Don’t you hate it when the wrong person is the fall guy? I mean, an individual not necessarily devoid of guilt, but someone like the getaway driver or bag man that gets the brunt of the punishment for the crime they were really only tangentially involved in? It’s actually happened in the automotive world, and with a car itself.
In the sixties, a young lawyer named Ralph Nader went after the auto industry for knowingly selling dangerous products to the public. He wasn’t wrong; car companies were indeed peddling gargantuan three-ton objects with steel daggers on the fronts to transport unrestrained passengers in front of sharp, pointed chrome trim dashboard with little regard for safety. He published a book and, to prove his point, Ralph was going to kill a car. However, his automobile of choice seemed a bit odd- the Chevy Corvair. This bathtub-shaped car was GM’s first real compact when it debuted for 1960, with an air cooled flat six-cylinder engine mounted in back of the car. It was far less conventional than competitive products like the Ford Falcon, and even offered advancements like an optional turbocharger.
source: Wikipedia/Stephen Foskett, Wikipedia/ Greg Gjerdingen, and Wikipedia/SFoskett
At the time when Nader released his book, Unsafe At Any Speed, the Corvair was indeed the subject of over one hundred lawsuits. This litigation stemmed from accidents caused by the snap oversteer that a rear-engined car equipped with a swing axle suspension (like the Corvair) can produce when the outside wheel ‘tucks under’.
Still, besides the swing axle, the car was hardly the killer jukebox-on-wheels Nader seemed to rightfully go after. The Corvair was a very restrained, practical and almost austere design, like something that a French or German company would make (in fact, NSU famously copied the first generation Corvair for one of Torch’s favorite rides, the NSU Prinz). What’s worse is that this identical drivetrain and suspension layout was used by thousands of other European cars, many of which were sold in the United States at the same time, including the vaunted Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 356.
It’s sadly almost a moot point that the Corvair being sold at the time of Unsafe At Any Speed’s 1965 release was a vastly different car from the one the book chose to skewer. Under the second generation car’s beautiful exterior (it’s really an underrated sixties design) was a trailing arm independent rear suspension that exhibited none of the swing axle’s tendencies. Still, in typical GM fashion, the improvements to the later models (like with the Allante and the Fiero) didn’t bring back buyers turned off by the perceived issues of the original car. The damage to the Corvair name was done. The writing was on the wall for the car and it finally met its death in 1969, paving the way for the much more conventional (yet worse) Vega compact.
source: Wikipedia/Robert Spinello , and Wikipedia/crwpitman
Admittedly, at the time of the Corvair’s demise there were many front wheel drive small cars being introduced, but one could argue that final mainstream examples of rear engined family cars (like the VW 411/412) did not take advantage of all the benefits that the design could provide.
What if Ralph Nader had not chosen the Corvair as his victim? Maybe the sales of the Corvair reasonably strong, and people at GM that really wanted to keep the design going? Welcome to the first in the series of the Corvair Chronicles, were we look at that scenario not just for a single generation after the last real one left the production line, but also if the general rear engine design stuck around until even later.
The Third Generation
If all had gone well, by around 1969 or 1970 it would have been time to release the third generation of this innovative compact car. Obviously, it would need to have a new look, but what functional improvements could be made?
The styling of the car would almost certainly be dictated by the brand language of Chevrolet and GM in general around 1970. The fastback, ‘Coke bottle shaped’ style was used almost unaltered on Chevy cars from the little Nova through the Chevelle and up to the big Impala to the point of being almost homogeneous. You know what I dislike about this aesthetic? Absolutely nothing. I’m aware that these things are overpriced Boomer magnets now, but a nice-looking car is a nice-looking car and this was pretty much an entire lineup of lookers. Isn’t it sad to think what the Chevy lineup looked like around a decade later with Cavaliers and Celebrities? Yikes.
