I have owned a 1965 Corvair Monza 4 dr Sport Sedan and Clark',s has kept it running for over 20 yrs. It is a great summer driver. E. Bowie POrtland Maine
You Sir, are absolutely AMAZING! I've been fascinated by Corvairs ever since they were first introduced in the early '60s, and the thing that I remembered the most was the engines propensity for both leaking and burning oil, especially after the cars had logged 100,000 + miles. After 1969 when production ceased, these fantastic air cooled automobiles started to rapidly become scarse as they weren't known for their longitivity, but I have always been fascinated by the air-cooled boxer design, especially as the Volkswagen Beetle was taking front and center in the economicly challanged automotive marketplace. I remain fascinated with the 6-cylinder Corvairs due to that they were producing anywhere from 75 hp clear up to over 150 hp for the turbocharged engines. My 6th-grade teacher owned one, and I was able to earn some pocket change to support my interest in flyable model airplane kits by weekly washing his Corvair's engine compartment and the rear bodywork from the puked oil blow-by. It's fascinating to revisit how many iriterations of the Covair that General Motors produced, from a small convertible to a cab forward Pick-up and Van. In late 1969 I was working part time for a tire-shop that was half a block from a performance based automotive parts store where I'd go during my break, and they had a stock of performance parts/kits for Covair engines, including full retrofit turbocharger kits that they were literally giving away because Representative Ralph Nader had already sealed the fate of GM's Covair program. Admittedly, GM's Covair product line was lacking in the rapidly evolving field of vehicle safety, especially involving the Covair, as well as a series of fatalities involving the Corvair line of GM vehicles, in which media coverage played what was to become the death-knoll for the Corvair. Undoubtedly machining tolerances in mass production in the '60s were a far cry from what we both know and expect in 2021, yet it only supports the premise that given the technology of today that we take for granted, the 6 cylinder Covair boxer engine that remains a fascinating possibility for the 90-125 hp sport plane marketplace. Unfortunately the limited marketplace for an engine such as the Corvair 6 cylinder aero conversion doesn't support the re-tooling and production costs necessary to put this wonderful engine back into production. And the same can be said for GM'S 215 cubic inch V-8 Olds/Buick aluminum block and head engine that the Iconic Steve Whittman successfully inverted to power one of his Tailwind designs. This is another engine that has fascinated me, and I was in the process of converting one until both health and financial constraints meant having to give up on this project, along with another powerplant I was developing at that time. That one was It was an inverted Mercury Marine aluminum block and head of what was basically an inline half of the Ford 460 V-8. 230 cubic inches displacement at an obscenely low weight and unbelievable amount of torque that only an inline 4 cylinder motor could produce. Unfortunately health issues, subsequent job loss, divorce and such, prevented me from further development of this promising aero-engine, as well as Mercurusier Marine having dropped the project due to the marine marketplace taking a huge hit in the 2008 recession, along with Bayliner Marine, the largest manufacturer of powerboats at that time for which we were the west coast distributor, going bankrupt. End of that portion of my career!! I'd love to pick-up where I left off with the liquid cooled stroked 1/2 Ford 460 inverted inline engine as the torque curve of this engine had to be experienced to believed. However, due to the short production time of this engine, they have become extremely scarse, and I'm left with dreams, wondering what might have been.
It was a rare Corvair that made it to 100,000 miles. They all leaked oil and smelled like burning oil all of the time. I temember the dealership mechanics just hated them. Still, they had a certain charm!
Ok, you had the 150hp turbo "Spyder" or was it a "Monza Spyder" (110hp Monza)? Then there was the 180hp turbo that I believe was also a "Spyder" or was it a "Corsa Spyder" (the 140hp Corsa)?
The last spider was 1964, after that it was the Corsa coupe with the 180 hp turbo. Full instrument dash that looks like the one in a 67 camaro, big orb tachometer and another orb for speedometer.
