Quick, what is the most controversial American car ever built? That is it Edsel? The Pontiac Fiero? The Chrysler Airflow? It’s not a serious question, because we all already know the answer: Chevrolet Corvair. Today Junkyard gem was built during the final stages of Corvair production and is currently located a self-service car cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Pick Your Part just closed its old, muddy Denver operation on Federal Avenue and moved it a new location closer to the I-70/I-25 interchange. Cars sit on the sidewalk instead of dirt, there are nice views of downtown Denver, a taco truck sells lunch in the parking lot, and all inventory is fresh for opening day opens April 1.
I was one of the first customers on the scene that morning, and so the Corvair was still fully badged when I found it.
More than 2 million Corvairs were produced for the 1960 through 1969 model years, and many of them still sit in driveways, garages and yards waiting for repairs that never arrive. That means it’s not too difficult to find GM’s radical rear-engine compacts in junkyards to this day.
Since I started writing about Gems and treasures of discarded automotive history in 2007, I documented more than a dozen Corvairs in places like this, including a 1960 700 sedan, a 1962 700 wagon, other 1962 700 wagons, a 1962 Monza Club Coupe, a 1962 Rampside pickup truck, a 1963 Monza Club Coupe, another 1963 coupe, another 1963 coupe, There’s still a 1963 coupe left, a 1964 convertible, a 1964 Monza sedan, a 1965 Monza coupe, a 1968 Monza coupe And several dozen Corvairs were sitting in a field near Pikes Peak.
The history of the Corvair is too complex for me to fully cover here, so I recommend you read every word of it. Automotive historian Aaron Severson’s hauntingly researched article on the subject before we continue.
The short version is this: The number of American car buyers choosing small imported cars increased during the second half of the 1950s, with Volkswagen beetle And Renault Dauphines moved out of showrooms in enough numbers to make Detroit at least lightly worry. American Motors Corporation has taken advantage of this trend by building Compact Ramblerswhich sell very well, sell best. Chrysler, Ford and GM each began developing compact cars that would launch as 1960 models.
Chrysler and Ford introduced a number of engineering and styling innovations with the brave man And Eagle, but those cars were still traditional machines with front-mounted water-cooled engines and rear-wheel drive. On the other hand, General Motors chose to go basic with his new compact Chevrolet.
To save weight and allow the use of a flat floor in the passenger compartment, the Corvair received an air-cooled boxer-six engine in the rear of the car. Combining the transmission and differential assemblies into a single transmission and eliminating the liquid cooling system created an agile and efficient car, with the first Corvairs weighing around 2,300 pounds.
With bench seats and a flat floor, six people would fit inside (Americans were smaller in those days and more tolerant of being crammed together in cars). Of course, there are some obvious limitations to the rear-engine/air-cooled design; For one thing, it’s difficult to heat an air-cooled car in cold weather. What proved to be more significant for Corvair sales was the differential handling you get with a rear-heavy vehicle equipped with a swing-axle suspension compared to a livery. The “traditional” front engine that most Americans have been driving since the days of the Ford Model T.
Comedian Ernie Kovacs died in a highly publicized Corvair crash by 1962, and stories of Corvairs being destroyed in oversteer accidents, axle jacking became common (many Corvair owners ignored Chevrolet’s recommendation to keep Corvair tire pressures front at 15 psi, which doesn’t help). Corvair sales were strongest in 1961 and 1962, declined steadily from 1963 to 1965, then declined in 1966. Ralph Nader and his book “Unsafe at Any Speed”. takes most of the blame for the Corvair’s demise from today’s enthusiasts, but that book wasn’t published until late 1965 and didn’t receive much attention until quite a bit the following year.
Chevrolet equipped the Corvair with a true independent rear suspension in 1965, but few people paid attention at the time. Sober hindsight shows that the Corvair was not significantly more dangerous than other compact cars of its era (in fact, just about). all of which are all death traps by modern standards), but car buyers still stay away. Only 15,399 Corvairs were produced 1968 modelcompared to 377,371 for the 1961 model.
The stiffest competition for the Corvair comes from the Chevrolet division itself, in the form of Chevy II/Nova. Introduced as a 1962 model, that car looked and drove like a smaller version of the best-selling Chevys, while being only slightly larger (and cheaper) than its showroom neighbor. cooled by air. Starting with the 1963 model year, Chevy II sales beat those of the Corvair and never backed down. As if the Corvair needed more trouble, for 1964 Ford introduced it a sports car based on the Falcon competes directly with the Corvair Monza coupe.
The interior of this car is very rough after decades of outdoor storage. I found a 1995 registration document inside, and there’s a 1997 Colorado emissions inspection sticker on the windshield, so it’s safe to say it hasn’t driven itself in at least a quarter of a century.
Passengers are encouraged to light up inside.
This car is a base Sports car 500 (By 1968, there were only Corvair hardtop coupes and convertibles, in 500 and Monza trim levels), and it had a 95-horsepower engine.
1968 was the first year the Corvair had “Gas Injection Reactor” system, also known as “smoke pump”. Most owners have removed and discarded their AIR hardware, but this car still has all the engine parts intact.
What is unusual is that it is purchased by optional two speeds Powerglide automatic transmission instead of base three people on the floor or optional four-story manual. This car would go pretty slow, even by 1968 standards, with the basic engine and two-speed transmission. MSRP for this car is $2,243 ($20,412 in 2024 dollars) with the three-speed manual transmission, with the Powerglide adding $153 ($1,392 after inflation).
The body is rust-free and this is a rare late-production Powerglide, but the project Corvairs aren’t valuable enough to save them all from junkyard fate. The good news is that Corvair parts, both used and remanufactured, are still relatively easy to come by. If you’re looking for a 1960s Detroit project car that looks cool and is fun to drive, the Corvair is a wise choice.
Clinging to the road like claws!
