1961 Chevy Corvair Lakewood Review - A Rear Engined, Air Cooled, American Wagon! 

I’m 54 and have been watching car reviews since I was a teenager and I’ve never seen one of these reviewed.- EVER. Glad you could review one.

Hi, I'm 64 years old and been a automobile mechanic most of my life. I have drove and worked on very many Corviars. My mother had a 1963 Corviar 700 four door, and my grandmother (on my mothers side) had a 1964 Corvair 500 two door. The the 2 speed automatic transmission that was in all the Corviar(s) is a "Corviar Powerglide" transaxle, not the same as a rear wheel drive 2 speed Chevrolet Powerglide. The Corvair Powerglide shift lever, located on the instrument panel, from neutral is; up one for revers. From neutral is; down one for drive and then down once more for low (first gear only) locking out second gear. There is NO park setting. The item that you call a vent, on the top center of the instrument panel or "dashboard" you might say, is the speaker grill for the factory AM radio. The Corvair Lakewood station was not a big hit. The roof and all the glass on the Lakewood was actually taller for more head room inside the car. The Lakewood actually had more cargo space and more comfort space than the VW Type 3 Squareback. But in the mean time, Chevrolet Motor Division stopped production on the Lakewood to make room at the factory to produce the convertible on the Monza trim level that did sell better. As far as I can tell, the Monza was the best seller. The Corviar Spyder (1964 and below) and the Corviar Corsa (1965 and up), came with the Monza trim package as standard. The Corviar convertible was only offered on the Monza trim level. I love Corvairs! Please reply. Dave...

When I was very young , I went to a Daycare place called Jack and Jill’s. They were literally named Jack and Jill❗️. Jack drove a red 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxy. Jill drove an Olive green Corvair wagon. Every day, usually Jill came to pick me up in that Corvair. [ Mom would pick me up after work, Or my grandmother. She drove a metallic blue ,1961 Rambler American. [Some memories are just really impressed in my mind.] 🚗🙂

I've always been a fan of wagons, & I like uncommon cars, so this is right up my ally.

"It's you! You're tailgating yourself. Which sounds like a sin." I'm still laughing.

My dad owned one in the 1970's that I drove through my senior year of high school. He bought it from a farmer in Sonoma county and got it running great. It had a 1964 Monza engine, originally 110hp but with dad's mods it was dyno'ed at 160 at the rear wheels. It had the 4-speed manual, much better than Powerglide. It had the original radio with vacuum tubes, it had to warm up when you turned it on. Dad modified the suspension, too, so it handled much better than it did at first. I loved driving it around, loads of fun, and wish I still had it.

Nice car. I've always liked Corvairs, they have a nice style. These actually did fairly well against Volkswagens and weren't as dangerous as they were made out to be. The second generation looked a bit sportier and had better suspension but the damage to the Corvair's reputation had been done.

I love the Corvair wagons. In 62 they dropped the Lakewood name.

I hope to see more 1960s wagons on the channel.

Zack now you need to find a Corvair Rampside pickup or a Corvair Greenbrier van.

"Sounds like a sin" 😂😂😂 That killed me. Thanks for another great review!

Thanks a lot Ralph Nader

I've got a 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Coupe. Love these cars. I love both the first and second generations. I think they are both great looking generations.

3:50 I think that "air vent" is really the original speaker, though I'm sure there are defroster vent slots closer to the windshield.

The wagon part may have been shallow because of the engine, but you also got a front trunk! I think these were pretty cool.

"You're tailgating yourself which sounds like a sin"... lol

I liked the Corvair. My dad had a '62 Monza coupe, white with a red bucket seat interior and a 4 speed. Those were good times. Thanks for the Lakewood review. Maybe the day will come when you can review a Corvan, Greenbrier or a Rampside pickup.

Super rare Corvair! Thank you for the POV drive!

