Who's vair is a DD?

[tmart]

So I've been thinking. Once I finish my Vair I may look at getting rid of my truck and DDing the Vair. It would be nice to get rid of that payment as well as insurance bill... Maybe down the line by and old wrangler for the winters and to trailer my jetski.

Anyone DD their vair?

[bbodie52]

I started driving Corvairs as daily drivers in 1968, when I got my first license. I dated in Corvairs, got married and went on my honeymoon with a 1962 Corvair monza coupe, drive coast to coast several times in 1965 Corsas and took two Corsas (a coupe and a convertible) with me to Germany for three years (1980-1983). They continued to be our daily drivers until about 1995, when I (stupidly) sold my last Corsa convertible. I went into a "dry spell" for a while, driving Toyotas, Nissans, a Ford Explorer, a GMC Sierra, a Jaguar XK8, Dodge Dakota, and even a Chrysler Town and Country minivan My last car purchase was a Lexus GS460, which I drove for a few years. Then I sold it and returned to a Corvair Corsa convertible last year as our daily driver (along with my other daily driver, a 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo, and my two motorcycles: a 2003 Yamaha FJR1300 and a 2002 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa). I loved the Lexus, with that aluminum V8 engine, 8-speed automatic, and all that luxury. But the Corvair Corsa is cheaper to own and more fun! And if I want to go with modern luxury, I have the Supra.

A Bodie Family Daily Driver Sampler (1965-2013)...


Dad and Brad at Edwards AFB Air Show in 1965 with our new 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible


Our 1962 Corvair Monza Coupe - On Our Wedding Day - April 1972 - Thousand Oaks, CA


1965 Corvair Corsa Convertible 140hp 4x1 - Spring 1980 - Base Housing - Hanscom AFB, MA


My 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa coupe with 140HP 164 CI engine. Photo taken in front of my parent's home at 124 Whitworth Street, Thousand Oaks, California in 1982, just before we began a long journey to Lake Tahoe, and then Bayonne, NJ to ship the car to West Germany


Our current 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa convertible

[tmart]

Damn Brad!! you live and breathe vairs!!!

[davemotohead]

I have driven vairs as daily drivers for years! if you build them right,deep seat the heads and a few other mods,they run great and are dependable and get decent MPG and make a Great daily driver!

[bbodie52]

Damn Brad!! you live and breathe vairs!!!

...And these pictures only show four out of ten family Corvairs! But there are many on this Forum who have a lot more Corvair in their blood than I do!

[Bobby65]

I drive my 63 monza 900 coupe everyday, these cars make great DD's

[mechanic58]

Mine's a daily parker. It's parked daily. Which reminds me - I prolly need to go check it for wasps.

[new mexico vair]

(don't drive it without the belt)
Richard finch once wrote that corvairs are the most dependable car in the world. I am going to go out on a limb here and say i agree back in the day. they are just old now and as such they have elderly problems. But on the other hand oil has gotten better but gas hasn't. They are still very reliable.
But then again I also think Lucas electrics is a good system......
now that Fiat Spider, i don't think so but I am willing to bet someone out there would argue they are very reliable.

[TexasUK]

I drive my 64 convertible every day over here in the UK, it is my main car.

I find it keeps up in the daily commute ok, I just think about braking a little earlier and understand its limitations. Nice not having to wear seatbelts as well, but I'm constantly thinking about what a mess I'll be in if I have an accident. I had a head-on last year in my old T25 VW Camper and the belt saved my life, so I know that I should really fit them.

It was bloody cold in the middle of winter, but I'm fitting a gas heater to take care of that.

Soon as I finish the 62 Greenbrier I will probably alternate between the 2.

[bbodie52]

I agree with your idea about adding seat belts to your 1964 Corvair convertible. I suppose the empty front-end trunk design would absorb some impact force as it caved in, but the greatest personal injury would likely come from being thrown forward into the steering wheel, dash or windshield, or from being thrown out of the car. An upper harness is better than a simple lap belt, but difficult to fit to a convertible since there is no vertical pillar or roofline to attach it to. Some people have adapted seats from other cars that have high, locking seatbacks, head restraints, and integrated upper belts attached to the seat back frame (often designed for modern convertibles and sports cars) and those can be fitted to the Corvair — but the Corvair floor pan would have to be reinforced for such an integrated seat restraint system to be really effective. Such a modern seat system could tear free of the standard Corvair sheet metal floor pan. You may find that the seat belt mounting points already exist in your Corvair convertible, under the carpet, just waiting to receive a new set of belts (which I believe were optional in 1964). Maybe, in 2013, it is time to exercise that option! Drive safe! Those crazy drivers in Great Britain insist on driving on the wrong side of the road, you know!

[freedo]

my slammed spyder is daily driven.



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[tmart]

Nice Freedo, yea I've seen your posts... I want mine to sit like yours.

[freedo]

Nice Freedo, yea I've seen your posts... I want mine to sit like yours.

unless you know how to drive a lowered car (dodge pot holes, angle driveways etc) i wouldnt go as low as me. i even hate how low it is, the sway bar is barely an inch off the ground, the ride is bouncy in the rear and the front the lower control arms bottom out on the spring perch. cars getting bagged in a couple months