<VV> The Rising Price of Corvairs

[Stephen Upham]

I got my Monza for free.  I inherited it from my dad's estate.  I  
began my exposure to the Corvair in '63 when my sister bought a '62  
red on red Monza which stayed in the family until '67.  There was  
then a short hiatus until my dad started collecting repairing,  
driving and selling 95's, Greenbriars, earlies and eventually lates  
in 1972.  I drove many of his early two and four doors over the  
years, and even had an occasion to drive his Rampside, but had never  
driven his '65 hardtop that he purchased in '84 before he passed away  
in '93.  I always knew the Corvair to be a fun car to drive, but  
never owned one because they weren't your typical muscle car which  
was the holy grail in high school.  Well, after my dad passed, the  
Monza was leaking tranny fluid on the garage floor from not being  
driven.  We assumed that there was a transmission leak and we didn't  
drive it because of that.  Don't know how I never learned about the  
typical fluid leak at the shift cable during all those years but...   
Then, when I finally got possession of the car that had been so  
meticulously maintained by my dad, I found that my brother had poured  
dirt and water into the heads via the carb throats in order to  
destroy the engine (longer story).  Since then, I have spent close to  
12 grand bringing it back to even better than when I took possession  
of it.  I'm pretty sure that I could get at least 3-4 thousand for it  
now.  I wouldn't sell at any price, though, because of the amount of  
hours that I have personally put in replacing, repairing and  
modifying it and because it is much more than a car, it is a family  
heirloom and testament that my determination beats my brothers  
spite.  It will remain with me and stay in my immediate family for as  
long as I can physically provide.  Besides that, it is a blast to  
drive which I do at least three to four times a month.

Stephen Upham
Dallas, Texas
President / North Texas Corvair Association
CORSA
Corvaireum II

Mid prod. #18732 -1965 Monza Hardtop 110
Sierra Tan, Saddle, zero rust, PG, A/C, original AM/FM (still works),  
clock (twice a day), tint, oil bath air filter, bumper guards, day/  
night mirror

The Original Four Door Sports Car