sources: Mecum, Streetside Classis, Mecum, and Mecum
Our 1970 Corvair takes its looks from the Chevy cars shown, but also manages to add in a lot from overseas GM cars like the Opel Manta and especially the HQ Holden Monaro, which I used as the basic underlay but tweaked the shape (the Holden is within a few inches of the size of the Generation II Corvair, and again WHAT did Australians do to deserve General Motors models so much cooler that ours?). The Generation II Corvair and (fake) Generation III are seen below:
source image: (feature/for sale listing) and classiccars (car for sale)
In back, there’s a bit of C3 ‘Vette with the rear ‘sail’ panels on the rear quarters. If there’s anything I don’t like about the lovely Generation II Corvair it’s that the coupe’s rear deck seems a bit large, and sail panels would help to hide that vast space. The black grille for engine cooling is at the base of the rear window (almost Tatra 613-like, according to Jason).
source image: (feature/for sale listing)
Up front there’s no need for a grille, but we can have an indication of one just as is done on many current electric cars to add some definition to the area. General Motors seems to have often been conscious of the presence of front license plates and could make a recessed area to cleanly accommodate it on the Corvair (maybe offering a filler panel for those that don’t need a front plate like they did on later Corvettes). You could certainly go full-smooth with the nose but keeping some conventionality will help to not alienate buyers cross shopping more traditional competitors. Plus, you get that face-within-a-face thing that was so fetching around 1970. The laid back headlights and the protruding ‘grille’ area like add a ‘European’ look to set it apart from the larger Chevies.
Also, for kicks I made the fake grille black like they did with cars such as the early Tesla Model S. Note the ‘fake fog light’ turn signals. It’s also sort of the mini-Camaro that the first Vega had.
How is it better than the Generation II?
There seem to be two or three key functional areas that would have increased the usefulness of the Corvair and given it some clear advantages over competitors like the Ford Pinto, AMC Hornet, or the imports.
First, six cylinders seemed tiny when the Corvair was introduced, but four cylinders was the word of the day for compacts by the end of the decade for the option of maximum economy. Chevy would need to offer a version of their flat engine with two cylinders lopped off for lower level models. They could, however, keep the turbocharging option; people seem to forget that Chevy was doing this decades before Saab.
Also, air cooling would have to disappear; it’s loud, you’ll have a tough time dealing with emissions, and cabin heating was always an issue in cold climates if you didn’t utilize a gas-fired heater. This will require a radiator, of course, but we don’t necessarily have to put it at the front of the car with twenty feet of radiator hosing going to the motor. This one sits behind the rear seat, with Camaro-style side air intakes that are actually functional, while air (and heat) exits from that big vent slot below the rather vertical rear window (once the motor is warm, that window is NEVER gonna frost up, boy). I am thinking that we might possibly be able to get an engine powered cooling fan off of the back of the motor or from the transmission (I know that GM would prefer this to electric ones).
The last big functional change is something that seemed to be a missed opportunity for the earlier Corvairs. The VW Type 3 and 4 cars offered not only the typical rear engined car ‘frunk’ (where the spare tire resides) but also a trunk in the rear (the floor lifts/removes for engine service). This dual trunk capability is what is the real selling point of EVs today, and I certainly think it could have been a game changer for a little car fifty years ago and one of the reasons that GM would theoretically persist with the Corvair. I mean, the rival Pinto just had a single small trunk in the back..over the gas tank…next to some unshielded bolts…never mind.
Inside, we can take cues from other early seventies GM cars like the Malibu for the dashboard design. It’s V-shaped in profile with a padded top for ‘safety’ in a seventies way. With a flat floor, I am sure a bench seat and column shift could be available for VERY tight six passenger seating, but we’ll focus on the Monza coupe with a center console that continues the shape with space for extra gauges to clear up a tach space in the main cluster. Note the add-on turbo boost gauge that fits cleanly into the notch between the two main gauge binnacles.
Like the Generation II Corvair, there would be two and four door models offered, but the range would expand with a station wagon body style as well. Note that the floor in back would need to be relatively high to accommodate the engine and radiator, and in this application there would need to be heat exhausts along the bottom and leading edge of the rear quarter windows. Still, combined with the frunk, can you see how much cargo this relatively small car could hold?
