Corvairs

[squonk 41,071]

8 hours ago, ZXT said:

I've seen rusty floors in them from water leakage and carpet holding water, but never seen one with bad external rust. Might get some in the quarters behind the wheels where dirt packed and stayed for 40 years but that's about it. 

 

You don't live in NY! 

 

I forgot to mention the worst car ever to come into the shop. The Eagle Medallion! Yes it was a re-badged Renault! 

[tom2p 2,394]

15 minutes ago, squonk said:

You don't live in NY! 

 

I forgot to mention the worst car ever to come into the shop. The Eagle Medallion! Yes it was a re-badged Renault! 

yeah - areas in the rust belt were not kind to just about any car at the time - and especially Mopar without inner fenders 

rust holes would appear on the tops of the fenders near the area where the antenna was attached ... sometimes within just a few years 

 

I try to forget anything associated with Renault ... lol ... howintheheck could this be the same company / engineers that developed some of the most impressive power trains in F1 history ?

 

 

 

pneumatic valve train 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Dudot

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by tom2p

[squonk 41,071]

My brother and his wife traded in a 75 Duster for a brand new 80 Citation about all that was left of the Duster were the door handles and radio knobs.

 

The Citation was another beauty!  V-6 with a 5 speed. It would go like hell. In the first month of ownership (in no particular order) the starter armature stripped on the shaft, Snap ring fell out of the transmission causing you to hold it in fourth and the oil pan cracked. But my brother loved that car. You could drive through a foot and a half of snow with that thing. He was a salesman and put about 200,000 on it. There was a plastic clip on the driver's window that broke all the time. It started to piss him off. Finally he was replacing the clutch and said the next time it broke he was trading it. It broke the following week.

[bc.gold 3,403]

The mechanic at the garage next door to where i lived gave me a 61 Rambler Classic, with a leaking head gasket. Worse engine AMC ever put out  the aluminum inline 6 cylinder.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by bcgold

[squonk 41,071]

2 hours ago, bcgold said:

The mechanic at the garage next door to where i lived gave me a 61 Rambler Classic, with a leaking head gasket. Worse engine AMC ever put out  the aluminum inline 6 cylinder.

 

I bet she was fairly light! 

I remember having to work on a ladies Chevy Sprint with a 3 cyl. Suzuki engine. She threw a rod through the block. I go to the parts counter and they hand me a new short block in a little cardboard box. I could just grab it and carry it to my bench. Might have weighed  50 lbs. I had the engine and trans out and went to lower the car to get it off the lift and it was so light the lift didn't want to go down.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

@ZXTNot sure what model I owned. Remember it being a 4 cyl/4 speed hatchback.  Only paid a few hundred for it when I bought it used.

[bc.gold 3,403]

This engine the 289 Special was the beginning of my love affair with the Ford small block, this came in a used 64 Fairlane that i had purchased for a couple of hundred dollars.

 

Awesome engine, 271 horse power from the factory.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by bcgold

[tom2p 2,394]

19 hours ago, squonk said:

I bet she was fairly light! 

I remember having to work on a ladies Chevy Sprint with a 3 cyl. Suzuki engine. She threw a rod through the block. I go to the parts counter and they hand me a new short block in a little cardboard box. I could just grab it and carry it to my bench. Might have weighed  50 lbs. I had the engine and trans out and went to lower the car to get it off the lift and it was so light the lift didn't want to go down.

lol

[squonk 41,071]

Found my 69 Caprice picture. I bought this with a crushed rear end. 327 engine Put a Chevelle SS 4 bbl set up on it and it looked stock. I worked in dealerships and drove a lot of cars and this car was and still is the best riding car at 65 MPH I ever drove. It just glided. Anybody who rode in it thought it was amazing. Took 1st one year and 2nd another year at the Chevy show in Syracuse full size car division.

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by squonk

[76c12091520h 3,615]

Today's version of the things people throw away: the Corvair version.  Watched it go down to the scrap yard this morning. 

[squonk 41,071]

Too bad. The windshield pillars were a normal rust area. 

[tom2p 2,394]

22 hours ago, squonk said:

Found my 69 Caprice picture. I bought this with a crushed rear end. 327 engine Put a Chevelle SS 4 bbl set up on it and it looked stock. I worked in dealerships and drove a lot of cars and this car was and still is the best riding car at 65 MPH I ever drove. It just glided. Anybody who rode in it thought it was amazing. Took 1st one year and 2nd another year at the Chevy show in Syracuse full size car division.

 

 

 

sweet !

 

[ZXT 2,401]

On 7/30/2020 at 12:07 PM, squonk said:

Found my 69 Caprice picture. I bought this with a crushed rear end. 327 engine Put a Chevelle SS 4 bbl set up on it and it looked stock. I worked in dealerships and drove a lot of cars and this car was and still is the best riding car at 65 MPH I ever drove. It just glided. Anybody who rode in it thought it was amazing. Took 1st one year and 2nd another year at the Chevy show in Syracuse full size car division.

 

 

 

 

Nice looking 'ol boat! I've been in a few and can't think of much of a better road trip car. 

 

Now what I want is the '66 Chevelle sitting behind it.. 

[Achto 27,565]

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2020 at 12:07 PM, squonk said:

Found my 69 Caprice picture. I bought this with a crushed rear end. 327 engine Put a Chevelle SS 4 bbl set up on it and it looked stock. I worked in dealerships and drove a lot of cars and this car was and still is the best riding car at 65 MPH I ever drove. It just glided. Anybody who rode in it thought it was amazing

 

I had a '70 2 door Impala when I was in high school. With a factory 350 4bbl engine, 350 horse advertised from the factory. What a sleeper that car was, she would put many stock Chevelle's, Mustang's & Camero's in the rear view in short order.. The '69 & '70 Impala / Caprice were basically the same cars. You are spot on with the ride. Even when that long speedo needle would pass 120mph & disappear behind the dash, my Impala rode like it was on a pocket of air. 

