The Car Designed To CRUSH The SHELBY GT350? - The Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Stinger
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- čas přidán 19. 05. 2023
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In this Rare Cars documentary, we go in depth into the absolutely wild Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Stinger, or as we like to call it, America's Porsche 911.
Rear engine, flat 6 powered cars are not typically a staple of American automakers, but the Chevy Corvair broke that mold. And then Don Yenko and his guys turned these Corvairs into serious track weapons that aimed to do one thing, crush the Shelby GT350s in vintage SCCA racing.
This video aims to provide a short history of these unique and rare cars so you can learn about them in a quick, easy to digest video.
*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments!
For business inquiries or other inquiries, reach out to: rarecarsmedia@gmail.com - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I've always wondered why, after removing the rear seat, they didn't do an engine relocate further into the cab and make it a mid engine
I am no certainly no expert but, perhaps there was something about the air cooled motor unable to run cool enough? I know that small blocks have been mounted mid-engine. And with the Camaro in the pipeline, there just wasn’t a need for all the development dollars to modify the car further. My best guess anyways. Would have been nice to see the American Porsche beat them at their own game for sure,
They didn't do it from the factory, but that mod you mention is one of the most popular mods in Corvairdom. They even transplanted the front-wheel-drive units from the Olds Toranado and Caddillac El Dorado for some serious big block power. FYI
There WAS an adapter allowing you to flip the transaxle to face forward and bolt up a 283 or 327 in the back seat. It was the Crown Corv-8 adapter.
@@mt-images8804 The Crown conversion utilized an after market and lengthened transmission output shaft and kept the transaxle in standard configuration, though there was a special sub-frame that was required. FYI
Short answer: time & money. Yenko saw the potential and didn't want or need to re-engineer the whole drive train, just optimize what's there. You might as well wonder why they didn't move the engine up front "where it belongs".
I began autocrossing back in the 70’s. In those days, Lotus 7s and genuine Cobras were fairly common. There was a guy with a well-prepared GT-350 dominating his class, until somebody showed up with a Corvair. These guys battled back and forth all year long. The Corvair ended up winning the class by 0.27 points out of something like 800 or 900 possible points. The guy with the GT-350 bought the Corvair, parked it, and won the class the following year in his GT-350.
Very interesting story. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.
Hi Bob.
Which region?
-doc
@@bmepdoc9675 It was the Southern California Council of Sports Car Clubs, before SCCA got serious about SOLO II
@@bobpickering1 Though I didn't run a GT350 . That must have been Roger Malloy(?) - I had my Corvair and also a Cosworth Twin Cam Vega. Lance Stewart and I were the one's running Cosworth Vega's back then. Lion Country, Santa Barbara, Lone Pine. You would have recognized my 'vair, red/ white/black with steel wheels and Caldwell recaps. What gave us an advantage was, having limited slip diffs. Our Vega's had them as did my Corsa's. The vast majority of other imports had no such option (Alfa GTV and 2002's were the only others I know of) some even cheated by welding up the spider gears. They wanted to go straight, that is until you manhandled them around the cones in pseudo-drift fashion. Spent a lot of time at Vilem B Haan and Marion Weber's MG Mitten back in the day as well..
Good times, Bob. Small world. ^5's
@@bmepdoc9675 I had an MGB. Originally white, then red. Originally open diff, then welded, and finally with a limited slip. Originally 14” wheels, then 15”x8” wheels with race tires, and finally 13”x11” wheels and a 2.0 Pinto engine with Webbers. Won B Modified at SCCA Nationals in 1974. I had a yellow LeGrand formula car the last few years. I’ve forgotten most names, but I think Gary Pinney drove the Corvair I mentioned. I vaguely recall a Cosworth Vega (or two), but I don’t recognize any of the names you mentioned. Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative.
