1966 Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Stinger - Jay Leno's Garage 

J Leno

I'd love to agree but I don't know how charitable he is beyond his hobby. THAT'S a lot of money he was making. 🚽 Museum?

D. Oshea - james garner? Not too many folks remember he was a car guy/racer. Love it!

@@jjs777fzr Racing Garner was an owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) auto racing team from 1967 through 1969.[69] Motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director Andy Sidaris teamed with Garner for the racing documentary The Racing Scene, filmed in 1969 and released in 1970.[70] The team fielded cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring endurance races, but is best known for Garner's celebrity status raising publicity in early off-road motor-sports events.[69] In 1978, he was one of the inaugural inductees in the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.[69] Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC).[71] His shops prepared ten 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race.[72] Garner did not drive in this event because of a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, taking three of the top five places in the sedan class.[73] Garner also drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985 (see: list of Indianapolis 500 pace cars).ormhof.org/inductees/1978/

ormhof.org/james-garner/ As a famous actor, James Garner brought much needed publicity to off-road racing in the early years of sports development when it needed the attention the most. James Garner was born James Scott Baumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, April 7, 1928 to Weldon Warren Baumgarner and Mildred Meek; his father worked as a carpet layer. As a young man, Garner worked numerous jobs including a stint at a gas station. At the age of 16, he joined the Merchant Marine. He then joined the National Guard. The U.S. Military drafted him to serve in the Korean War, where he received the Purple Heart. Garner attended University of Oklahoma. He became interested in acting and studied the art at Herbert Bergoff Studios, New York. Garner enjoyed a long and successful acting career with appearances on stage, television and in movies, winning the Emmy Award in 1977 and 1986. His career began with the stage production The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, in the early 1950s. Following, Warner Brothers offered him a contract. In 1956, he made his film debut in Toward the Unknown. He is perhaps most recognized for his title role in the television show Maverick which ran from 1957-62 and for his title role in The Rockford Files, NBC-TV, 1974-79. He acted in the movie The Great Escape in 1963 with fellow Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductees actor Steve McQueen and stuntman Bud Ekins. In 1966, he appeared in the automobile racing movie Grand Prix. Beyond the screen in “real life” Garner also actively participated in auto racing both on-road and off-road. He drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions in 1975, 1977 and 1985. He owned the American International Racing team, from 1967 through 1969; team members raced in both Daytona and Sebring. Garner participated in many off-road races as a driver. His presence often brought a touch of publicity to the sport, while still being treated as an “everyday-man” by his fellow racers. He attended the first Stardust 7-11 in Las Vegas. There, he co-drove with Scooter Patrick in a Porsche-powered Manx owned by John Crean. The men did not finish the race. His presence at the 1968 NORRA Mexican 1000 helped to generate publicity for the event and coverage on ABC’s show the Wide World of Sports. In 1972, Garner raced the Banshee, a vehicle built for him by fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Vic Hickey. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in the vehicle, despite the fact that he crashed the car towards the end of the event. He also placed the car in the top five at a number of races. Hickey said of Garner “The thing about Garner was that, while he wasn’t the world’s most fearless driver, he had the best retention of any man who drove for me. On a pre-run, if he hit a bump, he come back five days later andwould tell you where it was within ten feet.” Garner had a history of involvement with humanitarian and other causes he believed in. In 1963, he helped organize Martin Luther King’s March in Washington for Civil Rights and visited the troops in Vietnam in 1967. He was a member of the National Support Committee of the Native American Rights Fund and the National Advisory Board of the United States High School Golf Association. He was involved with the Save the Coast movement to stop offshore drilling in California. One of his more recent endeavors was his involvement with the Save the Children organization. Garner is an inductee in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Cowboy Hall of Fame. James married Lois Clarke, who already had a daughter named Kimberly. James and Lois had Greta Gigi Scoot Garner together in 1958.

1972, Garner raced the Banshee, a vehicle built for him by fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Vic Hickey. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in the vehicle, despite the fact that he crashed the car towards the end of the event. He also placed the car in the top five at a number of races. Hickey said of Garner “The thing about Garner was that, while he wasn’t the world’s most fearless driver, he had the best retention of any man who drove for me. On a pre-run, if he hit a bump, he come back five days later andwould tell you where it was within ten feet.

