If we devised a list of the most significant post-war American production cars, vehicles like the Mustang and Corvette would undoubtedly make the grade. However, the Chevrolet Corvair deserves inclusion. It didn’t offer outstanding performance or unsurpassed luxury, but it represented a bold engineering approach that is rare from most manufacturers. It could have been an enormous success that changed the motoring landscape, but it has joined the Ford Pinto in being criticized by many automotive experts. This 1965 Corvair is the Corsa Convertible variant and is a rock-solid classic that could be an excellent hands-on project candidate. It is complete, and the seller has accumulated a collection of NOS parts that the new owner might be able to negotiate as a starting point for their build. It is listed here on eBay in Campobello, South Carolina. Bidding has passed the reserve to sit at $2,950, and there is still time for potential buyers to stake their claim on this classic.
Chevrolet released its Second Generation Corvair in 1965, and the significant styling changes received wide praise from potential buyers and the motoring press. The previous model had been conservative, but the svelte new body made a bold statement and looked genuinely stunning. The first owner ordered this Corsa in Regal Red with a contrasting White soft-top. The seller says the car has sat in its current location for years and wears its original paint. Step one in the revival process would be to drag it out of hiding and treat it to a wash. That will provide a chance to assess the paint and to see whether correction, buffing, or polishing would return it to an acceptable state for a survivor-grade approach. Treating it to a cosmetic refresh should be straightforward because the Corvair has only minor panel imperfections and remains rust-free. The top is free from rips and might respond positively to a deep clean. However, with the back window quite cloudy, the new owner may choose to splash $560 on a replacement top. The wire hubcaps are in storage, and the remaining trim and glass are in good order. One point worth considering is the collection of NOS parts accumulated by the seller. Many appear to be trim items and lenses, and they will negotiate on some or all of those items with the winning bidder.
Chevrolet created the Corvair as a compact model, drawing inspiration from manufacturers like Volkswagen when designing its drivetrain configuration. It is rare for a company to start development with an effectively clean sheet of paper, but that is what Chevrolet did. It rear-mounted an air-cooled flat-six powerplant that sent its power to the rear wheels via a transaxle. In this case, the engine is the 164ci unit producing 140hp and 160 ft/lbs of torque. The transaxle is a four-speed manual, and while Chevrolet viewed the Corvair as affordable family transport, the ¼-mile ET of 18.1 seconds was considered respectable. This Convertible is mechanically original, although it has sat for many years. It requires a thorough inspection as a starting point, but budgeting for rebuilds of some of the more critical drivetrain components would be wise.
The surprise packet with this Corvair is its interior. The original owner ordered it trimmed in Red vinyl, with the interior featuring a sports gauge pack with a tachometer and trip meter, an AM/FM radio, and a telescopic sports wheel. The top has protected the upholstered surfaces, and their condition is remarkable. There are no rips, tears, or signs of abuse. The carpet looks pretty good, and there are no dash issues. The impression is that a deep clean might be all that is required to return this interior to its best. Interestingly, the odometer reads 12,445 miles, and although the seller makes no claims about the originality of that reading, the overall condition of this car makes that idea seem plausible.
The automotive world is full of “if only” moments and the Chevrolet Corvair demonstrates this. The lively handling traits of early cars earned the badge a bad reputation, and Ralph Nader’s oft-quoted book didn’t help its cause. Many experts believe that “if only” it had been good when it was new, or “if only” it was new when it was good, the Corvair might have succeeded. The perceived shortcomings were addressed by the time the Second Generation hit showroom floors, but the writing was on the wall for the Corvair. This one is a beauty, and if bidding stays close to the current level, it could be one of the most affordable, rust-free, and complete project candidates of 2023. Does that tempt you to pursue it further?
Doubtful it has all original paint. At least the RF fender and door have been painted. The interior looks to be original based on the vinyl discoloration on the seat bolsters. It would be nice to have a picture of the trim tag so we can see what options were on the car as built. 65 cars also got a pinstripe from the factory but not like the pinstripe on this car. The tele wheel and AM/FM radio are probably customer installed. Rear mounted antenna was an option. Looks to be a nice car. If the underside is not rusted car is worth about 10K once it’s cleaned up and running.
The Corsa was a budget friendly performance car that out handled just about any 65 domestic car sold except for the Corvette. Brakes were carried over from the Chevelle and work really well in the LM cars. In no way do these cars deserve the bad talk people gave them. I bought one and it made me a believer.
My ’65 Monza had the telescoping wheel and the AM/FM radio from the factory. Don’t think the dealers had the capacity to install the wheel as it was a complicated unit that most folks wouldn’t spend money on to buy and install. Certainly agree on your last paragraph. I fully enjoyed our car and my wife, at 5′ tall, fully enjoyed the telescoping wheel.
I bought a ’65 Corsa coupe in ’69 and drove it for about five years. The envy of my friends: it was stylish and fast, the best-handled car of the many I had owned till then. I couldn’t agree more that the perception of Corvairs’, particularly the second-generation ones, being in any way lacking was unwarranted.
As of Christmas Day at about 2 PM Pacific, bidding has passed $10K. Affordability is officially in the rear view mirror.
That telescoping steering wheel is a factory option.
