New Member Saying Hi

[Daddy-O]

G'Day everyone

I've just joined the forum. I'm from Sydney, Australia and have developed a real fascination for Corvairs. They are very rare here in Oz and I've only seen one in the flesh once, a long time ago. I have owned lots of classic cars over the years, and am the current custodian of a 1974 Citroen D Special and a 1980 Mercedes 300TD. Some of my recent cars include a 1962 S Series Valiant, a 1961 Ford Thunderbird convertible, several classic Mercedes and a 1961 Studebaker Champ. I've also owned quite a few Australian Holdens which were a local GM brand and I believe the name had a connection with the Corvair when it was being developed.

At the moment I'm in information gathering mode and apart from everything I've been reading in the net, I've ordered a workshop manual and the Corvair Decade book. I see also that Corvairs are pretty well supported with parts and obviously this forum is a great resource. I'm reasonably handy mechanically and do as much as I can on my cars.

Anyway, I can see myself bringing a convertible (naturally) over here as a private import. I did this with the Thunderbird about 8 years back and it was a fairly smooth process although local regulations and the exchange rate have changed since then, making it a much more expensive exercise now.

I hope to learn lots from the 'brains trust' on the forum.

Mark

[Gasman63]

Welcome Mark.
Have you decided on an Early model or Later model Convertible yet?

[Daddy-O]

I prefer the look of the early models but to be honest I'd be happy with either. A friend who imports cars from the States recommended that a later model would be a better choice in terms of usability.

[Phil Dally]

WELCOME!!!

Seems you have the resources to do a deal on BaT.

This one is ending today and the seller is top notch.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965- ... nts-anchor

This one isn't as nice but it's on the USA left coast.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965- ... nts-anchor

Keep an eye on this link for the new listings on BaT.

https://bringatrailer.com/chevrolet/corvair/?q=corvair

[Frank DuVal]

A friend who imports cars from the States recommended that a later model would be a better choice in terms of usability

I don't understand what he means. They all drove when new! There were more early models made than late models. Only the 140 engine was not available on early models, but it can be there now!

Earlies have been autocrossed, road raced, etc etc.

Buy what YOU think looks good!

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

I have been a member of the Corvair Forum since August 2012. In that time I have corresponded with Corvair fans throughout Europe, in South Africa, Japan, Canada, and South America. You are one of very few that I've heard from in Australia! As you said, Corvairs and Corvair owners are rare indeed in Australia.

Did you know that the early Corvair had some of its developmental roots in Australia? It was conducted secretly under the Holden brand. I have been involved with Corvairs since I was eight years old, when my parents bought our first family Corvair in 1961 — a brand new 1961 Monza coupe. They later bought a 1965 Corsa convertible, and I learned to drive in that car, and took my first drivers test in that Corvair. My first engine rebuild was in a Corvair, I got married and went on our honeymoon in a Corvair, brought our children home from the hospital in a Corvair when they were born, and traveled all over the USA and in Germany for 24 years in the Air Force with one or two Corvairs at our side at all times. Now, at age 71 and after 52 years of marriage, we still drive Corvairs — a 1966 Corsa convertible and a 1966 Corvair Monza 4-door sedan.



Anyway, in all of those Corvair-based years I remembered reading about early Corvair development under the Holden name in Australia. I hadn't really thought about it for decades, but when I read your opening intro from Australia it triggered a memory of Corvairs, Australia, and the name "Holden". So I spent a few minutes on the Web and Google, looking for "Corvair Holden". I found a number of stories, and decided to post the one shown below. If you want to read more or see more pictures of the historical Corvair/Holden relationship, just search the Internet. The stories are there!

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-re ... ned_holden

A rear-engined Holden.

By David Burrell News Limited Community Newspapers 26 March 2012

Ed Cole, the Head of Chevrolet, wanted to keep his new rear engine car as secret as possible.
There was once a rear-engined Holden. Sort of.

And here's the photo of it. So what is this car? It's a Holden all right because the badges say so and the hub caps have the red lion logo, but really the Australian insignias were really used to disguise this car's true identity and destiny-the Chevrolet Corvair.

