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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNader killed the Corvair
The Corvair was no more dangerous than any other car in its time. The original was vindicated by a NHTSA report in '72 and the later version 65-69 was a magnificent car. The closest the U.S. came to building a Porsche. Here is the NHTSA report and the Yenko Stinger which was a race car.
https://www.corvair.org/index.php/history-and-preservation/unsafe-at-any-speed
WhiteTara
(29,736 posts)kill small car manufacturing in the US. Everyone started buying Japanese after Nadir's attack.
Think how bad Vega's and Pinto's were. Look how great Corvair's were.
Response to Guppy (Original post)
elocs This message was self-deleted by its author.
Guppy
(444 posts)dawg day
(7,947 posts)He loved his Corvair.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)SharonAnn
(13,782 posts)Ran great, always started in subzero weather, always drove well in snow.
I was in Northern Iowa with very subzero weather and lots of snow in the winter.
I could get my car started when others couldn't and could drive it almost anywhere while others were slipping and sliding.
I did have seat belts installed in the front since they weren't standard in 1963.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)would play with the suspensions of stock ones and solve whatever problems they had. I knew a couple of them and they never Nadered the car no matter how hard they drove them.
IIRC, all you really had to do was stick a sway bar in the back. I think GM eventually did that themselves.
Guppy
(444 posts)from Jay Leno. Thee Yenko stiunger was great. There was no problem with the 65-69. Fully independent suspension.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)stock Corvairs.
Kinda like how the Cosworth Vega wasn't the sort of thing you find in the A&P parking lot.
Guppy
(444 posts)this was a great car. It was one of the great SCCA racing cars. legendary. My daily driver is an original Audi S4. Another legendary car.
The Audi has the legendary AAN 5 cylinder 20 valve turbo that won all the races in 1989 in the Audi 90. Mine has 232,000 miles with the original clutch and alternator. I just replaced the original starter. This is a 24 year old car.
https://www.quattroworld.com/speed-week/the-worlds-fastest-audi-242mph-audi-s4/
Hotler
(11,484 posts)Guppy
(444 posts)Beat a porsche downhill
Hotler
(11,484 posts)they have a sound, a feel and excitement that's fun.
Guppy
(444 posts)20valve 5 cylinder Audi AAN engine on the Audi 90 and the 92- 96 Audi S4 and S6.
Guppy
(444 posts)watch james Reeves pass them at road atlanta..
These are all race cars. My point is that corvairs could compete when they are modified as all race cars are.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Early Corvairs had weird handling. There is a pretty simple fix that Chevy came up with for the later models, and it is an easy retrofit for the earlier models. And, yes, as I recall from the episode it is basically a sway bar.
Here's the link to the the episode listing:
http://wheelerdealers.discoveryuk.com/episode/season-13/chevy-corvair/
Guppy
(444 posts)Had independent suspension totally different
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)The second-gen Corvair featured a reworked fully independent suspension more akin to the Corvette that alleviated the oversteer and made the Corvair a great handling car by any measure.
http://www.inmygarage.com/the-chevrolet-corvair-flop-or-success/
Wheeler Dealers made it sound like this was the only difference. I guess they were referring to the upgrade of the anti-sway bar that was added mid way through the first generation and not to the complete revamp of the rear suspension in the second gen.
Response to Guppy (Original post)
elocs This message was self-deleted by its author.
Getting Republicans Elected Every November
Response to Freddie (Reply #8)
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brush
(53,978 posts)so they can help the repugs win the WH.
They've had how many years since 2000 to build a real, functioning grassroots operation to run for local and state offices but we rarely hear anything from them during off-year or even mid-term elections (and they actually go back before 2000).
Apparently their mission is not to build a real party but to make siphon off Dem votes every four years.
GoneOffShore
(17,346 posts)They show up every four years, make a lot of noise, clutter up the landscape, leave unattractive remains and damage everywhere.
Guppy
(444 posts)Nader is an ass.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)The only issue I remember with our Corvair was that activating the heater pumped burning oil smell into the cabin.
ret5hd
(20,564 posts)kentuck
(111,111 posts)...and it left the road and cut the tree tops.
Guppy
(444 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)On a tight turn at speed the independent rear suspension would wind up with tension called wheel jacking. When it released, the rear wheel would break traction setting the car up for an out of control situation and a chance for rolling. It was an easy fix though and later Corvairs handled like a sports car, at least an American sports car. Racers installed an anti-sway bar, something GM could have done themselves.
The Triumph Spitfire had a similar problem in the early marks and went on to be very popular. While the Corvair was an easy and inexpensive fix, GM did what corporations do, they went on a propaganda offensive against Nader. The Corvair was likely discontinued because it became an enduring symbol of a death trap, the same reason Ford killed the Pinto nameplate.
Historic NY
(37,462 posts)the retrofit program took care of it.
porsche and vw had the same suspension. Second version was independent suspension which is still to this day the standard for performance cars
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,522 posts)Guppy
(444 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,696 posts)It was the 140hp version with four single barrel carbs and a four speed. I put big 8.25X7 tires on the rear and baby moons all around. Looked nice in maroon and drove great.
Unfortunately, Chevy designed it with a shroud around the cylinders to draw cabin heat. When the push-rod seals began to leak it dripped oil on the hot cylinder jugs, pumping heavy blue smoke into the passenger compartment. By the time I got to school on a winter's day I looked like a Cheech & Chong promo with smoke pouring out the open window. I fixed it in the spring, one of my first experiences as a back yard mechanic.
