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Post by RedRooJusty on Nov 15, 2009 7:35:09 GMT -5
That's right, a properly tuned corvair is more than capable of 30mpg. This is a heavy under-powered machine. Smooth ride. The unique design is just part of my psyche. This car has taken a full slide on dry pavement in avoidance of an accident (at freeway speeds on the freeway), handled well. It is all original (paint, interior, engine), I am the third owner, I also have the original bill of sale from the dealership. It has added seat belts (dealership option), rear swing-arm limiting straps (dealership option), electric fuel pump with crash cut-off, twin O2 sensors giving feedback for burn efficiency, auto adjusting brakes, 200lbs of steel welded into the front roll to bring the center of gravity forward. The car is 50/50 loaded drum brakes, but will always have drum brake "fade". It has manual brakes and steering. I have now put my OEM AM tube radio back in (I had to replace some dried caps and a cracked tube). It has a two speed powerglide automatic trans with added low-stall torque converter (and the thumb shift on the dash). The engine is 102hp with twin exhaust added, lightweight magnesium cooling fan added, folded fin oil cooler added, exhaust gas temp sensor added, digital timing added. (and my wife's red 03' Saturn vue @ 25/32.48 city/hwy or 28.75mpg combined) These photos are from when I bought it, it now has veteran plates and new tires. --(edit)-- I bought the 63' in 2006. This car has 156k original miles. I need to drop the drive-train out for maintenance, mostly replacing oil seals with newer more robust sealing materials.
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Post by kernal on Nov 20, 2009 9:42:46 GMT -5
SWEEET!! We had 2 when I was a kid 2 doors inc a nice 65 monza. Nothing so rare as a running Corvair.. Good Luck
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Post by RedRooJusty on Nov 25, 2009 3:09:25 GMT -5
I kinda gravitated to these machines (my father had one when I was a boy), I bought my first one (61' 4dr 900 monza) in 1993 I converted the 61' to Propane in 1994 and drove it daily for ten years topping 400k on that car. Here's a pic of my old 61' I loved my 61', it succumbed to cancer that had crept under the undercoating, doing some major damage to the chassis. It was no longer safe to drive.
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Post by imaginarius on Nov 27, 2009 14:34:34 GMT -5
That sucks because the body and trim(at least from this distance)looks pretty damned nice. Are they uni-body too, or is there a transplant possibility(given one can actually FIND a dead-but-good enough replacement...)
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Post by RedRooJusty on Nov 27, 2009 23:08:31 GMT -5
Yep, all corvairs are Uni-body yet are regarded as the most solid chassis ever manufactured. So the engineering actually has box rolled steel interleaved into the uni-body design for the "strong" points (like attaching suspension, bumpers, hanging the drive-train). The cancer took out the box steel re-enforced chassis mount for the passenger side rear trailing arm, which is the only hard attachment for the rear wheel. There was nothing, short of cutting the rear half of the car away (grafting in another rear car half from a donor), to fix that damage. For me even seeing the pic of the 61' makes me sad. It changed my naive teenage thinking "that cars were all disposable". It was my first true love. And every girl I dated always wanted to go cruising in the sweet ol' car. Now with the 63', my lovely young wife always wants to go cruising with me .
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SeattleJusty
No, a boxer will not fit in a Justy.
Posts: 1,587
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Post by SeattleJusty on Nov 28, 2009 2:45:19 GMT -5
Yep, all corvairs are Uni-body yet are regarded as the most solid chassis ever manufactured. If you meant the above comment less than literally, please disregarded what I am about to say. I know it is easy to overlook our favorite cars' shortcomings because we are partial to them but over the years I have learned to accept these shortcomings as part of the cars' character. One of my most beloved cars, a 1965 MK2 Spitfire4 suffered the same wheel jacking problem as the Corvair, but I love(d) it anyway. I'm no Corvair expert but I have taken a long gander at the front trunk area of more than a few and I find it hard to believe that their chassis is either the most solid chassis ever manufactured or regarded as such. Not only do I think your average new Hyundai to be far more solid but I would bet whatever money is in my wallet that a F.I.A.T. X1/9 probably has a more solid chassis than a cooking version of any Corvair. Again, if you were just being colorful then please disregard these comments. I am speculating.
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Post by RedRooJusty on Nov 28, 2009 4:59:22 GMT -5
**SeattleJusty** in response, Chevy was not really into the whole lightweight uni-body (full-monocoque) car business (like Volkswagen, Opel, Nash, fiat? of that era), they engineered the car with heavy guage steel so it could take a hit from other US cars of it's day, subsequently the chassis held together really well. Just a heavy steel chassis that didn't twist or flex. To be fair all uni-body designs prior to the seventies were held to a different standard of safety, they generally had little crumple zones (if any) and were very rigid by comparison. Yes the OEM rear has a tuck (wheel jacking) issue, two major factors exacerbated that: 1. Non radial tall sidewall tires of the sixties. 2. geometry of the rear swing arm. The tuck issue in this car (63') is mitigated by limiting straps on the rear swing arms, a few inches of lowering the center of gravity, and modern radial tires. Check the pic of the rear suspension of the 61', it sits so low that the rear tires are in negative camber , that car also had slid at speed and held (mostly due to how low it was). I know it is easy to overlook our favorite cars' shortcomings because we are partial to them but over the years I have learned to accept these shortcomings as part of the cars' character. Nah, my love for the Corvair is not blind. I don't mind skepticism, I have heard thousands of corvair folklore stories over the years. People feel compelled to tell me stories about them all the time (most are love stories, it's like a Justy in that you just have to own one to get it). I have no mis-conceptions over the short comings of the original corvair design, but structural integrity was definitely not one of them. In my claim I am referring to the US auto manufacturers, I am sure some other manufacturer in this world has chiseled out a better widget at some time. I'd take a bet on the uniquely ugly Porsche 914 over the Fiat X1/9 . Wait a second..... you gave odds on a one-hit-wonder thin-skin hyundai, your pulling my leg (I'll take a gentleman's bet on that claim I have cut out a hyundai door handle assembly in the scrap yard with a multi-tool can opener. I have owned two hyundai's (1990 sonata gls, and a 1999 elantra), I can only assume that you are joking around with me. If we honestly disagree, then I accept your opinion and we will agree to disagree. I believe that we do agree on having an ongoing love for our cars, and that's why we are all here. ;D -good times -RRJ
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SeattleJusty
No, a boxer will not fit in a Justy.
