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The Corvair Topic


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.. they use to sell a V8 conversion, the transaxle would be flipped and the motor sat behind the passengers instead of behind the rear wheels.. rework the body with a Gran Sport Corvette treatment and presto!!! Gran Sport Corvair.

Crown Manufacturing made the mid-engine kit, intended to use a Chevy smallblock. A fella I had run against in autocrosses showed up for an SCCA meet at Road Atlanta with a big-block Chevy in the back seat of a Corvair convertible. It was classed as ASR...A Sports Racing...which was also the class for McLarens and the like. It was fast until the flywheel or clutch exploded.

Quite a noble effort, I always thought.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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Swing axles were used by Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz thoughout the 50s and into the 60s - Beetles went to full IRS in 1969. MBs and VWs were raced and rallied extensively with swing axles thus proving that the design was not dangerous with proper maintenance and a competent driver. Also, all Class 11 Beetles and many Class 5 Baja Bugs in off road racing were swing axles. So where was this "Worldwide Ban" ?

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I always wanted to build something like this, even more dangerous:).. they use to sell a V8 conversion, the transaxle would be flipped and the motor sat behind the passengers instead of behind the rear wheels.. rework the body with a Gran Sport Corvette treatment and presto!!! Gran Sport Corvair.

Go for it! Plastic is cheap! B)

I've managed to acquire the body and interior bucket--nothing else--from an original AMT annual '68 Corvette. This body isn't particularly accurate because AMT didn't have the GM promo contract for '68 and they had to tool up working from "spy photos" and sketches of the new Corvette. I've been unable to find a hood, front end, etc for this body, so I've been thinking of doing it as a Corvair-powered "kit car" (I'll have to scratchbuild a hood and front end and so forth). Just by coincidence, I was looking through some old Rod & Custom magazines today and found that around 1970 a guy named Dick Dean actually did produce a Vette-ish body for VW platform called "Shala-Vet." Sorta the same idea. Mine will look better. B)

shala-vette.JPG

191t2hsldi6gijpg.jpg

ETA: Wow, never realized before that one of these was in the old movie Death Race 2000!

shala33.jpg

Edited by Snake45
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I don't see a whole lot of Corvair in the Camaro, other than the "hip" rear fender kickup that was seen on most GM cars of the mid-late '60s.

What Corvair mechanicals did the Camaro have? Was the front end geometry similar, or something, because I can't think of anything else.

IIRC, the interior and exterior of the Camaro were designed by the same person that designed the Corvair, the body is the same "coke bottle" style. The front suspension and late model rear suspension of the Corvair was pulled from the Corvette and modified somewhat. It is my understanding that this led to the design of the Camaro front suspension. The Corvair used the same transmissions, braking system (drums and MC), and other bits and pieces as other GM cars of the era and can generally be swapped around.

My point was more that the Corvair was directly responsible for the design of the Camaro and shares many parts with other cars of the time period. Not to mention, the Corvair was the first turbo-powered passenger vehicle along with the Oldsmobile Jetfire and was one of the earlier unibody vehicles built.

Edited by 91blaze
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Actually, the Chevelle and Chevy 2/Nova have far more in common with the Camaro than the Corvair. The front suspension on the first generation Camaro is almost identical to the Chevelle, with near 100% parts interchangeability. Same goes for the rear suspension on the Camaro and the Nova, especially the 2nd gen Nova. The Camaro has it's styling roots in the Super Nova show car from '64.http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/concept/1964_Chevrolet_Chevy_II_Super_Nova_Show_Car_02.jpg

One more thing to add to the whole swing axle suspension thing, Ford used a swing axle suspension for many years, starting in '65, on the front of their light trucks.

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The Corvair used the same transmissions, braking system (drums and MC), and other bits and pieces as other GM cars of the era and can generally be swapped around....

... Not to mention, the Corvair was the first turbo-powered passenger vehicle along with the Oldsmobile Jetfire and was one of the earlier unibody vehicles built.

The Corvair transmissions were unique to Corvairs, being designed to accommodate a rear-wheel drive configuration. The Corvair 2-speed automatics, and the later 4-speed manual "Saginaw" Corvair boxes were similar to front-engine designs internally, and shared some parts.

And "turbocharged" would be the correct term. "Turbo-powered" really implies a turbine engine.

