According to the seller, 18 years ago this 1966 Corvair Corsa was prepared and painted and has spent most of the time since in a “showroom” with the same owner since 1978. After looking at the beautiful pictures where the car is listed for sale here on eBay I can believe it! This beautiful example of Chevrolet’s import fighter is located in Logansport, Indiana. The buy it now price is $8,750 (show me where you can get many other classics in this shape for that kind of money!) and even lower offers are being considered.
The color looks somewhat like Marina Blue according to this color chart but to be honest I’m not sure if this is the original color. Honestly, in this case I don’t care–this car is gorgeous! I believe the luggage rack to be from a later vintage than the car, as it’s the same aftermarket type fitted to Toyotas and British Leyland products. My dislike of luggage racks has been covered previously and this one is no exception, however, at least it’s a good one that is mostly made from stainless steel. I love these GM wire wheel covers and the three-bar spinners just add to the sporty look, although the original Corsa wheel covers also come with the car. And who among us classic car fans doesn’t appreciate vent windows!
The interior has just enough wear to look used. The seller tells us it’s all original. For those of you that have owned these second generation Corvairs — is there enough room in that back seat for real people? Sure looks like it. I love that it’s a four speed as well.
Like the rest of the car, the “frunk” looks nice but not perfect. There’s some rust under the brake master cylinder you’ll want to at least treat, though.
The seller pegs the mileage at 100,000, and that might be a lot if this “140” engine hasn’t been rebuilt. No mechanical history is given, and we aren’t even told how well it runs, so I recommend asking some questions before bidding! Want it in your garage?
The color is definitely not original, but looks closer to Tropic Turquoise to me (though it’s not green enough). The telescoping steering column with “wood” sport wheel is a very desirable option, as front seat adjustments are pretty minimal.
The rear seat in the late model Corvair coupe is something of an optical trick; the fast roofline restricts headroom, so the seatback was moved forward compared to the sedan, but to preserve the illusion of legroom, the cushion was shortened! There’s room for kids and short real people, but not much more.
Very nice Corvair! $6500 would be good price if the mechanicals are ok. Agree about the luggage rack. Clark’s Corvair Parts is a great resource.
My parents first new car was a Corvair sedan. I had a 64 Corvair Monza convertible which I had to give up on and sell “as is” years ago. The rear seats are roomy for real people…a little narrower in the convertible. A period correct smaller wood steering wheel makes it easier to slide in…factory wheel is ok.
I live about an hour south…fun to look but I would be a tire kicker.
Mom, dad, Sam and a new Corvair.
Sam,
Great picture. Life in the U.S.A. in the mid-sixties.
The feature car is a very nice example of the breed. I don’t think that brake line is exactly the way the general designed it. Have to change that. Otherwise, nice.
Owned one white and painted stripes to match Yenko’s first cars. Drilled a hole in the trunk and filled it with beer and ice everyone commented about my leaking radiator until I opened the trunk LOL.
LOLCaymanDave,
I did the same with my Beetle trunk in the front, although it already had a drain hole in it…I did have to add a piece of old paneling across the front to get a whole case in there with ice though. I got stopped and checked by the police a couple of times and the requisite check inside the car for beer coolers always went well…
Went over my shop manuals….the Corsa had so many details engineered into it to make it a fast strong car. Bigger brakes, bigger oil cooler, bigger valves, higher compression heads, bigger exhaust manifolds….2 primary carbs and 2 secondary with no idle adjusts…..Was quite a difference from the 2 carb engine in power and stopping with the big brakes. If they had added adjustable steering arms like they had for the later corvette, it would have been PERFECT.
Beautiful Corsa! “It has an older rebody and repaint about 18 years ago” according to the Seller. Surely not. Maybe he means restoration.
Really the 65-69 Vairs are good looking cars…….
Among the best ever, I think.
65 to 69 Corvairs took our young
Family from Marhefka chev in Johnstown
Pa, to Hatrisburg,Yardvile, NJ, San Antonio, Tx, Valencia ,ca, Columbus. Ohio
& our Final destination in San Antonio,Tx,
Great cars, owned & updated 15 late
Models , Ez to insure ,Drive in all kinds
Of weather,no drama on upkeep
If I bought that, I would change nothing. I’d even keep the luggage rack! Corsas are the ones you want.
Bought the maroon ’65 off the turntable at the ’65 Detroit Auto Show. Except for the lack of air conditioning it was one of the best cars we’ve ever owned. Could have been this car repainted with identical accessories.
