I want a Corvair, bad.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Really bad. I want a red turbo coupe. I don't really care which generation--both are gorgeous, for very different reasons.

I want goofy air-cooled rear-engine flat-six weirdness. I want backward-proportions styling and a beautiful roofline. I want a car that probably should never have been made but should never have died either.

If I could have any classic right now, it'd be a turbo Corvair.

[Bubba1]

Really bad. I want a red turbo coupe. I don't really care which generation--both are gorgeous, for very different reasons.

I want goofy air-cooled rear-engine flat-six weirdness. I want backward-proportions styling and a beautiful roofline. I want a car that probably should never have been made but should never have died either.

If I could have any classic right now, it'd be a turbo Corvair.

You have excellent taste. I owned 2 1965 Monza coupes (non turbo) when I was younger, and I loved them both. The turbos, both 140hp and especially 180hp were known as Porsche beaters. Quick and nimble, like the old 356 and early 911's. , but to keep things in perspective, it was quick/nimble relative to cars of its era. Drive one now and you'll quickly learn most modern cars will blow the doors off it in every category and it lacks most modern amenities we take for granted. It'll also feel cheap as it was a inexpensive car in its day. We're talking sweaty flat vinyl seats, drum brakes, which suck when wet, and 2/55 air conditioning (2 windows down/55 mph), and recirculating ball steering, complete with play. The pre-1965's are the ones that Ralph Nader made himself famous with that turd of a book called Unsafe at Any speed. If you were buying a 'Vair, I'd suggest the 1965 or later, which are sleeker and more importantly, have the independent suspension.

They certainly had their quirks, like you needed to carry a spare fan belt with you as they all wore quickly. you also needed a resealable container of engine oil as they all consumed oil. And you always ran them in the winter with the windows cracked. If the engine seals got old enough, you risked pumping Carbon Monoxide into the interior. Quirks aside, I'd still love to own another one.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I owned 2 1965 Monza coupes (non turbo) when I was younger, and I loved them both. The turbos, both 140hp and especially 180hp were known as Porsche beaters. Quick and nimble, like the old 356 and early 911's. , but to keep things in perspective, it was quick/nimble relative to cars of its era. Drive one now and you'll quickly learn most modern cars will blow the doors off it in every category and it lacks most modern amenities we take for granted.

Nice!

Yeah, I know they're basic. They were GM's attempt at creating an affordable "2nd car" or budget/entry level car, and it shows. But a lot of the uniqueness in its engineering comes from trying to create a lot of car out of not a lot. It is of course GM's Beetle, and that means it trades the Beetle's German utilitarianism for 60's American style. I'm completely okay with ALL of its "drawbacks" including the first-gen's swingarm suspension. It's actually one car that I'd ALMOST prefer as a convertible if the coupe didn't look so spectacular. It's sort of exactly NOT my car, but because it's so much not my car, it is. I appreciate Beetles as much as the next guy (though I'm much more of a Type 3 or Type 181 guy than a Beetle guy), but the Corvair takes it to the next level and combines all that simplicity with a lot more style.

Now, what'd be REALLY cool would be a Greenbriar pickup:

WAY cooler than any Microbus ever dreamed of being.

[Bubba1]

I agree, those Greenbriars were way cool too.

Here's my first Corvair. That's a very young Bubba behind the wheel cruisin' the campus. It really was a sexy car. This one had the 2 speed powerglide transmission with the infamous tiny shifter on the dash known as the "knucklebuster". It's flat floor and lack of a floor shift made it very convenient for dates .

[szh]

Not to change the topic too badly, but ... instead of a Corvair, I'd like to get a red 1965 Ford Mustang.

That is the car that, as a kid, I saw an ad for in a magazine and ignited my love for fast, sporty cars.

Z

[Bubba1]

Not to change the topic too badly, but ... instead of a Corvair, I'd like to get a red 1965 Ford Mustang.

That is the car that, as a kid, I saw an ad for in a magazine and ignited my love for fast, sporty cars.

Z

I thought it was uber sexy too when I first saw one. But as sleek/sexy as the Mustang was when it was debuted back in 1964, underneath, it was little more than a rebodied Ford Falcon. For the those too young to remember the Falcon, it was the Ford equivalent to the Chevy Nova. But you gotta give Lee Iacocca (man behind the mustang) major props for stoking the passions in us Baby Boomers, by polishing a turd like a Falcon and making it into such a huge success. The Corvair, on the other hand, was a bold change in direction for an American carmaker. It seemed more appropriate coming out of Europe than Detroit. It's just a shame that the same American public was brain washed by consumer advocate (which many Corvair owners pronounced "a$$hole") Ralph Nader into thinking they were dangerous cars.

