If you own a Corvair, SPEAK UP!

[excheezhead]

Heater?? you got a heater?

serously, just google corvair parts and there are several good suppliers that have OEM, or updated less self-destructove materials.
good luck.
p.s. don't rank on the "old timer" you got the car from too hard. your life will not be complete untill this comes back on you!!(karma!) i remember when my cousin bought a 63 coupe brand new with the money he save after a tour in the navy. we cruised that car, even took it off road once after some bad dandylion wine from the barn!!!
don't crush 'em, restore 'em!!
actual old-timer

[randy78]

Originally Posted by excheezhead

Heater?? you got a heater?

serously, just google corvair parts and there are several good suppliers that have OEM, or updated less self-destructove materials.
good luck.
p.s. don't rank on the "old timer" you got the car from too hard. your life will not be complete untill this comes back on you!!(karma!) i remember when my cousin bought a 63 coupe brand new with the money he save after a tour in the navy. we cruised that car, even took it off road once after some bad dandylion wine from the barn!!!
don't crush 'em, restore 'em!!
actual old-timer

hi there oh, well im not ranking on him he did a great job and it runs great, i guess you have misunderstood me hmm

i have not found any such suppliers that have the main heater duct

dont seem to exist

hmmm

thanks


Randy

[MonzaMan]

my grandfather bought me my first car a year ago, my 64 corvair monza. as far as i know it has been sitting for a long time before i got it. i love this little car. this car gets me a lot of attention. this old thing is looking like its age. i want to completly resote her but i have no idea where to start. maybe someone can piont me in the right direction. thanks

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by MonzaMan

my grandfather bought me my first car a year ago, my 64 corvair monza. as far as i know it has been sitting for a long time before i got it. i love this little car. this car gets me a lot of attention. this old thing is looking like its age. i want to completly resote her but i have no idea where to start. maybe someone can piont me in the right direction. thanks

Welcome to AF.

That sounds like a nice car. Can you post some pics?

The first thing to do with any restoration is to decide how you are going to use it (Show car, special occasion car or daily driver) and come up with a plan (including estimated cost) on how to get there.

Often, it is cheaper to buy a really good old car than it will cost to fix one that is in really poor shape.
What you want to avoid is starting a project only to realize that the car will cost you more to fix than its worth.

So have a really good look at the body/chassis for rust/damage, at the interior and the mechanical pieces. Decide what needs to be fixed, and what would be nice to fix, but is not necessary.

Then make a list and attach costs to those. Work out what can be done first.This will be your plan.

Be objective about the costs. Look at the cost of really nice, used Corvairs like yours. Most Corvairs (turbo Spyders and convertibles aside) are not expensive to buy.
If you can buy one for less than it would cost to fix yours, then carefully consider if the project is worth it to you.

Corvairs are pretty simple and easy-to-fix cars. If you are handy, much of the work can be done yourself. The most difficult thing to fix is severe rust and/or accident damage. If the unit body is straight and reasonably rust free and if the engine and transmission do not show signs of being worn-out, the rest is pretty easy.

BTW unless you have lots of experience, imho avoid deciding on fixing everything at once. Plenty of first-timers decide to do everything on a car all at once; they take it all apart them become overwhelmed at the size and cost of the project then lose interest, leaving a garage full of useless car pieces.

I have found it's best to make the car drivable and enjoyable first. Then you can enjoy the car while you are fixing the details. This will help you remain enthusiastic about the car.

[Spectria, L1 MT]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

Welcome to AF.

That sounds like a nice car. Can you post some pics?

The first thing to do with any restoration is to decide how you are going to use it (Show car, special occasion car or daily driver) and come up with a plan (including estimated cost) on how to get there.

Often, it is cheaper to buy a really good old car than it will cost to fix one that is in really poor shape.
What you want to avoid is starting a project only to realize that the car will cost you more to fix than its worth.

So have a really good look at the body/chassis for rust/damage, at the interior and the mechanical pieces. Decide what needs to be fixed, and what would be nice to fix, but is not necessary.

Then make a list and attach costs to those. Work out what can be done first.This will be your plan.

Be objective about the costs. Look at the cost of really nice, used Corvairs like yours. Most Corvairs (turbo Spyders and convertibles aside) are not expensive to buy.
If you can buy one for less than it would cost to fix yours, then carefully consider if the project is worth it to you.

Corvairs are pretty simple and easy-to-fix cars. If you are handy, much of the work can be done yourself. The most difficult thing to fix is severe rust and/or accident damage. If the unit body is straight and reasonably rust free and if the engine and transmission do not show signs of being worn-out, the rest is pretty easy.

BTW unless you have lots of experience, imho avoid deciding on fixing everything at once. Plenty of first-timers decide to do everything on a car all at once; they take it all apart them become overwhelmed at the size and cost of the project then lose interest, leaving a garage full of useless car pieces.

I have found it's best to make the car drivable and enjoyable first. Then you can enjoy the car while you are fixing the details. This will help you remain enthusiastic about the car.

This is great advice on how to begin bringing a car back!! Wish I had learned this when I was much younger.

My1966 Corsa Turbo Convertible is just sitting in the Garage waiting for me and money to get it back on the road.

My info says it is one of 580 built, and it's all original with faded paint.

Found it on Craigslist for $1200 and sent the check based on the VIN and 3 poor quality pics. I wonder what it is worth.

