VOTE Corvair of the Month August 2013

[Scott H]

Voting now Open

[davemotohead]

Ok,my birthday is in august and will be turning the big 50! So might as well post in the COTM This car is going to be my next daily driver,I found 2 Corsa's in the desert on a ranch,as the story goes some old timer had them and never got around to fixing them up,so me being the corvair Whisperer as some have called me (Corvairs call my name in the middle of the night) I went and checked them out! What I found was 2 complete 65 corsa's under covers sitting in the hot dry desert,bodies are rust free and perfect,interiors are baked like burnt cookies! so after they were uncovered I decided to make an offer on the orange one,the story was: The engine was completely rebuilt but it never ran right! the old timer told me it was full of "Racing parts" But it would never run right! and after repeted returns to the engine builder a Law suit was pending,,20 years ago! So me being the corvair Savior,,offered $500 bucks for the orange one! DEAL! so after the orange one was loaded on the trailor and was saying my good byes,,the Old timer asked,,"Well son,,thought you were going to take the other one for Parts?" so being the generous guy I am,asked ok? How Much? Well son,,its a parts car so throwing it in for parts! SCORE! So now they are Known as Desert find #1 and desert find #2, orange is #1 and red is #2, After getting them Home and inspecting, took the engine out of DF#1 and cleaned out the rats,Started it up and found it running on 5,150 psi in all cylinders except for #2, loosend the valves and BANG! hitting on all 6! SCORE! Thing runs like a Batt out of Hell! it is registered and street legal,just doing slight ding repair /then paint and interior,so its a work in progress,but DAM! what a score!

[davemotohead]

More!

[Ganue 1960]

Here is my 60 Monza 900, it has a 110hp and a 4 speed. This car took me 5 yrs to complete.

[Gregory_Miller]

Looking good, Ganue! I don't see too many 60 2 doors.

[TexasAg77]

Well, will enter my other 'vair for this month. Here are some pics taken at the Athens, TN Cruise-in. No awards given here, just fun. The car is a '63 927. Palomar Red w/ ivory interior and white top. Am trying to keep it as stock as possible. Body was in good shape when I got it. Needed push rod tubes, it has dropped a valve seat, put the welded dual exhaust on it, etc. Mechanical doesn't scare me as much as having to do the body work.

It has won 2nd in the Helen Concours twice, has a first from a show in Charlotte in 2010, a first at the Local DAV show and a first at the E.TN show in 2011. Love driving this car on days when the top can come down. It is a 102/ PG, which isn't the fastest, but still fun to cruise with.

Bought this a car in '09 after seeing it at the Cleveland TN Main St Cruise In Oct 08 show. As an eight year old, my dad brought a car like this home (only had a black int and boot) after taking our 61 Monza 4 dr to the dealer for regular service. When I saw this one for sale, I had to get it...

[TexasAg77]

Here is a picture of a couple having their engagement picture taken in the 'vair! Came up and asked yesterday if I would mind. Of course, I didn't and was rather honored as there was a really nice '58 Chevy 'vert there.

[61lake]

This is my 1961 Lakewood. It took about a year and a half to restore but was worth every minute. The drivetrain was in good shape to begin with, so most of my work was the interior and body work/paint job. There was a tremendous amount of rust and rot, so alot of time was spent fabricating sheetmetal. Since this was my first paint job it took a very long time to work out the imperfections (runs, orange peal). I used the BC/CC for the paint with the original ermine white, which in my opinion was the best system for a beginner, because it allows you to correct a lot of mistakes. The interior is from a 1963 car and I painted it with red vinyl paint. The Lakewood is a lot of fun to drive, and I hope to start a new project soon, maybe an LM convertible or Rampside.

[corvair1960]

Here is my 64 Monza Sedan 110 hp with PG. Also have the optional rear folding seat. She ran from RI to Kalamazoo MI and back with no issues. Had a great time in MI at the convention seeing old friends and making new ones!

