A friend of my Father recently contacted me about his 1960 Corvair 700. He’s decided it’s time to part ways with it and had heard that I work for Barn Finds, but he wasn’t sure we would want to feature his car. You see, he fully restored the car back to pristine original condition a few years back. While we typically aren’t that interested in restored Corvairs, it turns out this car has seen just 42k original miles, which makes it a lot more interesting. So, I told Gerry to send it over and we would see about finding it a good home! He has put a ton of time and money into making this one of the nicest Corvairs around, so if you are interested, be sure to message him via the form below.
Asking Price: $9,000
Location: Sheridan, Wyoming
Mileage: 42,000
Title Status: Clean
Seller’s Description: It’s a beautifully restored Corvair 700 Coupe that is ready for the next owner to drive and enjoy as is! Here is what has been done to the old girl: New brakes, new floor pans, reconditioned heads on the engine, transmission resealed, front bushings replaced, new gas tank, complete replacement of interior, all new glass gaskets, new fuzzies, good tires, speedometer registers a little over 40,000. This car runs well. I am going to replace the speedometer cable as it makes a scratchy noise. Still has original jack and lug wrench. Service manual goes with it.
Body Condition: The body and paint were restored and done in the original color. The interior is new including all rubber gaskets around windows and doors.
Mechanical Condition: The mechanical systems are in very good condition with a resealed transmission, rebuilt heads, and new tires.
This Corvair really is a lovely car and should be fun to own. Gerry know he won’t ever get close to what he has into the car, but he wants to see it go to a good home, so be sure to take a closer look at and message him if you’d love to be its next owner!
Do you have a sweet classic that needs a new home? Please consider listing it here on Barn Finds and we will do our best to find a good home for it!
List your classified here on Barn Finds!
The 700’s are kind of forgotten, they were originally the top of the line Corvair for a little while before the Monza series came out in 1960 and they never made it to the 2nd generation cars. Interesting car, no radio but it does have the gas powered heater, but no lighter.
Ralph Nader might be interested in buying it.
Ralph is 84. Maybe when he passes, the local Corvair club can be a part of the funeral procession.
Put his casket in a rampside PU or van. If cremated use the ashtray.
If only there could be one posting of a Corvair without mention of Ralph Nader…
You might not need to read some automotive history books on American cars because usually his name is tied to some of the Corvair’s downfall and I think the Ford Mustang did the rest.
mlm, Nader didn’t cause the downfall of the Corvair.
If there was a cause and effect, the car would have been discontinued in 1963.
As it stands, the car lasted until 1969.
If anything Nader made the car better as Chevrolet changed what he found wrong with it and improved it for future model years.
When they redesigned the car for 1965 they gave it the same rear suspension as the Corvette. Then they turbocharged the engine after some guy named Yenko did. With the coming of age of the front engined muscle cars the Corvair just couldn’t keep up.
Turbocharged Corvairs were available in 1962, Dave.
Fantastic car, and great restoration !
It may not be a “barn find”, but it’s a lot more interesting than a ’94 Taurus!
Good, honest car with a true restoration. Nice!
Yes, Yes and Yes. This would make a great around town car. But, I wouldn’t take it out on the super-slab. A few car shows and coffee breaks. No construction sites, etc.
Nice car, I like it.
We Americans are a forgiving lot. Just 15 years before this car was built, we had vanquished Hitler. Then somehow VW came into the US to sell the Beetle (not designed by a Nazi by the way…old Mr. Porsche was forced into it) so GM decided to build a rear-engine car to grab that part of the market.
I’m no historian, but would it not have been cheaper for GM to somehow exclude VW from entering the US car market? Surely someone at that time would have lobbied Congress to stop foreign imports from cutting into the US auto market. As I’ve said before, I have more questions than answers.
Air cooled VWs had engineering issues that were easily fixed with the liberal application of a JC Whitney catalog. One that couldn’t be fixed was engine failure at highway speeds. They littered the PA Turnpike back then, the combination of a 65 mph speed limit and steep mountain grades doing them in. The percentage of foreign cars sold in the U.S. didn’t become significant until the 1973 oil embargo. Our “government” , the best government money can buy, has historically shown no interest in protecting American jobs. They prefer to look the other way while entire industries were encouraged to move offshore. But, I digress…
Miguel.It unusual design and layout for it’s target audience and the Ford Mustang did damage and Ralph Nader did the rest.If Chevrolet did make the car better it was too little and too late and sales nosedived after ’63 and GM management decided no further developement after ’65 and it LIMPED to 1969(Ford Mustang) and that’s where the Camaro stepped in a few years later.That is why Chevy created the ChevyII/Nova in’62 to combat the Ford Falcon,the Corvair’s main competitor,however I hope the new owner of the featured car enjoy their purchase,it looks like it was well taken care of
No three pedals, no go….literally. I like that coupe body style, prefer the first Monza. But that powerglide on the dash brings back memories of slow drives to the burger place, ice cream parlor, and out for pizza when I was a kid. Key word: slow but fun.
