66-69 Corvair differences

[Mark]

Modelhaus offered a resin four-door, but good luck finding one now.  Model Car Journal once ran an article on converting one yourself (before the Modelhaus body appeared).  I believe the conversion used a '66 Mustang coupe roof as the starting point.

[Bill Anderson]

Being a car nut young guy in the '60s, I recall when the Corvairs came out and over their short run we (me and my car nut buddies) had really mixed feelings about them.  The early ones especially, looked like underpowered boxes - especially the rear end.  And they tended to collect black oil stains all over the rear.  They appeared to be unstable but we didn't know that for certain.  Frankly, we didn't think much of them.

However, the Corsa version changed all of that.  It was really nice.  That change in styling - especially the rear - made (to us guys) a huge difference.

 

[espo]

5 hours ago, Bill Anderson said:

Being a car nut young guy in the '60s, I recall when the Corvairs came out and over their short run we (me and my car nut buddies) had really mixed feelings about them.  The early ones especially, looked like underpowered boxes - especially the rear end.  And they tended to collect black oil stains all over the rear.  They appeared to be unstable but we didn't know that for certain.  Frankly, we didn't think much of them.

However, the Corsa version changed all of that.  It was really nice.  That change in styling - especially the rear - made (to us guys) a huge difference.

 

Most, not all, Corvairs had a very easy fix for the rear oil stains. The Oil Pressure sending unit was mounted at the Oil Filter engine mounting. They were prone to leakage and about five minutes to change out. Ill handling had two main problems. The first was the need of a Camber Limiter for the rear suspension so that the rear tires didn't tuck under in hard cornering. Simple after-market add on sold at almost every auto parts store and even Chevrolet offered a parts counter unit. The second problem often was caused by improper tire inflation. Ask any VW owner about that issue as they shared many of the same problems based on suspension designs.  

[Bob Ellis]

 

Quote

The AMT parts kit with a Corvair turbo is better than the 1965-1966 kit offering. You must cut off the kit transmission and glue it to the parts engine. The parts engine comes with a generator, so the kits alternator must be substituted.