<VV> corvair stories

[Harry Yarnell]

David Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks"...or, How I got into corvairs.

Back in '74, I was into Volkswagens. And TV repair. Like the milkman, there are no more TV repairmen, but I digress.

While making a service call in Baltimore one day in my VW bus, I spyed a pair of forlorn early corvairs sitting behind a gas station on York rd. Hmm, America's answer to the volkswagen, I thought; lets have a look. There sat a '60 with severe front end damage, and a '62 A/C equiped red coupe with a 4 speed. Inquiring with the shopkeeper, I could have the pair for $50; my kind of deal! Money changes hands (and titles, even). The idea quickly hatchs to restore the '62 and part the '60, not knowing that nothing on the '60 could be used on the '62. How I got the '60 back to my parents garage (about 10 miles), I don't remember, but after parting it out in their garage, I left it, to their dismay, and they had to pay to have it hauled away.

The '62 was to be towed, by me, with a chain, back to Joppatown (about 20 miles). I think back to those days, and wonder why I'm still alive. My buddy Bill was to sit in the '62, and do the braking for both the '62 AND the VW bus. Sounded do-able. However this assumed that the '62 HAD brakes. We got a few miles with this arraingement when we came upon a traffic light on a downward grade; I signal him to brake as the light turned red, and the brakes on the '62 locked up, snapping the chain connecting the two vehicles, At this point we're both convinced this was a bad idea, and it took all of our strength to push that SOB off the road. Leave it, I said. An abandoned vehicle.
The next day I had rethought the situation and went and got a tow bar, (and another assistant), and went back to claim my prize. It already had a ticket on the windshield. By that time, the stuck wheel cylinder had bled down, and the wheels turned free. The tow back to Joppatowne (with a '64 421 Catilina) was uneventful. The car was restored, and ran for may a year, before being sold. Never saw it again.

harry yarnell
perryman garage and orphanage
hyarnell1 at earthlink.net