In 1957, Ed Cole, the Head of Chevrolet, wanted to keep his new rear engine car as secret as possible from the media and the competition. To throw everyone off the scent, even within General Motors (GM), he decided to disguise the project as a development program for Holden in Australia.

Cole went to great lengths to establish the "Holden" deception. He even went to the trouble of using Holden stationery, letterheads and forms with Holden logos on them for all of the paperwork. Components developed for the project carried Holden parts numbers. Even the styling of the Corvair was done in the international styling studio at GM headquarters, not in the Chevrolet studio.

The first running prototype was tested in at GM's Arizona track in the northern spring of 1958 .Still badged as a Holden it used the FE and FC chrome work and side `sweep spears'. A Holden steering wheel and hub caps completed the disguise. The Vauxhall name also was used to camouflage the Corvair, with a lengthened Vauxhall Victor, with the Corvair engine stuffed in the boot, being used as a second test mule. Chevrolet unveiled the new car mid 1959, and it immediately polarized opinion.

We all know the story of the Corvair and its rear suspension, the inadequacies of which led Ralph Nader to write his only memorable book, "Unsafe at Any Speed". But what is less known is that despite all of the media attention Chevrolet still managed to sell 1.8 million Corvairs during its nine year production. Not a bad effort for a car that is supposed to be a failure.
The Corvair styling also influenced others across the world. Designed by Ned Nickles and Carl Renner it was the high and definitive beltline which was the inspiration for many cars in the 1960s, including the Fiat 1300/1500, NSU, Mazda 800, BMW 1600/2002, the French built Panhard and the Hillman Imp.

Today, Corvairs are gaining more attention as classic car collectors search for something beyond a Mustang or a 1955-57 Chevrolet. The hot items are the 1962 two door Monza Spyder coupes and convertibles with the turbochargers. They churn out a spritely 110kw from only 2.4 liter six cylinder engines. Prices in the USA now top $20,000.

In Australia, the Corvairs have a small but dedicated following. It is estimated there are less than 20 in the country.

The final Corvair design was mostly complete by August of 1957, and GM was rightfully protective of its new baby. Engineering prototypes had a completely different body (above), and were badged as Holdens to throw off the curious competition.

===============================================================

Anyway, I hope to hear a lot more from the Corvair land down under. Please tell us more of yourself and your effort to add a Corvair to your collection. Some pictures of your current classic car collection would also be interesting.

Be cautious in choosing a Corvair to have shipped to your homeland. Corvairs are of unibody construction. 1960-1964 (Early Model) Corvairs have a somewhat heavier gauge sheet metal in their body construction. Late Model (1965-1969) are slightly more "thin-skinned". Convertibles are particularly vulnerable to hidden rust and corrosion that can develop over time within the unibody structure. The structure within the doorframe perimeter on convertibles was reinforced at the factory to compensate for the lack of a roof structure, If you plan on importing a convertible, use caution — especially if the car has been driven in snow or ice conditions where road salt exposure can cause serious hidden rust and corrosion issues.

The Corvair below was purchased some years ago by a Corvair Forum new Corvair buyer in Florida. The seller was a private party in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. The purchase was orchestrated via the Internet and the phone, and the car was shipped by transport to Florida. The result was a very happy new Corvair owner and no problems with the transaction. A clean, well-maintained convertible can be found, but your search must be a careful one... especially considering the cost and difficulties with transporting it all the way to Australia!













The story below shows the result when an overseas buyer failed in his effort, due to hidden rust problems that ultimately proved to be insurmountable...

pensylvania bondo bucket

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=2512&hilit=bondo+bucket

This story from Great Britain started in 2011, and recently came to a sad conclusion with an incomplete project car. The owner unwittingly began with a Corvair in poor condition, but he didn't discover that until the car arrived in an overseas shipment from Pennsylvania to England. He did not have a lot of options, so he tackled the extensive job to salvage the car body. Ten years and many, many hours of labor (and much in the way of funds) proved to be too much, and he has abandoned the effort.

