'62 Corvair wagon.

What's the lowdown on these, anyone?

http://spokane.craigslist.org/cto/875095767.html

There are lots of Corvair clubs with information. Parts are readilly available. The '62 would have the swing axle rear suspension.

The wagon will be mechanically almost identical to the "standard" early Corvairs (60-64). I would suspect the hardest parts to find would be body and glass (which apparently are goon on this car). If the engine doesn't need a full overhaul, getting it running should be rather easy and cheap. A full overhaul could be pricey ($2000-$3000 if done properly). General parts are pretty cheap compared to other "collectors" cars. If you want to get "non stock" with it, a latter (a bit bigger and a bit more powerful) engine will easily retrofit. If want to get even funkier, you could steal the turbo engine out of Margie's 64 (might want to get your own, she seems quite protective) add a few period emblems and make a Spyder Wagon.

In general (as with all early Corvairs) the things to look for would be worn rear bearings (which can be dangerous if REALLY bad) and a loose steering box. Both a reasonably easy and cheap to fix. There aren't any particularly vulnerable rust areas on the cars other than the common old car areas (fenders, bottom of the doors). If it is an original engine, expect it to leak a lot and be covered in a think coat of oil grime. Most of the common leak areas are not that hard to fix.

They are pretty rare (and will attract some interesting questions), but they are not particularly valuable in a collectors sense, so not likely a good financial investment. As with any car of this age, the realistically best way to go is to rip the thing apart and do a complete (suspension / engine) rebuild. If you can put up with some "quirks" you might be able to get away with a minimal rebuild.

It would a neat car to have.....but I doubt a weekend will put it back on the road...

I know it's got the same wheelbase as a Monte Carlo....

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/1003/914Dan/Corvair/?action=view&current=DSCN4621.jpg

Look for rust in the front cross member. It will make the car look lowered, but it's not (technically).

the wagon is a two-year body style ('61 and '62). the '61 is cool because it's got the "Lakewood" script on the quarters. but that's where the '61's advantage over the '62 ends.

the '62 will share a ton of stuff with the '63 and '64, whereas the '61 will not. '62 will also have the brake master cylinder mounted on the "firewall" in the frunk, unlike the '61 which had it up under the dash. the '62 mounting allows it to be easily replaced with a dual-circuit MC kit from any of the big suppliers.

i have a bitchin' 4-wheel disc conversion design for the '62 - '64 that will keep you from losing an axle shaft if a wheel bearing decides that 46 years is long enough. don't have the hard parts anymore, and might not even be able to find the dimensioned drawings, but if i had an early in my garage i could generate new drawings in a couple days. or i could give you a parts list and you could make up your own caliper adapters.

i also had 18x7.5" rims on my wagon, and yes they'll fit up in those tiny rear wheelwells, but it's a tight fit.

Gosh this is tempting, that's an awesome wagon. I'm really stuck on a Fairmont, but this is cool.

This may rattle AngryCorvair a bit, but if that were closer I would try that swap again. When I channeled the firewall down onto the Monty frame/engine, I took too much off. I should have let the wheels come up instead.

Be aware the windshield for a wagon is unlike any other 'Vair. I didn't know that....

Here's some help if you decide to go for it Duende. Much classier than a Fairmont.

http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/pages.cgi?category=corvairhistory

http://www.corvairranch.com/

http://www.corvair.org/csaindex.php

http://www.corvair.org/chapters/necc/

http://v8vairs.com/

Dan, i'm going to have to request that you start with a coupe or sedan for your next body-on-frame project. In the best way possible:

you:lakewood::dukes of hazzard:charger

Why a sedan?

because there's no love for the sedans, so nobody will miss one. also, there are a lot more sedans than wagons out there.

Ernie Kovacs died in one.

Ernie Kovacs may also have been drunk at the time (hey, who wasn't back then?), it was raining, and he wasn't wearing his seat belt (thrown partially out the passenger window).

"Nothing In Moderation" - The epitaph on his tombstone

aircooled wrote: Ernie Kovacs may also have been drunk at the time (hey, who wasn't back then?), it was raining, and (thrown partially out the passenger window). "Nothing In Moderation" - The epitaph on his tombstone

Ah-h-h, I don't believe a '62 Corvair had seat belts. Might be the reason he wasn't wearing it.

geowit wrote:

aircooled wrote: Ernie Kovacs may also have been drunk at the time (hey, who wasn't back then?), it was raining, and (thrown partially out the passenger window). "Nothing In Moderation" - The epitaph on his tombstone

Ah-h-h, I don't believe a '62 Corvair had seat belts. Might be the reason he wasn't wearing it.

Details.

IIRC front seat belts became required by Feds in '65, and rear seat belts in '68.

while not specifically mentioning the Federal requirement, google found this:

(from reference.com browsing seat+belt) By 1964, Most U.S. automobiles were sold with standard front seat belts; rear seat belts were made standard in 1968.

so it's quite possible that he had a seat belt and just wasn't wearing it. they were definitely available, as my '61 wagon had them.