Garner played “Rockford” on the tee vee show. The character owned a Pontiac TransAm painted goldish bronze. A plain Jane model but I always loved the trans am styling. Very cool.

Agree 100%. I'd _LOVE_ to see Jay's collection. I wish there was a way. Maybe he could have docents do the walk-around, so it wouldn't impose on Jay himself too much.

A true hero to me, and turns me green with envy. He has done SUCH an mazing job with his collection, and this show.

Awesome story. We need a time machine back to 77’

That's a really cool story. I love how cars can impact so many peoples lives in this such manner and literally define who they become. What you told is a prime example of how the automotive culture is so integral to the human way of life. Who'd have thought that cars were going to completely re-pave how humanity experiences life.

But Ralph Nader sead !!!oh ,tell Ralph to go jump in the pasific 😂

So many useless details for a car story

I don't believe you.

I wanted to say that too. But he beat me to it. By two years. Guess I'll keep my day job too!

You had to go there didn't you?lol

Pirfict for a Comideon 🤣

Period correct hilarity. Clever.

Somewhere Fred Gwynne is smiling.....

Ridiculous, ignorant statement. Unsafe at Any Speed was not a book about the Corvair. So, you show your ignorance by the fact you haven’t read it. Furthermore if you had read it, you would know it was in reference to the 60-63 Corvair with swing arm suspension. 1965-69 Corvairs full IRS suspension and handles beautiful. .9g of lateral acceleration in the skidlad. Don Yenko went to GM, Not GM to Don Yenko. Last NHTSA out all of Ralph Naders nonsense to rest in an extensive 2 year study fully exonerating the 60-63 Corvair. www.corvair.org/index.php/history-and-preservation/unsafe-at-any-speed

Flat6 you need to take a Xanax and a deep breath. You read way to much into comment than it was intended. Get a grip, man.

Flat6 ya dude and you also need to stop liking your own comments too

@@flat6586 Uh, it was a JOKE

@@matthewbittenbender9191 LOL, that's what I thought

+Chaleco Salvavides Rare to hear anyone say it, for some reason, but totally true.

+Chaleco Salvavides The trouble is Yenko put that ugly sail panel on the back, which detracts from the beautiful top lines. I had two 64 Spyders, one a convertible, and one 66 two door 110hp and automatic. I have always liked the second generation better, watching anything about Corvair makes me want to get another one.

Barrett Root

505197 - I really liked this car when I was a kid. Owning a Yenko would be incredible, but I'd be happy with a lower end model. I think it's just a great looking automobile.

And as the first gen Buick Riviera.

Christian Renaud hello from putnam. i'd love to see your vair. my best friend in idaho has several corvairs. he introduced me to corvairs back in the 80's and i've loved them since then.

+Christian Renaud nice story man im 16 in ct also, new haven county. debating whether to put my money towards a cj jeep or amc gremlin

gremlins are hard to find parts for, and a cj 7 is a tad bit expensive, my advice is to go with the jeep, but only bc they are easy to care for and they are fun to crawl with!

I sold the remains of my '68 to Clark's. I hope the cylinder heads, 4 speed posi-track, and Delco AM-FM are enjoying a second life in someone's Corvair.

Northern Outcast I hope you add a liquid cooler system if it's one of the models that didn't come with that, and I also hope you get to drive that to school. It'll be the only one in the parking lot!

I had a '67 Turbo Corsa 4-speed. I really loved taking it up in the mountains bc at high elevations the turbo would just keep on pumpin' plenty of air while the carbureted engines of the day were starving for o2. Even hot rods couldn't keep up. I can still remember the sound of those V8s roaring; could hear them downshift and the secondaries open wide while getting about 1 mile per gallon. It was like driving an airplane!