We had a first gen. Corvair station wagon, our family was moving from northern Minnesota to Lakewood, OH. My dad and older brother were driving it across MI, U.P. In a spring snowstorm and when they arrived at the Mackinaw bridge, the car wouldn’t turn, until they chiseled out the frozen slush the built up around the front tires. (No engine heat)
Latter we bought the two door with the 102 hp engine (90 hp was standard) one Friday night my friend and I gave ride home to a girl that wanted to get away from her date that had a Ford with police interceptor V8, leaving Rocky River drive-in. The straight road’s he’d out run me, I went toward the lake and took all the curvy streets I could and gained him at every corner. We were sitting with her mother on the porch when he came around the last corner, and smoke was coming out of everywhere on that car. She lived just west of Lakewood Park.
Growing up, my father bought a new '64 Monza Spyder, black on red with the turbocharged engine. This was his fourth Corvair having owned and traded in a '60, '61, and '63. In the Michigan winter, he would tie a rope to the rear bumper and pull us on a bobsled on snow-covered back roads. The traction was amazing, but would occasionally get hung up on snowdrifts. He traded it in the second time it blew a head gasket and scorched the cylinders (as he described it). The replacement was a '68 sport coupe, red on black, with the 140HP engine as they no longer offered the turbo. This was the car I learned to drive a manual transmission in. I also learned that to round a corner on icy roads it was prudent to downshift and release the clutch in order to shift the weight to the front wheels to make it turn! He drove it for ten years and parted with it when the engine threw a connecting rod. He later owned a Honda CRX which drove like a go-kart, but he swore that he never drove another car that handled as well as his Corvairs.
Corvairs were factory built with forged rods, pistons, & crank. They are a very popular engine, maybe #1, for homebuilt aircraft enthusiasts. They've been used in everything including being swapped into Porsches for the torque. They were called Porvairs &Y tore it up at Pike's Peak.
Corvair was a cool car to drive. I learned to drive a 4 speed in a 1967 Corvair 140hp engine. I was 16 in 1971. It was my friend's Corvair and it handled the turns great. On the highway the front steering felt sloppy on center until you hooked it into a turn. I had to double clutch to downshift the shifter was crap. I had to keep the windows cracked open with the heater on because of CO poisoning. Yet, I have fond memories of that car - lots of fun. edit: GM should have put rack-n-pinion steering on the Corvair and Corvette.
Great video! My folks bought a used Corvair once for one of my older sisters and I thought it was neat just because it was air cooled and the engine was in the back. My sister didn't keep it for very long if memory serves, and I had NO idea that people were extracting so much additional HP and torque out of that engine, but wow, the little Corvair!
The later Corvair had rear suspension very similar to the Corvette. The best handling Corvairs are the ones converted to small block mid engine power.
Crown corvair
I had a 66 monza and loved it. A stinger would be beyond cool to have now
Soooo hard to find.
@@tommccallan8802 Yes. Correctly restored Stingers with documented history (original bodies) are commanding close to or over $100,000 today.
Thank you for a vid that tells the *truth* about Corvairs and Yenkos! I found no errors in your presentation, except for the class that Stingers raced in. As a guy who has not been without a Corvair or Corvair powered car since early 1970, I really appreciated this!
Yes, I agree the video was 99% accurate...great job. But as usual, this comments section is absolutely filled with folk-lore and misinformation about Corvairs. This is one of the reasons I don't show my Ed Cole Award winning '69 Corvair...so freaking tired of none Corvair people reciting BS as if it was the gospel.
I used to have my Yenko Camaro serviced by a local racer. One day a Stinger came in for his magic. The way they were set up was very good, he did get more out of it and I got to go for the shake down ride. Was interesting
Pretty rare piece of GM Yenko machinery. Couldn't keep my base model from spitting the belt off regularly back in the 70s. Fun car though , and didn't feel any less safe than other cars on the road at the time.
That was the main problem my friends car had, that 90° bend and twist. Could always tell when it pitched, you instantly gained noticeable hp.
mine too!
Awesome vid, thanks for posting!
I bought a new Corvair in 1968. It was a 500 body with a bench seat, but had the 140 engine, HD suspension, brakes and quick steering with the 355 rear.
It would eat 912s for lunch. I put 14" station wagon wheels on the rear and the first Mickey Thompson wide ovals on the front.
It was amazing.
Sold it when I went into the outside sales business. Always regretted it.
