65 Corvair convertible

[Sixties Sam]

I bought my first car in 1970. It was a 65 Corvair convertible that I got for $700! I built this model of it back then, cutting the top off a 69 Corvair coupe model. It was gathering dust and falling apart, so I gave it a makeover for its 40th birthday. The windshield was cracked and hazy, so I went to the Modelhaus web site to order a new one, and I saw that they had an uptop available for it, so I got that too. Nice top, BTW. Needed almost no cleanup.

The real car had the four carb engine with the crummy 2-speed automatic with the shifter on the dash. It had the wire wheel covers and fake knockoff spinners. I sheared one off parking too close to a high curb once! The model isn't perfect, but it means a lot to me. Hope you guys like it.

[Modlbldr]

Sam-

That looks fantastic. What color and brand of red did you use on the interior? It looks like a color that I want for a build of mine.

Later-

[davyou5]

Nice Job rebuilding the Corvair, I hope to see more of these builds out here, .

[oldscool]

Nice model and one of GMs best body styles IMHO.

[TheCat]

Really nice job on this model.

[impcon]

Looks good! Corvairs got a bum deal from Nader and his groupies and they really are a cute little car. I almost bought a Monza two door sedan back around 1971 and while i actually liked the car, it's lack of a heater was what caused me to pass on buying it. You did a nice job on your model.. looks great!!!

[Foxer]

A model of your first car is the BEST! That was a pretty classy Corvair. Very cool.

Now why wasn't the one my Aunt gave me a '51 Ford rather than a Plymouth. She should have known when she bought it that it wouldn't be easy to model!

[Sixties Sam]

Thanks for the comments & compliments, guys. Tom, the red is Krylon Banner Red from Walmart. It's a pretty close match to the real car's vinyl interior color.

I want to add a thanks to George Hernandez (George53) for the air cleaner. I lost the original, and George gave me a replacement.

Foxer, I have a soft spot for those old Plymouths, too. We had a dark green 51 wagon when I was a kid, and in high school, a friend of mine had a beige 50 4 door sedan he got from his grandfather. He had just learned to drive a manual tranny, and used to stall it sometimes. We used to cruise around in it till he totaled it (he didn't get hurt)! Fun times!

Sam

[george 53]

Hey Sam, Your welcome, and THANKS for the props! Yeah, growin up in the 60's i got the chace to ride in ALOT of 'Vairs. My best freind had one he left in a sno bank, and an ex brother in law GAVE one away to Purple Heart, for tax reasons! I ALWAYS like Vairs, they WERE a NICE car!(I'da had one!) :) ;)

[MrObsessive]

That's a pretty good conversion and one not often seen! As a little kid in the '60's I became very familiar with Corvairs as I had an Uncle who I believed owned every model Corvair that Chevrolet made at one time or another.

Lessee..........He had convertibles, wagons, The Greenbriar Van (love to see a model of that!), four doors, two doors, you name it. If it had the name Corvair on it, he owned it somewhere along the line.

Unfortunately, my Uncle passed away last year...........he still owned a '66 Monza two door hardtop that he drove only on very nice days until he started taking ill. I don't know what happened to the car............I hope one of my cousins got it and is taking care of it.

[Danno]

Sweet. Love Corvairs; too bad not enough people did ... when it counted. Nader has long been on my adam henry list for what he did ... just goes to show how gullible many people can be.

Thanks for sharing a nice build and nice reason for building it.

[John Teresi]

WOW!!!.....this build is terrific .....great job.

[Peter Lombardo]

I guess I have to add my two cents.......it really does look very nice. I remember the cars very well, my friends mother had a Monza Spyder convertible when I was growing up. We loved it when she picked us up after Little League practice....driving home at dusk on an early summer evening with the cool breeze in our face. You did a great job....not flashy.....very clean, smooth and real.

[charlie8575]

Very nice build, Sam. And thanks for the tip on the paint. A lot of the G.M./FoMoCo red interiors were a very similar shade, and that'll do a nice job of replicating it.

Charlie Larkin

[sobpinstriping]

Looks good, Its alot of fun building cars you had growing up, I just did a plymouth fury I had a few years back, It made it the most special model I have ever done.

your car looks good.

[jeffs396]

Great job Sam!

[W-409]

That Corvair is not one of my favorite cars, and it's pretty different than other cars, Chevrolet made... But anyways, your build looks very good to me, that paintjob is very nice, and this isn't kit you can see every day. Interior looks very good too. I like it, is that hood opening?

[Sixties Sam]

That Corvair is not one of my favorite cars, and it's pretty different than other cars, Chevrolet made... But anyways, your build looks very good to me, that paintjob is very nice, and this isn't kit you can see every day. Interior looks very good too. I like it, is that hood opening?

Yes, the rear deck opens to reveal the engine. I didn't wire or detail the engine on this model when I built it 40 years ago, so I left it alone in the rebuild. Here's a photo with the rear opened.

[Guest Johnny]

Love those Corvairs! Nice rebuild! Neat to see someone saving one of their old builds!

I just picked up a Corvair kit and may build it resemble the one I once owned (minus the rusted out floor:lol: ) when we lived in Wisconsin! Yellow with a white interior. Mine also was a 4 carb powerglide car! traded a blown up H1 Kawasaki for it!

[CorvairJim]

Nice job! I finally got round to starting to build a replica of my first Corvair - also a '65 Monza, although mine was a coupe - about a month ago, when I bought a "Glue Bomb" '65 Corvair Corsa coupe annual on eBay for cheap. I had to shave the Corsa badges and add Monza badges, and modify the 140 h.p., 4-carb engine from a 2000's reissue of the '69 Monza kit to the 2-carb, 110 h.p. configuration of my car, and I subbed in the dashboard from the new kit as well to replace the 6-gauge panel from the Corsa. It will have the correct front trim and 1965 license plates only available on the 1965 annual kit. It's good to see that there are other Corvair fans on this website. Thanks for sharing this fine model.

Jim