I can see other versions as well. You could see Cosworth making a twin cam, fuel injected version of the engine (like the modifications they did for the Cosworth Vega) that would, with further modifications, cause headaches for a certain Stuttgart-built flat six car at Daytona and Sebring. Maybe.
source: Marc Rutherford
Full disclosure: I was pretty reluctant to do this one when it was requested by a reader since I figured there is no alternate reality where a rear engine made sense. Still, as I worked up the concepts I did start to warm to the idea and can see some real benefits to the layout. We also can’t forget that if the largest car company in the world chose to go in a certain direction, isn’t it likely that others might follow suit. Instead, GM decided to go the conventional route with a few ‘advanced’ twist like an aluminum engine with no cylinder liners. How did that work out for them?
What’s Next?
For Part II of Corvair Chronicles, you’ll need to get out your polyester leisure suit and Pet Rock, since there would inevitably be a mid-cycle refresh for the disco era, and maybe even more body styles (remember there were initially Corvair vans and trucks). What could that possibly look like?
all illustrations by The Bishop
Our Daydreaming Designer Imagines Corvette Sedan And Wagon In 1978 – The Autopian
A Daydreaming Designer Imagines An AMC Sports Car Based On The Look Of The Pacer – The Autopian
Let’s Figure Out The Best ‘Worst Car’ From Those Stupid Lists Of ‘Worst Cars’ – The Autopian
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Some time ago, Hemmings ran a piece on GM’s sketches of what could have been the 1970 Corvair … and while the vibe was more “1970 1/2 Camaro” than “Holden Monaro,” this is still a fun exercise. Nice work!
WOWZERS! That is gorgeous! I’ve always loved the 2nd gen Corvairs, and I really wish this was a real thing!
Damn, that design is so cool that now I actually want one!
I’m getting Citroën DS and Fiat Dino Coupé vibes out of this. It’s an odd mashup, but it definitely has an early ’70s Euro style that works!
I learned at the National Corvair Museum… https://www.corvair.org/index.php/preservation-foundation/corvair-museum
…That GM was developing a whole slew of applications of the Corvair engine with individual cylinder heads, they have a flat 10 engine there that was destined for the Eldorado and Toronado. That opens the door to a FWD powertrain and AWD with a simple PTO off the transaxle, neatly bringing the Corvair into the 80s and beyond. Throw in updated aero, electronic controls for the turbo engine, add in the rest of the tech updates in the last half century and Porsche would still be a niche automaker and Subaru might not even be around anymore.
Definite fan of the Gen II Corvair, and for the most part I liked your proposed ’70 model; especially the rear sail pillars and rest of the rear treatment look quite attractive. But good Lord, those Chevette headlights gave me the heebie-jeebies and the whole front end gave more of a mid-70s Vega vibe than a 1970 vibe. I’ll also note that for me, the instrument panel felt just a little too before its time, like it might belong in the Disco-era Corvair you plan next.
The station wagon version is cool and I don’t know why but I see a touch of Saab from the rear window back of the four-door side view – not a bad thing.
OrigamiSensei- OK, OK, OK!! Fine! No more heebee jeebees. Here is the alternate version with the angled down Holden HQ headlights. Thought it looked maybe too much like a larger Chevy, but obviously that’s what the focus group wants. And you guys are buying this. That is, if you were about fifty years older. And this actually existed. Anyway, hope this is more to ya’lls liking:
https://www.benchmarc.com/car/car.html
I was actually looking at the ’69 Camaro dash, plus the IPs of the other cars in that collage, and I think it does fit in pretty well with the 1970 aesthetic, but I could be wrong.
Ooh, that is much more attractive. I do understand why you feel it might look too much more like a larger Chevy and admittedly it might be losing a bit of the Corvair aesthetic but it is certainly a large improvement. I just realized something, though. What makes part of the Corvair aesthetic for me is the bit of a shark nose and especially that all Corvairs had quad headlights.
Quibbles aside, just remember that the engagement and discussion is always part of the brief here. Even when I have critiques or disagreements I always very much appreciate and enjoy your work. Looking forward to the next parts!
