By 1962, just about every major U.S. automaker had a compact car to sell. Chevrolet was the most prolific with not one but two for buyers to choose from. The first was the Corvair which was different than the others with its rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. This Monza 4-door sedan from 1962 looks like a mostly solid car that’s been in storage for quite a while. Located in Dewey, Arizona, the Chevy has been priced to sell at just $1,600 here on craigslist, so it qualifies as “cheap wheels”. Another nifty tip from Barn Finder Pat L.!
The market leader in compact car sales was the Ford Falcon, yet the Corvair was in second place by 1962. Its mechanical configuration was much like that of the Volkswagen Beetle, which was one of the reasons why Detroit got into the compact car game. But not every buyer was interested in the air-cooled engine, so Chevy rolled out the Chevy II in 1962 with a conventional front-mounted, water-cooled powerplant. Sales of the Corvair and Chevy II would only differ by 2,000 units that year, but the gap would grow as the decade progressed, in the latter’s favor.
If you were looking for a higher level of trim in a Corvair, you bought a Monza which was offered in a 4-door sedan like the seller’s auto. More than 48,500 of those were sold in 1962, making it the second most popular model/body style purchased. While the seller says this car has a 4-cylinder engine, that’s not correct. Instead, it should be a 145 cubic-inch “Turbo-Air” flat-six that produced 84 hp with the Powerglide automatic transmission. While the car doesn’t run, the engine turns by hand so perhaps getting it to fire up Is just a weekend or two’s worth of work.
The body looks pretty fair for being 61 years old although the seller admits you’ll find some rust, but very little. The grey paint is flaking off in places (a possible older repaint?), but a good cleaning should make it look presentable enough. We can’t tell about the interior as the photos don’t help much and plastic covers appear to be over both the front and rear seats to protect them from the Arizona sun. Except for a missing air filter cover, we’re told this is a complete vehicle to restore or use for parts (only if you must).
For someone wanting and older car to start with this is it. Shouldn’t be too hard to wake it back up, parts are easy to come by and fairly large support network. Realistic price, amazing.
My mother went through two of the small engine 4 doors with automatic and never had one problem with either one. My ’65 Monza 4 speed was quicker but I was surprised at the get up and go of Mom’s cars. I understand the fix for the swing axles is still available. Good car here but you still can’t beat the ’64 white over red convertibles.
This is a great deal! I’d change the belts, oil, and detail it thoroughly.
I liked the looks of the Corvair, but it scared me to drive one.
With the engine in the back, it felt like the front wheels barely touched the pavement, and I didn’t like the feel of “floating front wheels”. A friend who had one put a lot of weight up front to keep the wheels more “in touch”.
I felt the same sensation with my VW bug until I learned to keep the gas tank full all the time. Helps balance things out.
The problem is obvious from your description. There was too much air in the front tires. If the fronts are inflated to what the glovebox sticker shows, they do not have that feeling.
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