I wrote this some time ago for prospective owners who are new to Corvairs. It might be useful to you...

Please look over the following comments that I wrote some time ago, and see if they might help you with learning about owning a Corvair. You may have already seen these comments and suggestions, but if not, I hope they are helpful...

As a new owner of a Corvair, I will try to answer a few of your questions directly, and will also provide some material that I wrote in the past to others who were also considering purchasing their first Corvair. My family purchased our first Corvair in 1961 when I was eight years old. My parents bought a brand-new 1961 Corvair Monza four-speed manual transmission coupe. In 1965 they sold the first Corvair and purchased a new 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible (140 hp 4×1 carburetor engine with four-speed transmission). At age 66, it must be painfully obvious that I like these cars, since my wife and I continue to drive a 1966 Corvair Corsa convertible with the same engine and transmission that my parents had in their 1965 Corvair many decades ago.

I have driven Corvairs all over the United States and in Europe as well. During my 24 year career in the Air Force I took two Corvairs with me when we were transferred to an assignment near Ramstein Air Base, in Kaiserslautern, West Germany. These Corvairs easily transported my wife and two children along with me to assignments all over the United States. They were our primary transportation for most of the 24 years that I was in the Air Force. They also did quite well on the German autobahn during my three year assignment in Europe.

To give you some idea of my confidence in driving Corvairs, I purchased our current 1966 Corvair Corsa convertible from a classic car dealer in Lakeland Florida. My wife and I purchased this car in 2012 for our 40th wedding anniversary. I spotted the car on eBay and negotiated the purchase over the phone. Trusting that the car would have no problems with a return trip, I purchased a bus ticket from Atlanta to Lakeland Florida, completed the transaction, and drove the car 565 miles back to our home in North Carolina. The Corvair attracted a lot of attention at practically every gas stop and fast food restaurant that I stopped at on the return trip. I was also the recipient of many smiles and thumbs-up signs at intersections while I waited for the light to change! People seem to like Corvairs, and my new convertible always seemed to attract attention in the parking lot as a crowd of curiosity lookers would gather around the car while asking many questions and telling me stories about their memories of having a family Corvair in their younger days. I can't guarantee that you will always be able to drive a Corvair over long distances without mechanical problems. These Corvairs are more than 50 years old, after all. But if you take the time to learn to maintain your Corvair properly and develop the DIY skills needed to take care of your Corvair, you can probably count on some pretty good results.

I wrote the following material some years ago to answer similar questions from other potential new Corvair owners...

Thanks. I hope my previous comments were helpful. Your comments seem to reflect interest but also uncertainty. I have worked with a number of first-time Corvair buyers in Europe who were considering a purchase of a car from USA sources (to provide a greater range of cars to consider), while knowing that such a effort would make it impossible for them to test drive or personally evaluate the car before purchasing and shipping it. Your circumstances are somewhat similar. They contacted local experienced Corvair owners and aficionados through this Corvair Forum and through local CORSA clubs, and they often found sympathetic club members who were willing to help as local "third party" volunteer assistants.

There is much to consider, and the material below is something I wrote some years ago to try to help the first-time Corvair buyer. Corvairs can be found from sources throughout the United States and Canada. I hope you will find these comments to be useful...

The Corvairs are vintage 1960s technology and design — easy to learn and easy to maintain. I would say that learning to work on a Corvair is analogous to an experienced home DIY "shade tree" car mechanic learning to work on a motorcycle. The concepts and procedures are very similar, but the details and the way it is put together is a little different. With the Corvair engine (like a motorcycle) you are dealing with a lot of aluminum. The metal is soft when compared to steel and cast iron, so the use of a torque wrench, anti-seize compound and carefully avoiding cross-threading becomes more important. Also, (like some motorcycles) you are dealing with multiple carburetors so tuning procedures are a little different. The use of Corvair shop manuals and supplements, other technical guides, and information sources like the Corvair Forum, and perhaps joining a CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapter can help you to quickly learn about Corvairs. Information resources, like good Corvair parts suppliers, are plentiful if you know where to look. Suppliers like Clark's Corvair Parts have been well-respected and extremely supportive since 1973, and suppliers like that make Corvair ownership more practical and much-more possible. I taught myself how to remove a Corvair powertrain, overhaul the engine, and rebuild the Powerglide transmission during my summer vacation in 1969, when I was sixteen years old. I was working alone (my father had been transferred by Lockheed from northern California to southern California, and we had not yet moved to join him). I had a shop manual and a garage full of tools. There was no Internet, no Corvair Forum, no CORSA club — I was pretty-much on my own. Yet I learned and was successful (in 1972 that engine carried me and my new bride on our wedding day and on our honeymoon).

