Is the Corvair really UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED??
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- Опубліковано 2 тра 2022
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Thank you for sharing this beautiful 60 year old survivor, Donald! The look on your face while going through the gears - I think you’re reliving some great memories. ❤️
Seeing you pause and smile as you went through the gears says it all.
Thanks, Donald! Always love listening to you opine about car history. You put things very eloquently and add an element of sophistication that’s very enjoyable and entertaining, in a field that can have a lot of blue collar grit and not enough sophistication sometimes.
This is The Donald I like and appreciate
Great stuff, Donald and Audrain! Have had 3 Corvairs going back almost 40 years. My wife and I got engaged in my 1965 Monza. Donated a 1963 Spyder convertible to the National Automotive and Truck Museum in Auburn IN where it's still on display. Happy to hear of the Nick Begovich connection.
That smile as he rowed through the gears is the essence of our love of the automobile
My mom's dad gave her a 65 Corvair convertible when she turned 16 in 1970. She loved that car.
Thank you. Good video. Our family had 2 Corvair cars, the driver is what made some unsafe. Our Corvair cars where safe and reliable, fun.
Great video. I love Corvairs. The late model has one o the best looking body styles of the 60s.
My father had a Corvair convertible for several years and he loved it. No problems at all.
04:35 Loved how Donald got lost in the moment when running the Corvair up through the gears (despite its humorously long shift throws). This is a great companion piece for the piece Jay Leno did on his 1966 Corvair Corsa. Thanks, Donald!
Man that blue interior is really good looking...esp against the counterpoint of that tangerine suit! Thx for pointing out that the Nadar book wasn't specifically about the Corvair, but more about corporate product liability. What really killed the Corvair were the accountants, the Mustang, and the Nova and it's derivative
the Camaro
I had a first grade teacher that only drove ‘66 Chevelles . She obviously was a cool lady! Years later I would drive by a school in a neighboring town and always see a red ‘66 Chevelle parked in the lot. I never put it together until recently that it must have been her, still driving Chevelles 40 years later!
Donald’s singing at the beginning of the video is just the icing on the cake. Nice!
Had a buddy in high school with a 62 monza back in 70 what a blast to drive. Stuck with me all these years. Over 50 years later have a 65 turbo corsa project, love that body style
I really enjoyed this video to hear someone who knows the inside story of Chevy Corvair. It gives me a new appreciation for mine!! Thank you!! Mic '2024 PS I have a '63 conv. 😊!!
Great little review and retelling of the Corvair story. Always a favourite car in the rear view mirror, growing up. Thanks Donald.
Whats often not appreciated these days about the Spyders is that they came with a front sway bar and the spring rates and slight negative camber setting on the rear tires... all the stuff that dramatically change the handing. Mine is a daily driver!
Less than a week ago, I bought a 1962 Corvair Monza in Oregon. Thank you for all you do Donald. I enjoy this channel. Maybe one day we will make it to the Audrain Automobile Museum.
Thanks for this. That smile you get when accelerating says it all!
Donald's smiles are a delight.
A nice trip down memory lane Donald.
Hubby and I saw a beautiful dark blue patina 4 door Corvair today in Hiawassee GA, so when I got home I thought I'd peruse some Corvair vids on yt. Lo and behold this vid popped up and I'm glad it did. You Sir are a delight to watch and listen to! Thank you!
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Thanks Donald!
Great Video ! & I could see the passion from the smile on your face as You went thru the gears & paused just to listen to that distinct sound the Corvair engine makes for a moment , & that sound has never been duplicated by any other American automobile manufacture ! & only copied by Porsche ( literterally ) & You covered the history of the Corvair quite well , & what led to the demise of the Chevrolet Corvair. I can say I have 3 models a 64 Greenbrier 110 auto , 65 Corsa 180 turbo , & a 67 Monza Convertible 110 auto. Thanks for the very well made video.
Muy pocos ejemplares del Corvair, llegaron a Argentina! Lo único que sé, es que GM, le mandó a Juan Manuel Fangio, un ejemplar para que lo pruebe; y Fangio dijo, que no era para nada peligroso. Admiró sus características de manejo. Yo creo, que los que se accidentaron en un Chevrolet Corvair; eran pésimos conductores. Además, su linea influyó en el estilo de los autos del mundo entero( NSU Prinz IV, Fiat 1300-1500, BMW 1500, Simca 1000 etc.)
