<VV> Corvair Reliablility - It's all relative

[Sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/4/2008 3:35:10 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
corvairs at pacifier.com writes:

Gary -  The Corvair is one of the most reliable, bullet-proof automobiles 
ever  mass produced. The average age of one is also 45 years  old.


 
A little perspective. You are talking about a 40 plus year old car. Will  you 
be commuting in a 40 year old car today? Many people do that, especially  
here in California. Not a lot, but many do. Now jump back to 1967, 40+ years  
ago. Would you have been commuting in a 40 year old car back then? That would  
have been a 1927 model T (or the equivalent Chevrolet) - Cars change a lot in  
any 40 year period, but really - has the car changed as much in the last 40 as  
in those previous 40? - I don't think so. Sixties cars have much more in 
common  with today's cars, than with the older ones. They retained simple upkeep, 
but  provided lots of features unknown - or, at least, uncommon - in the 40s, 
much  less in the twenties and thirties. The Corvair was a pretty simple 
design and  execution, and can be maintained with simple tools - with a few minor 
odd-ball  exceptions. On a visit to a relative's house in Wisconsin last fall, 
I  got to take a close look at the Model T Ford, both inside (he had a second  
one in a state of restoration) and out. We started his parade car and he  
showed me the controls. It was not a simple operation to drive. Now, operating a  
60s car, with, perhaps the single addition of "setting the chokes" with a  
throttle stab, is pretty much just like driving a new car. Because they are so  
alike. Can you still have a catastrophic failure? Sure, just as you can on a 
new  car.  
Do your maintenance, look at the known trouble areas, and drive your car. -  
Seth Emerson



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