Introduction

[aj_ed]

Hi to the forum. My name is Ed Harvey and I live in So Cal. I guess I was getting tired of the old place, so I followed your other new members here. I have a 65 Corsa I bought in 1971 ( second owner ). The original owner bought the car from the Van Nuys plant in LA and drove it to Alaska. She drove the car back to LA 4 years later, gave it to her grandson who didn't want it , so I gave him $200 and it was mine. Long story, so I will stop here.

Ed Harvey
65 Corsa

[American Mel]

Hey Ed, small world.
Great to have you follow.
I think we are going to enjoy ourselves here!

[davemotohead]

Hey Ed, I am in So Cal as well, in the high desert of the Antelope Valley, where are you located?

[caraholic4life]

Welcome Ed,

I look forward to your participation. I think you will like it here.....The atmosphere is friendly.

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

» Fri Jan 26, 2024 12:06 pm

Hi to the forum. My name is Ed Harvey and I live in So Cal. I guess I was getting tired of the old place, so I followed your other new members here. I have a 65 Corsa I bought in 1971 ( second owner ). The original owner bought the car from the Van Nuys plant in LA and drove it to Alaska. She drove the car back to LA 4 years later, gave it to her grandson who didn't want it , so I gave him $200 and it was mine. Long story, so I will stop here.

Ed Harvey
65 Corsa

For $200 you just bought a '65 Corsa with only one trip to Alaska and back on it that was only driven back in the 1960s??

Did it just sit for all of these decades since the return from Alaska? What kind of shape is it in?? Could you post some pictures? 140hp or turbo??

I would love to hear the long story... such tales give more meaning to life! Could you post the long story???

I used to be a Corvair guy from California, but at age 19 I joined the Air Force in 1972 and subsequently traveled all over the USA and Europe (with my Corvairs) for 24 years. Like your Corvair Corsa, I — and my current Corvair Monza sedan — was born in Van Nuys. We moved to Woodland Hills in 1955 and then on to San Jose and the San Francisco Bay Area in 1959 (my father was an engineer with Lockheed Missiles and Space Division in Sunnyvale). That was where my parents bought their first Corvair — a brand new 1961 Monza coupe. In 1965 they traded up to a 1965 Corsa convertible (140hp).

1965 - Warren M Bodie and son Brad at an air show at Edwards AFB in the Southern California desert

Same Corvair in 1980 at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts (base housing)

I learned to drive in that 1965 Corvair Corsa and took my first driver's license test in it in San Jose in 1969. I taught myself to overhaul an engine from a 1963 Corvair in the summer of 1969, got married in a Corvair powered by that engine in 1972, and in 2024 I'm still married to the same girl and to Corvairs! (Once I find something that works well for me I tend to stick with it)!

Our wedding day in April 1972

Our current 1966 Corvairs in western North Carolina

So please tell us your story and tell us more about your Corvair background, mechanical skills and DIY maintenance abilities, and post some pictures! I love to hear Corvair tales with a happy ending!

[aj_ed]

Ok, here is a little more.
When I got my Corsa (140, 4 speed, 355 axle, posi), I was the only one that had a Corvair at Buena Park HS. I was a senior, and got the bug for racing. Spent a lot of time picking parts up from Crown Mfg. The car was progressivly getting faster, so I started doing slolum, and 1/4 mile at OCIR on Wed, and Sat nights. Then life started taking over.
Got married (50 years now) and had 4 kids. Packed up the family and moved from Anaheim to Lake Elsinore in 85. The Corsa spent 15 years in my garage and finally jumped back into it. Stripped the body down, replaced all rust with replacement panels (Clarks), put a 102HP in so I could build my dream engine, a Weber stroker.
I retired 3 years ago from Catapillar (machinist), sold the engine, and now building the original. Almost done, so while waiting for the deep seats in my heads, I tackeled the 4 original carbs. Next the linkage.
Had enough?
Ed in Wildomar
65 Corsa 140
2nd owner

[bbodie52]

Pictures and a progress report, including how well (successful?) your upgrades have been could be valuable "lessons learned" for the rest of us.

I graduated from Thousand Oaks High School in 1971 in Ventura County. I drove a 1963 Corvair turbocharged Spyder to school every day. We had several 1965-1966 Corsas at home that I worked on frequently. I had similar experiences with driving all the way to Crown Mfg. to buy custom suspension components and to dream of building a V8-powered Corvair (never happened!).

Instead, I got married on April Fools Day in 1972 in Thousand Oaks, and later that year I quit pumping gas at an Exxon station and at 20 years of age joined the Air Force for the next 24 years... continuing to rely on Corvairs while we were stationed in Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Germany. (also two 1-year unaccompanied tours to South Korea, but they would not let me take a Corvair to Korea — or Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm!





https://www.v8registry.com/crown-manufacturing-co.html

My son keeps bugging me to try to get me to dump the two Corvairs I currently drive (and the '91 Toyota Supra Turbo) and buy a reliable "modern" car... I doubt I ever will!

[66vairguy]

Welcome Ed. If still in Wildomar, then you are north of Rainbow, Calif. Every Spring the good Corvair folks in San Diego put on a meet at the Rainbow Restaurant just off the I-15. If you haven't go you should try it this year. Also folks from the L.A. area show up.

Roger Parent in San Diego makes a very nice 140HP carburetor linkage.

[Lane66Monza]

Ed & Mel:



welcome to the nice drama free Vair Forum. Lots of experienced members to help all Vair owners.
More are joining daily.

Al Lane

[aj_ed]

Thanks 66vairguy, I popped in last year at Rainbow, but didn't drive the Corsa as I was on my way to Dog beach in SD
Please keep us informed of the next event in the spring, or anything north of SD.
Ed in Wildomar

[jnels]

Good stuff Ed. I just came over as well! J