your photoshop. That green car looks too european. Also, this is just my 2 cents, but I think scallops and funky paint schemes would look out of place on a Corvair. I also don't understand why someone would move the motor up front. When I started out roadracing there was a Corvair that could hold it's own through a corner against the Corvettes and F-body's. I think you should do it. Who knows it might be the next thing.

 

I guess I'm havin' trouble deciding what this has to do with "traditional rods and customs". Apparently no one else is. Rock on.


Frank

 

Here is a very cool corvair!

 

I'd say THAT is a pretty "trad" kustom 'vair

 

I've seen this one before. I like but it is basically bone stock isn't it? Love the gold but I think it needs black interior. The Red and gold clash. And Even though I want to build this ride, now the you HAMBers talked me into it, I don't really like the Vair without body mods.

 

I know that this may not be a "traditional" rod and custom. But hot roddin is hot roddin. At least I'm not a 28 year old wanting to but a coffee can on my Honda's tailpipe right. It's no deuce but it is 40 years old, 20 years makes it an antique right?

 

I know that this may not be a "traditional" rod and custom.


***Then it doesn't belong here***


But hot roddin is hot roddin.


***No,, not here it isn't***



At least I'm not a 28 year old wanting to but a coffee can on my Honda's tailpipe right.



***That's admirable, I suppose***




It's no deuce but it is 40 years old, 20 years makes it an antique right?




***Yes, 20 years makes it an antique in most states. But this isn't an antique site, in the purest sense of the word. We use antique parts, but we use them to build Traditional rods and customs.***


Hope this helps.



Mutt

 

You should read the link below. I've been considering a Corvair project for quite some time now and I've got a lot of planning into it for when I finally get a garage. The fact is that they're neat looking cars that can still be had cheaply.

My plan has advanced beyond the "stock look" however, to a tube axle street sleeper. I'm probably going to pick up an EM coupe within the next 5-10 years (I have to plan like that because I'm going on to grad school and haven't got a place to work any longer). I wish I had a real one accessable to take measurements on and things, I've been considering getting a sedan just to drive and to facilitate measurements. That one would eventually end up on a G-body chassis.

For the gasser, I think that a full 2x3 or 2x3 box tube chassis is in line to reinforce the sheetmetal I'll be cutting out of the unibody. Dropped axle up front (nose high is too much of a giveaway) on parallel leaf springs, and a GM 10-bolt in the back. I'm considering radiusing the rear wheel wells to match the fronts because it will provide adequate tire clearance while still retaining the "stock" look.

For a front engine conversion it may be necessary to clearance the hood slightly if you want to run anything other than a stock, low-profile intake. The period-correct scoop would be the scoop Ford used on its medium-duty truck line in the day. I'm planning a simple, mostly stock bucket seat interior with a dark gray primer finish (it should make the scoop "disappear") along with 14" steelies, glossy black with baby moons and perhaps trim rings. Solid-lifter 327, Muncie 4-speed, cheater slicks and skinnies.

Here's the link to the "high baller" version of what I'd like to do: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36800&highlight=corvair

 

Okay, now that I've gotten your attention with the picture: Please note that the early model Corvairs cannot be converted to mid-engine using one of the kits available in the aftermarket. Those are designed to be used with the '66 and later models. Even the '65 is too much like an early model to be converted without some major modifications. That being said, it can be done, but you've got to want it pretty badly. Somewhere I have a link to a guy who put a 425 Olds and a Toronado transaxle in his, but very few of those conversions get finished to a particularly nice level.

I say, go front engine, that way I can learn from your mistakes.

 

You asked for opinions so here goes......Your concept does not appeal to me at all..At least do away with those fugly wheels.. It looks like something from MTV's Pimp My Ride. The other ideas posted in this thread look pretty cool, that's if you want to stick to what this board is ALL about.

 

Found that out this weekend No easy V8 in the 64

 

I agree with the wheels. It was a quick drop in photoshop and I think a set of traditional 5 stars is called for. And I'm not just posting to get my back scratched. I want real opinion from people that live cars, good or bad. I just want them to be constructive.

 

Good luck with her. The body mod concept is cool. Yeah, trad 5's or Radir and slots would look cool, too I guess. It's really what appeals to you that matters.

 

I think this is a very nice example of an early model customized Corvair. Where did you find the ground effects, or did you fabricate them yourself? Also, have you done any engine mods yet? I have a '64 Spyder convertible, and a '64 Corvair Greenbrier van I am in the process of restoring and customizing. Again, your car looks great. ( my email is mel51us@yahoo.com)

 

build her and she will live