A Corvair standing empty had a 65/35 rear/front weight distribution. Loading up the back end of the wagon with luggage would exacerbate that, and overload the tires that originally came with the vehicle. The front trunk for all its spaciousness could only accommodate so much, with the spare tire up there. The Greenbriar vans probably had the best design for weight balance, putting the driver and any passenger up above/ahead of the front wheels to help offset the engine and portion of transaxle hanging behind the rear wheels. It's a shame that in Nader's book, which was intended to be an overall indictment of the auto industry, he happened to choose the Corvair as his primary case in point. He did so mainly because it showcased GM's grudging instransigence in admitting the vehicle had flaws, dragging their heels despite widespread evidence of the car's potential instability, and reluctantly making improvements. Yes, they should have gone with four-link rear axles in 1959 for the first model year of 1960, but they didn't, because of costs. Their goal was to get the average cost per vehicle below a certain amount to guarantee profit, and they scrimped on every possible item they could, never mind that it could compromise safety. That's what they had lawyers for. GM had at one time planned to pull the plug on the Corvair soon after pony cars came out, cars the Corvair couldn't compete with, but to do so would have proven Nader right in the public eye, so they kept the Corvair in production on purpose a couple more years, albeit with a very limited model lineup. I love the design of the 65-69 Corvairs, they and GM products in general in the latter half of the 60s had beautiful styling. A true pity a wagon couldn't have been introduced. Well, it probably could have, but the costs involved in tooling up dies, etc., would have never been recouped by any sales. FYI - Nader was on a speaking tour throughout the US in the late 60's. My mother picked him up from the Madras, OR, airport, in her 65 Corvair convertible, and drove him to Bend for his next speaking engagement. Ha!

I think the reason that the Corvair existed at all was a General Motors head honcho named Ed Cole. He loved off the wall-radical engineering and was responsible for a lot of it including the Corvair and the Vega... He also played a big part in the small block Chevy so he had some big wins,,, and some notable failures..

My parents had one when I was little. My dad traded his '57 Chevy in for this, because he bought that as a single man and by 1961 he and my mom had two kids. He only kept it for two years because he said it always smelled like gas and exhaust in the cabin while you were driving it.

Cool! 😍😍I didn't even know they made Corvair wagons! I remember the cars around in the 70s,although not many!

The grillwork in the center of the dash is not a vent. That's where the radio speaker was. Also that's not the original instrument cluster. That one is from a van. The original one went to 100MPH. My first car was a Corvair wagon.

I own a 63 Monza coupe, the thing has plenty of space and it's built quite well for a Chevy product.

Very cool! Very unique line of cars

I dig the color

Drove a '62 Monza, black over red, powerglide car; really fun. Thanks for the video

Funny how the VW Type3 was introduced in 61 and went out of production till 73.

I love this Car! My first car was a 66 Corvair Corsair Convertible.

I'd buy one

cool had the 1962 corvair greenbrier sports wagon was a blast to drive liked it over the vw vans lot more power to move it down the hi way and up mtn passes

The Corvair Wagons are very different, I do like them, this one would be much improved with a 4-speed manual transmission, Corvair turbo-charging on it, refreshed paint and new wheels. The interior looks in good shape. To me this is a cool, and very interesting car.

Back in the late 1960's and early 1970's we had three Corvairs a 1961 two door white a 1962 convertible green with a white top and the last a gold two door 1963 You could buy them dirt cheap at the time.

Where's all the Ralph Nader jokes? Just doesn't feel like a Corvair review without absolutely pooping on how safe at any given speed it may be lol

what a cute wagon.

When I was a kid one of the town librarians had one in the exact same color.

Back in the 1990s I knew an old guy in Montclair NJ that had that exact car. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was his.

I like the back being shallow, it makes for easier loading. If I remember, the carpet in the wagon area lifts up to the engine bay.

It DID pan out!! They sold nearly 2 million of those in Sedan, Coupe and Convertible forms! What else do you want???

Beautiful car! I love corvairs! Just imagine if they would have done the back suspension right...maybe small american cars would still be a thing...

We had a 62 Monza, with a 4 speed. I really liked it but after the birth of a 4th kid, it was too small. We then got. A 59 Pontiac Bonneville 4 dr sedan.