Yes it was but a lot of Corvair owners installed them to add content. Same with the Am/FM radio. Very few were sold and only the protecto plate would tell you what the car was sold with. The Fisher Body tag only tells part of the story.
If this was on the West Coast, I would be doing my best to get this little beauty. Always liked Corvairs.
By the time i could afford to buy one for fun , these cars were all gone to the crusher !
Living in montreal, canada ; the rust was as wild as the city…
This being a topless with a beautifu red interior has me dreaming !
Sadly, the transport would be quite a killer and the exchange rate would make it worse , ahhh well !
YOLO
I thought Your horrspower rating was wrong. 1965 Corsas had 180 horsepower
You’re correct, the Corsa was a turbo at 180HP. This shows the four 1bbl carbs, no turbo, and thus is a 140HP engine. Either this is a swap or modified engine, or this isn’t a Corsa. I had a ’65, four carb, 140HP Monza back when it was new.
In all my years since 1965, I’d never seen, or heard of, a 140hp Corsa, always thought they were all 180hp turbos. Now I discover I was wrong, lots of ’65+ Corsas were this 140hp four carb version. So my above comment is in error.
The 140 hp 4 carb was the standard Corsa engine, the 180 hp turbo (formerly the Spyder) was the optional Corsa engine. Had a 1966 Corsa convertible 4 spd with the 140 hp., replaced the 4 carbs with a single 4bbl conversion and 390 cfm Holley.
This is only about 10 miles from me I think I may see about going to look at it.
If it checks out AND the bidding does not get outrageous I will throw a bid at it. Always like the Camaro like side profile of the second generation and would only want a four speed I have worked on be flat fours air and water cooled but never corvairs figure I am not to old to learn though
Wish I could. I always thought the Corvair got a bad rap. My Aunt had one of these in triple black. It was a fantastic automobile. I’m a Mopar fan, this was one of the few Chevrolets that I really liked. I’ve grown to appreciate other models over the years.
Triple black sounds intriguing; I think these cars are gorgeous in black.
I’m guessing the color combination describes the car’s exterior, interior, and a third section, though envisioning that third section eludes me. Could you help me out?
Black car
Black top
Black interior
Triple black
the color of the convertible top
Having several Corvairs, a 65 Monza cvt and now a 66 Monza Sport Coupe they are fun to drive and look great compared to todays offerings. The vehicle was GM’s first air cooled, rear engined, and unit bodied rendition….truely a big step for such a Conservative Organization.
If it’s a Corsa, where is the turbo-charger?
The Corsa was available with at least 2 engine options.
If I’d been able I would have ordered the 4 carb engine but the Monza I wound up with was offered directly to me off the Detroit Auto Show turntable in a price I couldn’t refuse. Put turbo exhaust on, fiddled with the electronics and had good power and good times.
Not all Corsa engines had superchargers. In fact, most were fitted with four single-barrel carburetors. My carbureted model produced 140 horsepower. Turbocharged models produced 180 horsepower.
But they weren’t supercharged; small low boost turbos.
A turbocharger is an exhaust driven supercharger.
Technically, a turbocharger is a type of supercharger, but I doubt the seller knows that.
The Corsa was either a 140 hp as the for sale model is, or for extra charge 180 hp turbo engine
That was my first question also. I thought all of the Corsas and Spiders had the turbo charger
Spiders were from 62 through 64 and were all turbocharged. 65 and 66 model Corsa had the 140 4-carb as std and the 180 turbo was optional only on the Corsa. Corsa and Spyders only came with 4 speed trans.
Nope. Corsas came standard with a 3 speed manual. 4 speed was an extra cost option. I have owned many Corvairs since the early ’80s, grew up in a Chevrolet dealer family, and have been a member of CORSA (Corvair Society of America) and my local CORSA chapter club since the ’80s as well. I’m a bit of an authority on Corvairs, currently own a ’61 Monza coupe with the Duntov 98hp and 4 speed, and a ’65 Corsa 180 Turbo convertible.
“It didn’t offer outstanding performance…”
Arguably it was the best handling US four seat production car.
The tetanus shot needed for all the rusty steel ( ‘70 -‘77 )was get rid of the cheap Japanese
Steel the U S car makers bought to replace the superior steel America had. Jap steel couldn’t be fired properly. Japanese environmental regs. You could grab my friend’s ‘73 rag top Mustang convertible bumper and wiggle it around ( 5 yo car )
What’s with the “sports gauge pack” talk? That’s the dash that came on all Corsas. To my knowledge there was no such thing as a Sports gage pack.
Broader
While both super charger and turbo chargers provide compressed air into the induction system they are quite different super charger is belt driven and does not the engine to spool up so there is not the lag but it also they have parasitic loss where turbo is driven off the exhaust so there is not parasitic loss but the engine must rev or spool up enough to create enough pressure in the exhaust to spin the vanes of the turbocharger
And that is is why the turbo Corsa’s have a low end lag up to about 3000rpm’s
My parents had a brown Corvair station wagon when I was kid, maybe 6 or 7 [ I remember it sitting in the back/side yard, as a non runner ] but by the time I was car aware it was gone, and I never asked my dad about it,
nowadays I wish I had been older to even just mess around with it