I Can't Believe I Did It...

With everything that's been happening lately, I've not visited the garage that's working on Jerri's Corvair...so, y'day I stopped by...the mechanic was busily fitting new bushings on the front sway bar when my friend who owns the shop said to me, "We need a parts car! Here's an address & phone number of a girl who has one that her husband left when they divorced."

So, with typical 'Tony-fervor' I go home, get my pickup, & drive over.....sitting in her back yard mired up to its rims on flat tires & covered with pine straw was a 1965 Corsa....yep, 4 carbs, 140hp, dual exhaust, 4-speed, 140mph speedo, tach, full instrumented Corsa! One of only 1351 built in 1965 (less than 2.5% of the entire 10-year run's production)!

"So, how much do you want for it?"

"Is $100 to much?"

"When would you like me to pick it up?"

"Tomorrow's fine but we can't go in the metal shed for the extra parts until the snakes are gone."

"EXTRA PARTS?"

"Yes, there's an extra engine and some other stuff he'd bought to go with it. I'll get it ll out when the weather cools down and call you so you can pick it up."

Well, I hastened back to my friend's garage & told him to hold up on Jerri's car....we had some decisions to make....whichever car we restore, it'll be a 1965 Corsa!

Didn't 'theAutoist' begin just like this? Back then, all I wanted was a parts car for my MG!

WOW! That is an amazing piece of luck. Sounds like the worst part of the whole deal is waiting for cooler weather!

Jeez, Tony! Will you find a Bugatti in a barn next? AL Bradley

;-)

Tony, Tell her you'll handle the snakes, all she has to do is OK what youget out of the shed. Get a bottle of amonia and sling around in there and every critter inside will clear out in a little bit. If it's hot in therethe snakes will be down low, if it's cool they'll be up high, even in the rafters. They're not a problem anyway unless you get them cornered they'll stay away from you.

John...thanks for the ammonia tip....I really wanna see what's inside that little metal building (& don't want to wait til winter)....think I'll take a bottle with me this afternoon when I go to retrieve it...apparently, there's quite a bit in there that goes with the little car......

...&, to think I was on my way to test ride the BMW when I stopped by his garage...had my helmet in car & everything (though I think I've gotta get away from a full-face helmet because of my glasses)...

Tony - when i rode through europe for a few weeks, i had a schuberth flip-up because of glasses. loed it...road most of the time with it up.

Whats a "1965 Corsa" ?

It a Corvair - one of the good ones :-)

Now here is someone showing his age. (David)
A Corsa was THE CAR to have when I was a younger kid.

I remember building a model Corsa as a kid...they were almost as cool as my mother's bronze Chevy II SS.

No, this isn't the one I found, its a real nice example though.....


....&, I've learned I can update it with Chevelle front disc brakes & Cadillac rear disc brakes! Probably can be turned into a pretty neat little car with 14" Chevelle Rally Wheels....
...pretty interesting little car, I'm learning.....

Yeah....but why would you want to miss out on the excitement that comes with drum brakes and high speeds?

One of my grade school teachers had one when new, but it was a convertible and I think it was called a Monza. Could be bad memory though. Never forget the body.

Monza was 110hp with 2 carbs & 3-speed or automatic....Corsa was 140hp w/4 carbs & 4-speed or 180hp w/turbo & 5-speed...

Hey, isn't that car "Unsafe at any speed"? ;)

Tony - cool cars! Have a friend in Phoenix who autocrosses Corvairs - he has about 4, not sure what models but at least two are convertibles! Then again, he has three Chevy Cosworth Vegas!

John.....in 1972, DOT proved Ralph Nader was incorrect in that assumption...early Corvairs had a swing axle suspension much like the Beetle & required properly inflated rear tires like the Beetle...they were no more dangerous than the early Beetles...the later cars (& especially the Corsa) had Corvette-style rear suspension & handle superbly! &, boy, I'm told they handle like a Porsche in a corner!

Tony, I was just giving you @!#$! Nice find! Post some pics when you can.

Tony,
when you do get a chance to go in the metal shed and retrieve the rest of your $100 purchase, update us as to "rest of the story" I am always fascinated to read the stories of people finding these "gems in the rough"

Ed

O.K. - somebody has to ask - How did you keep a straight face when she asked "is $100 too much"?

I still can believe he didn't offer her $40, then wait a year until she offered him $50 to take it off her hands...

Eric...it was hard, thank goodness I was bent over looking in the interior when she said it...what was harder was when I went back to put car on my trailer...I handed her a hundred dollar bill as she gave me a bill of sale....then, she wanted to give me a hug for getting it out of her yard!! I accepted & called her y'day to tell her where I stood with it...gonna contact her mid-July about getting in shed...y'day she said she'd have to move a lot of furniture to get to Corvair items & was afraid of snakes...I told her of JDW's ammonia trick........today, I tok a pair of new battery cable ends and a new battery to shop...sprayed 2 cans of carb cleaner down throats of carbs & they actually shined!! they're gonna turn her over & check compression then drop gas tank so I can inspect/clean....had one of my kids clean it out y'day, pull seats & old carpet, go get new key for ignition, etc....she's looking good enough for me to call her 'she'...but, 'she's' not good enough to come to my garage...not until they get her mechanically restored!

'65 Corsa's redesigned rearend:



By the time the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a press release dated August 12, 1972, setting out the findings of the NHTSA, the Corvair had been out of production for more than three years. While the press may have been reluctant to publicize the good news about the Corvair ("Good news doesn't sell papers!"), it was fitting that the NHTSA accompanied its press release with a letter addressed to all Corvair owners, so they would hear of the good news and put to rest any insecurities about the safety of their cars. In its letter, the NHTSA indicated:

"The Corvair handling and stability compared favorably with the other contemporary vehicles used in the NHTSA testing programs. Vehicle rollover did not occur in any of the comparative tests for the Corvair, Falcon or Valiant. The Volkswagen and the Renault did rollover in some of the comparative tests."

For that matter old Barf Nader admitted years later that there was nothing wrong with the car. He needed a campaign about something to get himself known, and Chevrolet just happened to come out with a car that was different.