Europeans had been building unibody cars for years, the Citroen Traction Avant of 1934 being among the earliest, and the Nash 600 of 1941 being America's first entry.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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The Corvair transmissions were unique to Corvairs, being designed to accommodate a rear-wheel drive configuration. The Corvari 2-speed automatics, and the later 4-speed manual "Saginaw" Corvair boxes were similar to front-engine designs internally, and shared some parts.

And "turbocharged" would be the correct term. "Turbo-powered" really implies a turbine engine.

Europeans had been building unibody cars for years, the Citroen Traction Avant of 1934 being among the earliest, and the Nash 600 of 1941 being America's first entry.

I always understood that the transmissions were pretty much identical with only a few changes to make it work in the Corvair. Hence the reason why the engine runs reverse of a normal engine so they didn't have to create a whole new transmission.

And yes, I know it wasn't the first unibody car, but it was one of the earlier American cars to be unibody. It wasn't the first but certainly helped with acceptance of unibody construction.

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Actually, they put that same Corvair transaxle into early Tempests and Lemans, turned backwards and with a Pontiac 4 or V8 up front.. very screwy set-up... you can climb under the thing while its running and watch the torque converter going around on what looks like a rear end... it has a crazy non-linear driveshaft between the trans-axle and engine.... if you have never investigated this check it out, its interesting if nothing else:)

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Actually, they put that same Corvair transaxle into early Tempests and Lemans, turned backwards and with a Pontiac 4 or V8 up front.. very screwy set-up... you can climb under the thing while its running and watch the torque converter going around on what looks like a rear end... it has a crazy non-linear driveshaft between the trans-axle and engine.... if you have never investigated this check it out, its interesting if nothing else:)

I've heard about those but never got to check one out in person.

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I always understood that the transmissions were pretty much identical with only a few changes to make it work in the Corvair. Hence the reason why the engine runs reverse of a normal engine so they didn't have to create a whole new transmission.

They are similar internally and share some parts. The Corvair box also uses a hollow main-shaft so the input can come from the wrong end.

Corvair '66-69 "Saginaw" 4-speed: 962-1059-large.jpg

Front-engine Saginaw 4-speed... saginaw_4-speed_transmission_295_columbi

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The Camaro has it's styling roots in the Super Nova show car from '64.

That, and the overall dimensions of the first-gen Mustang.

BTW, the second-gen Corvair and the Mustang and the first-gen Camaro all had the same wheelbase: 108".

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that guy who posted the bit about never allowed in sanctioned racing has posted that sort of thing before and when challenged, never bothered to back up his chat. seemed kind of strange at the time and seems even stranger now. note he is not a rookie here. I wonder what the deal is as he is obviously full of incorrect information. no slur intended, its just obvious.

you know, driving that vair with the V8 just sitting there behind the driver just aint gonna be happening. for one thing its quickly going to be over 120F in there, not to mention the noise factor. all vairs I have seen with V8 conversions have them in a box back there and still it is hot and noisy.

jb

Edited by jbwelda
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It is funny how History twists things . Corvair Stories just continue to deflect the truth . The Rear Suspension Design was ';

BANNED BY EVERY SANCTIONED COMPETITION ORGANIZATION WORLDWIDE DUE TO INSTABILITY WHEN DIVERTING FROM A STRAIGHT AHEAD DIRECTION .,. PERIOD . This came to pass in 1953 . The Corvair came equipped with this Death Trap Design to save the Corp .50 per car . So what's the cost of a few deaths . None unless it is one of your loved ones . Does anyone else remember Ernie Kovacs ? In the 1964 MY , the Safer design the Engineers wanted in the first place was made the only Production process for these units . The comments still continue today how safe these were to drive . I owned a 1960 in 1966 . I would not sit in a Parked and disabled one today . Especially one making any other attitude than straight ahead .

Ralph Nadir did not hate the Corvair . Nor hate GM as a matter of fact . He just had a walk on Easy Street pointing out how dangerous the Cars were at that time citing GM blunders . Pnrdl's anyone instead of PRNDL's ? Unbelievably Gm was the best at producing Cars that would fail and kill people . Just like Today this is inarguable . Also , Ralph did own a Late Model '55 Chevy . He drove it for less than a month and sold it . The dangers of this Vehicle scared him that he spent the rest of his life in the back seats while others drove . So , let us not honor a significant piece of Automotive History by giving it the proper recognition it does deserve . If just to honor the Victims that were killed due to this wholesale recklessness upon consumers .