Thanks for this. Learned to drive at 14 with a 65 convertible where I took my driver's test. Then bought a 68 blue coupe with a a 4 speed and positraction. Given I was a teenage driver and full of it these cars saved my life more times than I can count. It was only after owning subsequent cars like front engine rear drive and turbocharged front drivers was able to appreciate the amazing road handling of these late model Corvairs.
Love hearing these stories from people! Thanks for sharing!
This video popped up in my feed and I have not seen this channel before. This is a great video about a car I didn't even know existed despite being very fond of the Corvair. Excellent work. You've got yourself a new subscriber.
I am glad you enjoyed it, thanks for subscribing!
Great video of a rather unique automobile!!
These videos are just great! So much great history
Thanks for watching them! We appreciate the support!
Not in competition with the GT 350. The Shelbys were winning the B production class of SCCA in 1966. As the video says, the Yenko Stinger raced in SCCA class D production. The Shelby's only competition in B production were the older pre-62 283 Corvettes so Shelby didn't face much of a challenge there. Class D had the Porsche 911, the Yenko Stinger faced much stiffer competition.
Thank you for that extra insight! Crazy to think the 911 AND the Corvair being such similar layouts yet coming from totally different minds and ways of building them!
I believe in 1966 C2 327 corvettes were BP. GT350s won the national championship in B Production in 65 and 66.
@@Rattlecanjeff Right, all 327 Corvettes moved to B production in 66.
@@Rattlecanjeff When the 427 came along, it went in A prod, alongside the 427 Cobra, demoting the fuel injected 327 to B prod. The Carbureted 327 had already demoted the 283 cars to C prod. I could be wrong in the timing, but remember seeing pictures of C1 Corvettes, with C/P markings. Saw my first live road race in 1967, when I was 16. No C1s to be seen, but a couple Stingers there. On that day, on the 1.5 mile, 13 turn Waterford Hills road course, All the Chevys were beaten by a NSU TTS (D/Sedan) and a Porsche 911S (C/P), in the Combined Feature race.
That's not true at all..the shelby's were racing same year 327 powered corvettes virtually everywhere b class races were held.Earlier corvettes were present in many of these races but were not competitive against the 327 vettes or Shelbys.
Thanks for this . Always liked them..
Very informative..Thanks..
Always wanter to see a shortened wheelbase version of one of these. If I could be done without ruining the car's beautiful lines.
Corvair also had a couple of optional power packages you could order stock from the factory. One was the four down draft carbs, another was a twin turbo with two carbs and also a four barrel with a x shaped intake manifold. They were pretty creative back in those days. 😊😊😊
Nice. I've always known the Corvair got a bad rep. It wasn't nearly as bad as people think it was. If GM had continued with it's evolution we would have had something special. Thanks for this, there's a soft part in my heart for these cars. Had a 64 and I loved it.
I also was in the camp of people that just looked down on the Corvair but after watching the Jay Leno’s Garage video on this car my tune changed 👍
I had a 2nd gen 1968 stock one that had lived in FL all its life and even though it was 20 years old it was still in great shape. There was nothing unsafe about it. I had cragars and 60 series tires all around and it handled awesome, like a mini Corvette. I do remember you had to use low air pressure in the front tires so they wouldn't push. It was sorta rare in my opinion It was a light purple metallic, white interior, tinted glass, wood steering wheel, bumper guards, working factory a/c, 140hp, a powerglide, posi and the better suspension package. Unfortunately I was drunk one night and ramped a railroad track and when I landed the oil filter bracket broke and I drove it another couple blocks to the next bar and seized it up. I kept it around for over a year and never got around to repairing it so I sold it to a Corvair enthusiast that kept after me about buying it. He was a mechanic at the local Chevy garage so I knew he would rebuild it right. I saw it driving around for a few years and then after he passed I don't know where it went. I loved driving it and wish I still had it today for a daily driver. They are just a cool looking and driving car. The first one that I ever drove was a new 1961 station wagon, 4sp. I was 9 yrs old and my uncle let me drive his on a country road, I had been driving the farm truck around (on the farm) for a couple years with a pillow under me and behind me thanks to my grandfather who taught me how to drive. I haven't seen any Corvairs on the street for a few years, the last one I saw was in a parade last year. I sure miss them.
