meet the "rat-mobile"

[flat6_musik]

Here is my disgusting '61 Monza that I bought off Craigslist about 4 or 5 months ago. I paid almost nothing for it.....and when I arrived in downtown L.A. to check it out.....I found the most rat-infested, disgusting, interior of a car I had ever seen. Seriously, and I have been to junkyards hundreds of times over the last 25 years....and have NEVER seen an interior so full of rat droppings, pee and a dead rat. I'm pretty sure this is why someone gave up on the car. They probably had it in a garage somewhere and the rats came in thru the heater ducting. It was WEEKS before I actually entered the car after buying it. I had to hold my breath while unbolting the seats, so I could tear out the carpet. The car is rust-free though....pretty much.

Funny thing is, the guy selling it had NO knowledge of corvairs at all. He basically got the car from some guy who owed him money. He told me over the phone that the car may be a sportier version b/c it had dual carbs, but I told him they all do. When I arrived and popped the hood, I felt like yelling "hell yeah!!!".....seeing the brand new headers and those intakes. There's not a spec of oil or carbon anywhere on the motor, and there is no throttle linkage so I don't think it's ever even been fired up. It's like a Pandora's box......no idea what's in this motor, but the person who most likely built it used to be a member of CORSA.....there were boxes of past issues from the 80's. I think the guy was from San Dimas. I'd sure like to know more about the history of this car!

Probably the only corvair that ever had rusted pushrod tubes



Pretty unassuming looking too









And yes, those are rat droppings in the battery box!

[Scott H]

WOW what a score!

[Vanman]

Nice steal.

[TonyL]

Congrats on the great find! I to know the feeling of popping the hood and discovering the guy selling the car has NO idea what he's got. Every hot part on my car came off a barn find that I got for 800 bucks.
ported carbs, rotator kit, electronic ignition, electric fuel pump, otto springs, otto lower control arm mount, etc.

Cant wait to see what you do with it!

[4carbcorvair]

Great find!!! Have you checked the engine/head numbers? Looks like you have at least a LM fan.

[flat6_musik]

Yeah, the engine and the heads are 140 horse.

[Mike J]

Sweet! What a nice find. And a nice surprise when you opened the hood and looked under the car. The interior ... well you're right ... that one wins all of the cars I've ever seen and I've been to a lot of junk yards too over the years. Congrats.

[flat6_musik]

Well, why not a few more pics to gross everybody out? Them damn rats ripped out all the stuffing from the back seat and made their nests or whatever with it. I just threw the back seat away, it was so bad. Oh yeah, check out that shifter.....

[atwistedgrip]

What are the gauges next to the steering column?
They looks interesting... Can you post a better pic of it?

[Eurobilly]

Interior aside, it looks like a great find....lends new meaning to the saying "Ah Rats!"

[ral1963]

In case you are not familiar with those intakes on your heads, they are Fibermotive heads. They really allow the intake to breath compared to the stock setup. Looks like you have a nice set of headers to allow the exhaust to flow as well.

With that setup you should see some significant power gains over stock. You will neeed to check to see what you case is (145cu or 164cu) as you don't have a HB on your motor....

[flat6_musik]

What are the gauges next to the steering column?
They looks interesting... Can you post a better pic of it?

Funny you should ask.........hey, I had these very same gauges in an old falcon I drove in high school, and I loved the way they looked. They are Stewart-Warner amps/oil pressure from around the early to mid 60's. Soooo.....a few years back I decided to look on Ebay for a set. I got pretty lucky because I found an N.O.S. setup the first time I looked. I bought one set which was new but not boxed. Then a few months later, I found another N.O.S. set IN THE ORIGINAL BOX! They didn't cost too much either....I think around $35 or maybe 40-something, not bad at all. I just like the way they look and they are lighted too. The set in the rat-mobile look pretty trashed though.

[Ira]

Something to think about... Hantavirus isn't something you want to get.

As far as safety is concerned purchasing a 3M respirator and full Tyvek suit is probably a good idea.

Last year I purchased a 56 four door hardtop that made your Vair look pretty clean... damned thing was sitting in a barn for twenty five years and had a whole bunch of junk and dead rats in it.

I duct taped my sleeves and wore the full mack daddy safety gear. Out here in the west you can't be too careful with the various pathogens those damn animals carry.

I know it sounds like overkill but unfortunately it's not.

Another useful item is bleach water to saturate the interior, kill stuff and keep the dust minimal... but there you need an organic vapor cartridge in addition to the particulate filter.

Stay safe!

Ira

[flat6_musik]

I decided to take the plunge and buy a pair of NEW Holley 350 CFM 2 barrel carbs for this bad boy......I've just been keepin' this thing on the back burner so to speak. As I mentioned before, I don't think this engine's ever even been FIRED UP since being rebuilt!!! I'm guessing it may have a crazy cam in it, which is even more exciting to getting it running. Can't wait....

Here's a pic of the carb:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 1429wt_732

[Scott H]

I added the carb pic for you. I am curious to hear that sucker run as well!

[flat6_musik]

Okay....Flat6_musik is gonna come clean and admit I flaked out on buying these carbs until today.....:(.......well...at least they're now in the mail. But dang, $566.93 is pretty big chunk o' change tho'.....anyway....

"The carb's in the mail" :p Hey Scott.....if you're around sometime in the near future, maybe you could stop by when it comes time to fire it up.....I think it might be interesting.......