Great video Donald. I’m also a fan for the Corvair, it was my first car too…been hooked ever since.
Thank you !
My aunt was a nurse in our local hospital from the late’40s through the ‘70s. Her favorite car was the Corvair because it would get her to work through the snow better than other cars she had. She went to a Nova after the Corvair was gone but was never as happy.
Much appreciated, thank you! We acquired a manual, 1962 Corvair 500 coupe not long ago and it has been a fantastic car to drive!:)
Long live the Corvair!!! ❤️ Absolutely beautiful.... fantastic video!!! My mother had a gold 1964 Corvair Monza.... I'm a Corvair lover for life!!!❤️
The past two days I've been viewing videos about the Corvair, reminiscing about the '63 Monza I owned. I experienced just about all of the usual mechanical complaints but WOW, I sure loved that little car. What fun and memories!
A great car indeed!
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Loved your smile while driving this car. The Corvette went mid engine maybe it is time for an affordable enthusiast rear engine car. Everyone is bringing back old name plates lets have an new Corvair. But not like the new Bettle, put the engine in the back.
I restored a 1964 turbo Corvair, that is now in a museum in Germany. The smile on your face, when you ran through the gears is priceless, and made me miss my car.
Thanks for this positive review and experience of the Corvair.
Donald, thanks for the info, great job.
My second car was a 63 Corvair convertible. I loved it. Then in 1990 I got another 1963 Monza Convertible totally restored with the new improved O-rings, and it never leaked or used oil. Sorry to say I couldn't afford two cars at that time and sold it against my better judgement. They weren't worth a lot then, but finally now are becoming worth a lot more these days. My favorite car of all time. (Family had a Chevy dealership from 1948-1985.)
Such a great video! Thank you for sharing.
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Excellent explanation, I have a 1963 Monza Spider Turbo. And I have Tatras as well. Thank you for this video publication.
My first car was a 1961 Corvair 4 door. I had 85 dollars and found it at a wrecking yard. The body was excellent and it showed less than 80K miles. Dad and I got it to start and I bought it. We towed it home and did a valve job on the engine. For Christmas that year I received a new battery and 2 recapped tires for the rear. It had a 2 speed automatic. The gear shift was a small lever on the dash panel. The heater worked by blowing hot air off the engine. One could always smell burned oil with the heater running. I found a 1964 2 door with a 4 speed later on and swapped the engine from the 1961 to the 64. It did not take long for me to sling the engine apart revving through the gears.
Outstanding Channel Donald. I ❤ your review and Corvair's too!
Thank you kindly!
A very insightful and interesting take on the Corvair story. I'd heard of Nader's book, but didn't realise he also criticized other rear engined vehicles. Excellent video.
Great video sir! Side note, I had a pair of slacks (bellbottoms) as a young man that were an identical match to your smart jacket. Thanks for the memory!
Always loved the Corvair we had a 69 convertible for awhile in the mid 70s I always enjoyed driving it. Also loved seeing my house as you passed by on your drive in Tiverton.
If you read the book unsafe at any speed. It recommended a rear sway bar to help with the handling. With the swing axle cars. It was the insurance investigators and police investigators that found a odd handing characteristic to the Covar the rear suspension with bounce along with the low inflated bias tires that would dig into the payment and possibly cause a rollover cause bad handling . The rear sway bar could help prevent this because you want a suspension to react but not bounce. They were companies like empi that were based out of California that sold speed parts for the Covar. The Covar with the Corvette independent rear suspension didn't have the bad suspension handling. The Corvette suspension had a leaf spring that went right to left across the axle. That was simple. That still used today. In the book it said cars equipped like this could embarrass anything German on the track. I think the Covar
My first car was a 1964 Corvair Monza coupe. I don't know about handling problems because I could get it sideways on dry pavement.
I had the 1966 Corvair in the early 1980s and it was a wonderful car , I could do 155 mph on the Germany autobahn all day long and had no troubles with the Corvair . But I sold it and got a BMW 520 , big mistake !