@@JT-SE-OHIO VW had the requirement for lower psi in the front tires as well. If the tire psi got out of wack the handling got strange.
Lee Iacocca was the one who created the ( UNSAFE At ANY SPEED ) story because he wasn't allowed to help with the engineering and was part of the Camaro engineering team
@@JT-SE-OHIO The front tire pressure thing wasn't just a Corvair thing. My Boxster (which I love dearly) is 29 front, 36 rear.
Very cool. I didn’t know any of that, thanks!!
Glad you enjoyed!
When I was in college I bought a 1965 Corsa Turbo. It was great fun, with a manual 4 speed. After a few months the headers blew out and with the turbo and all it would have cost a fortune, so my dad suggested we get stock headers and bypass the turbo. It worked. It developed an oil leak so the clutch was bathed in oil. It still worked but not well, but I just drove it, buying oil by the gallon. Then one winter on an icy road it spun out and plowed into a phone pole nose first. The front was pretty mangled, but nothing mechanical was damaged so I kept on driving it. I think my dad eventually drove it to the junkyard. Not proud of what I did to that car. One more thing, I lost my virginity in the back seat.
Love hearing these stories of people's experiences with the cars in the videos, makes the entire process so cool!
😂 you rock bro!
Thanks from England.
Thanks for watching, from the US!
Wish I still had one of the three I owned back in the 70s, a 65 base, a 65 Monza Conv. and a 66 Corsa 180hp.
In the 70s I had a65,66, and a67corsa. All convertibles. My last was a 69 coupe retrofi/ed with everything from the 67 Corsa. Modified with a 4 barrel Holley carb, cam and headers. Also a lot of mods to brakes and suspension. Lots of fun
love that styling. especially in race trim.
imagine a new interpretation of it.
right!? These were good looking cars
I'm in the process of building a Corvair engine for my '65 and hope to get close to that 240-250HP mark - naturally aspirated, of course. Turbos are fun, but add unnecessary complications and fuel system requirements I don't want to deal with. I pushed my Corvair hard, when it was driving and never felt out of control. This engine upgrade will really pep my baby up and give me the power I want - enough to use and abuse. gg
Awesome! Turbos are cool but sometimes you just can’t beat a NA setup
are you installing bigger pistons with VW jugs?
@@aliassmithandjones9453 I decided not to go that route and went with a set of Clark's aftermarket jugs and a max overbore. Not quite 3 1/2" bore.
@@rarecars3336 - The turbo Corvairs were at their best when cruising on the highway - punching the throttle at 60 mph and suddenly you gained a couple more cylinders of power! They were also great at high altitudes as their power didn't fall off above 4,000 feet like most NA engines. But the 4-carb 140s were a lot more tractable for the type of driving 90% of the public normally does.
The Spyder (Corvair turbo) ran on regular gas and did not have a waste-gate or pop-off valve, relying on back-pressure to keep the turbo in check.
Nice video, just subscribed. Like several people here, I had a 66 in high school and loved it.
I've owned air cooled 911s and Corvairs, love them both. Just a great configuration
Great video! Love the 2nd gen Corvair. My son and I built a '65 up. Want to get another one. Rear-engine, air cooled, crazy fan belt. He gave up when he realized his Corsa had less horsepower and was slower than his stock '04 Camry.
Sometimes it isn't about the horsepower!
Back in 2012-13 I daily drove a 64 Corvair Monza. Everything worked on it and never had an issue. It was sure fun to drive. Except getting even an oil filter to do regular tune-ups took planning because no local stores had any oil filters or basic parts in stock 😂
Saw a stage 3 one parked the other day and it lead me to this video.I grew up going to car shows with my pops so I knew what it was but didn't know the history, pretty cool car.
I owned 3 Corvair Monza coupes (1963, 1965, 1967). All of them were fun and reliable.