So you should be able to master working on Corvairs without too much trouble — except watch out for rust and body rot! The Corvair is of unibody construction, so most body repair involves cutting and welding. The doors, trunk lid (in the front) , and engine compartment lid (in the back) and maybe the gas filler door are the only bolt-on body components. Everything else is cut and weld, and the body serves as the main chassis frame. So unless you are a master body repair technician, you need to select your Corvair carefully and avoid excessive hidden rust or a "Bondo bucket". The door frame areas, fenders, floor pan, the bottom of the trunk, lower windshield and battery area often rust and rot.

What follows is an attempt at introducing new prospective Corvair Owners to Corvairs and some of the issues involved. Food for thought, before you take the plunge. This is a copy of something I wrote earlier, but I think it may be helpful in your quest for the "right" Corvair...

I will try to provide a quick summary of the 1960-1969 Corvair lineup, and will also try to provide some answers regarding the use of a Corvair as a "daily driver".

EARLY MODEL: 1960 - 1964 Corvairs were the first generation. Their body style emulated other Chevrolet body styles from the early 1960s. The rear suspension was a swing-axle design that was similar to the Volkswagen "Beetle". The 1960 model year was the only year with a 140 cubic inch engine, and there were some characteristics that were unique to that model year only. A number of refinements were implemented in the following year, including some restyling of the front end and an increase in displacement to 145 cubic inches (CI). A manual choke was used in 1961, and this was changed to an automatic choke design in 1962 that remained with the car through 1969. A turbocharged 150 hp Spyder was introduced in 1962, and the Spyder name remained with the turbocharged engine through 1964. In 1964 the engine displacement in all Corvair engines increased from 145 CI to 164 CI. There were also some suspension refinements, including a front anti-sway bar and a rear transverse leaf spring to improve handling in all 1964 Corvairs. Here are a few pictures of Early Model (EM) 1960-1964 Corvairs...

1964 Monza Convertible


1964 Corvair Engine Compartment

1963 Monza Coupe

1963 Monza Interior

1962 Lakewood Station Wagon

Corvair Rampside Truck

Corvair Greenbrier Van

Van/Truck Interior

LATE MODEL:The 1965 Corvair introduced a completely new body style, that was also seen later in similar styles in the Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The drum brake size was increased, and the swing-axle rear suspension design used in EM Corvairs was abandoned. The new rear suspension was a design lifted from the Corvette Stingray.

1965 and 1966 Corvairs were nearly identical. In 1967-69 the top of the line Corsa was dropped, leaving the Monza and economy 500 until production was discontinued in the spring of 1969. During the 1967-69 production period, there were minor safety changes, such as a dual master brake cylinder in place of the single unit used in 1960-1966. Interior seats and trim changed somewhat, paralleling the items used in Camaros and some other GM products during that period.

All 1965-66 Corsas came with a standard 4-carburetor 140 hp engine, and an optional 180 hp turbocharged engine. The 140 hp engine remained optional in the rest of the lineup. Other engine options in the Monza and 500 were 110 hp and 95 hp dual carburetor engines. All engines could be had with a manual 4-speed or 3-speed transmission, or with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic (with the exception of the 1965-66 turbocharged 180 hp engine, which was available with the Corsa only, and only with a 4-speed manual transmission).

