Fast, what’s essentially the most controversial American automotive ever constructed? Was it the Edsel? The Pontiac Fiero? The Chrysler Airflow? That wasn’t a critical query, as a result of all of us know the reply already: the Chevrolet Corvair. At this time’s Junkyard Gem was constructed over the past gasps of Corvair manufacturing and now resides in a self-service automotive graveyard in Denver, Colorado.
Choose Your Half simply shut down its funky, muddy outdated Denver operation on Federal Boulevard and moved it to a brand new location nearer to the I-70/I-25 interchange. The vehicles sit on pavement as an alternative of filth, there is a good view of downtown Denver, a taco truck sells lunches within the parking zone, and all of the stock was recent for the April 1 grand opening.
I used to be one of many first prospects to indicate up that morning, and so the Corvair nonetheless had all its badges when I discovered it.
Greater than 2 million Corvairs have been constructed for the 1960 by way of 1969 mannequin years, and loads of them nonetheless sit in driveways, garages and yards awaiting repairs that by no means come. Which means it isn’t too troublesome to seek out examples of GM’s radical rear-engined compact in junkyards to at the present time.
Since I began writing about discarded gems and treasures of automotive historical past in 2007, I’ve documented greater than a dozen Corvairs in locations like this, together with a 1960 700 sedan, a 1962 700 wagon, one other 1962 700 wagon, a 1962 Monza Membership Coupe, a 1962 Rampside pickup, a 1963 Monza Membership Coupe, one other 1963 coupe, one more 1963 coupe, nonetheless yet another 1963 coupe, a 1964 convertible, a 1964 Monza sedan, a 1965 Monza coupe, a 1968 Monza coupe and some dozen Corvairs sitting in a discipline close to Pikes Peak.
The historical past of the Corvair is just too complicated for me to cowl adequately right here, so I counsel that you simply go learn each phrase of automotive historian Aaron Severson’s obsessively researched article on the topic earlier than we go on.
The quick model goes like this: Growing numbers of American automotive buyers have been selecting small imported vehicles through the second half of the Nineteen Fifties, with Volkswagen Beetles and Renault Dauphines shifting out of showrooms in enough portions to make Detroit a minimum of barely nervous. The American Motors Company cashed in on the pattern by constructing compact Ramblers, which bought very effectively. Chrysler, Ford and GM every started creating compact vehicles that might debut as 1960 fashions.
Chrysler and Ford launched some engineering and styling improvements with the Valiant and Falcon, however these vehicles have been nonetheless fairly conventional machines with water-cooled engines mounted up entrance and driving the rear wheels. Common Motors, however, selected to go radical with its new Chevrolet compact.
To avoid wasting weight and permit using a flat flooring within the passenger compartment, the Corvair acquired an air-cooled boxer-six engine within the rear of the automotive. Combining the transmission and differential assemblies right into a single transaxle unit and eliminating the liquid cooling system resulted in a nimble and environment friendly car, with the primary Corvairs scaling in at round 2,300 kilos.
With bench seats and a flat flooring, six occupants would match inside (People have been each smaller and extra tolerant of compacting collectively in vehicles again then). There are some apparent drawbacks to the air-cooled/rear-engine design, after all; it is troublesome to warmth an air-cooled automotive in chilly climate, for one factor. What proved to be extra important for Corvair gross sales was the completely different dealing with you get with a rear-heavy automotive outfitted with a swingaxle suspension versus the “traditional” front-engined vehicles most People had been driving for the reason that days of the Ford Mannequin T.
Comic Ernie Kovacs died in a broadly publicized Corvair crash in 1962, and tales of Corvairs wiping out in oversteering, axle-jacking crashes grew to become commonplace (many Corvair homeowners disregarded Chevrolet’s suggestion of preserving entrance Corvair tire stress at 15 psi, which did not assist issues). Corvair gross sales have been strongest in 1961 and 1962, declined steadily from 1963 by way of 1965, then nosedived in 1966. Ralph Nader and his “Unsafe at Any Speed” e book get many of the blame for the Corvair’s demise from lovers at the moment, however that e book wasn’t printed till late 1965 and did not get a lot consideration till pretty deep into the next yr.
Chevrolet gave the Corvair a real impartial rear suspension for 1965, however few paid a lot consideration by that time. Sober hindsight reveals that the Corvair wasn’t considerably extra harmful than different compact vehicles of its period (in truth, nearly all of them have been deathtraps by trendy requirements), however automotive buyers stayed away. Simply 15,399 Corvairs have been constructed as 1968 fashions, versus 377,371 for the 1961 mannequin yr.
The harshest competitors for the Corvair got here from inside the Chevrolet Division itself, within the type of the Chevy II/Nova. Launched as a 1962 mannequin, that automotive appeared and drove like a smaller model of the huge-selling large Chevys, whereas being simply barely larger (and cheaper) than its air-cooled showroom neighbor. Beginning with the 1963 mannequin yr, Chevy II gross sales beat Corvair gross sales and by no means appeared again. As if the Corvair wanted extra bother, for 1964 Ford launched a sporty Falcon-based automotive that competed instantly in opposition to the Corvair Monza coupe.
This automotive’s inside could be very tough from a long time of out of doors storage. I discovered 1995 registration paperwork inside and there is a 1997 Colorado emissions-testing sticker on the windshield, so it is a secure wager that it hadn’t pushed underneath its personal energy for a minimum of a quarter-century.
Passengers have been inspired to mild up inside.
This automotive is a base 500 Sport Coupe (by 1968, solely Corvair hardtop coupes and convertibles have been obtainable, in 500 and Monza trim ranges), and it has the 95-horsepower engine.
1968 was the primary yr for the Corvair with the “Air Injector Reactor” system, in any other case generally known as the “smog pump.” Most homeowners eliminated and discarded their AIR {hardware}, however this automotive nonetheless has all its authentic engine elements.
Unusually, it was bought with the optionally available two-speed Powerglide computerized transmission as an alternative of the bottom three-on-the-floor or optionally available four-on-the-floor handbook. This automotive would have been fairly gradual, even by 1968 requirements, with the bottom engine and two-speed slushbox. The MSRP for this automotive was $2,243 ($20,412 in 2024 {dollars}) with three-speed handbook, with the Powerglide including $153 ($1,392 after inflation).
The physique is not rusty, and it is a uncommon late-production Powerglide automotive, however challenge Corvairs simply aren’t value sufficient to spare all of them from a junkyardy destiny. The excellent news is that Corvair elements, each used and replica, are nonetheless comparatively straightforward to acquire. In the event you’re in search of a Nineteen Sixties Detroit challenge automotive that appears cool and is enjoyable to drive, the Corvair is a sensible selection.
Clings to the street prefer it had claws!