I’ve mentioned before that the Pacific Northwest is my favorite area for finding nicely-preserved vehicles. Cars typically aren’t rusty, or overly-rusty, like in the Midwest and Northeast with road salt eating them up. And, not being a hot, dry desert climate like the Southwest, the rubber parts typically aren’t fried to a crisp. This 1961 Chevrolet Corvair 500 Club Coupe looks like a nice, solid project car. It can be found here on craigslist in Pendleton, Oregon with a $3,000 asking price.
That opening photo, man, what a great profile! I love early Corvairs and this looks like a really nice project. The seller says that it’s been parked in a barn since the early-1970s. I can’t make out the latest license tab date but being in storage since the early-70s means that it was only on the road for around a decade. It really looks solid and straight, other than a dent in the left quarter panel. 1961 was only the second year for the Corvair and I really like the simplicity. I would try to fix that dent without filler or paint if possible, replace any dented or broken trim, and drive it as it looks now. Well, I’d clean it up, of course, but not paint it.
The seller says that the trunk and engine compartment are both nice looking but they don’t provide photos of either. That’s always unfortunate. The Corvair came in three levels, or models: the base 500, a mid-level 700 with more chrome and a few interior upgrades, and the top of the line 900 Monza. Corvair literature touted that even the base 500 had dual sun visors, a cigarette lighter, and front door armrests! Boy, have times changed.
As I mentioned, there are no engine photos but this car should have Chevy’s 2.4L/145 cubic-inch flat-six with just around 80 hp. Hopefully it can be tinkered with enough to make it run after so many years without having to rebuild it. The interior looks pretty solid other than the seats, but that’s the least of the next owner’s worries. Getting the mechanical systems up to speed is probably the first task. Have any of you owned a Corvair Club Coupe?
I’ve had several over the years, my 61 was my favorite. I never had any handling problems and it was a simple car to work on. It was another GM disaster because they cut corners to save a tiny bit of money. These early models look dated but the late models still look pretty fresh today. Neat cars with a great support network.
“Have any of you owned a Corvair Club Coupe?” Yup, around 1975. Had a ’62 Monza, a ’61 parts car and later a ’66 4 door HT with factory air. One thing is for sure: even if you get it running, plan on resealing the engine. Pushrod tubes ALWAYS leak until redone with updated seals. And don’t use the heater at all, GM didn’t bother to use a heat exchanger ( like VW ) so carbon monoxide and you will be one. Can’t believe I knew all this at 17, but did, thanks to a subscription to the Corvair club magazine, CORSA.
The heater will work fine, if the exhaust packings between the stub and log manifolds are in good condition/not leaking. And of course, the pushrod tube seals are modern materials, as mentioned. There are incidences of exhaust tube leaks due to corrosion, or improper installation in the heads, but a system in proper condition is not dangerous.
The family drove a Corvair daily for over 8 years, and occasionally for quite a while after that, and CO was not an issue, even after I installed headers. The heater will be well more than sufficient on cold days, as the air comes directly off of the cooling fins on the cylinders and cylinder heads. You will be able to roast yourself, if desired.
If you get an air cooled car and worry about poisoned air components, buy a CO detector and put it in the car where the heater will blow on it, I guess?
DDB, what you say is absolutely correct. Updated seals and a check of exhaust components and you are good. The engines are really tough and highly engineered but easy to work on ignition and fuel delivery. Even the 80hp versions keep up and handle nice. A couple cheap modern upgrades rid the risk of over stated handling problems and remember that these are only a bit over one ton so are lively and fun to drive. I have a later model, but would buy a 1961 or 1962 station wagon if I found one. Parts are no problem whatsoever and clubs and members are hard core and helpful.
Thanks Fred.
Good to know stuff like this if you are a first time Corvair buyer
They really should ad some pictures of the engine and trunk compartments if they are serious about selling it, the price is about $1500 too high, I’d say thats a nice $1000-$1500 car.
The last 4 pictures in the Craigslist ad show 2 pictures of the trunk and 2 pictures of the engine. I wonder if the car runs, not mentioned so it probably does not. Fun cars anyway, especially with a manual trans.
Those must have been added afterwards, they didn’t have them before.
Reviving a ’60 700 Club coupe.
Very much like working on a Chevrolet Beetle. Eerily so.
GM did not quite have the plan down- lots of unprimed sheetmetal, floors got rotten easily. All’s forgiven thanks to its beautiful profile.
Would you believe that Ralph Nader is still alive and crusading still on other subjects! My father had one and he used to drive it on the train tracks in Lachine for showing off fun. I remember our trip to Nove Scotia in 65 , getting stopped in the middle of the night in New Brunswick about the loud exaust, i think the muffler had fallen off or blown open.
A very nice basis for a restoration! Paint it the same seafoam green, and a set of period-correct whitewalls, this could be an eye catcher at shows. I like the early base models.
The seller must have added pictures of the trunk and engine compartment since you wrote this up because it has pictures now. The trunk looks fantastic while the engine compartment could have used extra lighting when taking the pictures. It does have an original style battery and the air cleaners are still mounted so there should be less undesirables having found a way into the engine itself. Before starting or trying to start the engine it is a great idea to remove the engine tin because mice/rats tend to love to build nests under it. It’s (possible) that this car is worth the asking price IF it has little/NO rust. But if it has much more than surface rust the buyer is stuck with a car that is never going to pencil out. At least it has a three speed in it rather than a power glide.
