Here’s one often overlooked, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair turbo-charged Spyder. Actually, the Corvair in general gets bypassed on the collectability and interest scale and that’s a shame. Designing and creating an air-cooled compact tells you that in the late fifties, Chevrolet was probably sizing up the competition in a different light than Ford with its Falcon and Plymouth’s take on the compact market with the Valiant. Of course, Chevrolet joined that club in ’62 with the Chevy II but for now, let’s examine this bronze beauty from Painesville, Ohio, courtesy of Mark, and see what it offers.
The Corvair had a bang-up year in ’63 with 254K copies leaving the Willow Run assembly plant. Trim levels started with the 500, moved to the 700, and topped out with the Monza. This Spyder was a “Sportster” upgrade to the Monza and was available as a two-door sports coupe (a pillared sedan actually) or a convertible. Other Corvair body styles included a four-door sedan and the Greenbriar “Sports Wagon” that was really a van.
The seller tells us, “From what I can tell this car is 95% Original condition, it may have been touched up once in its lifetime…” I can’t find this shade of bronze in the ’63 Chevrolet palette but maybe my sources aren’t complete. Whatever the case it’s a fabulous shade and this coupe wears it beautifully. No rot is claimed to blemish this Chevy’s bodywork and the seller states that he has the original wheels and wheel covers though the attached alloys (similar to Minilites?) do this car complete justice.
Power is provided by a 150 gross HP, 145 CI, flat-six-cylinder, air-cooled engine, (one of 11K coupes so equipped) performing its magic via a four-speed manual transaxle. The seller claims, “This car runs & drives as I take it out on the weekends. Numbers matching/original/unmolested car… This car drives great! 70-80 mph on highway & around town…” However, and there always seems to be a however, the seller adds, “I have parts minus turbo as someone decided to take this off.” Well, that lets a bit of bluster out of my sails.
The interior is poorly photographed with just a snippet here and a snippet there – nothing comprehensive. It’s a typical sixties Chevrolet interior with gold vinyl upholstery covering its bucket seats and matching nylon loop carpeting. It appears to be in fine condition with just a hinky driver’s door armrest needing attention.
Well, I’m a bit suspicious now. Don’t get me wrong, I like this car, it’s a neat find and the seller is adamant, “Original 8,900 mile Note this isn’t a misprint.” OK, I’d prefer some documentation to back up that claim (no misprint on my part). I’m troubled as to why the turbocharger would have been removed on a car with just 8,900 miles on its life clock – the Turbo is one of its identifying, stand-out features. And that begs other questions about changing the under-hood plumbing to accommodate the now missing turbocharger. The listing is here on eBay where this sharp-looking Chevy is available for a current bid of $4,300 with the reserve not yet met. Please look it over and let me know what you think, genuine mileage?
Nice car. Never saw this color before but it really looks good on this car.
Agree.. Nice colour but I highly doubt that is the original colour.. Too shiny, looks like base/clear and the rust in the seams is a bit scary… Also, look at the picture of the seat.. red vinyl showing through the sprayed on beige seat dye.. and that household carpet? hmmm too much rust on the gauges, worn out armrests, split roofliner… Mabee 108,000 miler car perhaps???
The color looks like anniversary gold. It is also on the 1963 Impalas. Maybe not listed but looking at the engine bay I don’t think someone would take on the extra work to do a complete color change instead of fixing the turbo .What makes it more desirable and value adder ?
There’s always a hedge in the sellers description to go along with the picture of the speedometer, because their claim isn’t true. If you have proof, show it, if not show the car, describe the condition and put TMU in the description. If you fudge or lie about something like that why should any other portion of the description be believed.
The car looks good in the pictures, if it stands up on its own merits it will sell itself.
Steve R
I read the ebay description and I don’t get a vibe that he’s lying. He has a 100% approval rating for what it’s worth. I thought you had to actually deliver on your claims to get that, but maybe I’m wrong. When I sell any car I state the mileage, as far as proving it goes I just add a pic of the odometer. He should have done that, but a dishonest person could easily unplug it for as long as they want I suppose.
I like the later models styling better, but these early ones are growing on me.
Dave, how old are the cars you sell? Do the cars you sell gave 5 or 6 digit speedometers?
Why would anyone believe well under 10,000 claimed miles on a car that has significant modifications and no documentation to back it up. It might be another thing if a seller is claiming 60,000 or 70,000 miles or is a later model where Carfax is available. The car should speak for itself based on its condition, I just don’t buy sun-9,000 miles with this car.
Steve R
Steve R. A signed affidavit from the Pope wouldn’t be enough for some people. You should contact the seller with questions, but I get the feeling you won’t.
If someone is interested they’ll contact the seller themselves. Why would I waste his time and mine. I assume you wouldn’t want to answer questions from people that aren’t potential buyers when you are listing a car, so why would you suggest someone do that to him?
Steve R
Steve: Because you are the one disclaiming the mileage on the car. Thats why. If you doubt it, go ahead and demand proof, whatever that is. Do you think you’re going to get a Carfax going back to 1963? What exactly is the proof you need? Again, he has a 100% rating on ebay. Does that mean nothing to you? And if so, why?
Dave, how dare you question Steve. Oh, sorry, Steve “R”. AKA Captain Obvious…🙄
The oil leak isn’t from the pan gasket, it’s from the pushrod tube seals.
Too bad the owner had to “hot rod” it. Looks pretty solid.
Look closely, Rust.
And…he “knows what he’s got.”
