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Car Forum / GMC Cars / December 20051960 Corvair
I found an old postcard my aunt sent to her brother from Disneyland, California in October 10, 1959. She was driving a rental 1960 Chevy Corvair. She writes ; NO CORVAIR for me, drove in one for one day and evening , only thing nice is its legnth. Like a hunk of tin compared to dad's car. Bob's Volkswagon Beetle is a very well made car, lovely interior and compact - rides very well, easy to get in and out of. Almost twisted my back getting out of the Corvair. Just thought I'd share this postcard with you. There are other postcards I found that mention tidbits about the cars they were driving or problems they encountered along the way. Harryface 05 Park Avenue, 32,672 91 Bonneville LE 304,809 > I found an old postcard my aunt sent to her brother from Disneyland, > California in October 10, 1959. She was driving a rental 1960 Chevy [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > 05 Park Avenue, 32,672 > 91 Bonneville LE 304,809 I admit it could be my selective perception, but the Corvair I drove (not mine) handled washboard roads so well at the time. Also, I remember a friend towing my 66' Impala with a Corvair! We got out of sinc at a turn and the Corvair went up on two wheels until I corrected and thumped him back down. >I admit it could be my selective > perception, but the Corvair I drove > (MINE) handled washboard roads so > well at the time. Yeah! Nader was full of sh*t! There was nothing wrong with that car. I had a '61 and drove it all over the country. Not one problem...none! Nader conspired to kill that design and succeded. The BEST thing about that car was the heater!! Gas-fired and instant ON! Every VW I owned was superior to the Corvair in many ways, but VW couldn't 'touch' the heater system.... Dave S(Texas) I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory optioned turbocharger. It had wired wheels with a spinner with the two checked flags. It had amazing stopping power, with its sintered matallic brakes all around. I had more fun passing the big V8s in the mountains...It also had a 5 speed xmission,and a 21/2 inch chromed exhaust pipe! It would give out a throaty roar, and off we went, with a 15psi boost on the dash guage! Sorry to bore everybody, but it just brought back memories of when GM was king! >I found an old postcard my aunt sent to her brother from Disneyland, > California in October 10, 1959. She was driving a rental 1960 Chevy [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > 05 Park Avenue, 32,672 > 91 Bonneville LE 304,809 >I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory >optioned [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > brought > back memories of when GM was king! It may have had a lot of things but a 5 speed transmission was not one of them. Unless you're counting reverse. Al >>I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory >>optioned [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Al I had a '62 'vair Monza. (new) Beautiful form, fit, finish. Had an interior like a jewel-box. Had a "guess what gear" 4-speed stick-shift. A "pretend" heater Minimal storage in the front "trunk" A rediculous fan-belt arrangement. Two carbs that couldn't be sync'd. A weight ratio that made steering in wet weather an adventure. Engine "blew" before 40K miles. I had a friend who worked at a Chevy dealers at the time. He said; "They LOVED Corvairs. Whenever things were slow in the shop, there were alway Corvairs to work on. GM took what they learned from the Corvair, and followed up with another "great".... The VEGA !! <rj> >>>I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory >>>optioned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Minimal storage in the front "trunk" > A rediculous fan-belt arrangement. Man did that set up suck!! > Two carbs that couldn't be sync'd. Ya, but on the rare times they worked, they were pretty cool. > A weight ratio that made steering in wet weather an adventure. > > Engine "blew" before 40K miles. That was considered high mileage. > I had a friend who worked at a Chevy dealers at the time. > He said; "They LOVED Corvairs. > Whenever things were slow in the shop, there were alway Corvairs to work > on. Remember all the oil leaks?? > GM took what they learned from the Corvair, > and followed up with another "great".... The VEGA !! > > <rj> -snip- >Remember all the oil leaks?? "all"? Mine only had one. Was it the oil pan or a bottom side valve cover? At any rate, it leaked when I got it; I changed the gasket a few times in 3-4 years; and it still leaked when I sold it. Still loved the car, though. [Wish I'd known a Harley owner at the time, I'd have stolen their saying that 'Harleys don't leak, they're just marking their territory."] Jim >I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory >optioned >turbocharger. It had wired wheels with a spinner with the two checked flags. Sounds a lot like my 'favorite car I've ever owned'. A '66 Corvair Corsa; 180HP[?] turbocharged, convertible. I was a Corporal in the Marines at Cherry Point, NC making about $300 a month. In NC in '70, '71 there was a 2cent deposit on small bottles and a nickle on quarts. We used to pick up bottles along the highway for a couple hours. Cash them in and fill it up with Sunoco 220 and drive all weekend on a trunkful of deposits. Those *were* the days, my friends. . Jim [When I was 16 my older friend had a 63 Corvair whose engine 'fell out' one night about 20 miles from home. I rode under the rear hood holding it up with the tire iron while he drove home. I try to remind myself of that night whenever I see some kid do something so incredibly stupid that I can't imagine how they will survive to adulthood.] I had a 64 Monza Spyder, the turbo made it slightly quicker that a TR-4. The heater was a cleaver design. In the winter while on my commute to work, I would have to roll down the windows when the oil that had leaked overnight into the heater boxes (which covered the exhaust manifolds) would burn off sending a thick cloud of blue smoke into the interior through the heater. NEAT! Another nifty feature was that if there was a exhaust gasket leak, carbon monoxide went into the heater box. There were reports of semi conscious people running into trees as a result. WVK > I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory > optioned [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >>05 Park Avenue, 32,672 >>91 Bonneville LE 304,809 > I had a 64 Monza Spyder, the turbo made it slightly quicker that a TR-4. > The heater was a cleaver design. In the winter while on my commute to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > WVK "An engineering weakness not generally highlighted (and uniquely dangerous) related to fumes and gases entering the passenger area via the heater system, a problem endemic to an air-cooled engine. Carbon monoxide and other noxious or deadly gases could enter the sedan passenger areas if exhaust system gaskets aged or failed, since the gaskets were inside the heater box air intakes and air for engine cooling and passenger heating was mixed together as one common airflow. Chronic oil leakage from the pushrod tubes, which was endemic to the engine, also contaminated the heating air, as did the tendency for earlier engines to blow a head gasket. That air would also become noxious if a 6 inch wide rubber seal almost 16 feet long, located between the engine assembly and the body, was not maintained in like-new condition. The interior air would also be contaminated if the owner did not keep the carefully engineered battery container, located in the engine compartment, intact and in like new condition. The Volkswagen Beetle, another automobile with an air cooled engine, located the battery in the passenger compartment under the rear seat. This may have been a source of noxious interior fumes in that vehicle as well, though perhaps on a lesser scale. VW better isolated fresh air, and used no-joint one-piece exhaust pipes inside their heater intakes to prevent exhaust leaks and ensure clean interior air." http://www.answers.com/topic/chevrolet-corvair >> I bought a 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder in Montana, 150 hp with a factory >> optioned [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] >>> 05 Park Avenue, 32,672 >>> 91 Bonneville LE 304,809 Big Al...I guess I got carrried away..You were correct,It had a 4 speed transmission!! I forgot. Andy >I found an old postcard my aunt sent to her brother from Disneyland, > California in October 10, 1959. She was driving a rental 1960 Chevy [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > 05 Park Avenue, 32,672 > 91 Bonneville LE 304,809 |
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