Origami- just trying to make something the people would buy. That is if it were, you know, a real car. And I was employed by GM….and I had actually been born.
It’s got real Chevy Opala looks to it
“…this identical drivetrain and suspension layout was used by thousands of other European cars…”
European swing axles weren’t spared Nader’s ire. Even though it’s not as well-known as “Unsafe…” his Center for Auto Safety wrote a followup book called “Small–On Safety: The Designed-In Dangers of the Volkswagen.”
When talking about the demise of the Corvair, it’s easy to forget that the Mustang and Camaro came out and really ate its lunch. The pony and muscle cars of the world were a far bigger distraction/detractor from the Corvair than Unsafe at Any Speed. An aircooled, rear engined, flat 6 only got weirder when the simplicity of American Muscle showed its true value and scale.
This! Plus gas prices went way down in the late 60’s. If you aren’t factoring in gas mileage and a Camaro is the same price, then most people picked Camaro. The Corvair just had a ton of stuff working against it. I used to have a ’65 and it was fun… but also a real pain to maintain.
The spectacularly successful debut of the Mustang was what caused the demise of the Corvair. The decision to cancel Corvair was made when Nader was unknown, a year before UAAS was first published, and two years before the first Camaro hit the road.
If it wasn’t for Nader, the 1966 model year would have been Corvair’s finale.
Side, 3/4, and rear view are excellent. Front is fugly. The black grill helps a bit, but still.
Thank you so much for fulfilling my request. You knocked it out of the park! I’m drooling over that wagon. Love it, love it, love it!
BigThings- yup, I mentioned it to Jason and of course he went gaga for the idea, as you would expect. I didn’t even know if I wanted to do it but it slowly started to make more sense; the two trunks alone make it worthwhile!
I would think emissions wouldn’t have been an issue yet in 1970, Volkswagen was able to keep their air cooled engines in compliance with EPA standards until 1980, and Porsche managed it into the late 1990s when things finally caught up with them. As GM would have been all about pinching pennies on a cheap car most executives probably wouldn’t have wanted, I expect re-engineering to water cooling was an extravagance they would have done without
Ranwhenparked- I went away from air cooling simply for the reasons I stated, and they weren’t emissions; a bit less noise and better heating. If you have owned an air cooled VW in a cold climate you’ll know the reason. I never rode in the front of one since I was too small so I was close to the motor and outlets under the rear seat and still cold. We had an ice scraper INSIDE the car.
Our Type 4 had a gas fired heater in addition to the exhaust heat exchangers but if I recall correctly it had its own issues involving smoke and such; childhood trauma I’ve repressed I think.
Oh yes, had a Super Beetle as a first car in high school in Pennsylvania and drive a Corvair as a second car now in Delaware. The heat eventually gets to be acceptable, but only on a long drive, if you’re just making a quick hop around town, you get absolutely nothing and may need to keep an ice scraper to do the inside of the windshield
The midcycle refresh would have to make room for the 5-mph bumper standard. And I can imagine that Gen 4 would be essentially the 1980 FWD X-car, but with the existing powertrain moved to the front.
nplnt- STOP GIVING AWAY THE PLOT!! You’re ruining it for other people. But you are close, though not exactly right. Let’s say you might see a few surprises.
Nicely rendered version of an alt-history-car I’ve wondered about more than a few times. Two towns over there was a guy with a beautiful 4-door hardtop gen 2 Corvair. His license plate said “F NADER”. How it got through the first time I have no idea, but it made the local news when the DOT decided to take the plate back from him.
I’ve long contended that Nader didn’t kill the Corvair, Lee Iacocca did. The runaway success of the first Mustang led GM to zero-budget Corvair development even as the already-baked gen 2 was being launched, and start a crash program to develop what would become the ’67 Camaro.
GM kept building Corvairs through 1967-69 partly to show that he wasn’t pushing them around (and, granted, partly because they hadn’t amortized the cost of the Massena engine-block plant, which is also why they put an aluminum engine in the Vega).