Crimbly Crimbo he not showing them to us for free exactly, at least not enough n th sense you mean. Sure, you do t have to pay to see the, on RU-vid but the where near made for free nor dies he not make money off the RU-vid channel. As these where originally made first, for as a web show available on an NBC website that was advertising supported, and later it moved to CNBC started, in a longer full length tv show format, (also partly ad supported, partly cable fee supported). Later clips from the show where uploaded to RU-vid, which pays a share of the ad revenue to the production company of the show (I.e. monetization). Leno most certainly gets paid for doing the TV show via a contract and likely part of 5hat comes fromRU-vid ad revenue.. So no one is doing this for free in this sense you mean, It’s more like “free” in the same sense that any broadcast/over-the-Air tv show is “free”, at least to viewers.

Crimbly Crimbo: Yes he reads and responds. Courteous, compassionate and loving. When I watch Jay I too reminisce and am transported to a higher realm. Jay is like finding an exquisite family gem. Instantly captured with his multifaceted dazzling display of knowledge. He is unsurpassed in his humanity. He does read and answer. He possesses the traits and character we can all aspire to.

@@justabigbaby Jay is an imperialist: he says that America should defend Israel for ever

@@ireneuszpyc6684 idiot

@@Laffy1345, I guess you're an imperialist too

Too much, not enough PCH.

my dad hated ordering cars. he'd want to drive right off the lot. so we got a 4-carb 140 hp 1965 corvair. great sports car. I could beat all my buds on the curvy country roads.

Not really, I had a 63 Spyder and i would get the revs up just to the point where the turbo was starting to spool, usually around 2800 rpm. You didn't pop the clutch but rode is slightly, it would get out of first gear about the same as a 327 Corvette. Once you hit second it was wave bye bye because the Corvette was up to the power curve.

Cool story. I'm sixteen years old and have a '60 700 Sedan myself. I've learned so much wrenching on it.

@@lars1588 That's awesome. I wish you the best of luck with it!

@@VirtualGuth Thanks! All the older folks in my family love the car.

What's going on with the side glass, with the massive C-pillar, small side window, but what appears to be the stock drip rail? It almost looks like a sedan roof on a coupe body.

@@kimisdaman Yenko raced these Corvairs on Sports Car tracks in the 1960's, and the 'massive C-pillar' stiffened the frame which helped handling, particularly on the winding, hilly, sports car tracks. I remember seeing them in the SCCA Regional races, many times they would beat Corvettes, which really shocked the 'vette owners. The Corvair got a bad rap from the early 60 - 64 years, which were economy cars with poor suspension. In '65 and up to '69 they had greatly improved suspension and the handling was no more dangerous than a Porshe, VW, or any other rear engined car. The worst mistake Chevy made with the air-cooled engine was using cheap rubber seals for the pushrod tubes, valve covers, etc. which caused major oil leaks. Higher temps that air-cooled engines run at require that you use high-temp silicone seals as aircraft engines use. If you use the better seals you seldom have oil leak problems.

@@WJV9 Late '60's - I was hitchhiking and was picked up by some guy in a corvair. The corvair then blew up. I got a job in Honolulu, and the boss had a corvair van. I rode in it twice times, and it blew up. Corvairs failed to make a positive impression on me. Air cooled engines are inferior to water cooled engines. The Corvair was a failed vehicle, and an embarrassment to American enterprise, since it was supposed to be the answer to the Beetle. This car was a product of an unfortunate corporate culture that fused cheapness with arogance and produced cars like the Dodge Omni, Chevy Vega and a huge T-bird that rode like a boat.

@@The_DC_Kid 2 seperate vehicles, one in Hawaii and one in California. I've only taken 3 rides in Corvair's, and they have failed to impress me in way shape or form. The body style is reminiscent of the best of Communist East German engineering. That's a cruel thing to say about a car that people form an irrational love for. So, I take it all back. An air cooled engine, nothing better. Corvair - the ultimate chick magnet.

@@The_DC_Kid You've never been in a car where the engine failed? It's not a good feeling. If you were the passenger, like I was, it's still not a good feeling, but the owner is stuck on the side of the road with a car he wished he never bought. Of course, I'm just imagining what the owners of these 2 corvairs felt after the engine blew up...I didn't ask. In my lifetime, I've ridden in 4 vehicles where the engine failed (I won't use the misleading term "blew up"). Three of them had air cooled internal combustion engines. If I were to advise somebody about buying a vehicle, one of things I'd state is make certain the engine is water cooled. BTW - Do they make cars with air-cooled engine anymore?

