<VV> Fires not a Corvair problem /Only Serious Corvair Safety Issue is the Heating System...

[Tamias Metis]

I would think the Corvair has an excellent safety record as far as having a fire start during road useage.  On both the early and late the tanks are well protected.   A likely impact speed that will probably significantly raise the fire risk would be such a high speed impact that fire would be the least of your concerns.  My guess is that no stock Corvair's top speed can reach that  without horsepower modifications  and the only place you could legally drive that fast would be Autobahn  or  maybe Talledega, Daytona or other superspeed way flat out.   Other than that fire risk is on par with virtually every  gasoline powered vehicle on the roads today,  which  is  minimal  risk  at worst,  I would guess.   These are guesses.  I have never seen any data indicating that Vairs were problematic.   Chevy made close to 2 million Vairs total right?     You don't want to have leaking fuel line carburetor connections  or  other fuel leaks,  rusted swiss cheese leaky gas tank, or 
 sender.   Spend the money and buy a new repro tank if you need another one,  its  the same amount of labor/time to swap a used one which may leak within a year.  Also the crud  and sediment will clog your fuel filters and some of that trash might also impair the carbs.   Fuel leaks are Never acceptable,  deal with them as you would if you had no brakes - Immediately!  That goes for any make of vehicle.  Always use hoses or lines that are rated for fuel,  no matter how short the connection is.  VW Beetles are known for being  much more likely to burn  than Corvairs and the risk is very low.  In the VW,  its usually from stupidity that these fires occur.  Huge number from shorted battery terminals...Back seat springs and using too tall battery&or not protecting the battery posts.  Other  VW fires start because idiot leaves off fuel hose clamp at carb, or ancient rotted fuel hose, or leaky ancient rubber fuel pump base  - These idiots think since their VW runs perfectly that
 all is good... they might even go for years and not burn,  but like cooking grease spatter near a stove or grill  - Fire!       Corvairs are no worse than VW's as far as engine fires.    Rare   and  if  fuel connections and carb bases don't leak  there is probably zero risk of fuel related fire.  The battery location for Corvair does not pose the problem that VW Bug has.   My guess is that most vehicle fires are started because of electrical problems  rather than fuel related.   Many times these are because of monkeying with the electrical system,  adding stuff, changing stuff  and hooking up a rats nest of poorly connected wires ,  not having a clue of what the heck their doing,  such as using Band-Aids and Chiquita Banana labels to connect wires  or just stripping and twisting/connecting the wires  but not using electrical tape to insulate the splice  etc.    I am told a bunch car fires occur because  alot  of  enthusiastic super duper car stereo wannabees  that try to
 build their own custom car system that produces nearly the wattage and decibel level of  the Who.    These Jethro Jr's    hook up multiple amps,  and often stick the amps under seats etc    but they often fail to keep these amps cool,  use wrong gauge wire, fail to use proper relays, fuses, batteries and connections routed poorly....  their stereo shakes everything like about 6 on the Richter scale,  not only do they have  hot sound  but  an  'automotive Zippo' which could get hot really quick  kind of like the inside of your toaster.    Up in Smoke.    One thing that I'd heard contributed to car fires was from people adding dual custom exhaust  to  cars with rear side gas filler   where they run the exhaust pipe  too close underneath the filler where overfilling the gas could cause a problem in rare instances.   Early Pintos ,  the  '73-'87 Chevy/GMC p/u with certain fuel tanks ,  and the Mustang thru 1970  are notorious for being 'flashy'.   The Chevy p/u and Mustang
 tanks were slightly better protected than early Pinto.   Like many cars, the Mustang tank was the trunk floor but there was no wall or barrier between the trunk and rear seat back,  thus  rear impacts which result in fire, engulf the passenger compartment rather quickly.  It is highly recommended that anyone owning a vintage Mustang install a barrier wall between trunk and passenger area.  Corvairs that have all fuel connections hooked up properly have  nothing to worry about as far as fire.    The Real Concern  For Close Attention Should Be Possible Carbon Monoxide Entering Via The Heating System.  Everything must be sealed perfectly.   See Consumer Reports, March 1966 page 129  states exactly "A more serious deficiency was found in CU's sample of the Corvair: the heating system leaked exhaust gases into the passenger compartment.  If you already own a Corvair or any other car in which the heater uses engine exhaust as its heat source, check for leaks and have them
 repaired at once.  Exhaust gases escaping into the car are not only unpleasant but also dangerous."    This was on a brand new 1966 Corvair!     I have always had my heater ducts blocked off and disconnected  on my  cars as  I choose to go without heat in  all  my aircooled  rides.  Heat is a must where  high temp on winter days  averages below 45F.  This is really the only serious Corvair safety issue in my opinion  and  if  system sealed and properly functioning there is no issue at all.  In case anyone wants to know Mar 66 Consumer Reports compares  6cyl 4doors Dart, American, Falcon , Corvair, & Chevy II.   All of these were automatics.  "CU can rate none of the compacts as a Best Buy , since they are priced very much alike, except for the Corvair four door hardtop, which is considerably more expensive.  In estimated overall quality, however we would rate the Dodge Dart first by a big margin."  from page 131, March 1966.       It was a 110hp  Monza  PG  4door  $2603, 
 the Chevy II Nova $2409,   Falcon Futura $2406,    Dodge Dart 270  $2448  ,   Rambler American 440  $2376 ,   according to Consumer Reports.                      Tamias   Metis


       
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