Searching for more info!

[TrixAnnRiots]

Hey all! First time Corvair owner here! I just recently had a 1960 Corvair (4 door, auto trans) project car fall into my lap and am looking for a little info on this particular guy.

The car has a "Westerner" badge on the side (right before the front doors) and a placard saying "equipped especially for....(name etched in)" on the dash.

So far all my internet searches have come up empty handed. If these dont mean anything I will not be disappointed, just curious to find out anything about this car and super stoked to dive in to this new project! TIA

[65Ragtop]

Interesting...I am thinking that it might have been a dealer promotional car??? Lots of pics online of a 60 Impala with this same badging. Just guessing. Could be an indicator of a very early 60 model. Look under the front bumper and see if there are some horn slots in the body (see pic). Badging aside, if it does have the slots it is a rare car. Post a picture of the ID plate. That will tell us a story.

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

The link below will provide you with a list of useful websites that are Corvair-related. Some of the links will lead you to an extensive technical library that will allow you to download shop manuals and other technical references in Adobe Reader format at no cost. There is also a link that will help you to locate nearby CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapters. While the Corvair Forum can be very helpful as you work on your Corvair, having local friends and contacts in your region who are knowledgeable about the Corvair can also be very helpful. These family-friendly CORSA chapters often offer picnics, group scenic drives, technical training and assistance, car shows, and competition events that can greatly enhance your enjoyment of Corvair ownership. You will also find a list of essential Corvair parts suppliers.

Common and Useful Corvair Websites

viewtopic.php?f=225&t=6007

I would like to encourage you to expand on your earlier post and tell us more about yourself, as well as about your Corvair. Your personal assessment of your mechanical skills and abilities helps a lot. Members of the Corvair Forum love to be helpful in assisting other Corvair owners with technical support and advice, but it helps a lot if we have some understanding of your technical background and mechanical abilities, your Corvair-related knowledge, etc. Helping us to know more about you will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Some detailed photographs of your Corvair would be great! I also recommend that you post your location, as knowing your location can often suggest possibilities.

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Perhaps your Corvair was a western Chevy dealer custom.

Here are some additional Horn Slots photos, and a possible photo of the previous owner listed on the dashboard placard. Do you have any documentation that shows original purchase or early registration info?

"Horn slots" under the front bumper, which are very rarely seen and existed on only the earliest production bodies.

aka "Horn Slots".

Only the very, very earliest 1960 Corvairs had these slots below the left front bumper. They were supposed to make it easier to hear the horn but the slots were quickly eliminated because they were not needed. The right side had fake slots that were not punched through. See pics.







Dave W, Gilbert AZ

The very oldest have three slots below the bumper and are quite sought after because few were made.

The name is unique, and she lived in the west, in Elko, Nevada. She might have been the original owner.

Lucy Helena Achabal
BIRTH 31 Aug 1905
Olathe, Johnson County, Kansas, USA
DEATH 8 Jul 1999 (aged 93)
California, USA
BURIAL
Elko City Cemetery
Elko, Elko County, Nevada, USA

Helena raised my father in his teen years as well as myself in my teen years. Always giving, always adventurous, always laughing; an educator in a one room school house in 'the wilds' of the high desert of Nevada and a librarian in Elko. I miss you desparatly at times, but remember the laughter always.

[TrixAnnRiots]

Thank you both for the information! I will look at the car again when I return home.

My apologies for the short intro.
I am a mechanic by profession and have been for the past 15 years. Like I said I do not know much about these cars, but my dad talked my ear off when this one popped up. I have owned beetles in the past so this car definitely peaked my interest anyways.

Very ironic about the info you found on Helena, because Elko is where I purchased the car.

I bought it from a friend who has had it sitting for the past 10 years or so. He bought if from a H.S. teacher who apparently had the engine and trans rebuilt, but they were left open and unattended for years. I know I have quite a project on my hands, but I am excited to start learning while the cold months keep me from working g on it. I will take more pics later and post them here!

Thank you everyone

[66vairguy]

Enjoy your 1960. In 1961 a number of things changed on the Corvair. In many ways the 1960 models are unique compared to the 61-64 cars.

[64powerglide]

http://www.pgrramblers.org/amc/westerner.html AMerican Motors made a Westerner package. This emblem doesn't match the one you have from what I can see. Maybe there is another emblem that's not seen inthese photo's. I'll do some more looking around.

[bbodie52]

Below are some additional clues that may point to both the original owner of your Corvair, her Chevy salesman husband, and likely the name of the Chevy dealership.

If you can provide photos of the VIN tag and Body Tag we can possibly decode them for you to add to the info on your vintage Corvair.

Sample...

Body Tag Sample (Engine Compartment) — 1960 Monza coupe built in Oakland


VIN Tag Sample (Driver's Side Door Frame) — 1960 Corvair Monza Coupe built in Oakland, California

VIN - EM Corvair Passenger Car VIN Tag Decoding

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115 ... na-achabal

Lucy Helena Achabal, a longtime resident of Elko County, passed away at the age of 93. She was a school teacher and librarian in Elko Nevada for many years. She was married 58 years to Pio Achabal who preceded her in death April 29, 1987. She is survived by her nephew, William A. Sills of Florence, OR and great-nephew, James K. Sills of Roseville, CA.

Sawyer Chevrolet Co. may be where your 1960 Corvair was first purchased, since Lucy Helena Achabal's husband, Pio Achabal, apparently was a car salesman there, working for Paul Sawyer.


https://elkodaily.com/news/local/paul-s ... 59b8d.html

Car dealer

He went into the automobile business in 1945. His first dealership was a partnership called Nevada Motor. He then bought out a Dodge dealership and called it Paul Sawyer Motor Co.

Sawyer said he later bought the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership and called it Sawyer Chevrolet Co.

He sold his dealership to Dewey Nelson in 1976 but kept his auto leasing business until the late 1980s, as he eased into retirement.

RIVERTON ELKO CHEVROLET BUICK GMC
3750 Idaho St Elko NV 89801

[TrixAnnRiots]

Sorry about the long delay...but here is the tag in the engine compartment. No slots on the front for the horn. Thanks for all your help!