I couldn't agree more. When you talk about the paper work and all the stuff done to the car, you speak with such passion that only true car guys would know about. I wish there were more people from the younger generation that were into more than just selfies and video games. I'm only 28 but have always been a hands on kind of person and a car nut myself. Keep up the great videos Jay!!

One of Brooks Stevens' best. The VW412 was the version that I once drove. None of those remain over there?

@@Coolingfin yes still can find type 4 here. Most of them in Germany. It was never very popular in the rest of Europe

Many small cars were built on very similar designs in the early sixties, including the well-loved VW Bug. Somehow it escaped the curse. Both were rear-engined swing axle cars (first-gen Corvair 'til '64, and Bug until 1968 or so double u-joint axle cars)

Yeah it's one of the best parts of the car. It has a very unique, clean sound. It seems to sound a lot better than most 6 cylinder engines, it has a real growl to it. It makes me sad that most people have probably done a V8 conversion because they didn't want to learn about the flat 6.

Or anyone who loves fast cars,

Met his daughter at Motorsport Park Hastings Corvair Rendezvous.

Very sad

i got the only one in 70 with a green interior all others were black interiors. 427 had to have 600+ horsepower

my mom knew Don he was a jazz musician and a pilot also she told me a story of her flying in his plane when she said the weather was bad but he said it would be ok ,she said she was scared to death but he joked around saying like were going down and making the engine cut out and telling her to take control of the plane hes having a heart attack or something but it was just in fun but she didnt think it was funny and for him to die in his plane is just a coincidence ?

Not really "ahead of its time" since no one really copied any of this afterwards. How many other rear-engine, air-cooled flat six cars were built in the US, or anywhere, after this? And it isn't like Yenko invented the idea of a lighter, faster car with six or four cylinders, this was a copy of what Europeans were already doing. So I don't see how this was "ahead of if it's time" in any way. You can't even say it foresaw the move of American carmakers to copy European cars more (and in reality they both copied Japanese cars in the end), since it was the Corvair that was copying European cars, the Stinger was based on the Corvair.

@@justforever96 William, in specific reference to the market and the domestic manufacturing of the time, I definitely feel it was. To me what supports it was the introduction of combined technologies not widely deployed in mainstream domestic production at the time. The domestics did not have the same demands to meet as those makers elsewhere. A domestic car with a fully independent suspension, turbocharging, a flat six air cooled engine and a 4-speed stick was in no way the standard of the time. Unless you went with boutique manufacturers who were in no way of the same scale of production at that time. Nor even anywhere close on price. (Porsche) Also, the modular power pack spawned so many different models. Vans, rampsides, Corsa's, etc. I also don't think the Corvair was an outright attempt to copy anything. Perhaps inspired yes, but even Europeans will use technologies others have pioneered if it meets the project goal requirement.

Where is MarViN?

Very up to date reference...

you'll have to wait in line dude...

though if you were the owner of the original Bond Austin Martin, you probably would be allowed to bypass the line and step right in.

you don't think my 83 Malibu wagon will pass?

Well....you know, wagon's are all "Classic" so they might just move you to the front of the line.

Bob Jones I think Jay's is the best car show ever.

I think it is yourself that does not understand American cars. European markets were highly regulated meaning manufacturers could only produce certain types of cars. There was not engine limits in the US meaning a manufacturer could build a 7 litre engine if they desired. When manufacturers have that luxury of experimentation they will find out that larger engines are far smoother to drive and allow the car to be large. Mercedes is the only European manufacturer that actually got the bigger engines but there cars were twice the price of a house.

I had a 1965 coupe with the custom Spyder Dashboard ,4 carbs and a the High performance 4 speed manual trans back in my High School days (1975) and I used it for my Pizza delivery boy job. It was a blast to drive, zipping around from one stop to the next. We also have a county park in the area that is designed like a beautiful race track type roadway that surrounds the park, every now and then I would go there in the very early morning and just drive the crap out of it. Lot's of fun :_)

The formerly proposed third generation Corvair was supposed to be strictly a sport coupe somewhat resembling the DatsunZ, but with squinted versions of the 2nd generation Corvair headlights.

