Introduced for the 1961 model year, the Corvair Station Wagon (named the Lakewood) touted that it was “the only wagon in the world with plenty of rear and front cargo space…making it the most ideal family wagon in the field.” But a funny thing happened. The buying public began seeing the Corvair more as a specialty car than as an economy car, and the nicer-appointed Monza trim line saw increased sales – especially in the two-door coupe body style. This led Chevrolet to think of a younger, more sporty-minded future buyer, so after the first quarter of 1962, the Corvair Station Wagon was discontinued in order to start production of the Monza Convertible. As a result, only 2,362 of the Monza 900 Wagon (the Lakewood name was dropped in ’62) rolled off the assembly line. This is one of those that has survived and appears to be in very good condition. It is located in snowy Akron, Ohio, and is listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for $10,000. Thanks to Ted for spotting this rare red long roof and sending it our way.
Finished in a rather sporty Roman Red, this 1962 Corvair Monza Station Wagon appears to be in solid shape. I’m not seeing rust or accident damage and the paint is very presentable and shiny as is the chrome, trim, glass, and lenses. And in case the rear – and front – cargo space isn’t enough, there’s a big red luggage rack on top to carry Aunt Edna from Arizona to Walley World.
The Monza Series 900’s had better interior appointments than the base level Deluxe Series 700’s. Bucket seats were available and the 700’s rubber floor covering was replaced with carpeting. The pleated and buttoned vinyl seats and door panels do not give you an “econobox” feel, that’s for sure. Except for a lumpy driver’s seat bottom, the interior looks fresh and in very good condition. The front and rear cargo areas are clean and roomy – 58 cubic feet in the rear with the back seat folded down, plus 10 more cubic feet in the upfront trunk. A floor-mounted shifter can be seen for the manual transmission (which were offered in both 3-speed and 4-speed).
The seller shows a video of a clean engine bay with the air cooled, flat-six engine running. The ’62 Corvairs offered a base 80 horsepower Turbo Air 145 engine as well as a 102 horsepower option. The seller doesn’t give specifics on the engine other than saying it “runs good” and has 110,000 miles showing on the odometer. The seller also states that the Corvair “has incredible heat, all heating cables move like they should, and lights and wipers work as well.” The seller doesn’t say how long he’s had this Corvair Wagon or its history, but shares that he has two many vehicles and one of two vehicles has to go…a 2014 Honda Accord or this ’62 Corvair Station Wagon (that he’d prefer to keep). I just checked and a “Pending” status has been added to the post, so this one may be gone, though sales fall through all the time for one reason or another. What do you think of this rare, rear-engine long roof? Ever seen one?
The badging in the rear says its the 102hp engine.
This might actually be a unique set up with a trans axel. https://www.theautopian.com/how-pontiacs-first-compact-ended-up-with-half-a-v8-up-front-a-transaxle-in-back-and-rope-drive-in-between/
Too nice to turn into a MORRVAIR…or is it?
The front fake grille trim pieces need to be swapped side for side & flipped.
Assuming it isn’t eaten up with rust & turned into a rolling Bondo sculpture, not a bad buy. You’re certainly not likely to see yourself coming.
I never understood why these did not catch on. TONS of room and fun to drive. Wrong engine should have the oil filler through the access door not the top.
looks clean. temp tag on my guess is a quick flip. reminds me of ultra man
I own a Lakewood and enjoy driving it. The wagon pictured is very rare as not many were produced in 62. Parts are not that difficult to find.
Beautiful looking Corvair wagon. It’s damned unforgivable that it was discontinued when it was. I imagine it would’ve made a great competitor for the VW wagon.
Unless I’m mistaken, the VW was powered by an air-cooled pancake 4 cyl. engine. The Corvair was powered by an air-cooled pancake 6 cyl. engine. During the first 1/2 of the 60s you could’ve gotten a Corvair Greenbrier van. It’s unforgivable that it was discontinued when it was. I’ve never understood why they were intro’d when they were, only to be discontinued a few years later. It’s never made sense to me.
