As dusty and barn-find’y as the day is long, especially in recent days, this 1966 Chevrolet Corvair 500 looks like a great project car. It’s hard to argue with this two-door hardtop body style and the nice, Tropic Turquoise color that’s hiding under forty years of dust and dirt. This car is listed here on eBay in Lombard, Illinois. The current bid price is $1,300 and there’s less than a day left to get your bids in and figure out shipping.
This Corvair was part of a 30-car estate consisting of Corvairs and it has been in storage for 40 years. You can see a few of the others in the background and they all look like project cars. I can’t help wondering if anyone has tested the theory of selling a car as dusty and dirty as this Corvair looks now and another one in the exact same condition but having been washed and vacuumed and lightly-detailed to see which one brings more money. My bet is that the clean car brings more money. Any thoughts on that?
The Corvair was made for a decade starting for the 1960 model year and I like thinking about a 1960 Corvair parked next to a 1960 Cadillac, both in this Topic Turquoise color or as close as Cadillac had to this color. This is a second-generation Corvair and they were made for the 1965 through 1969 model years. They had a redesigned independent rear suspension similar to the Corvette which all but eliminated the infamous swing-axle.
The interior in this base-level 500 appears to be nice above the floor, which the seller says is rotted and will have to be replaced. You’re in luck, replacement panels are available and some Corvair forums list Clark’s Corvair Parts as having the best ones. The Medium Fawn colored seats look like they could be cleaned up or even dyed if need be, and the door panels look great. The Monza was the mid-level Corvair and the Corsa was the top model for this era.
This engine is Chevy’s Turbo-Air 164 cubic-inch flat-six – which wasn’t actually turbo-powered despite its name – and it had between 95 hp and 140 hp. The Corsa engine could be had with a turbocharged engine and 180 hp. This engine turns over but it doesn’t run. Hagerty is at $3,000 for a #4 fair condition car, what’s your top offer on this one?
I bought a 65 Corsa Turbo that isn’t rusted out for 3K. That was a barn find that was also in storage for over 40 years. I think the current auction price is at the max one should pay for one in this condition. Keep in mind the 500 is the base model and most likely has a 95hp with a 3-speed. I don’t see a badge on the deck lid so that is the case. Assuming it was parked due to a mechanical failure. Even a partial engine overhaul, brakes, bushings, floor repairs, new fuel tank all readily available from Clark’s you will spend 4-5k easy.
I cant find anything solid for 3g in Illinois, especially 3rd gen.
There was no “3rd gen” Corvair.
The feature car, and the one alphasud shows are 2nd generation cars.
The first photo triggered the brain to say: “I’ve seen this barn, and the cars in it before.” Thought it was on this site, but could not find it.
Someone had a thing for Corvair cars. This and the others in the background have been sitting for a long time. Must be nice to have a building like that to at least keep the rain/snow off. Perhaps there were more cars, and in running condition. At least is doesn’t appear as though this one was a parts bin.
A solid body with only minor rust is easily worth more than the current bid.
Have always considered a car that looks rough on the outside one that’s rough on the inside. Does anyone really think this car is mechanicly sound?
No.
I love seeing the old “flip the air cleaner lid so it sounds like a race car” picture…I always wondered if it made the car faster or gave it a little more horsepower…I believe I did that on every car I owned in high school…
Looks to me like he might have flipped it in order to not give mice a place to live. Is that some sort of a mousetrap on the lid?
Many years ago, I read the the 3-speed was really a 4-speed, with a 1st gear lockout. Anyone know if this is true?
I believe you are thinking of Austin-Healey.
I had a 63 Corvair 500 with the 3-speed, swapped in a 4 speed. Different trans.
Re your comparison between filth and not filth, a used car salesman once told me forty years ago “It’s the difference between having your ugly sister turn up for a blind date with your best friend, and sending your good looking sister instead.” And of course it is. Filth tells a buyer “I really just want to get rid of this thing for almost any price.”
Had the 69 Monza. Loved that car.
Put it in reverse via dash mounted T handle and it would dig thru deep beach sand like you wouldn’t believe! An amazing handler too.
I bought my first car in the late seventies from a mechanic who had his own car repair business. He too had a huge collection of Corvairs neatly lined up on the edge of an old field. There must have been close to one hundred Corvairs. I no longer live in the part of the country but I went on GoogleEarth to see if the collection was still there. I didn’t find a single one left. I wonder how many Corvairs came to the same end?
A car I’ve always liked. I have one, a Corsa driven frequently. I’ll never understand why sellers don’t simply turn a hose on whatever it is they are selling. I’m not interested in how dirty the car is; other clues will present its condition. Also: Salient details. Tell us about the car. Don’t take three pictures and say nothing. You aren’t helping yourself.
Maestro1, There are more than 3 pictures in the ebay listing and a summary of the cars condition. You just have to read a bit more. I dont think it would be a bad car to buy for under $ 1500.00 bucks. Does any one know how common the bench seat was in these cars ?
Bench was standard in 500 series, Monza got buckets.
Bench seats are not that rare in these. The 500 got a rubber floor mat instead of carpet and unfortunately that caused the floors to rust out quicker. There are some people out there who seek a 500 survivor because most were crushed. The Corsa models were better preserved. A 66 low mile survivor in original condition sold for 4K. That needed minimal work to put back on the road. Kind of makes his one a borderline parts car.
There seems to be a fine line between “stored” vs. “parked, forgotten about and left to rot.”
Sold.
PairsNPaint, I believe you are correct. Thank you.
Good Lord! you don’t deserve a DIME if you are too LAZY to wash away some grime… I bought my 66 Corvair for $50 and it looked better than this example. ..
$50… Not in this century, though, and likely not in the ending couple of decades in the previous one either.
I paid $135 for a Corvair van that ran but wouldn’t move….
in 1971.
In 1970 I acquired a 1963 Corvair 2 door 4 speed 4 carb , white with a red interior for zero dollars. it belonged to a co-worker of my Dads , it was his wifes daily driver. The thing was that it had to be removed immediately from the parking lot where she worked, a nursing home. It was parked behind a 4 foot high mound of snow piled up from plowing. Its battery was dead . I shoveled it out and jumped the battery , it started right up, the belt was loose, I tightened it up and drove it away to a friends repair shop where I sometimes helped out. It needed a muffler and I had an old Cherry Bomb laying around so I adapted it on, sounded nice. I spent a few evenings cleaning it up and detailing it. It turned out to be a nice little car but it was sold to the first guy that stopped to inquire about it, I cant remember exactly how much I got for it but it was more then a couple of hundred bucks. The co-workers wife hated the car so that was part of why it was a freebie, that and it being dead in the parking lot with a dead battery and an obstacle for the snow plowing. I would have liked to keep it a while longer but my ’69 Road Runner needed those Cragar SS’s and the Hooker Headers. Part of my misspent youth.
Could be a cool project if bought right!! I guess just bid and find out!!
In the early 1980’s there was a row of 20 Corvairs at a junk yard in Anoka County MN. I owned a 64 so I would go there for parts. Many of the Corvairs in the junkyard had blown engines. The stock spark plug wires for the Corvair had a seal that kept the cooling air in the engine shrouds. On the cars with blown engines the original wires had been replaced by wires without those shroud seals giving the cooling air six paths to exit the cooling shrouds.