Beautiful car. Excellent review, sir. I had no idea the Corvairs were so fast.
Great vid on the Corvair!! 👍👍
Glad you liked it!
@@AudrainMuseumNetwork 🙂
An excellent presentation.
(Loved the bowtie).
My first car was a 67 Corvair Monza. Great video and a great Corvair, they really are great cars.
Right on!
I had a four year old 64 Monza coupe. It was T-boned on the right quarter panel by a Plymouth wagon at 50-55 mph. Corvair was spun round and round and left four spiral skid marks on the concrete. It never lifted one tire.
I drove a Corvair as a teenage. It was easy to drive and since I had experienced on my Uncles Willies jeep which had a independent rear suspension just like a corvair.
A 1962 2 Dr coupe, black with red interior was my first car. $2,340. Loved it. Seat belts were an extra for $18. Wish I had it today.
Beautiful example. I remember on a trip to the beach with neighbors. We helped these two cute girls by putting the belt on the motor back on. The belt was hot.😂🤣❤👍
Nice video. My first car in 1974 was a 1963 Monza 4 door. I bought it for $75.00 Had it for 3 years, and sold it for $300.00. Fun car.
Thanks for sharing, glad you enjoyed the video!
Beautiful ride, WHOW. I envy you.
Corvairs were nice. I got a Red One and my Uncle had a Sky Blue premium one and my other uncle had one as well.
love it had 3 of them Monza Loved it
Looks like you truly enjoy driving this car:)
They asked Phil Hill if he only had one car what would it be? He said his favorite car was a 63 Monza Spyder which he and his new bride drove around Europe while he was racing and winning in Formula 1! Have to agree with his choice having grown up around them and driving them in my youth. They are still affordable too! But not for long!
Mr. Hill's wife, Alma, BORN 10 years AFTER he won the 1961 F 1 championship. Check Wikipedia.
Agreed, the Corvair wasn't "killed" by anyone, it was produced for a decade and they sold nearly 2 million of them. It simply died a natural death. From '60-'63 it did have a sketchy rear suspension so in 1964 they added a camber compensator to fix it. It's funny that when GM did those rollover tests they added dash padding, a roll cage and seatbelts. All the stuff that Ralph Nader had suggested they needed in his book.
GM's engineering team didn't need some inexperienced nerd telling them how to make cars...
It had little chance when the Mustang came along.
In late 1960's early 70's I was a line mechanic at a Chevy dealer. The guy to the left of me did all the Corvairs and I did all the Corvettes. I think he got the better deal. I remember Corvairs leaking oil real bad out the back, due to pushrod tube O rings. Once he showed me one with an optional gas fired heater in the trunk area- I still remember the 12V ignition coil that was used.
It is the GM specialty to take wonderful ideas and turn it to junk, later the Vega, the fiero , the Pontiac roadster and so on.
The Corvair, if my memory serves me correctly, was supposed to become a product line akin to what Saturn was supposed to be. There were concept exercises around its chassis for more futuristic cars. I recall one where the drivetrain was turned around for a mid engine layout and for a high performance sedan that looked very racy for the 1960s drawing board.
as a former owner of one of those exact cars i can say it did have a few problems, it was fun to drive and was peppy for what was but the areo dynamics where not good when you hit 72 mph you can really feel the front end get light. also to save 15 dollars on every car gm removed the rear leaf spring and created the wheel tucking problem....which it was, i spun out cornering to fast several times. if you drove it like a normal human the car was fine.
I wonder how many Corvair owners maintained the extreme front-to-rear tire pressure difference: 15psi cold front, and 26 rear.
You guys need to do a feature on the drake water cooled harley knuckle head engine's and sprint cars.
Beautiful car, btw. My husband is a Chevy guy, I'm more Chrysler and Oldsmobile. (But I drive a Subaru, because my husband had a a Subaru tech)
Good day Donald. Always appreciate your education on automotive history. But that said, can this car handle evasive manouvers safely.? Or would the weight of the rear engine swing the back around?