Mainly because the Corvair was not the answer to the Falcon and Valiant , and the Chevy ll was coming out to compete with them , and a wagon was available
Maybe not, but was that really the point of the Corvair? The Falcon and the Chevelle were front-engine/rear-wheel drive. The Corvair was rear-engine/rear-wheel drive. I think the Corvair was Chevy’s answer to the Volkswagen. They wanted to make an American version, much larger, for American buyers. Why it didn’t continue into the 1970s, possibly later than that is anyone’s guess.
Thats the maddening tendency about GM,They make the effort and spend the money to be innovative in creating new designs, They advertise and raise the expectations of car buyers.and just when you are getting interested and excited they suddenly decide to go in another direction and pull the plug and abandon entire technologies. The brain trusts at GM are often responding to impending economic forecasts by their in house visionaries. What GM sees as being alert and proactive and nimble reaction to outside forces looks capricious and violent to those of us on the outside looking in.at the rapid dismantling of what had been the new thing just one year previously.
Right? I’ve never understood that thinking.
Ralph Nader killed the sale of the Corvair. I can’t remember which of the big two paid Ralph to rig a flip the Corvair by pulling one with a rope from one side at the front and the truck made a maneuver that sling shot the car causing it to flip over and then procced to lie to congress that the car was dangerous and unsafe. people will believe anything that’s BS! My aunt Lucy had the 2dooor and I love that car. It would handle like nobody’s business and do a 100mph.
Any car can be dangerous if driven recklessly. But I would think that if driven carefully and serviced regularly, it’ll last indefinitely. I think Ralph Nader is crazy for insisting that the Vair was dangerous to drive.
Sorry but you’re not correct.
Nader DID NOT kill the Corvair.
Lee Iacocca and the 64 1/2 Mustang did.
GM already had Camaro on the books, and by 67 the F body was a reality.
Corvair and Camaro share inside and outside door handles, side view mirrors, window cranks, Rocker Trim molding.
Nader was why the US Government tested the Corvair for safety and handling, against the Valiant and the Falcon. Corvair beat both of them.
It’s too damn bad that happened. Who decides such things and why?
i feel that Nader was a product of the times. simply he was just an a** puppet that somebody was pulling his strings. i would rather drive this than a yugo or a smart car. how safe are they? not
The wife of a former college classmate of mine was driving on the Fla Tpk in their new ’61 Lakewood with a softish rear tire (slow leak, it was determined) when it flipped, killing their infant son. The swing-arm rear suspension on the Corvair, VW, Renault, Triumph, etc., had a well known tendency to tuck under, jack up the rear and flip the machine. Fact, not fiction.
How much the suspension had to do with this incident is not known but the combination of swing arms and a serious rearward weight bias can NOT be overlooked.
As for the Yugo being unsafe, you’re probably referring to the one blown off the bridge in MI. Well, drivers were warned not to drive over the bridge because of the unusually high cross winds. “Chickie” didn’t listen, was going much too fast and paid the price. Must have been a hell of a ride down.
Will, that could be the scene from a horror movie with flashbacks to the life prior to the event. There are quite a few people who are very frightened of traveling over bridges, now not without justification you relate.
Dave in PA- Thanks, you’re right… a worst case, never-ending nightmare.
I guess my point was that my wife and I drove our two Yugos all over the east coast- VT to FL- for a total of a quarter million miles and found them to be reliable, comfortable, fun to drive, well glued down and a sort of “in your face” statement to “superior” cars who just could NOT stand to be behind a Yugo cruising along around five over any posted speed, including on the Interstates.
The only more fun I ever had was chasing M-Bs and Bimmers around the hilly twisties of NW CT with my 5-speed 2.2 Plymouth Voyager. They couldn’t shake me… don’t know if it was comparable vehicles (in actuality, certainly not in their minds!) or superior vs. inferior driving abilities. Either way, it was a blast!
Looks like the nice Corvair is sold, as marked “Pending” on site. The video of engine running sounds very good.