[65corvaircopnj]

Happy Summer everyone! Top down weather will be gone soon so get out there and show off your wind-blown Vair-hair. Here is my Father's 1963 Spyder Convertible which he bought brand new in the fall of 1962 from Scuncio Chevrolet in NY. After driving off from their Navy wedding, crossed swords and dress whites gleaming, Mom and Dad drove cross-country in this triple-black Spyder to Dad's first duty station in Carmel, California. At the top of the luggage was Mom's wedding dress in it's plastic garment bag. The Badlands sun on the black trunk lid heated up so much that the garment bag stuck to the inside of the lid. (see pic) From there duty stations included Corpus Christi TX, Virginia Beach VA, Rhode Island, and finally Willow Grove PA in 1973. Dad drove planes when assigned to several Carrier Squadrons across the majority of the globe when Communism, Ho Chi Minh, and Cuba were an issue, as well as the start of the Middle East.

After 2 minor restorations the Spyder was put to bed in the early 80's with rocker rot. Over a period of 20+ yrs Dad refurbed just about every original piece of the car while it was stored in the basement. Upon his 2nd retirement, after numerous other Corvairs, and 5 teen drivers, he tackled the car once again. The original shell had been a permanent fixture in the garage growing up for me. It was brought into the daylight again about 5 years ago only to find 45+ years of rot were too much. A 'rust-free' AZ shell was shipped out and the transformation began with the front and rear body clips being totally removed from the old car and re-welded onto the new shell. The body shop did a great job turning a Franken-vair back into a whole car again.

All parts and trim are original to the car and have only known Dad as the owner (aside from the tires and top). He proudly got it back on the road Spring of 2011. I am entering it on his behalf as he prefers just to enjoy it.
Aside from Mom, the Vair really is his first true love that has lasted 50 years!

[Chilly Willy]

our Vair is a 66 with a vairy nice running 140. it has a hartz black canvas top and matching boot and a Glass back window.lowered a touch and running 16" TT 2's. A fun car we love to drive. We Got into corvairs because my wife's childhood memories of riding in a silver blue LM with her grandma. So really it's her's, but I get to work on it and drive it

[Chilly Willy]

this is such a fun deal

[Ganue 1960]

Added a few more pics of the car.

[davemotohead]

WOW, I am suprized I am getting votes for my 3/4 completed car, There are much more deserving cars here in august than mine, I know I am popular because of my good looks and outstanding personality But we are voting on the cars here people

[65corvaircopnj]

Davemoto - personality can get you everywhere.
Chilly - great looking LM!
Here's 2 more that I already posted in another link.

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[bbodie52]

Love those Corvair-related family portraits. Always a winner in my opinion!

Love those family stories about growing up Corvair, too...

...I learned how to drive in a '69 500 that my Dad had bought for my brother and I to beat around in. Soon after digging into the 69 to repaint we found a nice '66 Monza with factory air that we could not pass up. That one was my baby and daily driver all through High School. Everyone always joked about it having 'no engine' but it got more attention at prom than the limos. My Father still has his '63 Spyder convertible that he is the one and only original owner of. He just got it back on the road after a 20 year-long rotisserie resto and it looks great.

My car is was found sitting lonely on a Midas lot in Coatesville, PA. The owner bought it for his wife and had it shipped from CA just after that owner put on a new top and paint. It was not going to bump the '70 vette from the garage. I dropped the engine and replaced the leaky 3-spd with a '66 rear and 4-sp Saginaw. I redid the entire interior myself with Clarks upholstery and door panels, new carpet, entire brake system/lines, shocks, tires, and weather stripping. Repainted and put in a Corsa dash, new wiring front to back, and modified the high beams to house the modern mini-halogen bulbs and still look stock. Has the Clark's ultimate exhaust (which is going for stock duals soon) and is basically a stock mish mash of a '65 with '66 drivetrain. Works great and still gets lots of attention around town. Hoping to see some shows this summer in Ocean City and locally. Thanks for looking!

New Jersey - Father and Son

South Africa - Father and Son

Canada - Three Generations

Bolivia, South America - Three Generations (Including the Photographer)

Added Jamie Reinhart's picture to this group...
My car and my Dad's car after today's Cruise to Cresco car show. My car won best convertible, his won best antique.

All of this attitude and affection for Corvair family portraits probably stems from my own history with my father and family Corvairs...
California - Father and Son (1965)