[goody90q45]

My first car was a '61 Corvair. I bought it in 1971 from a high school buddy for $125. As I recall it was a good running car except for the fan belt which would constantly fall off and usually shred in the process. I always kept a spare belt in the car along with a small fire extinguisher. A friend and i decided to drive the Corvair from L.A. to Vegas since his dad had grounded him and taken the keys to his '69 Z28 right before we were to leave. About 1/2 way there, near Baker, CA, we started smelling gas and pulled over at an offramp. As soon as I came to a stop the engine compartment ignited and I watched the car burn to the ground in about 5 minutes. Fire extinguisher spit for about 3 seconds but didn't slow down the fire. We hitchhiked to Vegas and back and when I got home I bought my 2nd car for $400 which was a '60 4 door Nissan sedan.

[themadscientist]

I see your Corvair and raise you 1972 Opel Manta. Mine never looked this nice, though.

[Kompresshun]

I have always had a strange desire to own a Corvair as well. Honestly, i've actually thought about building a later model one for the wife sometime down the road. She seems to like them and it would be an excuse to have one.

Seeing this thread also reminded me of another strange Chevy with a bad reputation that i've always wanted:





Yep, a Vega. I don't know what it is, but I want one someday. Shooting brake preferably.

I would also settle for a Monza too:

[themadscientist]

I would like a Vega as well, but I need the Chevy SR20, the Cosworth!

[MinisterofDOOM]

I would also settle for a Monza too:

My mom had a V8 Monza and loved it.

[Bubba1]

I see your Corvair and raise you 1972 Opel Manta. Mine never looked this nice, though.

I actually had one of those too....as a company car, no less. I really liked it. Nimble car with a great 4 speed.

I would also settle for a Monza too:

My mom had a V8 Monza and loved it.

LOL. I owned one of these too. They looked better than they drove. I had the Buick version (Skyhawk), which was identical to the Monza except it had a V6 and a 5 speed instead of the V8. Unlike the Monza V8, you didn't have to literally raise the V6 engine just to access the rear spark plugs. real dumb design. the Monza/Skyhawk/Starfire(?) actually handled and performed pretty well and with the rear seat folded down with that hatchback, it was extremely roomy. The big issue was it was a typical GM car of its day, it was built like utter cr@p. Surprisingly, mine never left me stranded, but there was always something rattling, inoperative or broken to annoy you enough to dampen the driving experience. I do have some fond memories of the car. My wife and I drove it on honeymoon and I believe I broke the Buick Land Speed Record with it along the NJ Turnpike a few times, burying the speedometer. Problem was the dang speedo only read up to 85 mph. But I would take an Opel Manta loooonng before a Monza.

[Bubba1]

I would like a Vega as well, but I need the Chevy SR20, the Cosworth!

Yeah, I like the Cosworth Vega too. It was an attractive, fun car little car to drive, handled well with peppy (not blazing) performance. And the hatchback was convenient. It suffered the same problem as the SRT-4. Fun car, but because it was based on such a cheap, dreadful little car (Vega & Neon), they were the "Rodney Dangerfield" coupes of their era. No respect. But I still wouldn't mind having a cos-vega.

As far as the regular Vegas. Well, I will agree were thoughtfully design little cars that looked pretty nice,. The wagon was actually fairly roomy, and it handled reasonably well for what is was. Many suckers...I mean buyers were seduced by it's good looks and were very disappointed when reality hit later when it was too late. That hasn't changed. Time seems to have diminished how shockingly awful those Vegas were. Though I suppose the idea of crop dusting pedestrians with smoke as the engines began failing after 20K miles could be fun. They were notoriously cheap, unreliable little boxes. The cosworth would be the only one I'd remotely consider buying.

[Kompresshun]

I agree they were awful cars in their stock form. I wouldn't want one to leave stock though. I'd swap out the drivetrain for something else and upgrade the suspension as best I could. I just love the look of them, so I'd like to take one and modernize it a bit.

There's plenty of other stuff I want that's going to happen before I buy one of those.

[frapjap]

My first car was a '61 Corvair. I bought it in 1971 from a high school buddy for $125. As I recall it was a good running car except for the fan belt which would constantly fall off and usually shred in the process. I always kept a spare belt in the car along with a small fire extinguisher. A friend and i decided to drive the Corvair from L.A. to Vegas since his dad had grounded him and taken the keys to his '69 Z28 right before we were to leave. About 1/2 way there, near Baker, CA, we started smelling gas and pulled over at an offramp. As soon as I came to a stop the engine compartment ignited and I watched the car burn to the ground in about 5 minutes. Fire extinguisher spit for about 3 seconds but didn't slow down the fire. We hitchhiked to Vegas and back and when I got home I bought my 2nd car for $400 which was a '60 4 door Nissan sedan.

That is seriously the best story I have heard in a long time.
Did you win in Vegas or anything else memorable about the trip?

Also- I do like Corvairs. There is a guy about a mile from me with 3 BEAUTIFUL examples that he parades around all the damn time.

[goody90q45]

....Did you win in Vegas or anything else memorable about the trip?

I remember coming back broke with not even enough money to buy a hamburger.

......and when I got home I bought my 2nd car for $400 which was a '60 4 door Nissan sedan.

I meant Datsun. Bluebird? I mounted surfboard racks on top and rather than use the insurance money after a fender bender I bought a new hood and painted a rising sun on it. Someday I'll find the pics.