<VV> Re: 66 AC Corsa convertibles

[Steven J. Serenska]

Group:

>One way of telling if a car has factory installed air is to look up
>under the dash at the recirculating hole (the one cut into the trunk at
>the bottom of the blower assembly. It's plain to see (though you may
>need a flashlight.) If the hole has a torched edge, then it's factory.
>If it's cut, sawed, etc. then it's an aftermarket installation.
>  
>
I'm jumping in late on this thread, so please pardon if someone else has 
mentioned this.

Wouldn't the easiest way to tell if the car was a factory A/C 
Convertible Corsa be to look at the body tag?  All the info you need to 
make the definitive call (i.e., genuine Corsa, convertible body style, 
factory A/C, etc.) would be there.  My understanding from Kent 
Sullivan's website (http://www.corvairkid.com/65-67rpocode.htm), among 
other places, is that the letter "E" in the second group on the body tag 
lets you know the car was factory A/C.  Glancing up at the 66-10737 or 
66-10767 to see the rest is the easy part.

For the record, here's the body tag from my '66 Corsa Coupe equipped 
with factory A/C:

    http://www.serenska.com/IdealGarage/assets/images/LargeImages/BodyTag.jpg

For good measure, here's a picture of the RR suffix on the engine block:

    http://www.serenska.com/IdealGarage/assets/images/LargeImages/EngineBlockCode.jpg

I once saw a '66 Corsa Convertible on eBay that was purported to have 
"factory A/C".  It was originally offered by the author of a Corvair 
book (who should have known better).  While the auction was still going, 
a prospective purchaser wrote me to ask my advice because he got my 
email address from my website.  I told him to email the seller and ask 
him to read the body tag to him, i.e., to look for the 'E' in the second 
group.  The seller got quite huffy and defensive and would not let the 
buyer know what was on the tag.  (The seller said things like, "I'm not 
going out to read the body tag.  Either you're interested, or your 
not!")  I told the buyer that it was my opinion he should avoid the car 
-- and the seller -- like the plague.

Since that time, the same convertible appears on eBay about once a year, 
although subsequent sellers have admitted that, while the components are 
"factory equipment", the A/C was not installed at the factory.  Every 
time it reappears, I send the guy who didn't buy it an email with a 
subject line of "It's Baaaaaaaack." 

Hope this helps.

Steven "only 15 days left of February, the dreariest Corvair month" Serenska

'66 Corsa Coupe, 140/4, factory A/C, AM/FM <== and I recently purchased 
a factory quick steering box!
'65 Monza Convertible, 110/4, factory A/C, AM/FM

http://www.serenska.com/IdealGarage