<VV> Corvair stories

[Craig Nicol]

When I was in college, I worked at a Chevy dealer's parts department and
lived with my parents in their condo.  I came home from work one rainy night
to find all manner of people and emergency vehicles just inside the condo's
guard gate.  As I was processing all this commotion, I found my father
walking toward my stopped car. This was really out of place since our condo
was a fair drive from the gate, it was raining, and my dad was no ambulance
chaser. What was he doing out in the rain? His first words were something to
the effect of "Craig, your Corvair was in an accident".  

I was driving my "Corvair", a factory Corvan Deluxe camper, and didn't
really remember that I had another one - a parts car purchased for $100 (or
was it $50) just for the nice white interior. It was a 110 PG that barely
ran and it wasn't licensed or insured. 

It seems that a young lady, driving the boyfriend's El Camino, exited the
complex angrily and fish tailed wildly as she left the complex.  She lost
control. When the El Camino stopped spinning and regained traction, it was
pointed at the complexes' iron perimeter fence (let's call it the "launching
ramp".  With her foot firmly planted on the accelerator the car jumped the
curb and mounted the fence.  The El Camino was airborne.  On the other side
of the fence - overflow parking.  Her little cargo rocket took a nice
ballistic arc over the lot, coming back to earth squarely aimed at the right
side windows of my 65 coupe.  A landing ensued.

The El Camino wasn't about to be stopped by a mere Corvair plastered across
its nose; no, it continued to forge on, pushing the Corvair sideways across
a street and down a driveway.  The duo proceeded down the drive until the
left rear quarter of the Corvair contacted a (then new) 280Z parked at the
end.  The end of this particular driveway was a steep downslope (the condo
complex was called "The Terraces" for a reason).  The 280Z went overboard
and the El Corvairino Duo was deflected, now heading for a marriage of the
left front fender with an olive tree.  

The tree stopped the Duo dead.  The driver ran off. (Smart move since the
car was registered to her boyfriend who lived in the complex. The police
found her there). The tow truck pulled the El Camino off the Corvair, but
the El Camino wouldn't start and had to be towed off.  A tow truck pulled
the 280Z up from the abyss; it too wouldn't start and was towed off.  My
Corvair barely moved itself before the crash, now the battery was upside
down and had impaled itself on a carburetor stud.  This is not to mention
the laid-over right-rear wheel, quarter panel, and door. I flipped the
battery over and miracle of miracles, the old thing started!  It was the
only car to drive away from the scene.  I wobbled it back over to the
overflow parking to a round of cheers and applause!