The Corvair was introduced as a compact economy car, competing with the Falcon, Rambler, and Valiant, which all had a conventional configuration snd drive train. It didn’t sell very well so GM quickly offered a conventional compact the Chevy II in 1962. The Corvair did better as a sporty car with the Monza, but when the Mustang hit the market, it really hurt Corvair sales.

Good job!

This is so cool!

I think an only criticism I have of your channel (which is like the comfort food of car reviews btw you do amazing work) is that you don’t seem to review the performance of any of these cars. I like to compare your reviews to things like a less performance oriented MotorWeek, but with potentially 50-60 year old cars and if a review has to be done, you should step on it to give a good sense to the viewer that the car has a pulse. I don’t know how motortrend does there it engine sounds or even Cammisa’s show on Hagerty but maybe a lapel mic on the back of the car where there’s no wind to blow out the sound? Idk just a suggestion. Your videos are very agricultural until you get into modern performance cars and fully give them the beans and I think these old American cars need their due too. Maybe a microphone up to the exhaust and a bit of a romp from 1-2 on these cars would be good. Keeps the reviews exciting enough since your reviews are very cozy but I think it has the potential to be just a little more. Thanks for all the content you do. I’m 20 and have a 1969 chevelle that’s going in for paint this winter hopefully when you’re around the Midwest and it’s done and sorted out you can do a review. Mechanically it’s absolutely solid just needs paint and interior done. Mild 355 and 700r4 Just remember to give it the beans when you review it :p I’ll fill in your site when I know I’m ready and you’re coming around to Minnesota sometime next summer. Cheers man love your content

Note! Actor/ Comedian Ernie Kovacs died in his Corvair wagon in 1962. 🚙

Review corvair van 1961-1965. Interview Clark's Corvair Parts Inc

So, we got a call...

why didn't you show the back seat folding down to make more cargo space.

Nice 😀

This car would have competed nicely with the VW square-back station wagon, and was probably less expensive. They look almost identical.

I own a 1962 corvair 4door

3:54 that's a speaker grill.

Actually it was the Chevy II wagon that killed and what really killed the Corvair was the Camero but who designed it the stylist at Corvair. Chfck thf hub caps

This, with the high floor and vents just under the rear side windows, looks a lot like the VW Type 3 Squareback, which was introduced in Europe around this time, but not sold in the USA until 1966. Both were interesting but flawed cars.

What a really cool car.

Zack, you seem to be using the phrase "at a premium" in reverse. It tends to mean scarce, or in demand. So if you were to say that space ISN'T at a premium, you'd be implying there was plenty of it. In this case, space in the Corvair IS at a premium, and so it is limited.

Did the wagon also come with 3 doors ?

What is a price for a corvair wagon in good shape?

I've heard and I'm pretty sure it's true that chevy actually somehow got ahold of the design sheet/specs for the porsche flat six and literally copied it, as closely as they could, to make these engines. Also the corvair was notoriously dangerous. For a couple reasons, no protection up front and also the front gets really light at speed. My stepday always said, "the corvair...unsafe at any speed." Lol. Just some neat tid bits for you.

5:46 Would it be safe to put an electric guitar (in its case) in the back or would it shake it to death and heat it too much?

I like the styling of this a lot more than regular Corvairs. That said, this configuration really doesn't seem to make much sense for a wagon. I'm guessing the sales figures for the entire run of this car are maybe 5 or 6 sold in total.

Was is unsafe at any speed

I don't know how they keep that running.

The compression is so low you can just turn it without a wrench

Corvairwild has like 93 of these

GM could have sold the Corvair platform to another market for manufacturing like Latin America Asia Africa like look what the Volkswagen Bettle made in Mexico

A childhood friend had a Corvair Monza coupe. It wasn't quite a de@th trap, but close. lol

Its still plenty. More than normal.corvair which had nothing as storage in the rear. Custom dogguard fence behind rear seat adn you can pack it to the roof

Two words: _ERNIE KOVACS._

Is that a booger in your nose?

2 speeds is so damn slow....

i like corvair. ralph nader ruined it. people airbags are a luxury. it's a hood trunks in back everyone knows.