. . . And Speaking of Corvairs . . .

Saw mention of a Corvair on another thread here, a few days ago.

Always liked these cars. Owned a '65 Corsa for a few years . . . the post-'65s are good-looking --- still. Considering these cars were rear-engined 6-cylinders . . . and presaged the 911 by a few years --- I'm surprised not to see more mention of them made here. Chevrolet also turbo'd the Corvair --- a decade before Porsche did the 911. Corvairs were raced a lot, back in the day. I remember the Fitch. And the Yenko.

And the Crown conversion.

Turbos and tuning are one way to get more power. Crown did things the old-fashioned way . . .

Rick Kreiskott

Here's more Corv-eight . . .

http://www.corvaircorsa.com/crown1.html

. . . and pics.

Rick Kreiskott

Here is a pretty well done Stinger replica that I saw last summer at Fort Adams, and a very cool Corvair powered Devin D that was at the Mt. Equinox Hill Climb. Still driven quickly by the original owner/builder pictured.

That V8 looks the bidness, was the conversion actually done by Smokey Yunick?

.................. :cool:

I learned how to drive on a 63 , and then my first car was a 65. Swing axle oversteer monsters! My dream was to convert my to Yenko Stinger Specs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Garfield

. . . was the conversion actually done by Smokey Yunick?

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Gawd --- could you imagine? His Cheviness tweeking a V8 in a Corvair? What a nightmare!

But nope . . . Turns out that there was a Corvair meet of some sort, in the area --- the Guy finished the project, then made a visit before The Man passed away. But that picture does kinda gives one pause --- doesn't it? . . .

Rick Kreiskott

I learned to drive in a '67 -- 140 hp 4-barrel 4-speed, butternut yellow with black interior. Great car. It had a nice "kick" if you took care to adjust the secondary's to open at exactly the same time. If only Chevy had been a litlte more careful with the weight. I pulled the seats out of the car once...for a fairly narrow bucket, I couldn't believe they could be that heavy.

No longer have it, but indirectly it did lead me to the '68. They had bumper stickers for Corvairs that said "Poor Man's Porsche." When I found the '68, my curiousity got the best of me with the old "I wonder how they compare."

I still toy around with the idea of getting another and check eBay from time to time, although it just might push my wife over the edge.

BTW, a local attorney campaigned a Yenko Stinger (below) for years until it slowly became uncompetitive in class. I asked him once where he got it. His answer surprised me...he said his sister bought it new and later sold it to him!