Bret Fisher You know Corvair, I use to have a 64 convertible great car, but I kept over reving the engine.I was a stupid kid.

inthepocket Corvette.

Third owner...just saying...

I agree, the corvair was more aircarft than car. the tiny valves indicate steady throttle, not a cars variable. Subaru did the little boxer as well, and some use it for aircraft. Big valves, and liquid cooling.. that should stay a car motor more than flying.

My Zenith 750 is powered by a 1965 Corvair boxer engine. 100 hp Cam, forged pistons, heads reworked, and a 5th bearing set up by Roy Sarafinski of Michigan The 5th bearing buffs out the forces of the propeller and makes tis car motor, an airplane engine. Roy is a real innovator and has helped me understand the why's and where's of the Corvair application. He is also my friend.

The management decided to not include a front sway bar against the engineers recommendations which was a more serious issue than oil leaking

Hello, their are more than 12 corvairs in my area and 4 to 5 of them are in my price range and do not have much rust or none at all ranging from 61 to 67. I appreciate the history and would like to drive one daily. I want to buy one but are they reliable as drivers to college and back say 20 miles range?

Reliable - yes, very. But there are caveats to note if they have not been done over. Engine seals: even back in the days, more heat resistant seals were available to keep oil from leaking into the heater shrouds and fouling the interior with fumes. Rust: one nasty spot is a welded junction in the monocoque ... just in front of the windscreen. In Cali it is probably not an issue. Where I lived in B.C. they rusted there. Rain would run straight into the car. Fortunately there was a drain plug under the carpet :). Synchronizing the linkages on four Rochester carbs should be checked once in a while to keep them nimble. Some owners went to a single, big Holly and a trick manifold. An uncared for engine may have it's lifters loaded with crud. I replaced mine with the Buick version which were nicer. The cranks last forever. I'd upgrade the brake master for sure. And BTW, those four drum brakes work better than you'd imagine!

Lucky you!

The Corsa was beautiful. I learned to drive a standard transmission on my friends car. We raced it at Connecting Highway every Friday and Saturday night. Better than my ‘69 Plymouth GTX.

Why, hello there EKDrifter. We all kinda have to love the Corvair. The one I'd like to see is an offroad or a rally Corvair, that'd be cool :)

Haha that sounds awesome, man

Henry Homes That's odd. I have a Hydramatic Jetaway that usually pops into second at 20mph, unless I get on it, then it'll wait until 70mph.

Henry Homes 8

First time I've heard anyone talking good about the automatic corvairs. Two speeds is OK (meaning you can make it do if that's what the car has) if you have a good amount of torque, as with a V8, but even the 140 hp weren't exactly fast compared to what they were with a 4-speed. The Powerglide was the cheapest thing available from GM.

I love your name!! Haha! And also agree with you. I like it just the way it is.

ScottaHemi - Car models are dropped all the time, for a variety of reasons. The 2nd gen Corvair had a five-year run, mostly after Nader’s book.

Yes, but Nadar had a point, the 63 design had crap rear suspension and the cars flipped easily. 50 years later, GM decided to kill 124 people over an 80 cent ignition part.

If you are looking to vary the show a bit more, it would be great to see you feature some non street legal race cars of an earlier vintage occasionally. A Fangio era Ferarri D50 would be nice. But then you would of course have to buy some suitable white overalls to drive it, and take it to a track, and these things all cost money. Particularly the overalls. Rob.

Yes, but all of that should have come from the factory...many don't realize what a great handling car this was, esp the '65 and later..I had '65 Monza convertible but as a poor student drove it factory stock with over 80,000 miles on it...sure could of used another 100 hp, and the upgraded push rod tube seals...if I had it today it would...and ofcourse the mandatory 3.89:1 axle..

BTW, I knew many Corvairs to have fuel pump cavitation (vapor lock) issues which was easily fixed by doubling up the gasket, but knew none, repeat none, to have fan belt issues even with the strange 90° bend..