Greetings from Ray "Grymm" Rodriguez III

[Trip]

Hello all.

I'm 30 years old this past May and have been into Corvairs for about 9 years now. I currently own my third, fifth, and sixth Corvairs. My stable contains my (pretty darn nice) daily driver 66' Corsa 140 coupe (red on black), a recently aquired 63' Monza 102/PG coupe (white on red) that sat in the open door of a barn since 83' and is now nearly ready for the road, and a 65' Corsa 140 coupe (non-original yellow on black) that I've been occasionally working on for near 5 years now. The 63' Monza is a real quickie project car intended to become my fiance' (Missy)'s daily driver.

My cars are nowhere near perfect, but nicer than what most call a "driver"... I'm an amateur and impatient to boot so nothing I do is perfect and I do most everything myself... I'm also on a very tight budget.

My Corvair journey began in 2001 at 21 years of age. At the time I had recently aquired my dream car... a bright red 1968 (visually near identical to 69') Corvette convertible with a black interior. I sold my previous car, spent every penny I had, took a sizeable loan from the bank, and bought a slightly beat up Corvette that was drivable aside from refusing to idle properly.

Over the next few months I got the Vette' running properly and looking fairly decent with lots of minor repairs mostly done myself with the help of my father. The car continued to get nicer over the next few years (new paint about 2 years in) and I enjoyed it, but something bothered me a bit... Everywhere I went I met derogatory comments about having a "rich daddy" etc.. and the Corvette "enthusiasts" busted my chops about the incorrect (I like wide tires) size tires, air cleaner, valve covers, intake manifold etc... I like custom and Corvette purists do not! All the negative comments were disheartening, but I loved the car.

Well about a year after buying the Vette' I decided I needed a winter car to drive in the snow. My budget was only about $1,000 and I wanted it to be another antique car. I spotted an ad for a Corvair in the local classifieds and remembered that I liked the way they looked. My father tried to talk me out of it because it was an oddball car that parts would not be readily available for.. but as usual I wouldn't listen to reason.

I bought the car. It was a bright blue on bright blue 66' Monza coupe with no gloss left in the paint, small rust holes in the bottom of the fenders and quarters, and tears in the tops of the seats. The tires on the car were dry rotted, so I got a cheap set of chrome modular wheels in 14" and a put a set of 205-60-14's on them that I had leftover from one of the Fiero's I had a couple years before (they were my first orphan car)... other than that I just drove it the way it was.

I racked up about 50,000 miles on that car over the next 2 years and only ever suffered one mechanical failure... my harmonic balancer came apart and cut open the oil filter =(. Everywhere I went with my beat up Vair' I was met with smiles and compliments.. the opposite of my treasured Corvette. I eventually sold my Vair' only because I was taking a job that was far from home and needed something reliable and good on gas.... what a mistake.... the late model car I bought was a total junk despite being the lowest mileage (and newest) vehicle I'd ever owned... but who knew.

Fast forward a few years... the Corvette was gone (sold: but a tragic story involving the end of an 8 year relationship) and I no longer owned an antique car... I was broke and needed to pick up a cheap second car so my new girlfriend would have something to drive to work. My fond memories of the Corvair (and the favorable economics of my first Vair experience- buy a Corvair for $1,000.. drive it for 2 years and sell it for the same price) led me to buy another. This was another 66' Coupe... light blue on blue this time (which was great because I wanted it similar to the first) but a 500 coupe.

Sadly this car didn't serve me as well as the first.. it had an intermittent fuel or ignition problem I was never able to track down and just drove like it had been abused... but it still cost me nothing to own it.. when I sold it a year or two later I made a small profit.

In the meantime my love for Corvairs continued to grow. I found a horribly ugly and abused 65' Corsa 140 coupe on ebay only 100 miles away but the reserve was not met. I contacted the seller and drove down to see the car. The car had been used for autocross and was missing much of the interior, had a banged up front valance, the usual small rust spots, fiberglass parts including a fitch roof bonded on, a hideous hood tach etc. and came with no title... but it was driveable. I looked the car over and found that the underside was completely rust free, I made the guy an offer, and drove it home (carrying the registration from my other Corvair!).

Later I figured I had paid too much (don't remember what I paid), but in the long run it paid off. As it turned out the engine had a very low mileage rebuild with a 280 Isky cam, forged pistons, max bore jugs etc.... It also had Koni adjustable shocks, HD springs, aftermarket quick steering arms, offenhauser finned valve covers, OTTO finned oil pan, 66' Tranny conversion and more! This is the engine I'm currently running in the 66' Corsa I drive daily though I went through it all.

I started a slow restoration on the Corsa that often went for long periods (sometimes over a year) untouched... but the most important thing I got out of the project was an education on working on Corvairs. The project still isn't finished (and its no professional grade resto let me tell you!) but I now have the confidence and basic know-how to fix anything on my Corvairs that needs fixing.

About 3 years ago now I decided to pick up another daily driver Vair for myself and found a 65' Monza 110/PG online. This was a one owner car that needed dings fixed but had no rust holes and a nice black interior. I bought the car not running and trailered it home with a U-haul. I was driving the car daily a week later. At the time I hadn't yet built up the confidence I spoke of above and this car suffered for it... I once again drove it just the way it was (except again put a set of 14" modulars and 205-60-14's on it). I sold the car (mostly because it was an auto) for a large profit a year or so later again to buy a late model driver... I wish I still had that car to fix up with the skills I now have.

I bought a 2004 Crossfire coupe which I really liked and served me well, but a little over a year ago I lost it to vandalism. In the meantime the Corvair bug hadn't gone away and my finances had improved... I got impatient with the slow progress of my project Corsa and found a great deal on a ready to drive 66' Corsa coupe online. I drove out to Cincinatti OH and drove my new Corsa home. It has since got a new paint job and had my hotrod 140 engine from the project car swapped in... I love it!

The 65' Corsa is now nearly done but since I don't feel the need to have two Corsa coupes I'll probably sell it shortly after it's finished. Right now that project is on hold while I complete the 63' Monza mentioned in the first paragraph. In the 2 months I've owned the 63' I've accomplished nearly as much on it as I have on the 65' Corsa in 5 years..... but again that's largely due to lessons I learned and the practice I got on the first "big" project car. The 63' was a bargain I just couldn't pass up.. especially since I've started to really like early model Vairs' and hadn't owned one yet. I've put more money into the 63' than I planned to, but I think it's going to be a very nice car for the smallish amount I'll have invested. I think it will be finished within a couple more weeks.

Well that is my Corvair autobiography, nice to meet you all!


Ray "Grymm" Rodriguez III
Lake Ariel, PA
CORSA member
66' Corsa 140/4 coupe
65' Corsa 140/4 coupe (under construction and almost done!)
63' Monza PG coupe (under construction- quickie driver build)

[Scott H]

Grymm. Great story

[Gregory_Miller]

Thanks for sharing your story, too bad those vette "purists" had to rain on your parade... I like that 'Vair people love em all, even the mutts with weird engine/power train mishmashes, V-8s or whatever.

[Butcher&Vairs]