 

Mine looked like this one, I had different rims on mine though.

Edited August 4, 2020 by Achto

[squonk 41,071]

I had 2 friends with Vettes. One was a 62 that had set track records in a previous life and the other was a 67. We went to a Drive-in restaurant one night as the had a car show there. The guy in the 62 led the way while the 67 followed and I followed it. They decided to ignore the speed limits and took off. Needless to say but whenever the guy in the 67 looked into his rear view mirror, All he saw was my grille and a blue Bow-Tie! 

[tom2p 2,394]

4 hours ago, Achto said:

 

I had a '70 2 door Impala when I was in high school. With a factory 350 4bbl engine, 350 horse advertised from the factory. What a sleeper that car was, she would put many stock Chevelle's, Mustang's & Camero's in the rear view in short order.. The '69 & '70 Impala / Caprice were basically the same cars. You are spot on with the ride. Even when that long speedo needle would pass 120mph & disappear behind the dash, my Impala rode like it was on a pocket of air. 

 

Mine looked like this one, I had different rims on mine though.

had a couple small blocks in '350-350' trim - great runners 

used the 'double bump' 1.94 heads, factory Chevy 350-350 hp hydraulic lifter cam (from Corvette I believe) ... got the cam and lifters from the local Chevy dealer 

 

had one with the factory Z-28 aluminum intake - another I believe had an Edelbrock Torquer

 

some of my friends had same or similar setup - but they started with a 4 bolt truck block (low horse 350)

 

one kid had a factory Chevy solid lifter cam - not sure if Chevy also had a 350-350 solid lifter cam or it was a 350-365 or whatever ... 

 

 

good times 

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by tom2p

[Achto 27,565]

9 minutes ago, tom2p said:

factory Chevy 350-350 hp hydraulic lifter cam (from Corvette I believe)

 

Not sure about other years but in 1970 the Corvette & Impala 350 engines were built to the same specs. The Chevelle, Camaro, and Mote Carlo 350 engines had a lower advertised HP rating. 

[troutbum70 857]

My true muscle car of the was a 1968 Olds 442, when I purchased the car in 1971 it had a 400 cui. Which I blew a rod through the side of the block in a short time, replaced that engine with a factory W30. Which turned my 442 into a beast to be reckoned with up and until I attempted to remove a large maple tree with it.

[tunahead72 2,412]

Back on topic, after more than 2 years...

 

I just found out there's a place called the Corvair Ranch near Gettysburg PA.  They're a full-time Corvair repair and parts business, with over 600 Corvairs on the property.  Might me a cool side trip for next year's Big Show:

 

Corvair Ranch

 

 

[D_Mac 8,607]

I had a couple of nice Caprice's The 91 wagon I picked up at a dealer auction. One owner car that was very well taken care of. I put the tires and rims on it. They were off of a police car. I had plans on getting the windows tinted but someone made me an offer I couldnt refuse. The 86 sedan I purchased of of a 90 year old gentleman 10 years ago. It had 38,000 original miles on it. Always garage kept. The 3rd car was an 84 LeSabre, got it at the same dealer auction as the wagon. Car was rock soild and had a gorgeous interior. Paid peanuts for it and was a pleasure to drive. I am a big guy and I love big cars. To bad the cars are now getting smaller and smaller. Remember when cars had an actual trunk? The days when you could fit a golf bag and a full set of luggage in a trunk, and not a rear hatch.

Edited November 20, 2022 by D_Mac

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

On 7/19/2020 at 7:23 PM, JAinVA said:

same car for over forty years

 

I'm gettin' close!  I'm at 35 years on an '87 VW Golf boughten new.  I have to admit though that it spent about 20 years in the back garage, not driven.  I took to making it roadworthy again last year when I retired.  It's all done...  except for replacing the falling down headliner.

 

Have a friend who was HEAVY into Corvairs.  He had an awesome 180HP Spyder, think it was a '69 ? (last year maybe?) a couple of the 140HP and a couple of the 110HP.

 

He also put a 140HP 'Vair engine in his VW bus. Called it the "VairWagen" That was a fun conversion.  Really pepped up that Orange and white bus!

 

On 7/19/2020 at 7:06 PM, JoeM said:

one of Chevrolet's first attempts at throw away cars

I don't go along with that assessment, just MO.  No worse than any other car of the time.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by Jeff-C175

[Snoopy11 5,714]

54 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

except for replacing the falling down headliner

And you are going to show me how you do that... 'cause Imma'needantwodo the same thing in my green ranger...

 

Don

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

4 minutes ago, Snoopy11 said:

And you are going to show me how you do that... 'cause Imma'needantwodo the same thing in my green ranger...

 

Don

 

Probably much easier in the Ranger!

[JoeM 7,873]

14 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

No worse than any other car of the time.

Yep just seems like the big three had a turning point around 1960 through the next decade. ended up with Vega Pinto and K cars. all throw away. 

those strong metal machines of the 50's were in the rear view. 

I will say I had a 78 plymouth horizon with the German drivetrain, ran it almost 200k, one clutch cable and valve seals. nothing else. sold it to a coworker and he ran it to 300+ and could not believe it. He to had to put a clutch cable in it. 

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

On 7/31/2020 at 11:29 PM, ZXT said:

I want is the '66 Chevelle sitting behind it..

 

I'll take the Monte Carlo on the left in the pic.