As a VW fan they look like America's version of a karmen Ghia type 3 love to see one in person but I'm in Australia so probably won't.. very cool
I'm decent with classic car knowledge and love all things Yenko - but I had no idea he ever worked on the Corvair model - thanks for posting this very educational and interesting vid !!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
The Corvair was the very first COPO car for Yenko. Won 10 divisional championships in 1966 and a National Championship in 1967 D production SCCA racing. There is some more Yenko history for you.
I took a 65-6 Corvair for test purchase ride, in believe 70s, came up to stop sign and nothing happened when applying brakes flew through intersection. dodging cars in light traffic. When we got back to the seller he pointed out, new brakes were in trunk in boxes. My college buddy brought me along cause he had no knowledge of cars, but he bought it anyway and was happy with it.
Don't really understand what "new brakes" in the trunk (which I assume would be new pads) have to do with brakes that are completely non-functional. The fix for that isn't pads. I'd look to see if there was any fluid as a starter.
@@williampotter2098 True , the car was due a complete brake job.
Loved my 65 140 hp Corvair. Handling really was phenomenal.
Enlightening!
i love these cars bloody cool
I have always loved this car ever since I first saw one
Such a cool looking car❤️
That is such a beautiful car.
Thanks for the opportunity to learn more about my Favorite Yenko. The only glitch I seen was you show a picture of a 427 L-88 as what went in the Yenko Camaro. I'm sure he'd put one in the Camaro but that's an Expensive Engine and was not Standard.
It doesnt worry me if it was competitive or not. These later Corvairs are my absolute dream car, you never see them here in Australia. First one i ever saw was on the screen in the movie "Fear"
They were very competitive. 10 divisional championships in 1966 and National Championship in 1967 D production SCCA racing.
Always looked like a Baby '66 Chevelle to me.
- When I finished installing the full stiffening roll-cage and 620HP turbocharged V8 in the back seat area, flaring the fenders and adding a designer Whale-Tail,
I custom made new nomenclature for the front fenders and trunk sporting the name: *_Turbo-Corvaira_*
...then I awoke, made coffee and thought to myself; "What a dream"
LOL, it does sort of look like a mini 66 chevelle you are right!
Damn...never thought of Corvair as a badass car but that my friends is one badass car...
A friend of mine had one for racing back around 1970. Cool car. I wanted a Corsica in 69, but funds were tight and I never got it.
My father bought a 63 vert in 65 when I was just a tot. Lots of good memories riding in that car growing up. In the mid 70's he bought a 65 Monza coup to commute to work. A few years later I bought a 65 Monza coup as a teenager and put a set of wide Camaro Rally rims on it with wide Goodyear radials. That car could corner like no other in that era. Fun car to drive and you know that engine is in the back. Drove a Corv-8 some years ago but the car was not very well built. I think the hot ticket would to put a 2.5 liter Subaru STI engine in the back with a 6 speed.
Nice video. I believe Yenko ordered the stripper version "500" model with the 140 and 4 speed as a starting car.
They are such pretty cars.
I never owned a Yenko Stinger, but I owned a '64 Spyder and then a '66 Corsa, both turbocharged. One day, while watching a slalom in a shopping center parking lot, I decided to enter the Corsa. Took the tool box out of the trunk, and ran it with no other changes. One my class, beating a 289 HP Mustang fastback, then became good friends with the owner. The Corsa was a great handling car, wish I still owned it.
Tech. point: That Mustang was 289 cubic inch displacement, not HP.
@@Loulovesspeed The Mustang fastback with the 289 was called a 289HP, with HP standing for High Performance, not horsepower.
I had the opportunity to drive the 4 speed 180 hp Corsa. It was fun
I loved my Corvair monza spyder...
Nice summary of the Yenko. As a 66 Monza owner I’ve always had a soft spot for the Corvair. Unless you owned and driven one you should keep your poor opinions to yourself. I’ve chased down Gen2 Corvettes before. The Corvette owner was not very happy I rained on his parade. The car would carve a.corner like nobody’s business. I’d die to have one with 220-250 hp.
Took my first driving test in one. Back then there was a complete kit available to use your own small block Chevy V8 for a mid-engine conversion. Think it was featured in Hot Rod magazine.
