Seven Corvairs In A Barn
We have all heard the stories of guys finding abandoned buildings full of rare cars. Well, that doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes we do run into great finds like this one. The seller says they are cleaning out their barn and everything must go! There are seven Corvairs in there and two of them are convertibles as well as one turbo. They all look rough, but if the seller’s listing price of $3,500 is for the whole lot, then it’s a bargain. Find them here on craigslist out of Waverly, Nebraska. A big thanks goes to Greg D. for sending this in.
Here are the VINs taken from the craigslist ad. See if you can connect them to their corresponding car.
20967W319988. Body type:CNV0967. CONVERTIBLE 1962
105675W255436. MODEL: MONZA. CONVERTIBLE 1965
105378W104014. SPT CPE. 1968. MODEL 10537
209270123027. 2 DR MONZA CPE. 1962. MODEL : 927
40627W155251. 2 DR CPE. 1964
105375W277179 2 dr coupe red
101375W104434 2 dr coupe white
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Comments
Screw the Corvairs, I want the Fiero!
Had a 60’s Corvair back in the day. Drove it from Toronto to Winnipeg in the Fall.Felt a little woozy on the trip. Much later I received a letter from GM advising caution that exhaust fumes on the Corvair could possibly be vented thru the heater!!! I put two 50lb sandbags in the trunk and studded snow tires all round for winter. Never got stuck in the snow. :-)
At least they’re all inside, where they should be. Looks like some restorable units along with a couple of parts cars. Should make a Corvair enthusiast very happy.
A couple of our members have 6 & 7 of these but each one is better then the next,…. these look like parts cars. I am sure Corvair Ranch or one of the other guys would like to get there hands on this stuff. As for me doing the VIN ID, no I couldn’t but a few of our members could do this in a heart beat.
We used to place gym weights in the front ends to help even things out on the freeway…….ahhh the good ol’ days………….doh’
I wonder if the 911 guys did that?
I doubt it………
Actually, Porsche did put weights in the front of the 1968 911 to help balance the extreme rear weight bias of the car. They used two 24-lb cast metal weights, and they were attached to the inside of the front bumper at the ends.
Bought a 1965 Burgundy Corvair Monza 4spd with 4X1 carbs. Low mileage Buffalo car that had little rust but wouldn’t run well at all. Changed out plugs and blew out air cleaner. Turns out the little old lady never drove it in the wintr and had never driven it on an expressway. The throttle linkages to the secnodary carbs were rusted shut and the carbs were full of gummy gas and crud. 4 zip kits later I had it running, throttle linkage stuck and I broke pushrods. New pushrods and put back together with another sump of clean oil and I was off and running. Except for the heater fumes (vent window open even in winter) it was a good car, especially in Buffalo winter. Two tool boxes in front with a full tank stiffened the steering. As I only paid $125 for it, I sold it to a junk yard when something in the transmission let go and although it would shift, it wouldn’t move forward or back. I’d still like a light blue 1966 or later Corsa convertible. Pretty car and not hard to work on, but it felt fragile.
The Corsa’s were only made in 65 & 66, they were available in 140 4 carb or180 turbo 4 sps only no auto for that car….. As for adding weight in the front of these cars, no need, the 911 guys didn’t do it, I didn’t do it ,it is a change in driving style, that’s all.
As to the weights in the front of the Corvair, in fact, the Swiss government required 50lb weights in the front end of early 911s due to the instability of the car.
My dad has a 65 Monza Convertible just like the one in there. Its even maroon like that one. I wonder if he’ll send us a backseat…. my dads been looking for one for more than 20 years
Join a club, but a company like Clarks Corvair or Corvair Ranch can provide you with that.
That price is fair! The history of these little gems is worth $3500. What a great find for somebody in need of a parts car. Or better yet, bring one or two of these back to life. I hope you can do a follow up on the outcome. Thank you!
That price might be fair in Nebraska, but these are still plentiful in California. If you look for a month or so you can find a running Corvair here for under a thousand dollars easily.
40627W155251. 2 DR CPE. 1964
The “627” in the VIN identifies this one as a Spyder (Turbo) coupe. ’64 was the only year the Spyder was given it’s own model designation. In ’62/3 and ’65/6 it was considered an option on the highest trim level.
These were GM’s answer to the VW and the other small imports that were taking market share in the late 1950s. Altho they were popular and well liked when new, they developed more problems than GM’s conventional cars with water cooled engines, so the market for them cooled. Then Ralph Nader came along with his crusade against the Big Car Business, and sales didn’t get any better. The wildly popular Mustang probably didn’t help Corvair sales, either. By 1969 the Corvair was history, unfortunately.
This group is cheap, but the logistics of getting them home and then storing and working on them are……difficult. The last thing you want to see happen is that they go into some guy’s field, to be “restored”, “someday”. Better that they go to Corvair Ranch and sold or parted out by guys who know what they are doing.
Ditto.
Back in the early eighty’s I was working for a small town Chevy dealer. When the guy bought the dealership that had been closed for a number of years, he had us going through the inventory of old nos parts, there was a huge room full of them. Well it turned out that about 80% of them were corvair parts. There was also a couple of old early corvairs a two dr and a 4dr. monzas. For the next few years if there was not much work in the shop, I would work on the vair’s. The cars were solid and he had them painted. I replaced all of the parts on both before it was over, even rebuilt the power glides. I thought the trannies were the easiest to pull, the were only a couple feet long and bolted on the front of the tras-axel. they both ended up being nice cars and he sold them and got a corvair p/u rampside.
A FRIEND OF MINE HAD A SPIDER AND DID WE HAVE FUN IN IT.ONCE YOU GET THE HANG OF THE FRONT END WASHING OUT THEY WERE PRETTY FAST AND FUN TO DRIVE. I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING,YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET ONE OR TWO CARS COMPLETED WITH WHAT IS THERE.SHOULD BE FUN.
Dolphin, I have a Volkswagon brochure from 1957 that I obtained from a sale at the Detroit Public library years ago. It has a stamp on the cover PROPERTY OF GENERAL MOTORS RESEARCH LAB. Very interesting piece. Clearly GM was planning something as far back as ’57.
This Corvair find reminds me of….well myself. I purchased a wearhouse about years ago that had 7 Corvairs. 5 Greenbrier Vans and a Rampside inside. They too were restoration projects, There were also many spare engines and parts.
No problem of finding someone to take the vehicles. After some time I found a guy who builds airplanes from Indiana. He was glad to get these engines….to power his airplanes! Said it worked out rather well in a light weight plane.
What are your thoughts of taking flight in a Corvair powered airplane? Please no leaking oil jokes!
While I haven’t seen these for myself, I know they have been using these air cooled motors for years. As for the oil leaks, like all technology, the O ring seals & other seals have been improved over the years. The great thing about these cars is you can get into this fun project for about the same $’s as people spend for tire/ wheel packages, they are fun to drive,at 2400 lbs &150HP they are no slug.
Any mention of titles?
Many things to consider if buying the lot. Paperwork is an issue mentioned. Logistics is another. When you see a large group of cars collected it is important for you to know what you are buying. It may seem like a great deal but there are many hidden costs you will experience when moving and transporting. Often people who hoard cars fill them with other treasure. This guy knew how to maximize space. What you do not want to happen is (and I have been involved) When digging the cars out (after you paid in full) the owner picks through the cars while you are there. Oh this was not part of the sale etc.So when you attempt to buy a lot of something and it is going to take you a few days/weeks to move GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING and TAKE PLENTY OF PICS.