Yep, every time Nader and the Corvair come up, I feel compelled to point out GM had already committed to no further development of the Corvair several months before Unsafe at Any Speed came out – sales were already slipping by the end of the first generation (most economy car buyers gravitated towards conventional solutions like the Falcon and GM’s own Chevy II), and as you say, the Mustang snared away the left-over sporty car buyers.
Plus, if GM hadn’t tried to discredit Nader as they did, it wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near the public attention as it did. I think the issue with Ford Explorers and Firestone tires shows the public is happy to accept OEM’s cutting corners with safety, it just has to be on something they find desirable.
GM froze Corvair development, except for safety and emissions requirements, and mostly stopped promotional spending, just as the ’65s were launched. The Mustang was such an unstoppable force right out of the gate and GM knew right away that they didn’t have the right car to compete, so they mostly dropped the Corvair like yesterday’s jam and put all available resources into getting the Camaro launched. That said, they had just spent a fortune developing the 2nd gen, so of course they were going to keep building it as long as customers were buying it, they just weren’t going to spend any more money on it.
in the early 1960’s GM was a bit more adventurous than later in the 60’s, they made Turbo Charged and aluminum small v8’s, rope drive and rear transaxle cars, they made the W head big blocks, they had multiple carbs, even mechanical fuel injection. BY 69 most of that was gone. everything had a basic OHV v8 or straight six. Pontiac OHC inline six being one of the few outliers. By this time nobody had the stomach to try something different. The vega was even not that different except for the 4 cylinder that was rushed to production and the Zinc coating Vat that resulted in air bubbles and as a result no coating in the worst possible spot especially because some bean counter figured it would save just under 2 buck a car not to install wheel well liners in the front.
But at any rate, had they perhaps used the Corvair air cooled six or a boxer 4 variant the Vega might have been the Vegair or something. Certainly with the overheating and head gasket problems from the dissimilar metals of the Vega 4 head and block, the tried and true air cooled motor would have been appreciated I think in the end. But once emissions started becoming a thing they would have had to die off in the us like the Beetle. Or convert to liquid cooling, and by that time in the 70’s corporate drivetrains started kicking in. so it would have been tough to know if a clean sheet boxer six or four would happen or more likely the sixes and 4’s already in use would have just necessitated the end end of anything AIR by that point.
JDE- much to the chagrin of ‘airheads’ like Jason that try to avoid water cooling, I just had to go water cooling with this thing. Jason encouraged the rear radiator, and I understand since twenty feet of coolant lines to the front of the car is never a good thing.
Would.
That first picture of the Generation III Corvait has some strong Holden Monaro vibes (specifically the ’72 one as driven by the Nightrider in the first Mad Max film) so you pretty much nailed it with the GM aesthetics as seeing how Holden was so…beholden to GM in those days. Good job!
*Corvair. Gah, the edit function can’t get here soon enough.
And here’s a IMCDB post for reference: http://imcdb.org/vehicle_3174-Holden-Monaro-HQ-1972.html
Colligieate Autodidact- yes, you can see that I mentioned using the HQ as the underlay before twisting and turning it into the Corvair. As I said, the HQ is actually within a few inches of the dimensions of the Gen II Corvair (odd since I always thought HQ was a big car).
Dang, when I first read the post that paragraph about you drawing upon the HQ wasn’t there aside from the line identifying the Generation II and the Generation III in the below illustration. Once you mentioned that in your comment I went ahead and refreshed the tab whereupon that paragraph showed up. That’s not the first time that’s happened, the missing blocks of text (and even pictures!) until the tab is refreshed, since the ads were introduced, geez. I’m guessing the kinks are still being ironed out? So pardon my comment for being redundant. (Though at least I did get in that quasi-Shakespearean quibble about Holden being beholden to GM, ha.) Again, good job!
It’d be interesting to see the evolutionary connection between this idea and the Fiero.
redfoxiii- you’ll see it soon enough in part 3, when I get to it.
That’ll be a good one. Does the Vega and X-Body engineering merge? Does the Corvair go transverse engine? Do the X/T bodies even exist in this alternate universe? What do the other GM brands do with “their” Corvairs?