Yes, they handle evasive driving very well as long as the tire pressures are set according to Chevy's specifications. Mine are some of the best handling cars I have ever owned. Definitely better than the 65 and 68 Mustangs I had, which also had completely restored suspensions.
What's going on with the front bumper?
Problems worked out before the project was shelved. Sounds like the Pontiac Fierro.
A parts bin car with a lot of potential. By 1988 it was a capable handler and even quicker and faster than some down market Ferraris of the day like the Mondial.
Love the corvair. Wonder if it would be possible to mate the second generation suspension iwith a first generation body style. I prefer the quirky, and I think more distinctive bathtub body style.
I had a couple of chances to buy Corvair 2drs, one with the turbo. Stupid me, n9t sure why I didn't at the time. I kick myself every time I watch a video on these. Both cars were none running but fixable for sure.
Is it true the corvair front tires need less air pressure than the rear tires? Is this also true of the rear engined VW?. Thank you.
I drove 3 different Corvairs back in the early’70s. I found all 3 to be very underpowered, heavy and unpleasant to drive, and they all rode extremely poorly. I liked the idea of a rear engine, and one of the ones I drove was I think a ‘67 Monza convertible. It had more power, but was still unpleasant.
With the correct tire pressures, the car is no less safe than any other car.
i have 6 my 62 700 4dr is the one i love to drive ,,,lates are faster but the 4dr drives so nice
I owned a Corvair station wagon and as long as you knew how to drive it, it was not dangerous and I had no problems with it. However after owing a Beetle with its rear engine and swing axle and knowing about the Czechoslovakian Tatra T87 rear engined swing axle car that killed a lot of Nazis Officers it’s a wonder I drove a Corvair and it is surprising that Cole of General Motors came up with the Corvair. Most cars today owe their good design layout to Englishman Alec Issigonis starting with the Mini.
My uncle had a 62' he bought in 65'.
Seems like the should have put the battery and the spare up front for better weight balance. but would have cost GM maybe 20 bucks to do that. too typical of the era. I used to drive a black 63 conv turbo, cool car though.
I still drive one of those!
The spare was up front originally, it got moved to the back due to customer complaints over it taking up trunk space
As time goes on, the Corvair deserves the right place in automotive history. It is an engineering and pop phenomenon as well.
My buddy had a Covair and I had a Mercury comet. I couldn’t keep up with the Corvair.
the engine is in the rear and the gas tank is in the front, if you have a frontal crash, the tank might blow up.
Stirling Moss, one of the world's greatest race car drivers, said of the Corvair that the handling was pretty typical of European economy cars of the time. I had a 1962 model, probably the cheapest version with a 3 speed manual transmission and the smallest engine. You would have had to try pretty hard to get that thing into a dangerous situation. The steering had, as I recall, about five turns lock to lock. It wasn't dangerous but it was easily the worst car I ever owned.
I owned one of these cars. It was in the repair shop more then it was on the road. (What a peace of junk).;
In the early 70s, a commission into the Corvair and its contemporaries by the Department of Transportation found that the first generation Corvair was actually favourably compared with both American and foreign import competition. I don't know whether Ralph Nader made a mistake or whether he had some personal issue against Chevrolet, but his book was certainly unfair to the Corvair. The first generation Corvair wasn't even in production when Nader destroyed the reputation of the name. A sad piece of automotive history.
I had a 66 Monza with a 327 mid engine crown kit...and "yes"... at any speed.
Tiverton?
having six corvairs my 62 4door is the one that rides the best
Why did they call a hard top a "spyder". I thought that was universally understood to mean a convertible.
@Mike B - The "Spyder" was an option on both Monza coupes and convertibles, first appearing in April of 1962. Spyders came with the 150hp turbocharged flat six and a special instrument cluster, among several other items.
@dreamsnoir Just as genuine repartee comes from the Reparte region of France. Other banter is just sparkling wit.
Great segment, per usual. And a very attention-grabbing headline, as well. Unfortunately, the two are not related and the segment never answers the question. In some circles this is known as "click bait."
I read in John DeLorean's book that Corvair's handling problems were fixed soon after it was released, but Ernie Kovacs and the daughter of a prominent GM executive were killed in Corvairs pretty close together and that signaled the end of the Corvair. There was no excitement inside GM for them.