When i picked it up, it turned out to be rust free, no tears in the top and Mountain Lion tracks on the deck lid and in the back seat (it was in a barn near Paradise, Ca.)

I can't wait to get it running.


My First car was a 1960 Monza 4 door powerglide. Then I bought a 63 Spyder Vert, 64 Monza Vert, 63 Van, Put a 140 in a 1970 Vw Bus, Put a 110 in a 64 Bug, and more that I can't remember. Getting old sure dims the good memories...

I just found this group and hope to visit more often.

Does anyone want to help me learn how to post pics to this thread???

[Blue Bowtie]

Upload your images to a web-accessible address. Many ISPs allocate customers some storage space for web pages, images, files, etc. Use an FTP program or whatever means your ISP suggests for the process. If you don't have web space, you can upload your images to any of a number of free hosting services, like PhotoBucket.com

Once the images are uploaded, link them into your posts with the following format:



If that seems like a lot of effort, just click on the little "Insert Image" icon in the posting tools window.

[Jefferscene]

I bought my first (and only still) Corvair when i was 15 on ebay. it is a Rampside pickup, and i get looks everywhere i go. this truck is just as much a workhorse as my uncles F250. I use it to help friends and family move, with the ramp it makes it so much easier than a conventional truck. i believe Chevorlet should re-design the corvair. with the current race for fuel efficient automobiles, it would be a great competitor, my truck get's around 20 mpg, which for a 63 pick up is ridiculous (it doesn't anymore since the recent break downs) but as much as maintenance may frustrate me as an 18 year old college student, i wouldn't trade for anything ever (except a brandnew one ) in my opinion the corvair was an example of trial and error, because even today these old family economy vehicles are still doing just as good as the showroom cars.

[Andy Rupert]

I just bought a 1966 Corvair 500 coupe. It's white with blue interior and has the 110 engine. I'm hoping to make a daily driver of it but have a few things to take care of first. Looks like fun.

[Spectria, L1 MT]

Welcome, there are few of us on AF, but I own one of 585 ever built, All Original rust free 1966 Turbo Corsa Convertibles, and this year it gets a running engine! It even has the original top with a bad plastic window. Been garaged since the 70's.
Have fun with your driver, it should good on gas TOO!

Dave Z, Nor Cal

[driver77]

So I'm looking at my first Corvair- my grandfathers 65 monza. Engine rebuilt 10 yrs ago, now with only 500 miles on it, and its sat for 2 yrs. Its outta town, Im about to fly down and deal with it and what Ive gathered so far (over the phone) is that one of the carbs probably needs a rebuild and maybe it doesnt go in reverse. What worries me, of course, is that transmission. I only have time to fly down and take it to a shop, throw some money at it. Im wondering how much money I can expect to be throwing at it. Lotta guesswork here, I know, but if anyone has any insight or experience here, I'd appreciate it

[Spectria, L1 MT]

Originally Posted by driver77

So I'm looking at my first Corvair- my grandfathers 65 monza. Engine rebuilt 10 yrs ago, now with only 500 miles on it, and its sat for 2 yrs. Its outta town, Im about to fly down and deal with it and what Ive gathered so far (over the phone) is that one of the carbs probably needs a rebuild and maybe it doesnt go in reverse. What worries me, of course, is that transmission. I only have time to fly down and take it to a shop, throw some money at it. Im wondering how much money I can expect to be throwing at it. Lotta guesswork here, I know, but if anyone has any insight or experience here, I'd appreciate it

First, Welcome to Corvairs...
Second, I don't know how far you need to travel, but hauling it to your home turf and getting it worked on locally is always better.
Third, Carb problems can flair up on the road, especially if it hasn't run in awhile, could lead to a fire, not trying to scare you, but flooding from a sticking float can have that result.
If you're set on having it fixed where it is, how do you decide on which shop to use, Corvairs are very special, you could spend thousands if the shop doesn't KNOW Corvairs.
Lastly, you don't need reverse to drive it home, but the fuel problem would keep me off the road until I went through the carbs.
Good luck, ask again if you have anymore questions, had a shop going on 40 years, and I'm edecat'd to! He He!
Dave

[driver77]

yeah im hoping just for a carb rebuild and tune up at a shop down there (its in palm springs, im in oakland) and to be able to drive it home without the reverse n deal with that here. i dont have the time or experience to do the carbs myself (i did it once on my dodge van and swore id never do it again). i dont suppose you know anyone in the palm springs area who knows corvairs-?

[Spectria, L1 MT]

Originally Posted by driver77

yeah im hoping just for a carb rebuild and tune up at a shop down there (its in palm springs, im in oakland) and to be able to drive it home without the reverse n deal with that here. i dont have the time or experience to do the carbs myself (i did it once on my dodge van and swore id never do it again). i dont suppose you know anyone in the palm springs area who knows corvairs-?

No I don't, and your plan is a good one, I am near Santa Cruz, the LA area is full of Corvair specialty shops, I think you could probably buy a couple rebuilt ones.

[JimboRob]

I'm new here. I own a '64 Corvair Monza convertible. I am in the process of restoring the car after it being garaged for about 10-12 years. I have found that the heater control damper is stuck solid. Nothing I have tried seems to be able to make it move. Does anyone out there know how to remove the heater without having to remove the engine and possibly the differential as well? Any help would certainly be appreciated.http://staticaf.com/vbulletin/images...s/confused.gif