@Little Cars. Don’t underestimate a Corvair with a Powerglide. Back in the 80s, I had a ’62 Monza coupe with a ’65 140 4 carb engine with the Otto 30 series cam and Clark’s tuned headers, and a Powerglide with a Gil Younger shift kit. I ran it in local and regional autocross competition. It was VERY quick. Powerglides are also the first choice of many drag racers. Don’t diss the Powerglide, they’re tough trannies!
A few years ago I bought a 1960 Corvair 700 coupe with very low mileage (6,600). I am the third owner and the second driver. It was re-painted due to outside storage by the original owner. I was able to get it back up and running and it is currently on display at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
GM sold slightly fewer than 1,800,000 Corvairs in their various styles over the 9 year run. Do that today and you might be on the short list for president of the company.
As Rex Kahrs said, they were conceived to fight VW, and they sure did. More horse power, great gas mileage, roomier than a VW, very stylish, competitively priced and made in North America.
Nader’s book “Unsafe at Any Speed” was a diatribe against the North American car industry in general. One chapter was directed at the Corvair and the fact that it had rear swing axles, like VW and Porsche, which never got a mention. Swing axles can tuck under the body during high speed cornering. GM fixed that in 64, VW never did, not sure if Porsche ever addressed it.
Wonderful cars, very much ahead of their time, previous owners recall them fondly, current owners (like me, in case you haven’t guessed by now) love them.
This one is a sweetheart, beautifully restored and obviously much loved by the seller.
I hope it goes to a great owner who will drive it, preserve it, love and pass it on to a new owner in better shape than they found it.
It may have been a diatribe but the book was a best seller. GM tried to descredit him but it failed.How did Ralph Nader know about the Corvair because he owned one.Even when they did fix the problem what was that against the hugely successful Ford Mustang? 1.8 million in 9 years vs probably1.2 million in 2 years and the Mustang is still with us with a world wide following.
@mlm. The NHTSA did discredit Nader in 1972 when they conducted their own tests of the Corvair. They exonerated the Corvair. Their conclusion was that the Corvair was not any more dangerous than any of its contemporaries of the time. It actually surpassed several of them in a few categories.
By the way, at the time he wrote the book, Nader did not drive, didn’t even have a license.
By the end of the ’68 model year, 1.9 million Mustangs had been produced. So what. Want to talk dangerous? Short wheelbase and poor suspension geometry, coupled with too much power for the crappy chassis design. Far more people have been killed in Mustangs than Corvairs, many times more. At least the Corvair was properly balanced.
I’d rather push a Chevy, than drive a Ford. But thankfully, that’s not necessary since Chevy builds some of the most reliable cars, next to a Toyota. I’ve owned three Corvairs, never a moment’s problem, great driving cars. Easy to maintain, cheap to drive, the fact that many light aircraft use Corvair engines speaks volumes for their reliability. I still have my third one, a ’66 140 Corsa bought in ’86, still going strong.
Nice “Caveman Car”. One year only Neanderthal none. Those cast iron Powerglide trannys are bullet proof.
And yet Henry Ford II turned down an offer of the VW plant at Wolfsburg, Germany completely free in 1948. He called the bug a “little sh** box” and felt such an automotive design would never sell in the U.S. Perhaps the Corvair was an outgrowth of the humble “fulksvagen” and deserves a bit more credit in automotive history. Moreover, good ol’ Mr. Nader has never been a licensed driver in his entire life!
I love the color. Makes the car imho, slushbox notwithstanding. Hope someone who loves it as much as the seller buys it!
As for Nader, personally I think he got a bum rap with certain sectors of the car hobby. There are actually independent thinkers in this country and they did sell 1.8 million, so someone bought a Corvair notwithstanding Mr. Naders critique of the auto industry.
As a side point, and perhaps as a consequence of what “Unsafe” may have started, its interesting when you talk to younger folks who grew up with ABS, airbags and slushboxes, Many only seem to care about how “safe” is the car. Makes me crack up thinking about my brother and I hanging outside the tail gate window of a ’65 Buick wagon as Mom drove, oblivious to our shenanigans.
I never gave the Corvair a second (or even first) look, but they are really starting to appeal to me now. I really like the coupe’s styling, but even the sedan is sharp in the right colour. Beautiful car, and that green looks perfect on this one.
If I were in the market for a Corvair this would definately be up for consideration, it’s colors in and out are just perfect! Great little car!
However, it being a Powerglide is the single reason I’d pass on this one…much rather even have the base 3pd manual than the PG, such a nimble car deserves a manual tranny for fun driving.
Very, very nice Corvair though!
Absolutely beautiful in that Cascade Green. My grandmother had a 1960 four door in this color, and brings back great memories. Although it would be more fun with a third pedal, the Powerglide transmissions are bulletproof and really last. Too bad I’m trying to sell a couple cars right now and not in a place to buy!