What really killed it was that Mustang. GM spent a fortune totally redesigning the Corvair for 1965, all-new second generation car, all new body shell, all new suspension, longer, wider, etc. Once the Chevy II hit the market, they abandoned any pretense of selling it as an economy car, since the Chevy II did that job better, so the Corvair was repositioned as an affordable "sporty" car, by '63/64, the majority of sales were of the upmarket Monza trim level, and the coupe was the most popular body style. So, the second generation was designed around that idea from the start, with sleeker, more curvaceous styling and only pillarless hardtops and convertibles available. But, the Mustang was cheaper to build, sold at a higher profit margin, and had an optional V8, came out at the same time as the new Corvair, and was much more what the public wanted. GM rushed the Camaro out to compete more directly, and, since the Chevy II had already replaced the Corvair in the economy car role, and the Camaro replaced it in the "sports" car role, there was no room for it in the Chevy lineup anymore. They still built it for 3 more years alongside the Camaro, but just to kind of run out parts inventories and whatnot.
@@11sfr The Camaro was never a "sports" car. It was a ponycar. A category named after... you guessed it, the Mustang.
@@scotth6814 Hence the quotes, GM's product development people would certainly have never used the term pony car - that was a nickname that was retroactively applied to the category of Mustang-inspired cars later on as convenient shorthand. But, the Mustang didn't create the category, it just redefined it - the Barracuda was the same basic idea, just didn't have the same customer appeal, and GM had designed the Mk2 Corvair for that exact same market segment, every one of the Big Three had the general idea, but Ford just knocked it out of the park and bowled everybody over.
@@11sfr The Barracuda actually came out before the Mustang, but didn't sell well. I had a '68 Barracuda fastback with a big-block 383, Plymouth's answer to the big-block 390 Mustang.
@@scotth6814 The Barracuda was just a fast back valiant. The were ugly until you fixed them up with nice rims and fat tires. My first car was a 65' cuda. A hand me down slant 6 from my mother. I put some chrome slotted mags on the rear. I drove it until I got my 69 Road Runner. This was in the mid 70s.
Good evening Donald . And Ralph Nadar unfairly killed the Corvair stone dead . As you know more than most , any car is dangerous when driven incompetently . I'm sure you remember yours with great affection . Thanks Donald .
Not exactly true. Nader gave the Corvair a bad rap, but in no way killed it. The pony cars that came along in the mid 60's were quicker, more powerful, and inexpensive. When the Mustang came out, then the Camaro, the Corvair's fate was sealed.
@@tomscyclerecycling8242 Can't argue with that Tom.
Capacious? I'm from the Leno school of spelling. Big trunk. lol
No Nader lied!
The Corvair handled better than the VW Beetle but Nader decided to go after GM instead of VW because he hated the Auto industry in General and GM was a bigger fish. And get this...to this day Nader has never ever owned a car.
Dangerous car pre 64. I very nearly rolled an early Corvair wagon, got it up on two left side wheels enough to bend them. Was I a younger driver at the time? Yes. Did I do anything extreme that should have contributed to that event? No. When I went to have the car repaired the Chevrolet dealer technician said to me "next time you go around a corner, go around on 4 wheels. not two. I hadn't told him the truth about what happened. But he knew. Being a station wagon could have exacerbated the problem. GM had to know about this- or never bothered to put these cars thru the proper paces. Or perhaps they knew and didn't care. Nader was right. It's too bad GM let this happen. Ernie Kovacs likely experienced what I did, I was lucky enough to save the car and myself.
In the 70s I was going down street at the posted speed, the streets were a little damp. There was a VW Beetle on my tail, he felt I wasn't going fast enough so he whips past me giving me a dirty look then proceeds to spin out go on two wheels and roll it over. I laughed as went flipping. I drove up and made a u turn and headed back as he was climbing out of the car in the ditch. I made eye contact and gave him a big smile.😁
No!
No such thing as an unsafe car. It's an unsafe driver.
I bought an early Corvair.
Worst car I ever had!
no it was never unsafe. Nader just made his name off the myth