Air conditioning was a rare option, but can be found in the 1965-1967 lineup, and some of the EM Corvairs as well. The following link will provide you with some air conditioned Corvair background and history...
http://www.corvair.org/chapters/airvairs/

The brakes, front and rear suspension, transaxle and body were essentially identical in the Corsa, Monza, and 500. The primary differences in the cars were the instrument panel (the Corsa had more gauges), trim details, and the engine option.

The late model Corvairs were available in a 2-door Coupe, 2-door Convertible, and 4-door Sedan. In 1968, the four-door hardtop was discontinued, leaving three models—the 500 and Monza Hardtop Coupes and the Monza Convertible. Air conditioning was dropped as an option. The weight of the cars was very similar in all configurations.


1965 Corvair Corsa Coupe




1965 Corvair Corsa Convertible


1965 Corvair Monza 4-Door Sedan


Corsa Interior (Top) / Monza Interior (Bottom)


140 hp 164 CI 4x1 Carburetor Engine (1965-1969)





Corvairs can suffer from rust and body rot problems, especially in areas that use a lot of road salt in the wintertime. While you may be able to learn and successfully attack most mechanical issues as a DIY effort, body decay can be much-more difficult, time-consuming, intimidating, and expensive to correct. So look for hidden rust or rot problems that may have been covered up with plastic filler, and be cautious in your Corvair selection.

A Corvair can serve well as a daily driver. But I would recommend a backup car or other alternatives, since ANY breakdown can put the car out of service for days until replacement parts can be obtained (if needed). If you have the skills and ability to work on the car yourself, repairs can often be completed fairly quickly. But if you have to rely on professional mechanics, downtime can be long and possibly expensive — if you can find a good mechanic to do the work for you.

Here is something I wrote over a year ago — Brad's Admonition, or some words of advice — based on over 50 years of exposure to Corvair ownership — that I wrote to try to give new Corvair buyers some idea of the issues involved. I'm sure you have some idea already, but I also think this is worth considering...

Since you are new to Corvairs, I want to give you some information that I have written to other new prospective first-time Corvair owners. I have been involved with Corvairs since I was eight years old, when my parents bought our first Corvair – a brand new 1961 Monza 2-door coupe, white on red with a 4-speed transmission. I now own Corvair number ten, which I purchased in June 2012. (If you want to read a brief personal biography that outlines my family background and our experiences with Corvairs, go to CORVAIR FORUM > Introductions > New from Lake Chatuge North Carolina. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4032 ) I want to encourage your enthusiasm in developing your plans to buy your first Corvair, but at the same time I want to help you to think through just what you are getting into. So please read and consider these comments below...

I have listened to many potential Corvair first-time owners. Many have no prior experience with owning any classic car, and many have never driven a Corvair at all, or have not driven one in decades. Some are motivated by childhood memories of a family Corvair. They typically describe the desire to locate a perfect, restored, ultra-clean example, and look to the Corvair Forum Corvair enthusiasts and aficionados to tell them what to do.

The first thing I think that needs to be done is to try to set-aside the usual emotion-based enthusiasm that any car buyer might feel when visiting a dealer and gazing with emotional eagerness at the vast array of new cars displayed in the showroom, on the car lot, and in factory brochures and advertisements. There is an extreme difference between owning a 50+ year-old Chevrolet that was likely engineered, designed and built with pre-planned obsolescence in mind — a car that GM only envisioned having a life-span of ten years or so. Many of the potential Corvair buyers are captivated with the exciting idea of owning something different — something not normally seen on the road — something that your neighbor will not buy! Certainly that is the case with a Corvair, but owning a Corvair and enjoying that ownership demands a certain dose of reality before you "buy-in". Many are unprepared for the maintenance and upkeep demands of a Corvair. "Where can I find a good Corvair mechanic?" is a common question — often displaying an inability or unwillingness to do some mechanical work and maintain that car yourself. Yet qualified Corvair mechanics can be distant, expensive, inconvenient, and all-too rare. At a time when finding even a spark plug, fan belt, or oil filter for a Corvair often means an Internet or mail-order purchase, finding local support may be unlikely or impossible. Even searching automobile junk yards will often not help, because these cars are so rare and infrequently found that they have all but disappeared from the scrap yards too. Even locating and buying a used part is a mail-order proposition. And even if you spend $15,000-$20,000 for a fully-restored Corvair in mint condition, it still comes "as-is", with no warranty and little in the way of a local support system — far different than what most car buyers are used to expecting! These are the realities of owning an older classic car.