I have doubts about the mileage claim. Way too much wear on the steering wheel. The passenger seat appears to have been dyed from red to bronze and no turbo? There is rust starting which may not be the best judge of mileage but there are a few things going on with this car that makes me think buyer beware.
“Numbers matching/original/unmolested car” – How can it be called unmolested if it’s missing the turbo?
The color is closest to Saddle Tan, which was called Bronze Mist by Buick. Google “1963 Chevrolet Saddle Tan” and you’ll see what I mean.
Btw… I’m not buying the mileage claim, either.
I think the color is called Autumn Gold listed as #920 on 1963 Corvair color charts.
Okay, while the mileage may be questionable, if you even clicked on this post, you must have an interest, and this one is a beaut. If I may field the question asked, I believe like most fancy gizmos, the turbocharger probably was a PITA to drive, like most, the carbs were just more user friendly. Same with early fuel injection, many were removed for a regular carburettor. And that’s another thing, I remember plenty of non-turbo Spyders. As a kid, this new word, “turbocharger” was all the buzz. We made it our business to check every Corvair we saw. Under all the oil, almost none were the 180hp. And like VW, it was the pushrod tubes that leaked. As a fan ( pun intended) of VWs, the Corvair, to me, was this US version of a VW on steroids, and I thought were highly and wrongly picked on( did we get through 1 Corvair thread without you know who?) Corvairs were about $400 bucks more than a VW,( $1549) at just under $2grand, but the turbo Spyder added almost a grand, and defeated the original purpose of a Corvair. I read, less than 25% of all Corvairs sold had the turbo. While the stick is a deterrent, it has plenty of interest, just not what I consider a lot of money for such a nice car.
Sorry, Howard. There were NO non-turbo Spyders from the factory. The 1st gens were 150 hp, 2nd gens 180 hp. And since when is a 4-speed stick a “deterrent” over a 2 -speed Powerglide?
P.S. Spyders (and the later Corsas) were all stick. There was no accommodation on the dash panel for the automatic’s gear lever.
Thank you for your expertise. Like I say, we never saw any, just the oily sloppy ones that you couldn’t see the tail lights. The manual is a dying breed, and I appreciate your standing up for it, but manuals, as discussed over and over, ( by me), are just not going to be wanted in the future. They hinder sales now, in 20 years, all these cars will be dinosaurs. Sorry, I’ve been in the “hobby” for 50 years, and this is the lowest interest I’ve ever seen for manually shifted cars. Granted, musclecars will always be wanted for their 4 speeds, but I suspect that will fade as well. Manual transmissions in the future will be like Model T transmissions to me. I had no interest in even learning how to drive one, so I suppose it’s all relative.
Well, It does have a YR Block which would make at least the Block Spyder/Turbo correct. Need to check the # on the heads to be sure they are Turbo (hardened valve seats). There is a lot of exhaust manifold and engine tin unique to the Spyder that one would hope would still be around to fit back up with a new Turbo (from Clark’s Corvair). As a Spyder owner for over 30 years I can attest to the finicky YH Carburetor.
Looks like it would make a fun driver even wothout the TURBO
I suspect the odometer’s rolled over, as suggested above, by the steering wheel wear.
My first car was a ’63 Corvair 500. Also have owned a ’64 Spyder, and ’65 & ’66 Monzas. Know them well. First off, mileage claim is BS as I glean from the description the seller is not the original owner and therefore cannot verify. Secondly, taking off the turbo drops you from 150 hp to the low compression 80 hp unit. Obvious rust bubbles on driver’s door frame. If the seller were more honest, I might be interested, but this presents as a “paint it and sell it” special. JMHO.
I had a 62 vair non turbo with a 3spd stick. Lot’s of fun and quick had the 4barrel conversion heads and exhaust tricked out by boarder line speed shop long island NY. It was a sleeper at the stop light grandprix back then 😂
Can’t really post pics here. Was going to share a pic of my 64 Monza
I will admit that this is a pretty neat looking car, but that’s where my interest ends. I don’t believe the mileage claim for a second, and “unmolested” means “never been altered” where I come from. While the comment someone made about FI units being removed from early Vettes is exactly right, (in the sixties, the average price for an FI unit was $200) removing one from a 327 left you with a 340 or 365 horse motor depending on the year. Still pretty formidable. Removing the turbo from a Spyder more than cut the horsepower in half. Doesn’t make sense. You would have bought a turbo for the increased horsepower, so why remove it? Just my opinion.
The cOol thing about the MonZa Spyder is the CLOCK CLUSTER .
Please show the Daszh more.
Have had a number of CorVairs . .would You trust this to Dependably drive from ABQ,NM to Tucson,AZ and Back? 🏁gF☮️
A hodgepodge car. Maybe it started life as a Spyder but it’s not pone now. Looks like a 95 or 110 hp engine from a 1964. That 64 and later air cleaner is proof that someone has swapped in a normally aspirated engine or made an engine that’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Turbos had a habit of dropping valve seats if they were ever overheated. Something happened to this one, that’s for sure.
These cars fall into the category of CUTE cars. I was a junior in High School in 1963 and a certain pretty girl drove a black Spyder convertible to school. I never talked to her since she was way out of my league. But I did enjoy looking both her and her car over with envy.
God Bless America
I think we’re in the majority. When some one does this:
“…unmolested car…” – How can it be called unmolested if it’s missing the turbo?…”
it sends a shock that puts the kibosh on clean relations sales need for
straight deals.
Thanks, chrlsful, for writing in complete sentences. I speak Jive, but many do not, so again, thanks for English.