A bit about me: I live just outside Rochester, NY and am a lifelong car nut. Have basic mechanical skills; did a lot of shade tree mechanic type stuff when I was younger and cars were less complicated. Although my skills aren't extensive, I enjoy taking on new challenges with cars and like to do things myself whenever possible.
My boss is an experienced Corvair mechanic who has also owned several, and told me of a 65 Corsa convertible for sale locally. He has some familiarity with the car, having worked on it in the past. Never imagined I might find a Corsa (especially local), but of course I was excited at the prospect. I checked it out a couple of days ago. It's a 140 4 speed, red with a white top and black interior. According to the current owner, it's an older (20+ years) repaint by a PO, and he believes it was originally blue. 83,997 on the clock, which he says hasn't turned over. Off the road for the past 3 years, it's been garage-kept and started occasionally. It's on just the 3rd owner; says he used it as a DD in summer but hasn't had time for it in the past 3 years, so he finally decided to sell. Kept it registered though, which expired just a couple of days beforehand.
It started right up; idled rough, but the engine smoothed out in driving and the transmission shifted fine. The test drive had to be cut short due to rain... open back and passenger side windows. Back window is shot; zipper torn away and the plastic window badly yellowed. I don't know if that can be replaced or if the whole top needs to go. Passenger window present but down and would only go up an inch or so. Glass was loose; suspect it was off track, but could be a regulator issue. Interior looks original, good and mostly complete except for missing sun visors; the pivots were in place though. No rips or tears in the upholstery, and dash pad in good shape. Driver's door card had a slight bulge on hinge side, but otherwise intact with a good armrest. Carpet was faded but not excessively worn; kick panels chipped and scratched. LR pass. window worked, but needed a good effort; Driver and RR pass. windows ok. The manual top lowered until it got close to the fender top, but did push down further. Didn't seem to be the frame, as it did go down all the way with a harder push. I later found the top boot was in the well; don't know if that could have been the problem, maybe along with the back window...?
The engine compartment seemed pretty clean and complete. Battery tray had some rust, but seemed to be solid. All 4 carbs were rebuilt a few years ago. I was able to get a picture of the block number, which I've included below. I was unable to find either the VIN plate or body tag, though... thought the tag would be on the right side of the back frame rail, but maybe 65 was different. Registration sticker shows the VIN as 107675W214179, indicating it's a true Corsa. I'd still like to find the VIN plate and body tag; any guidance on where to find them would be great.
Trunk looked good except for a small amount of minor surface rust on the shelf below the master cylinder. That is, until I looked under the mat, where I did find rust. More substantial than the shelf, but doesn't seem to be rusted through. Body panels looked straight; paint had a couple small chips on the sides and around the rear antenna hole; antenna missing. There's about an 8" long scrape between the back window molding and engine cover, which owner says was accidentally caused some time ago by someone working on the top. No bare metal though. Area below windshield was solid; no rust. No insurmountable problems up to that point, but then I found bubbles on the lower left fender area, behind the wheel well. And then, what I had most feared: rust spots in the driver's door frame.
One on the corner of the door sill where it meets the hinge pillar, and a second one on the right side lower corner of the door frame. That also had a pinhole, and the other seemed to have raised up but solid metal. There was a crack extending from there up the hinge pillar to about the height of the lower hinge; I couldn't tell for sure whether it's the result of more rust, but I think it's all too likely. Driver's door also sags a bit and contacts edge of the quarter panel near the top, where some paint has worn through. Passenger door frame appears okay, and rockers seem solid... as best I can tell.It'll be going to my boss' shop in the coming week for him to check the engine, transmission and all else. While it's on the lift, we'll look closely at the rockers and the entire underside for any further rust.
If this were a Monza, I'd have left and moved on when I found the rust... there are plenty more out there. Being a Corsa is a game changer; I'm willing to give on some things... but only to a point. I don't know if it would be feasible to still consider the car given the rust. If more is found underneath, that would finish it off though. His price is $7000 firm. I've tried to give a thorough explanation, and have included pictures. I'm interested in any and all opinions of forum members as to whether it's worthwhile to pursue, and if so, what it might be worth if no further issues are found.
Welcome to the Corvair Forum! It sounds like you are all primed to buy, and that you have the foundation in mechanical skills to be able to tackle most mechanical jobs on a Corvair.
There are several CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapters in New York. I would suggest contacting them and inquiring about membership.
1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
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