V8 Corvair = fun
I have a 66 in the driveway love this sat so much character. And the biggest problem was people always did the air pressure too high on the front tires and that works give poor handling
ok ok ok 3rd vid of urs ive watched..great content and well done..new sub
Thank you for sticking around!
@@rarecars3336 your content is in my opinion very well produced and presented for everyone who wants to know about performance trends and extreme exotics(domestic and foreign) and how they came to be..ty for the great edutainment ill be sharing
I'd love to have a Corvair. Yenko Stinger or not. They're just cool cars
I had a 67 GT-350 which I time trialed.
Riding in it gave my wife headaches so I traded it for an Abarth OTS 1000, she totaled it a month latter :(
I got a Corvair with 4 carbs, handling package, quick steering and Posi rear.
At Northhampton race track on LI I found the Corvair was quicker thru the corners than the Shelby.
But coming out of the corners I could open the Shelby up, the Corvair was already at it's red line :(
I really wish Chevy had gone forward with the OHC ASTRO concept engine with 2 3 barrel carbs and a the squirrel cage fans.
Hey there's a early model mid pack at 6:43 a well sorted early model can be a real sleeper.
I saw a corvair a few years ago not stock/ sound like it had a smb Chevy tucked in. Very nice rumble while going down the road.
I didn't have trouble driving the older cars but the 65 and up was a nice little car. With a crappy fly-apart engine. To a guy who learned to drive in flathead fords which didn't have problems with abusive driving, the covairs conked out a lot. My days pick-up broke a crank on the way to the coast. My cousin's corvair powered baja bug broke twice. The engine in the van had problems with the block. They just weren't tough enough for farm-boys, without some high class mechanicing.
What a beautiful car.
Saw Stingers at Sebring 12 hour original body style with oil coolers hanging out side in the air stream.
As a kid, a friend had a corvair spider.
290+hp, once you got used to rear engine(dif kind of driving from front engine car) was a beast.
The Spyder was rated and advertised at 180 h.p.
@@markmailander9571 not stock
@@briansharp4388 No s**t, Sherlock. What engine, pray tell, especially since the 'Vair engine rotated opposite to every other Detroit power plant.
@Mark Mailander 30+ years ago, so my dear whatson, was a cam, turbo, believe to6 Rajay (maybe t04)
Go to mid(he didnt) you flip the ring gear, same as a vw. You must belong to a corvair club, don't know where the hell you are coming from.
@Mark Mailander ps. We had 5 hour machine technology class instead of regular school....access to more machines than any other shop I have ever worked at, and after required projects we had 5 hrs a day too work on making our cars better. I was into Toyota 22r.
My father owned 4 Corvairs. He said they were the best that Chevy ever built.😊
certainly one of their most unique cars
I had a 64 spyder👍 fun little car for a 16 yr old
The Yenko Stinger has grown to be my favorite car and I’ve never driven one! 😂
Sounds like you need to build your own!
@@rarecars3336 Man! I would love to do that! I’ve owned 2 Miatas; one was a turbo, GT-500 and was looking at a 2016 GT-350 but my dream car would be the Yenko Stinger. The car won me over.
Cool 👍
I built a duplicate stage 2 engine and put it in a 64 Monza coupe that i had. I also modified the suspension and built up a 3.89 posi transaxle. The interior was gutted and a 60 Corvair gas heater was installed. It was an extremely fast Vair. I still have the engine and the heater. The car had been in a flood before i got it. It eventually dissolved.
240HP Corvair. Insane.
Right!? that's a quick car!
buddie had one of these, everytime we took a right turn at over 30mph we would get a batman smoke cloud out the back.. Every time i rebuilt one of these flat 6's years later for aircraft, I would think of those moments.
awesome story, thanks for sharing!
My nephew is actually rebuilding 2 corvairs rn an 1 works! Im so proud of him an he hasn't even graduated yet:)
That's Awesome!
I'd love to have a yenko corvair, Idk how I've never heard of these before now. I'd really like to have a corvair project car and drop an LS down in it and make it into a tire slayer lol.
Had 2 monza's and they leaked oil if the tube seals wore out ,cracked.. Change the tube seals and you get about 25,000mi, then smell the oil ,repeat..Loved it..