Corvairs are popular and affordable classic cars, and enjoy a good infrastructure of maintenance supporters, owner's clubs, and parts suppliers — and that REALLY helps! But I suspect that most happy Corvair owners are something of "shade-tree mechanics" and hobbyists who are prepared to deal with the risks and problems related to Corvair ownership. It requires a long-term commitment and a dose of reality to happily own a classic Corvair. The "first date" infatuation with the attractiveness and uniqueness of a Corvair will not sustain you in a long-term relationship with a Corvair. It is far-better to have a realistic idea of just what you are getting into before you "take the plunge" and buy your dream car.

A cautious, knowledgeable and educated search for your dream Corvair is a great start, and a careful and realistic analysis of your own mechanical talents, skills and abilities is also useful. If you plan to have a mechanic do most of the work for you, the availability of a Corvair-skilled mechanic and the associated costs involved must be taken into account in your financial planning to own a Corvair.

I try to not be too negative, but I have worked with others who came to realize that Corvair ownership was more than they could handle. I just feel that new prospective Corvair owners come here to this forum to learn from others who have more experience, and we are not doing them any favors by "candy coating" the issues involved. If they pass the "sanity check" and still want to pursue buying a Corvair, then GREAT! This Forum and perhaps some local Corvair club members can potentially help them pursue that dream. But it should be a realistic dream, and not a frustrating "nightmare" experience. Better to make a clear-headed, informed decision early in the game!

I hope that these comments are useful to you. I know I get "long-winded", but I also know you are trying to make an important decision, and I hope all of these comments will help you.

A Corvair can serve well as a daily driver. But I would recommend a backup car or other alternatives, since ANY breakdown can put the car out of service for days until replacement parts can be obtained (if needed). If you have the skills and ability to work on the car yourself, repairs can often be completed fairly quickly. But if you have to rely on professional mechanics, downtime can be long and possibly expensive — if you can find a good mechanic to do the work for you.

[NMVair]

Hey Daddy O!
YOU can call me Ho Daddy. I live I. New Mexico with wide expanses like Australia. But I have to tell you. I am fascinated with Aulstralia. It seems beautiful. I even had a girlfriend from Inverel.
I have an early model with a 68, 140 engine. Runs pretty good.
68 was a good year for Corvair engines in my opinion. The 140 of course has four carburators two primaries and two secondaries that basically dump more fuel and things get fun. Other than the carbs the heads are a bit different giving it a little more umph. If you know what I mean. My engine has four primaries on the engine.
You know what fascinates me the most about Australia, is the outback. That is so vast I would love to cross your country.
I hope you get a corvair that you really like. And we hear from you more.

[caraholic4life]

Hi and Welcome to the Corvair Forum,

It is not my intention to scare you but there are a few things you need to be cautious about when potentially purchasing a Corvair sight unseen.

1: Don't take the seller's word about the overall condition of the car unless you know and trust them completely.

2: Anyone that you might employ to inspect a Corvair on your behalf should be a well known and respected member of the community that is well versed regarding the Corvair specifically, NOT cars in general...these are not Chevelle's or Camaro's.

3: Look at the thread from July 2011 titled "pensylvania bondo bucket". This thread spans ten years....
http://www.corvairforum.com/forum/viewt ... ket#p17114

After 50 plus years and many potential owners there are a lot of changes and or events that could have taken place it any particular car's life. How well any maintenance and or repair was done during that time would be anyone's guess.
Be Cautious, do your research and educate yourself as to what to look for. Don't be afraid to ask questions regarding potential problem areas. There are good examples of these cars out there, so be patient....

