We received a trio of reader Corvair submissions today, so I decided to feature them together and see which one you liked the best. We have:
A 1963 Corvair Panel Van from Jim S., who commented that it would be nice if the seller added larger photos (I agree, and they say they will!). It’s located in Cloverdale, California and is listed here on eBay, starting at $999 without a reserve.
A 1960 Corvair Monza coupe from Randy C., who said Pics are sparse, as is description, but looks like a good Corvair project for someone in BF land. This one is located in Thomasville, North Carolina and is listed here on craigslist for $2,500.
Finally, we have a 1964 Corvair Monza coupe from reader Charles H., which is located in Springdale, Arkansas and is up for sale here on eBay, where the buy-it-now is $1,800 but you are invited to make a lower offer.
From the side of the van, it’s pretty obvious you will have some work to do if you want it to look nice. However, the fact that most of the metal is solid puts this ahead of many of the Corvair van projects I’ve seen.
I never realized how much room was in these vans. Yes, the floor is slightly elevated, but it’s very usable as a hauler. Maybe you could buy this and tow one of the other finds?
The 1960 coupe may be the most expensive of the three at the moment, but the seller states it has no rust and runs great! They also note that some interior work is needed, but unfortunately they don’t show the interior, so we don’t know how much. Nonetheless, this looks like a pretty clean example of an early Corvair for only $2,500. They also would trade for a decent truck or car, which has me looking at the old Camry in my driveway and wondering as this is not that far from me.
Here’s the 1964 from Arkansas, which was the daily driver of the seller from 1984 to 1992. They tell us it hasn’t been driven in ten years but has no bondo, no rust and 212,000 miles. The seller states it may be a bad fuel pump but I suspect it’s a fuel feed issue after gas staying there for ten years. Ultimately, my question to you is which one would you be the most interested in? For me, it’s the 1960 coupe, but I’d love to hear from the rest of you!
As the owner of two late model (65-69) Corvairs (a 66 convert and a 65 coupe – both 4 speeds) I would say that the number of available early model (60-64) Corvairs exceeds demand at the moment. So unless it is something unique – such as the van here that has a history with a fire department; or a Spyder convertible – it will be very hard to sell the other two.
Although the 64 was substantially improved, I’m with you on the 60 coupe.
I like the van but I lean towards the 64 , when I first started driving I had a 64 vert but sorry to say I was living on the east coast and the last ice storm in Connecticut mated my vert to a really big tree smack dead center of the hood .
Agree, having driven a ’60 thousands of miles, and a ’64 off and on, back in the day, the ’64 was a much better car if you are going to drive it, and neither is a museum piece, so the only reason to buy it is to drive it, if only on weekends on sunny days. The ’64 has the anti hike up bar in the rear suspension, more power, and the reason it won’t go may just be a clogged fuel filter at the gas tank.
I had a 1963 Monza Spyder, that had all the performance options. Loved that car. It would also go in the snow when nothing else would. Wish I had never sold it. Also had a 1966 with the 110hp engine. Another good one.
I like the van the most, but I must admit that I haven’t had much to do with these orphan cars/ vans. The van IMHO just looks very cool, but I do have a question for you Corvair expert out there. Didn’t these vans have an available boxer 6 cylinder motor installed in them. Finally I think this would be a great place to start to build a custom van with custom paint theme on it. Cheers
the boxer 6 was the standard and only Corvair engine – air cooled – aluminum – various horsepowers as the years went by – and it was great in snow, was amazed one night when unplowed snow was higher than the floor pan but it went right on, up hill and down and got me home.
Having owned examples of all three, it really depends on what your personal taste is in a Corvair. There really are a lot of Corvair “flavors” to choose from out there. Right now, I’m really into ’60 Corvairs, so my pick would be the ’60 500 Coupe.
The van unique just like me and my business