My buddies dad had a insane corvair when I was a teenager. We took it to Kenny bell (he was friends with Jim bell) and that thing put down over 600hp on the dyno. He hurt alot of feelings with that thing.
Sweet!
Apparently they assembled some Corvairs here in Switzerland
love it!
Glad you enjoyed!
My dad had an army buddy with a corvair, who gave him the opportunity to drive it once. After that drive, he was never invited to drive it again, but Dad always spoke highly of the corvair's handling. 🤣
if you look at the silhouette top of the finders all the way to the rear cropping off the roof line of the corvair it is the basic shape of the camaro
You are right it kinda does!
That is an awesome car
.😊😊😊. Corvair are great cars and that one is the cream of the crop!😊😊😊
During a low time in my life I was forced to buy a very cheap inexpensive car, the lowest price decent running car I could find in 1981 was off a cousin for $250! That was a low mileage (42,000), 20 year old 1961 Corvair 500 Coupe, the most basic with non Syncro three speed trans, 80 hp 148 ci flat six with two carbs. In silver with white roof and silver and blue interior with bench seats. The only repair I had to do over 4 trouble free years was a clutch cable in the first month. After searching everywhere I was given the ph number of a place in my home state of MA, called Clark’s Corvair Parts, where to this day you can find just about anything you need. I also ordered a dual exhaust stinger system that really sounded great. Plus new NOS Delco HD shocks and some cool looking 14” chrome slotted steel wheels I added H50-14 B. F. Goodrich T/A radial tires. That all together added a sporty look and feel. From there I found a 1965 Monza Convertible 4 speed with only 48,000 miles in 84, off the original owner. That was fun while it lasted till I got married and sold in 1989 to build a house. Then my wife and I found a beautiful 1964 Red Monza Convertible 4 speed 110hp, we kept till 2003! But in 1992 I found the best one ever I kept for 6 years and sold to buy a house on The Vineyard. It was a last year 1969 Monza Coupe in dark bronze with gold painted roof and beautiful black interior that looked an felt like a Camaro with a flat floor. That had a PowerGlide 2 speed, but had a 3:42 posi rear. That had only 19,000 miles! I brought that car to the National Corvair Convention in VA Beach, there I took 3rd place with 88 points, plus 2nd place in the economy run. Needless to say I loved those cars! The only car I considered the only one to own with no AC, as all the heat is behind you, plus having floor vents on each side and wing vent windows! Plus the best rwd car in snow! I remember making it to work plowing snow in the 61 coupe I had 4 H70-13 FireStone Town&Country Snow tires on if for the winter, the only serious shortcoming was little heat and no defrosters! Nothing a little Rain-X and plug in aftermarket defroster could not handle, with a couple extra batteries in a box in the trunk that was in the front! Even though it was only 6” off the ground it was fantastic in snow, 6” wet heavy snow and 12” powdery snow. The only other two wheel drive car as good was a 1971 Olds Tornado I owned!
Thanks. Good video on an interesting car!
Gen II Corvairs had the same suspension design as the then current Corvette Stingrays. A transverse leaf spring center attached to the transaxle. Gen Ii was an amazing car, but by then Nader had done his damage.
And then there was the fan belt issue.......
I love the later corvair 2 door, supercharger/turbo 6 cyl
I am 63 years old and I have been an ASE Certified Automobile Technician for most of my life. I think the Chevrolet Corvar was and still is, an excellent automobile. The closest car to a Porsche 911 is actually a Corvair. Both vehicles are the same mechanical configuration. My parents owned one as my grandparents also owned one and I have drove and worked on many. Unsafe at any speed? NOT A CHANCE! Please reply. Dave...
I think the corvair got an unfair treatment, people need to understand the physics of driving a rear engine car!
Productio
@@user-pl6hi3qm4y What do you mean by Productio?
A friend of mine had a John Fitch Corvair, that I got to drive once. AWESOME handling. The guy my friend bought it from also had a Porsche and said the Corvair would out-handle the Porsche.
I read an article about th Fitch It had a unique body built on a Corvair underpinnings. John Fitch was a race car driver and also became notable for designing highway safety crash implementation.
