It’s been unseasonably warm in my neck of the woods this fall, and if the sunny weather keeps coming, those fortunate enough to own a convertible may have a few weekends left to cruise around with the top down. For readers in many parts of the country, this doesn’t seem like the best time to buy a ragtop, at least not one that’s ready to get behind the wheel. However, this 1964 Chevrolet Corvair here on Facebook Marketplace is a project, so it’ll be at least spring (or maybe next summer) before it’s ready for any topless driving. This compact drop-top sits in a garage in Rochester, Indiana, and it seems fairly priced at $2,000.
The post includes little specific information, but I think the seller is a third party, since he says an elderly man owns the convertible. One clue it may have been inoperative for decades is the windshield photo, which shows an Indiana registration sticker that expired in 1972, so this Corvair may not have been driven since. The exterior also has trim covering some of the lower sections, but the piece around the driver’s-side wheel opening is peeled back a bit, exposing some sheet-metal rust. Hopefully, this is typical of any other corrosion on the body, since it could be minor enough to repair rather than replace that panel.
The seller also took a picture of the VIN, and the 09 indicates this Corvair is a 900-series Monza, just one position below the top-of-the-line Monza Spyder in the 1964 lineup. That same year, Chevy stretched the stroke of the air-cooled flat-six and increased its displacement to 164 cubic inches, but it still fell just shy of delivering 100 HP in standard form. The fan belt is still in place, and the engine compartment doesn’t appear to have been stripped of any components. However, there’s no information on whether it was running when this car was parked, or whether the crank still turns freely.
From the interior photos, the dashboard and many components appear intact, and the shifter confirms it has a manual transmission. The driver’s seat shows wear, and the rear seat is missing the bottom section, so this convertible will definitely need some interior work to get it back to a nice driver. Fortunately, this 1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza appears mostly complete, and I’m leaning toward calling it a decent project at the two-grand price point. How about you?
First, I am a HUGE Corvair fan, Seriously! And have always been and still am about the price still out there. A cherry 100pt show car..Spyder I might ad is 20K on a good day. SO? You buy this one for 2K and spend, far far far far more than 20K restoring it? Rust? And you have a 10K car tops, or top down. Unless you were conceived in the back seat of this car? then its priceless!