I am proud to have Corvairs in my Collection . I don't want a 1"1 near me .. Thanx ..

I think both of Dimaxion's Corvairs might have had an exhaust leak ?

:blink:

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Let's see...I owned a '60 4-door automatic (bought for $5), a '64 Spyder convertible (150HP turbocharged), a '65 Corsa 4-speed (140HP, 4-1 bbl carbs), a '66 4-speed race-car (gutted, loud and tremendously fun to drive on the street), a Greenbrier automatic van (for a very short period, when I had to foreclose on it for an unpaid engine rebuild bill), and a '66 Spyder coupe (180HP turbocharged).

Apparently miraculously, not ONE of these ever killed me...at least as far as I can tell. B)

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I've been driving them for 36 years and have yet to have anything scary happen with the early models. Dad bought one shortly before I turned 16 and after spending some time working on it I was addicted. Led me into engineering, focusing on suspension design during college. Just liked the fact they were different and very well thought out in design. The whole concept of a fresh engine and platform integrated vehicle was a big risk compared to the typical car at the time. I currently have 8 of them, 5 are driven regularly and for 50 yr old vehicles they still impress me with how dependable and low maintenance they are. Do play with them once in a while too.

P329mex24cp_zps87a5a1ee.jpg

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that guy who posted the bit about never allowed in sanctioned racing has posted that sort of thing before and when challenged, never bothered to back up his chat. seemed kind of strange at the time and seems even stranger now. note he is not a rookie here. I wonder what the deal is as he is obviously full of incorrect information. no slur intended, its just obvious.

you know, driving that vair with the V8 just sitting there behind the driver just aint gonna be happening. for one thing its quickly going to be over 120F in there, not to mention the noise factor. all vairs I have seen with V8 conversions have them in a box back there and still it is hot and noisy.

jb

Agreed...get your facts straight before posting!

I've owned more than 30 Vairs over the last 40 years, and NEVER had a problem with one spinning out on me, even when driving wildly on a gymkhana course, or in the worst winter weather. Like all vehicles, proper tires and tire pressure, as well as the overall condition of the vehicle, effect the handling. A properly set-up and maintained Corvair is a joy to drive.

JB, you're right about the Mid-engined Corvairs. I used to own a '66 coupe with an SBC in the back seat. Really fast, but brutal to drive in hot weather.

What's really dangerous about the Corvair? As someone else alluded to, exhaust fumes can enter the cabin via the heat system. Like early VW beetles, the Vair has "boxes" around the exhaust manifolds. The heat is drawn into the cabin by a fan. If one (or more) of the manifold "donut" gaskets are leaking, carbon dioxide can be drawn into the cabin, making for a dangerous situation. This can be further compounded by leaky pushrod tube seals, which allow oil to drip into the heater boxes.

Another potential danger is the rear wheel bearings on the pre-1965 models. If a bearing goes bad, it can allow the rear axle to pull straight out of the transaxle, wheel and all. During this process, the brake line and/or wheel cylinder are usually damaged, causing the brake fluid to leak out. Since the early Corvairs (and most other cars of that era) only have a single cell brake master cylinder, this means you lose ALL of the brake fluid in the entire system, resulting in no brakes. The most common situation for this axle failure is when travelling at highway speeds, so imagine what it would be like to simultaneously lose your rear wheel and brake system at 65mph! I have actually seen Corvairs sitting on the side of the highway with their axle hanging out, and rear fender all chewed up! the '65 Vair had the updated rear suspension which was similar to a Corvette, thus eliminating this potentional problem as well as the handling problems Nader complained about.

I still own a couple of 1:1 Vairs, and plant to pass them on to my Grandsons. Nader was wrong!!!post-10758-0-81065300-1414209861_thumb.jpost-10758-0-52433100-1414210028_thumb.j

Edited by ToyLvr
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and where does this little guy fit in ? 1963-1965 , 1966-19671280px-Flickr_-_DVS1mn_-_62_Chevrolet_Ch

The Corvair never sold in the numbers that GM had hoped for, especially as an economy car. (it did better with the sporty car guys) Because the Ford Falcon far outsold the Corvair the Chevy II was rushed into production. It was far more conventional and a better match for the Falcon. It also had heat and leaked less oil.

Edited by Craig Irwin
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