Family Project: 1963 Chevy Corvair Convertible

63-corvair-monza-convertible

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For those of us with families, the dream of restoring a classic car to share with our children is a special one. Sadly, we are starting to think that like many dreams, it rarely comes true. The owner of this 1963 Chevy Corvair Monza Convertible is more proof that it’s hard to make it happen. The seller had planned on restoring it so their daughters could drive it, but other things in life have gotten in the way, so they have decided to sell it here on craigslist for $1,000. A special thanks goes to Robert J. for the tip!

63-corvair-convertible-interior

The Corvair is often overlooked by collectors, mostly because of the bad press they received thanks to early car’s swing-axle design and Ralph Nader’s criticism. It wasn’t until 1964 that GM fixed the issues with the suspension, but the fix was a simple one. We would want to add an anti-roll bar kit and beefier springs to this one before we would send any teenage drivers out in it.

63-corvair-convertible-motor

Overlooking the Corvairs negative image, it is actually a fun little car. It might not be a Porsche 911, but when will you be able to buy another rear-mount air-cooled boxer-six sports car for $1k? Talking about the boxer-six, this 2.3 liter motor is the 110 horsepower unit, but sadly isn’t currently running. The seller claims it turns freely, so hopefully it be a simple task to get it humming again. As an added bonus, the seller has a factory A/C unit that they are including in the sale.

1963-corvair-convertible

Sure this one is going to need work, but you would be hard pressed to find a cleaner example for this kind of money. Maybe the next owner will be able to share it with their children and prove that our dream of restoring a car to share with our children can actually happen if we set our minds to it.

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Comments

  1. Leo

    sold already ;( If not I would have bought it imediately and a shipper would have been picking it up next week. Danet

    Leo

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  2. Webby

    That would do me nicely, though I wouldn’t let my daughter drive ANY car from that era with out some safety upgrades.

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    • rancho bella

      Webby……….that is exactly why I would give it to my ex-wife to drive………………

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  3. jim s

    no longer on CL. was it sold or did the seller change their mind on the price? which i think was very low for what i see in the pictures. great find

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  4. DolphinMember

    Looks complete
    Blue plate CA car in dry Sacramento
    No rust perforation
    It’s a convertible
    $1000
    No wonder it’s gone

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  5. johannesrolf

    would it kill you to correct the spelling of CORVAIR in the headline?

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    • Jesse Mortensen JesseStaff

      Oops, all fixed. Thanks.

      Like 0
  6. paul

    These are a great way to get into the classic car game without spending fortunes . The key to these is joining the national chapter to give you a line on parts sources as well as the many tricks to keep them going. The engines are all aluminum so you don’t take them to your local machine shop for a rebuild. They are fun to drive but need to be driven like a Porsche the engine is in the rear so they tend to oversteer, I have track time so they are not the handful that some say they are, one of the tricks to this is I run 22 lbs in the front tires 36 in the rears, oil shocks in front, gas in rear, the concept of putting beefier springs in the rear as mentioned above would have adverse effect because the rear suspension has no adjustments for camber this would raise the ride height giving + camber but you really want – camber maybe a quarter of a degree.

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  7. geomechs geomechsMember

    Too bad it sold. I’m not much of a Corvair fan (except for the Rampside) but I’d have taken this project on. I hope the new owner has a good time with it.

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  8. CJ

    Had my $$ ready to go until I saw the SOLD comment, and in my opinion, UNDERSOLD!!

    Like 0
  9. John

    My grand father used to restore these. I can’t count how many he had over the years. I’d love to get my hands on one to restore, to some how reconnect with a man I didn’t know very well. Here’s to “some day.”

    Like 0

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