It’s definitely plausible and the two door has a definite Opel Manta look, which works well. I see a lot of Opel/Vauxhall in the sedan and wagon as well so it’s definitely plausible.
I don’t think the Corvair would have lasted beyond 75 or so since a GM that was refining the Corvair would have seen the trend towards FWD, bought a Fiat 128 test car and followed Renault and VW away from rear engines so just as the 412 morphed into the Golf and the R8 begat the R5 mid 70s GM would have made an FWD Vega with a reliable engine to replace the Corvair.
Slow Joe Crow- I think you’re correct, and this was a challenge. But reserve judgement until you see the 1975-79 model(s) coming up soon.
If a 3rd gen had happened, the only way it would have gone past ’75 is if the post-OPEC embargo sales bump was enough to justify keeping it around as an aging platform with minimal updates until a FWD replacement was ready, similar to the Vega-based Monza. Maybe limp it to 1979 or ’80 with minor updates, then done.
Everyone keeps mentioning a FWD update. With the simplicity of the unitized RWD layout, what do you think would have forced this change?
You’ve outdone yourself this time! Fantastic!
For the record: my folks had a Vega wagon for a few months in the latter Seventies. The reason we didn’t have it long was because the interior room was inadequate for three kids, one of which a new teenager and another about to become one. Another reason is that GM issued a recall and my folks took advantage of that to trade it in on a Cutlass wagon, which was the best car my mother ever had. Cutlasses were and are underrated.
StephenBierce- I remember sitting in back of my grandfather’s Vega and it was like being in a pit. As a six year old or so I couldn’t see out. I mean, they had most of the quirks of the Corvair worked out and then replaced it with a car with serious teething issues from the linerless cylinders (even BMW had issues with that in the nineties) to air pockets in the body that meant the dunk tank at the Lordstown plant left unfinished metal in many parts of the car.
I agree.
I usually agree with Bishop’s history lessons, but have to push back a bit on his takeaway from “Unsafe at Any Speed.” To my recollection, a good chunk of the book is devoted to the shocking and callous disregard automakers had for vehicle occupants. This was the era of unpadded dashboards, steel steering wheels that impaled drivers, no seatbelts and no crash testing. Nader used the well-documented problems with the Corvair swingarms to illustrate how GM could have spent a couple dollars more per car to add two U-joints to make the Corvair handle better and, as a side effect, safer. The fact other makers also cheaped-out with swingarms doesn’t weaken Nader’s point.
“Unsafe at Any Speed” made a big impression on me personally. When I was a kid, I was riding my bicycle at night on a poorly lit street, got distracted, and rode into the back on an ancient (to my kid mind) vehicle festooned with sharp tail fins and edges, one of which almost cut off two of my fingers. Blood everywhere, ER visit, stitches and numbness that persists to this day. Yes, I screwed up. And to one of Nader’s points in the book, the tailfins served no functional purpose and almost seemed designed to maim.
OverlandingSprinter- As I mentioned, the vast, vast majority of what Nader was saying was (and is) absolutely true. My only point is that the takeaway of the Corvair being essentially the poster child of the book was possibly misguided. I mean, it was a model of design restraint in an era of excess (GM’s ’59 Cadillac was on sale when this was released). The swing axles could be determined to be a cost savings measure, BUT even Mercedes was using them at the time among many, many others so for them to follow suit wasn’t necessarily a cheap-out move akin to the Pinto bumper bolts. Still, I think for sure they miscalculated American driving style and skills with the European design.
The Corvair was way before my time and I didn’t read Nader’s book. But for fun, I went back to reread what my favorite (late) Porsche suspension engineer (and Corvair owner) Jobst Brandt had to say on usenet:
“Just statistically these “no real problem” cars were subjects of many
injury crashes, the Corvair being the worst. Automotive people know
well what the shortcomings of such a car layout are and the flaw was
known to GM. I don’t know what makes you think there was no problem
but you are wrong in your assessment. I have had the opportunity to
watch videos of Corvair roll-overs at 20mph on flat smooth pavement,
in which the car and tires were as recommended in the owner’s manual.
