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1962 Corvair Coupe - a silly restoration


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Like Charlie Brown said about the Christmas tree: "it needed me". Yes, I know most everyone on the forum would have done a better, and more convincing job, but this was a quick project just to get the creative juices flowing. It was an inexpensive ebay find that had the custom front and rear facias glued on. The stock parts were not included. The grainy picture is the actual ebay thumbnail of the car...you get the idea. It seemed to be painted with tar and ink. The red paint used actually stained the plastic to a somewhat pinkish color so I decided to keep it red. After stripping it with multiple applications of Easy Off, I sanded the body and tried to get rid of the glue rash where the custom pieces were applied.

Not having the stock parts, and with Modelhaus going away, I had to get creative, and visited my parts stash . I wanted this to be a stock-appearing Corvair, but it is somewhat customized. I cleaned up and used the wheels it came with.

But if you look closely at the front end, those are Johan '62 Chrysler headlights. They were a near-perfect fit with no modification (though they do make it a bit bug-eyed...like an NSU Prinz).

The front bumper is from an AMT '68 Camaro.

The rear bumpers are from the AMT '62 Corvette, and the taillights are the custom headlight bezels from the same kit.

Finally, the lower rear valance is a trimmed down side skirt from the AMT '65 Oldsmobile Modified Stocker.

Thanks for looking! I had fun tinkering with this. No, it's not perfect but it does look cute on the shelf. Cheers!

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Extremely nice save!

You can tweak it even more (without risk) by washing the chrome between the headlights. Spend a whopping dollar or so, and get some kids' watercolor paints then wash the area between the headlights. After that dries, use a dampened business card to wipe away the excess. The results are shown below on a '40 Ford grille.

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7 minutes ago, BigTallDad said:

Extremely nice save!

You can tweak it even more (without risk) by washing the chrome between the headlights. Spend a whopping dollar or so, and get some kids' watercolor paints then wash the area between the headlights. After that dries, use a dampened business card to wipe away the excess. The results are shown below on a '40 Ford grille.

 

Thank you, and thanks for the tip. I used to do some-such-similar about 30 years ago  (including on an actual Johan Chrysler) , so I may just have to do it again :

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Amazing save . If you didn't know much about the details of the early Corvair  you might not even notice the nonstock parts. The rear bumper actually looks better than the original to my eye. I see what you mean about the headlights being slightly out of proportion, but with the suggested black wash I think you would hardly notice.  The paint work looks great also.  

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Hey, you made something from nothing!  I enjoy restoring those old orphans and giving them new life.  That back bumper is actually an improvement!  Great work!  

I do have a few Corvair customs that look pretty good with the custom parts.  So I've put them in my Olde Kustom Kollection.

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Great save .  I worked for years with the Help of Modelhaus rounding up missing Corvair Parts  . I don't even admire Corvairs , yet here I am . I onned and tried to keep running one  '60 MY 4 dr at 6 years old . I was 17 , the Car was worn out at 33 K . I could not fix it fast enough . This is a tribute build of the "White Pumpkin" Yes , the kit has a defect with the rear Valance trying to escape the body . My 1:1 was like this , I left it be  I spent many Hours glaring at the underside . Constant Exahaust repair . Clutch Shaft R&R  . Differential rebuild . Now if I can only replicate my smudged greasy hand-prints underneath  :( . Thanx ..  

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Great save! I'm a BIG fan of Corvairs as they were very much a part of my life as a kid in the '60's. I had an Uncle that knew them inside and out and over the years, owned MANY Corvairs. I have a number of them waiting their turn to be built/restored, which include untouched kits and very restorable built-ups.

In fact, I've got a '61 four door that's a lot like the '60 above (slightly different headlights). My dream is to totally detail that one with engine and all. I even bought an assembly manual CD to show me the complete floor pan structure and suspension details.

Yeah, I know I can get insane! :wacko:;) 

Edited by MrObsessive
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