I’ve had a number of Corvairs, 3 as a kid and 3 as an older adult. They were a lot more fun to drive as a kid, but I still have a very large and deep sweet spot for them despite their quirks. The Corvair is one car that has elements of all of the big three: the good, the bad and the ugly! But I love ’em none the less.
No gas heater in the trunk, which is a plus.
My friends, it is time for someone to address the Pink Elephant. I am sorry, and with all due respect, but it is scientifically provable that most first-generation Corvairs are actually ugly. Top-heavy and weird, the styling looks like a bathtub with a pot-cover on it. Equipped with tiny tires, most are generally spartan. It was a rear-engined car with no sway bar. It represented the biggest car company’s hubris, and upon that revelation GM itself was ugly towards the cars’ most vocal critic.
And that made them try harder: The second-generation Corvair is a masterpiece of mid-60’s Space-Age design. The glassy greenhouse melts smoothly down into the rear quarter-panel, which has that perfect character line that simultaneously emotes power and speed. Better equipped then, and better cared for now, even rusty ones are cool. A legitimate rear-engined classic American pony car, with a sway bar.
I have never owned, or even driven, a Corvair of either generation. I would absolutely love to have one, any one, to play with and work on. Realistically, I probably never will. So I remain, like many of us regular people, just another opinionated armchair car enthusiast.
But I think we all know it’s true, even if we don’t want to admit it: First-generation Corvairs are ugly.
Do we all agree? ;)
No.
No, I definitely don’t and not just because I have a 1964 Monza coupé here in Australia. Put an early model Corvair next to any of Harley Earl’s final, truly hideous baroque creations (the 1959 Cadillac is so bad, it’s good) you’ll see just how radical the Corvair was. It was so totally unAmerican that it influenced a generation of European cars, such as the Fiat 1500, Hillman Imp, various NSUs and of course the ‘Neue Klasse’ BMWs, a look that lasted well into the 1970s. Certainly the second generation was very pretty but in my eyes was more conventionally American and had nowhere near the styling influence of its forbears. I can only conclude that Americans have very different tastes in what constitutes ugly.
Thank you Chris for your well-written and insightful reply. You make an interesting point that the first-generation was actually the more revolutionary design and was also more influential. I was just being one-sided for the fun of it, just to see if anyone could come up with a crafty response. At least Duaney responded, although monosyllabically.
Enjoy your ’64 Monza, I bet it is a great car and a blast to have.
No worries, Bobby. I had noticed your tongue firmly in your cheek. Not even the Powerglide tranny can diminish the fun that is the Corvair.
I don’t think this was called a Club Coupe. Just Coupe. Great that it has a stick on the floor so it can scoot along pretty well. No powerglide paddle shifter on the dash. The door cards are in incredible condition considering how rapidly the weather seals and fuzzies wear out at the tops of the doors. A nice, basic Corvair. Front emblem is diecast metal…easily broken. I would take some time with a clay bar and detail the hell out of this original paint, replace the broken bits, and enjoy it.
PS: the inside of the trunk looks incredible considering the rest of the car!
Okay—to everybody here trashing my $4,000 asking price, because cream puff Corvairs are everywhere for pennies. This is what’s actually out there. Sitting 40 years, needs absolutely everything. Maybe you’ll throw a battery in it and get lucky. More likely you’re gonna do the entire brakes, all new fuel system, perhaps discover it got parked due to a dropped valve seat, needs a clutch, etc etc. Yes the parts are easily available, but you will pour money and time into this car guaranteed, and at the end you’ve got a basic strippo 500. Flipper didn’t even bother to hose this one off.
Want a ‘Vair you can enjoy right now and finish at your leisure? This was my first Corvair, it could be yours. I had a great experience with it.
https://barnfinds.com/classifieds/1965-chevrolet-corvair-monza/
But. But. But…. this one has glass, complete interior with door cards in place, and no Marvel Mystery oil. LOL Okay, okay Chebby, you can start poking at me now.
By the way, if you were closer I’d be looking at your coupe as a potential summer project. Alas, I have a toddler that will be my summer project.
Lol, you were one of the nice commenters LC! Besides, mine has all the glass haha….
My first new car was a 1961 Corvair Monza 900 coupe straight shift, 80 HP. I wanted the 95 HP but waited until too late in the model year to order it and the dealer couldn’t find one anywhere. I added dual exhausts to it and it ran fine. Got 30 MPG on the road. Never experienced any handling problems and it was driven pretty hard. Many times I have wished I had it back. White with red interior. A fun car to drive.
Looks like the plate is 1963, so no, it wasn’t on the road too long. Having had one in high school, I, too, would inspect the heater thoroughly. It was a fun car to drive and I had the only one at my school so it garnered a lot of attention.
@ Dan, Do you think the plate is genuine ? I’ve never seen a plate where the characters were “000” , the CDY is feasible but the 000 ?
Mom bought a new 1961 Corvair 500 in Seafoam Green just like this one. One option Powerglide automatic. No radio, no heater, nothin! She drove it for 5 years and only had to replace one drive belt. She traded it in on a ’66 Chevy II Super Sport.