These included views of the outside rear tire during the event as it
gradually tucked under and the car rolled onto its roof.
I also worked as a development engineer during that time at Porsche in
Stuttgart where an effort was underway to convince VW to put anti-roll
bars and rear axle equalizers on their cars. This was not possible
until CEO Nordhoff retired. GM never did it even though they knew the
results.”
“That the rear engined
Porsches oversteer is evident but its response is nothing like a
Corvair. In fact a skilled driver trying for a good lap time in a
Corvair on any race course would avoid the attempt because it is so
risky.”
“The difference was that the VW oversteered and spun out while the
Corvair rolled over. Without seat belts (that weren’t available yet)
a rollover practically assured fatalities.”
‘Enough ordinary drivers rolled their
Corvairs doing nothing more than driving around a highway on-ramp.
That is not “the driver”. ”
“The Dauphine was also an oversteerer that left the road backwards and
rolled over almost as well as a Corvair but having so small a market
in the USA it was never scrutinized. It was a dog all around.”
Interesting reading:
https://yarchive.net/bike/corvair.html
https://yarchive.net/car/porsche_vw_beetle.html
Beyond that, I do love your designs anyway.
Lighting- yesterday on Autopian Slack we were watching videos of the ‘Ring from the early seventies and yes, the swing axle cars all flipped over when they spun out.
Of course, all moot points with the Second (and my Third) generation cars with the trailing arm suspension that does none of that.
It sucks that you got hurt. Buuuut, you do get to say that you have a tailfin related injury which is pretty cool in and of itself. Much cooler way to hurt yourself than, say, being a dumbass with a saw.
One more note, the sail panels are similar to aftermarket accessories peddled by racing driver and Corvair tuner, John Fitch for the second gen Corvair. Today Fitch Corvairs are highly sought.
And on the subject of the false grille, those were also popular aftermarket accessories in the ’60s, mainly as a cheaper means of hiding collision damage. Would make some sense for GM to offer it from the factory and make a little money on it, if that’s what customers wanted
Ranwhenparked- it’s funny how I think I like the earlier Tesla Model S with a fake grille better than the later ones that seem unresolved, like ‘we don’t need a grille but we don’t know what to do here’. Especially on the lower level Tesla models.
Especially because Tesla still leaves the outline of a grille on the Model 3 and Y, like they were planning to do a fake one, but cancelled last minute, too late to change the bumper mold.
They’re in a weird, halfway zone – not fully committed to either the grilleless look or the fake grille look
The Uncanny Valley of Grilles
As a Corvair owner, I applaud your efforts and look forward to reading Part II, Corvair goes to the Disco.
SquareTaillight2002- you don’t know how terrified I was of what the response would be from Corvair owners. Glad at least one approves!
My mom had a red ’62 coupe before I was born. Apparently many fan belts were consumed by the car.
’65 500 for the summer when I was 17.
This is excellent! I might have gone for more vertical, 2nd gen Camaro headlights, though.
I’ve always loved Corvairs, and when I’m in a position to get a project car, it’s high on my list. They seem surprisingly cheap in the classic car world.
StillNotATony- I actually started with aiming-down Monaro HQ lights but it looked a bit too ‘American’ so the flipped them upside down. Still, I’m torn.
The back is fine, but the front appears much closer to Chevrolet’s mid-70s styling rather than their early ’70s styling.
BolognaBurrito- I agree, but then again the Corvair is supposed to be the innovator and future thinker, so I figured why not.
Hard to disagree with that. Though, I still think the front would look less like a ’74+ Camaro. If anything I would guess it would have had a look closer to the Nova, especially the ’73-’74 Nova, though, in a previewing since. Which, likely would have looked like a Buick Apollo
BolognaBurrito- yes, that’s why as an alternative there is this:
https://www.benchmarc.com/car/car.html
That is sexy. Thank you for your efforts!
I get some SAAB EMS and 70s Dodge/Plymouth vibes from the fake gen III design and I like it.