Posts: 1,587
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Post by SeattleJusty on Nov 28, 2009 14:15:56 GMT -5
Hmmm. Well what I meant is, that if you took three perfectly rust free 1965 Corvairs, and three brand new Sonatas and did the modern full front, offset front and side impact crash tests, the Hyundais' occupants would fare better than the Corvairs'. Also, I believe the chassis rigidity would probably be much higher in the Hyundai. As far as the metal being thinner, well yeah, duh. Look at the Maserati Birdcage or the aerial (extending ladder) on a fire truck. The individual pieces are thin and small in diameter but it is a very strong structure. Of course if aerials were just two long sections with rungs in between then they would have to be much heavier but not any stronger. This is how I view a modern car vs a classic car. As much as I hate to admit it, newer cars are better at some things but I keep my older cars for their charm, design, build quality and most of all because driving an old car is the most green option.
I owned a 1973 914S loved it, and thought it quite attractive.
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Post by RedRooJusty on Nov 28, 2009 15:02:24 GMT -5
Ok, I see your point. If it is passenger safety then I would take any modern car over a 60's vehicle. All US cars from the early sixties were death traps. Lets see.... early sixties cars had: Hard metal interiors, low back seats without head or neck support, 2-point lap belts, non-collapsing steering columns, etc, etc... There is no waiver to sign, but with all cars old or new there is always the risk of death. More often a sixties car would survive the crash, but the blood balloons in the seats would not. Just like riding a motor cycle --> I say avoid the crash, stop tailgating, control your speed and keep cruising . -I love the 914 as well, still the only Porsche for me. -RRJ
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SeattleJusty
No, a boxer will not fit in a Justy.
Posts: 1,587
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Post by SeattleJusty on Nov 29, 2009 14:14:15 GMT -5
driving an old car is the most green option. Really? Then consider the following: Replacing 1 single gas-guzzling 10mpg old bomb with another that gets 20mpg over a 15,000 mile period(1 year) yields MORE fuel savings than trading 6 Justys@36mpg for 6 Prius(or whatever)@50mpg for the same 15,000 mile period! So it's really not black & white but more black with a 'touch of grey'. That is the Truth, should you choose to accept it. stacks Really Stacks? Could you please give us some statistics on how much polution is created by all of the Chinese and Malaysian factories that produce the tons and tons of plastics, rubbers and metals needed to manufacture a brand new car? Could you also please tell us if all of the rubber and plastics are removed from scrapped cars before they are melted down? Tell us the standard for plastic and rubber removal for North America and also for other countries. Tell us how much it pollutes to make a car and how much it pollutes to dispose of a car; we will add those hard numbers together and weigh them against the differences in fuel usage you listed above. I don't know how many 10MPG vehicles are still registered in Mooseneck or Elkjaw or wherever you live but there are almost none of those left on public roads in the USA. My point is and always has been: reduce reuse recycle It is greener than consume destroy consume destroy
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SeattleJusty
No, a boxer will not fit in a Justy.
Posts: 1,587
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Post by SeattleJusty on Nov 29, 2009 17:12:57 GMT -5
Once again Stacks you demonstrate your mastery of changing the subject with blurry data. My point was and is that driving an old car is greener than driving a new car and as I stated in The Truth About Your Justy the greenest of the green is to drive an old car with a small footprint such as the Justy. RedRoo don't be discouraged; your 30MPG Corvair is both responsible and classy
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Post by RedRooJusty on Nov 29, 2009 23:14:05 GMT -5
Guys.... I love my corvair. I am happy to share it here on this forum as my "other" ride. I have been clear in my postings... A bit of mood lightener: here is a link to some recently found humor: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr9cE0lLrFg Random -I know, but funny. -RRJ
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Post by DrewNukesEm on Dec 5, 2009 20:06:18 GMT -5
Haha, sweet ride.. My buddy has a pretty gnarly monster VW baja bug with a Corvair engine that rips, it goes most places 4x4's go.. I'll see if I cant get a pic of it up sometime. Also by my work there is a dude that is absolutely obsessed with Corvairs and no joke has 6 parked in his yard (maybe more, all are nice too).. I'll try to remember to bring my camera with me to take some pictures.
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Post by nipper on Dec 22, 2009 18:30:25 GMT -5
I had a 67 Vair ten years ago, it got rear ended at 50 mph . It was a sweet ride, though the automatic sucked on the highway. Car sucked down gas. Around town it was sweet. nipper
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Post by redmavis12 on Dec 23, 2009 8:05:15 GMT -5
RRJ, Nice...good luck with your Corvair. I remember my Uncle had a red one back in the sixties...and yes, I'm old enough to remember the sixties. These cars had a boxer-type engine did they not??? or flat engine I should say similar to my '97 Impreza. Hope you can keep the rust demon at bay...it is slowly eating away at my beloved Justy . BTW, I have an old '73 Citroen that I am restoring...talk about odd cars! Cheers, Steve aka redmavis
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