What Did You Do? 1965 Chevrolet Corvair
Ah, the Corvair. A classically styled beauty with an aircooled flat-6 out back and independent suspension all around…whoa, there dude, you are thinking about the Porsche 911, because the Corvair has a conventional watercooled V8 mounted up front and a stick beam axle out back...like this 1965 Chevrolet Corvair here on eBay bidding for $5,200 reserve-not-met with 2 days to go, located in Miami, FL.
With all of the Novas, Chevelles and Camaros floating around in various states of disrepair, I can’t fathom the reason why anyone would tear into a Corvair and transform it from the oddball rear-engine thing it was and into a conventional setup…but to each his own, I guess.
Between the front wheels is this Chevy 305 V8…why on this green earth you would ever chose the 305 when doing a conversion like this is completely outside of my comprehension. The 305 was the bastard stepchild of the small block 350 and you might as well just put a dang Ford engine in this thing if you enjoy low power and poor reliability. Sheesh. With some modification the 305 can make decent power and last for many miles, even with the radiator cap shoved in a section of radiator hose…where doe you suppose the builder put the radiator?
Inside we see a manual gearbox…wait…scratch that, it is just a stupid looking shifter mated to some slushbox that puts power to an S-10 pickup-up rear end…which makes sense because the car is lifted like a 4X4. Honestly, the custom two-tone paint job isn’t that offensive and the Z/28 Camaro rims look okay (if you are into that kind of thing).
See another hacked up custom thing? tips@dailyturismo.com
Wow, I knew there were Porsche purists, but I didn't know there were Corvair purists out there.
I kinda get the rage. Why take arguably the most unique American car ever built and make it no so unique. I had an old boss who was into restomod corvairs but even this would make him spit and curse.
I kinda get the rage. Why take arguably the most unique American car ever built and make it no so unique. I had an old boss who was into restomod corvairs but even this would make him spit and curse.
So the wheels, stance and and paint really throw me off but The build looks pretty good.
To me this is how it should be done
youtube.com/watch?v=3hKn8idEaZE
People have been putting V8's in the mid-rear of Corvairs since the 60's. Now that 911's are so expensive, it must especially painful to note that there are some bargain boxster/cayman's out there that they can be 'Crowned' . The guy with the torch, the time,$$ and beer (to keep his friends helping) gets to decide what he's going to drive.
I have seen a nice Front engined Corvair in Ontario. It was riding on an early 80's Cutlass chassis if I recall correctly. The builder said it had the same wheelbase as the second gen Corvair.