GM got the Year Suspension sorted out on the last Generation of Covair..
Chevy built a couple of dream cars in the late sixties called the Monza GT. They would be a good baseline to build from.
Our neighbor bought a new 1967 Monza when I was a kid. . I was 14 and he took me for a ride in it and it hauled ass.
My brother had a 66 Corvair with a 4barrel quadrojet carburator on each side of the engine..I think it was called a spider but I don't remember what horsepower it had
My friends father had a convertible corvair with a supercharged 327 in the backseat area. It was an insanely quick ride but keeping the front-end on the ground was a major issue. There would have been so many challenges to make a road track worthy V8 model Corvair come to fruition especially in weight distribution. Think about this for a second the pancake 6 cylinder block like the Volkswagen bug engine was made out of magnesium which is far lighter of a material than a cast iron block with cast iron heads. The handling dynamics of the car with a V-8 are sketchy at best, unless in a straight line and Yenko wasn't looking for a quarter mile machine.
On a side note the Corvair originally was to receive a rotary engine. It would have been interesting to see what craziness a tri rotor setup like what is done with many RX-7s would have been like but GM scrapped the idea based on Emissions and MPG issues. Oh well, maybe someone will build a barn find with a rear mounted Mazda swapped rotary just for giggles.
Corvairs NEVER were to get a rotary, least-wise not from the factory. Ford's Probe had that particular problem. GM couldn't get the engine to work out right; had it worked, the Probe would have had a GM engine!
@@markmailander9571 my father was a GM tech and he was the one that told me it was originally concepted with a rotary before the boxer 6 came into play. He said they had experienced cooling, emissions, and mpg issues and that is why it never made production with a rotary and wound up with an air-cooled flat 6. He also owned more than one Corvair and told me that the early models were prone to severe body roll and were prone to rolling over when cornering at high speed. I had no cause to doubt his information. That is not to say he was right or wrong either.
@@killacoiler1707 Hmm. Are you sure you are not confusing the later front-engine cars that carried the MONZA name with the Corvair? THAT car was indeed designed to take a Wankel rotary engine. Fuel consumption was the big reason GM gave up on it. The legacy that the original design foisted on the Monza was that the transmission tunnel was higher than it needed to be on the production piston cars.
Have you ever done a feature on the AAR 'Cuda? I think several 'Cudas & Barracudas may fit your definition of rare.
Love those AAR Cudas, they're one of my all time favorite cars, that strobe stripe just looked so cool.
Some dude had one in college. Never saw the driver but i would see the car all over ft.collins CO when i was delivering pizza
Wow that is a rare car to spot, its sick that you saw one!
It was nice that you didn't give any acknowledgment to that guy who help set back the American car industry. After the problem with the early Corvairs was solved, we would have been on track to compete against the Japanese cars.
The Japanese cars bet the American cars by trying to make good cars, not pieces of shit Detroit pawned off on us in the eighties. Example, a four door Mercury Cougar. All Detroit was concerned about as profit not good cars.
@@danapicray9040 That was the point in my comment. Detroit was about making money and they built a few sporty versions for PR to make it, but Porsche and other European companies built race cars because they loved cars. Porsche did it better and longer than the others so they won in the end.
The ONLY problem with any Corvairs was the use of basic rubber o-rings on the push rod tubes, that heat-hardened, cracked, and spewed oil like Exxon Valdez. There was NO problem as described by the non-practicing lawyer, as was proven four years AFTER Corvair's demise.
@@markmailander9571 You did not read Nader's book. He had no problem with the gen-2 Corvairs.
@@philipethier9136 Apparently you did not read what I wrote or your reading skills and comprehension are very weak. Nader's criticism was of what MIGHT happen to the Corvair in a very specific stuation but was instead presented as "what DOES happen", under which virtually any car of any era might possibly roll over. Which is the point published by the University of Texas study in 1973.
" Mike Musto " ??? Is that you narrating ?? Well Done... Great Car.. Great Vid..
Hahah this is not Mike Musto but I love his content!
@@rarecars3336 Ok.. Thanks for the heads up.. It really does sound like him..
POR-sche Thank for the info!