Hey Scotty. You have been around long enough to be familiar with Corvairs. What is your option of them?
I used to have a '64 Monza with 3-speed stick shift, in fact I learned to drive manual trans on that car. Wish I still had it, though if I were to buy another I'd look for a 2nd-gen (1965+) model.
Have you ever seen the factory air conditioning setup on a Corvair? Pretty scary!!
I owned a '63 Corvair for a while and they were pretty cool with a six cylinder, air cooled rear engine. They certainly weren't a Porsche 911 but a lot of fun.
I’m not sure about the reliability, but I do think they are nifty older cars. Air cooled rear mounted engine?! How cool is that!
They're interesting cars and are really increasing in collector's value.
My girlfriend recently inherited her grandpa's 1965 Corvair convertible that he restored about 12 years ago. They're very oddball cars -there are two separate carburetors on that rear mounted 6 cylinder engine, not one, like a more standard old school car. They are quite simple to work on for the most part. There's no power brake assist from a vacuum booster, and all the brakes are drums. Personally, I hate drum brakes, but the old ones seem to be more intuitive to fix vs the new, cheap designs. Look under the "hood" of a Corvair, which is really the trunk, and you'll see the master cylinder is the only thing on what should be the firewall. It seems really out of place.
Her car currently has an issue with the left carburetor, the choke plate doesn't operate and the car won't stay running unless you constantly revv it, so I have a fun project to work on, she's not mechanically inclined like I am. Haha. They are much simpler cars than even my 1979 Catalina, which is a huge advantage when working on them.
They're pretty easy to work on, and they don't have the emissions plumbing that came along in the 1970s. Power steering is not needed and was never available. The only real complication is synchronizing the carbs. There's a tool you use for that, the same one used to synch the dual carbs on cars like Triumphs and MGs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqM7akm3pQM
Thanks for the video, Chuck! I'll definitely check this out when I get out to work on the car. Seeing that dual carb setup that first time really threw me off. It seems like they could have made that car work with a single two barrel carb, but that's what made those old cars works of mechanized art. I didn't realize the power steering wasn't a thing. It makes sense. That would have been a massive hassle to run hydraulic lines down the length of the car and back.
Dual carbs were an unusual touch for an economy car. Probably done for packaging reasons. Due to the light front end power steering wasn't needed. I don't think power brakes were offered either, not really needed with drum brakes on a car that light.
As you can see in the photo I posted, working on an air conditioned Corvair is a challenge. That's a rare option though. As I recall the last couple of years the condenser moved to an upright position behind the back seat which made the engine compartment a bit less crazy.
I had a 64 convertible with manual transmission, it was very reliable. I put a large log in the front (trunk) to help it handle better. If I remember correctly, seems like I used a vacuum gauge (or was it two?) to synchronize the carbs. Fun fun fun to drive.
I had a 63 Monza, My first car. Loved that old beast! 2 speed auto would shift into 2nd at 54 mph when you floored it
