We have all been there before, you start on what seems like a simply project and before you know it, you’re neck deep in a full on restoration. Well that seems to be the case for Steve G and his Corvair Old Gold. He went to high school with the original owner’s daughter, so when the original owner passed away and he found out it was for sale, he snatched it up. His wife drove it for a few years and then he decided to restore it. Next thing he new, he was in it too deep and just hasn’t been able to finish it. He did a lot of work before he stopped and he has a ton of new parts for it. It’s time for it to go though, so if you are up to the task of finishing it, be sure to message him via the form below!
From Steve – Here is the story on “Old Gold”. I have been a Corvair Guy all my adult life. Living in Kalispell, Mt. there are actually a few true Corvair lovers around. Well a good friend let me know about the previous owner of Old Gold, which they bought new on February 14, 1967. Well, Mr. Ryder(previous owner) passed one day and his wife didn’t want the car anymore. It turned out I went to school with Mr. Ryder’s daughters, one was in my graduating class. They drove the car in college. After surviving high school and college, it was retired, and spent most of its time in the family’s warehouse. My friend told me about it and I asked my wife if she would like to buy it. So we became the 2nd owners. My wife used to drive it during the summer, only to work.
Well we bought it; drove it a few summer months, and then one year I decided to restore it to new condition. I being a bodyman for over 40 years knew I could handle the job. What started out as a simple project kept growing. Next thing you know I have it totally disassembled and on a rotisserie. I started buying parts, everything. You would have to talk to me more by phone to know all that has been done. I have all the paper work, pics, etc. Anyway I have well over $8K in parts and materials, so if I could get 50 cents on the dollar, I would let her go. I just don’t have the interest to finish it for my wife.
Vehicle Description: It’s a 2 owner low mile (63K) car. Body is almost ready for paint. Professionally done on rotisserie. Many many parts new and in the box. I have well over $8,000, just in the car and parts.
Body Condition: The body is just about ready for paint. I was building this as my last Corvair. It has a really cool story behind it, which I can document.
Mechanical Condition: The motor was running very well, when I started on this project. I had plans to reseal, and re gasket it. Have all new stuff. Darn near everything new to finish, except front end parts. I figure about another $2,000 and you have every thing new.
Interior Condition: Interior is new and in the box. I even have the correct interior paint for the dash and the other color. New Windshield, all seals, etc. Also have factory options, like remote mirror, real antenna, factory rear speaker.
It’s going to need a lot of work still, but the body does looks really nice and straight. Paint is going to be your biggest expense here, as it usually is, but you could always put it back together as is. It actually has a cool look to it right now. Of course, since it’s already in pieces, the smart thing would be to just have it painted. Once it’s put back together, you would essentially have a brand new car that will be a blast to drive! He’s asking $5k for everything, which is half what he has into it. That might seem like a lot for an unfinished project, but it would cost you considerably more to buy a Monza and all the new parts that come with this one.
Our thanks to Steve for listing his Corvair project with us! Hopefully someone decides to take it on and finish it. And if you happen to have an unfinished project in your garage that needs a new home, please consider listing it as an Exclusive here on Barn Finds!
It’s too bad he didn’t finish it. His loss will be someone else’s gain as this would be a great project to tackle. The hardest part is now done and when completed you know it was done properly. I think it will sell fast and is worth the money he is asking. Tempting but I don’t have the room for this.
Transporting something like this will be expensive. Hope someone picks it up, but I honestly think he’ll have to be flexible on the price.
What year were the Yenko Stingers? Make it a clone?
If I was buying, I’d pay the seller Steve to paint it. After all, he is a paint guy! Then drag it home and start bolting parts on. I’m starting to talk myself into another project…
If he has all the parts, Corvair construction is pretty straightforward,especially the interior. I certainly stripped one bare pretty quickly. The sheet metal for the cooling system is kinda finicky.
If this were a convertible I’d be on my way to pick it. Im looking for someone’s abandoned project. I can do mechanical work but body work and metal work is like black magic. Have much respect for the people who can do it.
Everyone that is any good at body work started with their first body job, and paint job. Frankly, it’s very easy to do, but only after you learn how to do it once the first time. If you never tackle jobs that require learning new material you will never be a good all round restoration guy, or gal.
1…Sandblast
2…Primer
3…Hammer welding
4…Sandblast & grind welds
5…Primer
6…Assembly & Fitting
7…Sanding & More Sanding
8…Finish Primer
9…Light Sanding & Block Sanding
0…Finish Paint
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TIME Total
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Sit in chair & drink beer!!!
Priceless!
Bob
It does not say automatic or stick trans.