Will the Corvair Kill You?

Hey-O · Jun 3, 2020

Knew two people that owned them and liked them. One was a convertible.
Had a friend put a monza engine in a dune buggy, that thing was extremely quick.

JackR · Jun 3, 2020

For some reason my kid wanted one for his first car. Found one. Went through it mechanically and it turned out to be a good car for 2 years.....then he found that unknown to all the corvair had a great crush zone....55 mph crash into a maxima that turned left in front of him. Minor injuries.

WileERobby · Jun 3, 2020

My uncle had one, which I used to practice my driving and subsequently take my road test in. I 've always liked the 65 and later style. Do you know where the term "turbo muffler" originated from ?

NoCar2023 · Jun 3, 2020

Oh ****! glad he is okay.

1 Wild R/T · Jun 3, 2020

JackR said:
For some reason my kid wanted one for his first car. Found one. Went through it mechanically and it turned out to be a good car for 2 years.....then he found that unknown to all the corvair had a great crush zone....55 mph crash into a maxima that turned left in front of him. Minor injuries.

View attachment 959113 View attachment 959114

Thank Goodness, glad your son was Okay.. I see a Corvair that took a shot like that & I'd be expecting severe if not fatal injuries...

Sahara · Jun 3, 2020

1 Wild R/T said:
Thank Goodness, glad your son was Okay.. I see a Corvair that took a shot like that & I'd be expecting severe if not fatal injuries...

Not even a head imprint in the windshield!

JackR · Jun 3, 2020

65 non collapse steering column though. I didn’t know that didn’t have that, 66 and on. Had steering wheel imprint on his chest for days, no broke bones and head cut from hitting roof in crash.

Meep-Meep · Jun 3, 2020

I always thought the 65 Monza 2 door was a good looking car.

Xp29h · Jun 4, 2020

A friend had one in high school! I forget the year but convertible! Great shape! We bombed around in that all the time! It actually turned out to be pretty convenient! Them crazy girls always wanted a ride!

chargervert · Jun 4, 2020

1972GY8SE said:
Chevy II chassis. (AKA Nova)

Or was the Chevy based on the Falcon?

\

The Mustang was based on the Falcon,and the Camaro was based on the Nova/Chevy II. If not for the Chevy II,our beloved B body Mopars might not exist at all. Chrysler heard that Chevrolet was planning to downsize their full size cars,so Chrysler scrambled to get their new smaller full sized cars into productuction for the 1962 model year. The new full sized car was the B body. The rumor turned out to be the Chevy II,and Dodge had to go to Chrysler,and put a 1961 Dodge front end onto a 1962 Chrysler body,this car became the Dodge 880. The move was to counter the dropping sales from full size car buyers who didn't want the new downsized B body cars. From 1962 until 1964 Plymouth did not have a full sized model. The tried to sell the B body as their full sized car. Finally in 1965 Plymouth got a full sized model with the new C body Plymouth Fury. If not for that rumor about the new smaller Chevrolet,the B body may not exist.

The Rebel · Jun 4, 2020

The Robin had to be one of the worst designs ever

myk r sanchez · Jun 4, 2020

I think Jeremy Clarkson is the worst design ever...

Teek · Jun 4, 2020

Although I have no personal experience with the Corvair, as I understand it the 65-69 fully independent rear suspension redesign (Replacing the 60-64 swing axle design) made it a very good handling car.

Dibbons · Jun 4, 2020

The Reliant Robin in post #31 was modified to roll over for the filming. The production vehicles did not handle like that.

NoCar2023 · Jun 4, 2020

The coil-over UCA front suspension appeared in the Falcon in 1960 and in the Chevy II in 1961 through 1967. They actually shared some parts.
The coil-over LCA, sub framed uni body Nova showed up in 1968.

Cranky · Jun 4, 2020

Never really cared for the Corvair or for the VW bug. Ended up with a 71 Super Beetle in late 72 that had run off the road and turned on it's side. Damage was minimum, mileage was low and the price was cheap. Down side was the auto stick but it was faster than a stick shift bug until about 80 and the stick car would pass it up. Valves wouldn't stay adjusted either. Kept it for about a year and sold it and even then, it came back like a bad penny. Hated that car and haven't had one since.

streetwedg · Jun 4, 2020

They make great air boat engines.

Sixpactogo · Jun 4, 2020

My little brother had a 64 Corvair Spyder convertible for a while in 1965. It was a 150 hp turbo car. Had quite a bit of power and a fun car to drive. I remember it to corner pretty good but I only drove it a few times. Never really bought into Ralph Nader opinion on much of anything that I recall. It was just another chivvy to me.

Budnicks · Jun 4, 2020

They are fun to drive
my oldest sister Lori had one, a 67 (?) Turbo Monza Spyder
Metallic turquoise of some sort, white top & interior 4 speed
that car was a freaken' blast, she's 5 years older than I am
she'd give us kids rides all over the place, circa 1970-71-ish

they're called the Poormans Porsche

the early & uglier :poke:

Corvair cars had a problem
(so does Ralph Nader, he's an asshole still today)
IMVHFO a simple mandatory recall & limiters would have fixed it

Most people didn't know how to drive a rear engine rwd swing-arm cars
if you get off the gas too quick
or not braking into a corner properly
&/or not accelerating out
they get all "light in the ***"
swing arms tuck in *** goes up & get on the side walls of the tires
almost all the weight is in the rear (rear engine rwd)

a lot of earlier Porches & VW's were plagued with the same problems
just had a far lower center of gravity, they didn't tip over
VW vans were horrid (Ralph Nader didn't do **** about the hippies vans)

you have to use a different driving style,
with a rear engine rwd swing-arm car

Corvair's issues
with the swing-axles coming inward, especially under deceleration in corners
upsets the car, the rear lifts up, easy tip over,
getting up on the edge/sidewalls of them old stiff *** bias-ply
shitty skinny *** tires, didn't help any either

when just a simple swing arm suspension "lift" limiter
or even a sway bar, with substantial outboard links
could solved the problem easily

Cheap fucks/bean counters at GM were the real problem
rushed the car out before enough testing & fixing it
all in trying to stave off "the Japanese invasion" of compact/economy cars
for people too cheap to pay for $0.25 cent gas, back then
then GM denying they even had a problem, because of lawsuits
if they admitted the error they were gonna' pay way earlier

Budnicks · Jun 4, 2020

JackR said:
For some reason my kid wanted one for his first car. Found one. Went through it mechanically and it turned out to be a good car for 2 years.....then he found that unknown to all the corvair had a great crush zone....55 mph crash into a maxima that turned left in front of him. Minor injuries.

View attachment 959113 View attachment 959114

Damn

good he's OK

Will the Corvair Kill You?

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