Hello, Guidance Please

[Ivo]

Hello all, I'm looking to buy this 63 Corvair 700, it has 18,300 documented miles, very straight sheet metal, the rust is surface(which I like). Right now the car doesn't run, turns over easily by hand though. All windows operate great, good interior and head liner, no missing trim except hood key.

I've thoroughly looked the car over and am confident in it being sound structurally, just a little funky cosmetically, thinking of doing a clear coat over the rust.

Is there a market for this 4 door model, I'm trying to avoid over paying, as I'm sure we all are. What's a fair market range$$??
Thanks all,
Ivo

[BIGTWIN]

Did you look under the car at the floor boards and rockers? Check the bottom edges of the windshield and back glass for rust out in the bottom channels. I'd like to help you on the price idea but I've only bought one myself, a 61 Monza coupe. It ran and drove but had rust in the floors and rockers and a bent front fender. I gave $1850.00 for it then spent another $4000.00 or so on it. Good luck.

[flat6_musik]

There's basically ZERO market for corvair 4-doors, in my opinion. Even decent 2-door cars under $2,000 go for weeks and weeks on Craigslist. And the documented 18,000 miles.......I think there comes a time (if the car hasn't been garaged all this time) when the low mileage becomes almost meaningless, because you will most likely be rebuilding many of the components (brake system, fuel system and maybe engine). I wouldn't pay over $1000, that's for sure.

Do a super up-close inspection for floor rust. If it's been outside all these years, the windshield and rear window rubber seals have hardened, cracked and shrunk and allowed a lot of moisture in. The floor mats/carpet have most likely held it there for weeks after the rain too.

['stitch']

There's basically ZERO market for corvair 4-doors, in my opinion.

Excuse Me!??
4 doors are STATELY!
I hope azdave chimes in with another pic of his Sport Sedan.
I have one and it gets attention wherever I go.!!
**WOWWW! a 4 DOOR???**
(Sometimes the high school kids ask iffin it's a 4 dr Mustang or Camaro) lol

[terribleted]

4 doors are hard to sell and generally command very low money. That said you can get one hell of a nice Corvair 4 door for not much moola. Around here a car that looks like the one above that does not run and drive would be a $500-700 item TOPS. Most people here would want to pay under $500 for it assuming the worst and this assumes the floors intact.

[Ivo]

Thanks all for the speedy replying. Ya, 4 door vs 2 door, generally 2 doors win the popularity vote. The pan on passenger side does have a 2" hole started but everything else is solid including the trunk, still has factory splatter paint even under the spare is perfect.
I'll probably keep on the lookout for a clean survivor and let this one go. The seller is at 2K for the car.

[azdave]

$2K might be okay to pay if it would start/drive AND was exactly what you were looking for. Some people pay way more than that to a paint shop just to get a perfect "barn find" paint job.

Sedans are cool but don't carry the value or respect of the 2-doors. I love mine but I have no dillusions that everyone else feels the same way. I love the roof line of the EM 4-doors but I'm a LM guy myself.

[bbodie52]

The attitude toward the 4-door sedan in the 1960s tended toward thinking of it as the "old man's car". In the same class as the typical Buick or Oldsmobile frequented by the slow moving retirees.

Does that stodgy image still apply in 2014?

stodg·y
ˈstäjē
adjective
1. dull and uninspired.
"some of the material is rather stodgy and top-heavy with facts"
synonyms: boring, dull, uninteresting, dreary, turgid, tedious, dry, unimaginative, uninspired, unexciting, unoriginal, monotonous, humdrum, prosaic, staid, heavy going; informal: deadly, square
antonyms: interesting, lively
2. BRITISH
(of food) heavy, filling, and high in carbohydrates.
synonyms: solid, substantial, filling, hearty, heavy, starchy, indigestible
"a stodgy pudding"

Perhaps not...





So maybe in 1965 the Corvair 4-door sedan was really ahead of its time... as were all LM Corvairs! In the late 1960s even the Camaro and Pontiac Firebird were playing catch up to the LM Corvair body style!



The 1965 sedan's styling, weight, suspension, brakes and (except for the turbo) powertrain options were essentially the same as the coupe or convertible. Had 1960s attitudes been a little different perhaps a Corsa sedan would have been offered. I hope to be looking for a LM sedan to call my own in the next year or two. With the right tires and wheels, perhaps some tinted windows and custom interior appointments, etc. an elegant Corvair sport sedan could be in your future!

[junkman]

In the 1960's, no one wanted a 1920's, 1930's, or 1940's Buick, and for that matter, the 1950's Buicks were used as daily drivers by those that couldn't afford a better car. Today, all those Buicks are now considered collector cars. The same happened with Corvairs in the 1970's & 1980's, people used them for cheap daily transportation, and many low mileage "survivors" were driven into the ground, and scrapped. Today, those very same cars, are coveted by a select group of people.. Corvair collectors. I can remember when 2 door cars and station wagons were not considered desirable cars, and were also relegated to the daily driver class. Today, they also are considered collectable. Once the 2 door cars become the rarity to be found in unrestored condition, like the convertibles have become, the desirability of the 4 door models will start to increase. I can remember the days when a Corsa was the top priced Corvair, and the FC's were not that valuable. Even that has changed, and today, a restored rampside will garner a higher price than even the Corsa Convertibles. If you question this, check with the Old Cars Price Guide. In the old car hobby, trends are always changing. Today, people collect many different types of cars, that were not even considered collectable at one time.