Corvair project

Thanks everyone for the comments.  Lynn, that's a pity about the one you owned.  At least it fried before you paid the DMV to transfer the title!  Mike, both the '63 and my '64 had the original black plates.  For a time, I was driving a '69 Ford Country Squire 9 passenger station wagon (with 429 CID engine, wow!) that also had the black plates.  Before I got rid of that car, the rear plate fell off?  was removed by someone?  and I had to get new plates all around.  It eventually ended up going to the junkyard, through the state buyback program to get the old cars off the street.  Got more money than I could have sold it for.  That was a nice car, very heavy, though.  Didn't need a radio (although it had a good sound system), you could watch the needle of the gas gauge drop for entertainment.  High compression, premium gas.  But I digress...

Thank you, James.  Corvairs are notorious oil leakers.  The O-rings on the pushrod tubes break down with the heat over time, and tend to leak.  Six cylinders (yes, air cooled, mohs.  No radiator.), so twelve valves, twelve push rods and tubes, times two ends - 24 O-rings that can leak!  Same as a Volkswagen or old Porsche, but six cylinders instead of four.

I drove it to Home Depot a few weeks ago.  Talked to a guy that liked the look of it.  He was from Russia (the other St Pete. lol), and probably had never seen one before.  I told him I would be selling it, and he was interested.  He wondered if parts were still available for it, I told him about Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, MA.  They have molds for making many of the parts.  I've spent a bit of money with them over the years, but very happy with them.  Anyway, he said he was looking for a new project, so he took my number and said her would do some research.  I've not heard back from him.  But that may be because he wanted a car with air conditioning!  I'm not sure, but I think there may have been that available, either from Chevy or an aftermarket company.  Not sure.

Larry, those wing windows were the easiest way to break into them!  In my '64, I kept a wad of folded up paper underneath the lever to hold the dang thing tight.  I hated the whistle it made if it wasn't all the way closed.

Aware of Nader and the negativity surrounding Corvairs, Andy.  I never felt "unsafe" while driving my '64. That was the first year they had a transverse leafspring across the differential, going to each rear axle. It limited the "tucking" that could cause a rollover if you took a turn too fast. 1961 - 1963 did not have it. Then in 1965, they went to the larger body style. Never had one of those later models, so don't know anything about their suspension.

The earliest models, when taking a turn too fast, the outer wheel on the curve would grab, and the inner one would slide towards it, putting a bow into the suspension. It would reach a critical point where it would break free and "hop" sideways, is what I would call it. Experienced it once in the '61 Lakewood wagon my dad owned. Guess as long as you were aware of the possibility of that happening, and you just took it easy, not a problem.  You could abuse a Mustang, but these you had to baby a little bit.

Although the photos of it look okay/good (60 MPH paint job, lol!), it needs new paint, new dash and interior, carpeting, a bunch of little stuff.  (That stuff all adds up!)  Twenty years ago, my dad had a local guy paint it.  He stripped it (supposedly) down to bare metal, before repainting it the original color.  The paint didn't "fit" and so is not smooth on the primer.  I have to wonder if that bad paint job my dad paid good money for is part of the reason he lost interest in it? It would've broke my heart.

Again, thanks for all the comments and stories.  Will try to keep this updated.  Jean