Yes , i bought a Maroon 68 convertible
From Hugh white Chevrolet in Columbus
,Ohio with auto, A/C what a great tight
Driving Beauty, Wish we still had This
CORVAIR, THE 110 ENGINE WITH
THE POWERGLIDE WAS ALMOST
INDISTRUCTABLE
Bought a 65 140 from a senior citizen lady in 1971. It was her run around town grocery ride and she parked it and went to Florida every year. Broken hip and she had to sell it. $125 with 16K miles. After checking it out it was clear that she had never gotten on it hard enough to engage the second carbs. Easy to work on and when running right, really neat. Easy to overrev and would throw the belt.
Absolute beauty.love the wheels,not a fan of the luggage rack but would leave it.hope it goes to a good home.
I remember driving my sisters 140 convertible with a bunch of friends on board on a cold Michigan winter night back in the 70’s…the windshield was so fogged up we lit a newspaper on fire to try to clear it…the windshield immediately cracked (stupid mistake #1), then we hit some ice and the car started spinning… fortunately it came to a stop in the middle of the road…that’s how I learned…one lesson at a time.
The Corsa is definitely the one to get, check out that instrument panel! My preference would be a 68 or 69 w/ the padded dash and side-marker lights (me dreaming again), but agree…$7 something might be a good buy.
I had a couple of these back in the day. They had the potential to be an American Porsche. I was involved in building a Yenko Stinger clone in the early 70s and had access to all the right parts. I remember going into my local Chev dealership with a batch of odd part #s and instructions for which warehouse to order from and ended up with factory sport springs which lowered the car 2″ and larger sway bars and quick steering arms. The parts counter guy wondered who I knew. A watts line at work and a connection to GM got me a long conversation with one of the engineers who had been deeply involved in the evolution of the Corvair from econocar to Spyder. We also added the cast aluminum finned oil pan for increased volume and better cooling and it also stiffened the crankcase. No oil leaks for us. When we were done, we took it to Road Atlanta for the first Can-Am race. Don Yenko came over in a golf cart and proudly showed it off to his friend as , ‘One of the cars I built.’ We didn’t set him right. We just basked in the glow and blew the doors off a 911 Targa on the way home up Lookout Mountain. The engine was just blueprinted and ported with a good exhaust system. It was an extraordinary car.
Hey Tommy D I’m still laughing glad you weren’t hurt!!!
Me too!!!
Was in a small town in Italy back then and an American family came through in one, and it was surrounded by the car guys, who if they had a car it was a Fiat 500 or Daf, Bellimissimo! Over and over
I drove a 67 Corvair Monza 110 h.p.,
Auto from 1967 criss crossed
The country twice, had her stolen
In California going over 100 m.p.h
Down Rt, got her back ,insurance
Paid for new Seals, etc Drove her
Until my oldest drove Her into Ruin.
65-69 Vairs were enginerred with
More improvements & they ran in
Snow, water what have u ,until GM
Gave them up for the car advertised
That need everything well “Vega” Sad
Offhand, this looks like a decent car.
I don’t understand Jamie’s comment about the running. The listing says: “Runs and Drivers Great”
There are a few things which give me pause. Why not clean the car before photos? Vacuuming the pine nuts and apparent rodent leftovers would seem like a good idea. It looks as though the car came out of an extended storage?
I’d want close-up photos of the normal rust-prone areas. And a look at the underside too. There is mention of a re-bushed shift shaft, and that’s good, along with the other work done. I hope it still has the center tunnel pans underneath, they were often left off by some who just couldn’t bother to reinstall them once the sheet metal screws stripped out.
The car appears to be “almost” Marina Blue, perhaps just the camera translation gives it a darker tone.
All in all, the ’66 Corsa is the #1 version of the Corvair to buy. It has the best combination of styling, options, and performance ever available.
Alan, I was just a little concerned about the miles IF no work’s been done. But I agree, I love the car — if I could I’d be looking closer into it!
Jamie,
The things which typically go wrong over time in Corvair motors are valve guides and seals, and for the manual transmission cars, flywheel rivets failure.
The only reason I took my ’66 Corsa’s engine apart was because of the flywheel. Then I found the guides issue. That was a long time ago, and the car had maybe 130K. The crank and bearings were great, so were the cam and lifters, pistons OK too. Of course I had to hop it up a little, so….. some stuff was swapped anyway.
I think it highly unlikely that the featured car has not benefited from a new flywheel, and a general engine overhaul. While it is possible to have made it this many years without removing the heads, that would really surprise me. Normal maintenance items like pushrod and oil cooler seals are a snap, and don’t require that the engine be removed. If they hadn’t been done yet, the car would be a tar baby in the back and underneath.
Before plunking down the cash, I’d want to drive the car, and see how it has held up to whatever driving style prior owners followed. And, I’d want to look underneath!
Agree! Mine spun a rod bearing, plasti-gauge and an oversize bearing installed…still knocked…this backyard mechanic learned my lesson…