Other than that, there was a weak link in the drive train. The engine was in the rear with the differential just ahead of it. The transmission was even in front of that, so the power went through the diff to the trans then back through a hollow shaft to the differential. Power shifts to 2nd gear would shatter the differential like a glass chandelier. Fortunately, the engine was easy to drop down onto a spare tire and the local junk yard had dozens in stock. I got so I could do it in a couple hours.
Loved that car. It had character.
MineralMan
(146,351 posts)I bought it for $100 in 1969. It was red. Ran great, too. I drove it everywhere, and never once had any problem with that oversteer issue. That's because I never drove it anywhere near its limits. It wasn't fast. It wasn't a sports car. It was a small, rear-engine coupe.
I liked it OK. I drove it for about six months. Then I polished the paint up, cleaned the engine compartment, made it look nice and sold it to someone for $350. See, I found this 1959 Austin Healy bugeye Sprite in a barn, and wanted that car, which I bought for just $200.
I didn't keep cars long back then, but I sure enjoyed them.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the Corvair if you drove it like a normal person. Nothing. It was an innovative design that had a lot going for it.
Nader's a creep!
brush
(53,978 posts)MineralMan
(146,351 posts)However, I kept it for about three months. I painted it myself, did some minor repairs, and sold it for $500. Sadly, the person who bought it managed to run it into a tree on a back road and total it. What a shame.
I replaced it with a 1959 BMC Mini. That was also a wonderfully fun little car. i should have kept it, too.
brush
(53,978 posts)Fast as hell.
MineralMan
(146,351 posts)The one I had had a 1275cc engine that had been swapped into it, tuned pretty hot. The one time I remember best was on a very winding mountain road, downhill. I was just trucking along at a fast, but modest speed, when a bathtub Porsche, also from the 50s came up from behind. The driver wasn't all that amused with my pace, and kept flashing his brights at me.
So, I just shifted down one gear, floored it, and when I shifted again, I was making pretty good speed. After about five miles, the Porsche driver apparently got the willies and backed off. Now, uphill, the Porsche could probably have beaten my little Mini, but downhill, the go-cart-like handling of the Mini let me out-corner the Porsche. There weren't all that many Minis around at the time, and mine was faster than most. It was also death on everyone on a tight gymkhana course. Fun times.
brush
(53,978 posts)Cars back then were simpler and more fun without all the computerization and easier to tinker with.
Now cars are more reliable though so I guess it's a wash. I still miss the seat-of-the-pants days. I had a '63 big Healey and a '62 3.8 Jag sedan.
Historic NY
(37,462 posts)Gen. 2's are the bomb.
Guppy
(444 posts)that has coilovers and a turbo.
Historic NY
(37,462 posts)and I've seen a few with superchargers. Old guy explained they took a 6 cylinder engine and flattened it. It sort of like a spatchcocked turkey.
Guppy
(444 posts)It was in the 914's. The 65-69 Corvair has great lines. I love a good performance car. I have had 2 legendary performance cars. I noted them above. Datsun 510. 1994 Audi S$.
snowybirdie
(5,252 posts)Back in '62, hubby was hit at an intersection while driving his Corvair. Hit in rear right fender, going about 25 mph. The car flipped, and rolled over four times! Not safe at all! They rolled over a lot. Obvious there was a design flaw!
Guppy
(444 posts)look at all the available data. NHTSA cleared them
brush
(53,978 posts)It's called the PIT maneuver, or Pursuit Intervention Technique. During a chase they get close enough with their patrol car and it's heavy duty bumpers to nudge the right or left rear corner of the suspect car which will send it out of control and often cause it to flip and end the chase.
I just happpened to watch a video of it recently. It works on most cars.
ProfessorGAC
(65,427 posts)The conditions described would have created the same event in all but the largest vehicles of the day
Your one example doesn't contradict the mountain of data that Nader fabricated data!
He was wrong and a liar then. He was a stranger to facts and logic then
Nothing has changed.
snowybirdie
(5,252 posts)It was 56 years ago and lots of better cars have been built since. Nadar is an old fart and no use getting shorts in a knot. Happy New Year!
Guppy
(444 posts)snowybirdie
(5,252 posts)Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)A total piece of crap. Worst car I ever owned.
spartan61
(2,091 posts)a 1962 Corvair Monza. How I loved that car! I remember trying to cross the Peace Bridge in a heavy snowstorm in Buffalo. The other cars on the bridge were stuck but my little Corvair, with the motor in the rear, had no problem at all.
MichMan
(12,002 posts)and had never owned a car in his entire life. I guess that still makes one an expect in automobiles somehow
Kali
(55,032 posts)MineralMan
(146,351 posts)Cool design, I think.
Kali
(55,032 posts)it was my Grandfather's, he gave it to me before he died. I drove it for a while but it kept breaking down in the most inconvenient places. LOL
MineralMan
(146,351 posts)Put it on Craigs List or eBay. EBay would draw from a wider range, and people who are looking for a specific car model will pay to have it delivered to them by a car shipper.
I'm serious!
Here's a 1961 Corvair Wagon that sold in January, 2018 for $10,000. Now, it's a nice car in terrific condition, but that's the top of the price point for yours, too. Someone might just buy it and restore it, out of nostalgia or profit potential.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-chevrolet-corvair-lakewood/
Kali
(55,032 posts)I tried when I first I got on line (around 2000 LOL) but I should give it another whirl.
I'm never going to be rich enough to send it to pros for the work.
Liberal In Texas
(13,615 posts)Delivered Rx in all kinds of weather, the Corvair was great in the snow.
Freedomofspeech
(4,230 posts)My Dad bought me a 1965 Corvair Monza and paid $600 for it.. I was student teaching in the winter in Pittsburgh and that car went everywhere! I loved that car...got stopped for speeding twice . I wish that I still owned it.