[Daddy-O]

Thanks everyone for that detailed information. It is very helpful. Unfortunately, we are not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to Corvairs down under. The only one I can find currently listed is a sad looking 65 Monza coupe with its engine out. I'm not at the point where I can go ahead yet but when I do, I will be looking for a nice driver quality convertible with no rust. I lived in Columbus Ohio for a few years back in the 1990s and remember what salted roads can do to a car. We don't have that problem here but classic cars still rust and body repairs are expensive as I've never learned that particular skill. I'll do my homework first and I promise I won't rush into anything. Better to miss out on a good car than rush in and buy a poor one.

I will also make sure that any car I consider is inspected by someone who knows these cars. I did that when I brought my Thunderbird over and didn't regret it. That particular car has now moved on but I remember the valuable advice and assistance from forum members at the time.

Cheers
Mark

[jimbrandberg]

I had a call from a guy in my state who bought a car from COPART. Lots of extra fees, the Title is slow in coming and when he washed it half the resale red paint came off.
Jim Brandberg

[joelsplace]

I've found that EM 145CI engines are more reliable. Fewer spun bearings and they don't seem to break pistons. The vast majority of miles I've put on Corvairs have been EMs. I love the LMs style and handling but they seem to not be made as well and tend to have more rust.
EM Early Models 60-64, LM Late Models 65-69.

[Mark D 66]

Hello everyone. I am new to the Corvair world and wanted to introduce myself. I am Mark D 66. I bought a 66' 500 coupe the first of the year. I am also 66 until the 25th of this month. I understand that a radio was the ONLY option for a 66'. Is this correct? Mine has the radio. It also has a 110 badge on it. Would this be true? It's in fairly good shape with some rust in the usual places. It needs TLC, like new seat covers, head liner and dash cover. Then body work on rust and paint. It is the yellow exterior with what may be Fawn interior. Could be a light tan. Thank you for being here on the web and thank you for allowing me to join.
Life is good.

[joelsplace]

No. There were tons of options for a '66. Corsa, tele column, AM/FM, rear antenna, rear speaker, remote mirror, A/C, 110, 140 or 180 engine, 4-speed, posi, automatic, seat belts, various paint and interior etc.

[Phil Dally]

Hello everyone. I am new to the Corvair world and wanted to introduce myself. I am Mark D 66.

Mark: Start a new introduction thread and tell us about your car. There is a specific introduction tab just for this.

Welcome to the Corvair world. Please post pictures of your car. Especially the Trim Tag in the engine compartment.

Typically located right rear. We can decode what options your car does have. The picture is my 500 Sport Sedan tag.

[66vairguy]

Thanks everyone for that detailed information. It is very helpful. Unfortunately, we are not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to Corvairs down under. The only one I can find currently listed is a sad looking 65 Monza coupe with its engine out. I'm not at the point where I can go ahead yet but when I do, I will be looking for a nice driver quality convertible with no rust. I lived in Columbus Ohio for a few years back in the 1990s and remember what salted roads can do to a car. We don't have that problem here but classic cars still rust and body repairs are expensive as I've never learned that particular skill. I'll do my homework first and I promise I won't rush into anything. Better to miss out on a good car than rush in and buy a poor one.

I will also make sure that any car I consider is inspected by someone who knows these cars. I did that when I brought my Thunderbird over and didn't regret it. That particular car has now moved on but I remember the valuable advice and assistance from forum members at the time.

Cheers
Mark

Like you I spent some time in the Ohio area and am well aware of the rust issues. Be aware that the LM 65-69 convertibles are more prone to rust issues vs. the early Corvair convertibles. The rocker and boxed areas at the front door frames are water/debris traps and difficult/expensive to fix. A South Western car would be the best, but even along the coast I found rust buckets when looking for a LM convertible.

Corvair are as reliable as any 1960's car, but being a long way from parts and service you will want a car with rebuilt rear wheel bearings, bolted flywheel, and engine heads with deep valve seats installed. All these things require specialized service. Good luck.

[Daddy-O]

Thanks for that info. I didn't know there was a difference between LM and EM convertibles in terms of rust. Mind you, there is a lot I don't know about Corvairs! I do enjoy the learning curve though. A southwestern car would be a good choice not only due to the drier climate but also the proximity to the shipping terminal in Long Beach.