<VV> Corvair Story

[kaczmarek at charter.net]

The First Covairs rolled off the Assembly line when I was only 2 years old. 

3 years later I saw my first one.  A 62 coupe that was owned by the office secretary at my elementary school.  It was, except for the Beetles that many of the teachers owned (what else could they afford) the smallest car in the parking lot. Us little kids called them "wiener cars", because they were small like a Dachshund is a tiny dog.  

3 years later my Mom was getting car-pooled home by a friend with a 65 Monza CVT. And I thought that it was the neatest car I'd ever seen. (I was already a full fleged car nut by age 8). I got to go for a ride with the top down, and though I'd rode in cvt's before (my cousin had an Impala SS cvt), this seemed "sportier" to me.  

5 years after that, my sister was dating a guy who had emigrated from Germany with his family when he was about 10 years old. He only wanted and drove 2 kinds of car---VW Beetles and Corvairs.  He also had a LM CVT and would take me and my friends for a top down cruise to McDonald's, just to get us out of their hair for the rest of the night, which was a win-win for all of us.  Good Times and those Corvair Cars just seemed to go together. 

When I was 17, my friend's next door neigbor had an IMMACULATE 64 4Dr Monza, Dark Blue with light blue interior. He was looking to sell.  I think he wanted 1200.00 for it, and as a 10 year old one owner always garaged car, it seemed like a good deal to me. 

     My pops nixed the idea--he had worked at Chevy Tonawanda, and told me "AS LONG AS YOU'RE LIVING HERE, YOU WON'T BE DRIVING ONE OF THOSE DEATH TRAPS".   So I knew right then and there that someday, somehow, I'd end up with one of those cars. 
     While I was in the Navy, I was lucky to afford dependable transpo back and forth from the base, and I didn't see any Corvairs for years that I can remember. 
I got married and Traded in my 73 Charger SE 9mpg/440 & got a Toyota Corolla for high MPG dependable transport. 
    Fast Forward to 1987.  While sitting on an I-10 Off Ramp in New Orleans waiting for the light to change, I get rear ended in my Toyota by some ya-hoo who wasn't paying attention. The Bumper took most of the shock, but both the front seat backs broke.  Of course, the driver had no Insurance, and a cop happened along---So the butt-munch got to go to jail, but that wasn't going to get me new seats for my Corolla.  
   As we were living North of N.O. at the time and were just in town to visit some friends, I went to the nearest Junkyard to my house to look for some seats for my Corolla--Western Enterprises in Livingston Parish, LA.  In the Cars for Sale in the front of the place there was a 66 500 2dr. The employees had been using it for a "yard Car", as the cutting torch tanks fit good in the trunk and they could drive up to a car instead of backing up to cut off a part.  I opened the engine lid and smelled fresh oil--Hmmmm this cars been running!  
     Since we had just scored a major income tax return, I bought 2 used seats and the Corvair for 300.00.  As I drove the car to my house, the crossover broke and the muffler and most of the x-over landed on the road, Wanda did a pretty good move to keep from hitting it. Making a hard left into the driveway at my house, the center link bushing FELL OUT.  Well, it DID get me home. 
     And from there, a life long attraction to a car became an obsession. And my Dachshund Sophie LOVES to ride in my Wiener Car. 

Hank