Re: most beautiful car
I'll vote for my Corvair. Love the roof line..... and the handling.
I'll vote for my Corvair. Love the roof line..... and the handling.
My Corvair project
- Thread starter Richard1
- Start date
jarrus
Pro Tuner
Re: most beautiful car
I take it you restored it from a piece of scrap almost?
Looks like a really tidy job there mate, even went for the original colour...
I take it you restored it from a piece of scrap almost?
Looks like a really tidy job there mate, even went for the original colour...
Richard1
Torque Junkie
Re: most beautiful car
yep, in some light it is original, others more reflective of the sun or lighting. lots of small aluminum and titanium in this paint. Lost of pics of the 30 months of work on the Corvair on the link.
The mini will not be very close to stock, but the Dauphine will be close.
yep, in some light it is original, others more reflective of the sun or lighting. lots of small aluminum and titanium in this paint. Lost of pics of the 30 months of work on the Corvair on the link.
The mini will not be very close to stock, but the Dauphine will be close.
Big Fat Fatty
The Torque Meister
Re: most beautiful car
not to put a downer on the hard work it's taken to get the car to look like that but with it's rear engined layout the Corvair was one of the worst handling cars ever produced, even by american standards it was downright dangerous.
not to put a downer on the hard work it's taken to get the car to look like that but with it's rear engined layout the Corvair was one of the worst handling cars ever produced, even by american standards it was downright dangerous.
Richard1
Torque Junkie
Re: most beautiful car
Sorry, but that is one of the myths that won't go away. If you have the right tire pressures, it handles perfectly. Same problem Renault had with the rear engines.
You need 10 to 12 psi less in the front for good road contact. It is actually the only car the US govt safety tested and declared safe.
I run it 100 km through the mountains between 100 kph and 110 kph every day. Handles better than my Toyota pickup and 4Runner. Not as good as the BMW, but that is another story.
Sorry, but that is one of the myths that won't go away. If you have the right tire pressures, it handles perfectly. Same problem Renault had with the rear engines.
You need 10 to 12 psi less in the front for good road contact. It is actually the only car the US govt safety tested and declared safe.
I run it 100 km through the mountains between 100 kph and 110 kph every day. Handles better than my Toyota pickup and 4Runner. Not as good as the BMW, but that is another story.
Big Fat Fatty
The Torque Meister
Re: most beautiful car
Myths like stories are things that actually have little basis in fact but the first generation of Corvair had a swing axle rear suspension unit that would almost fold the rear wheel under the car when cornering hard earning it the nickname "The one-car accident", the tyre pressures played a big factor in the cars "myth" as well, when two or more people were in the car the front tyres were dangerously overloaded because of the diiference in pressures front to back. It was the subject of a chapter in a book called "Unsafe at Any Speed" detailing the Americans inneptitude for building cars.
Myths like stories are things that actually have little basis in fact but the first generation of Corvair had a swing axle rear suspension unit that would almost fold the rear wheel under the car when cornering hard earning it the nickname "The one-car accident", the tyre pressures played a big factor in the cars "myth" as well, when two or more people were in the car the front tyres were dangerously overloaded because of the diiference in pressures front to back. It was the subject of a chapter in a book called "Unsafe at Any Speed" detailing the Americans inneptitude for building cars.
Richard1
Torque Junkie
Re: most beautiful car
That was just one lawyer's way of becoming famous. With the right tire differential, there is no overloading of the front tires. I've run frequently with two people and a full trunk. Actually improves handling. I run 25 front and 35 rear. Many run 20 front. Take a look at the races run, the auto crosses run and won.
The problem is filling all four tires to 35.
That was just one lawyer's way of becoming famous. With the right tire differential, there is no overloading of the front tires. I've run frequently with two people and a full trunk. Actually improves handling. I run 25 front and 35 rear. Many run 20 front. Take a look at the races run, the auto crosses run and won.
The problem is filling all four tires to 35.
Big Fat Fatty
The Torque Meister
Re: most beautiful car
I don't think the people who died in their Corvairs would agree that the design flaws picked up on by Ralph Nader were just a ploy to become famous, I'm not trying to detract from the work you've done to the car at all and what I pointed out in my other posts were relevant to the first generation only, after that they had no choice but to to make the car safe to drive.
I don't think the people who died in their Corvairs would agree that the design flaws picked up on by Ralph Nader were just a ploy to become famous, I'm not trying to detract from the work you've done to the car at all and what I pointed out in my other posts were relevant to the first generation only, after that they had no choice but to to make the car safe to drive.
Thought i'd copy this to our WIP/projects forum, it is an interesting car.
How long did it take to restore? It's so nice to hear that you use the car on a regular basis and it's not just locked away in a garage somewhere.
How long did it take to restore? It's so nice to hear that you use the car on a regular basis and it's not just locked away in a garage somewhere.
Richard1
Torque Junkie
Sorry Waynne, I hadn't notice your post
Did a little polishing the other day. It now has about 9000 km on it. When I'm in town I drive it about 100 km per day. Just not here often enough.
As for safe, I cruise through the mountains in my 60 at 100 to 110 kph. It handles better than many cars.
Did a little polishing the other day. It now has about 9000 km on it. When I'm in town I drive it about 100 km per day. Just not here often enough.
As for safe, I cruise through the mountains in my 60 at 100 to 110 kph. It handles better than many cars.
Ronbros
Torque Junkie
just ran across this site;
nice car,corvair was another lost but GOOD car, because of ralph nader(bad man).
i owned two of them,1st gen was nice, but 2nd gen. 1965-1969 was GREAT, came with 4 carby,or turbocharged, besides best looking for 1965, it did away with the swing axle, and used genuine Corvette independent rear suspension, with proper setups it could give Porsche some competition.
flat six( boxer), but the american guys gotta do the V8 thing!
google you-tube, and chevrolet Corvair, then Crown Corvair V8.
never think corvairs are anymore dangerous than any other
car,
even the lowly VW bug had swing axle.
car shown, went 175MPH, and went airborn, guy lived with minor scratches,(not recommended).LOL.
nice car,corvair was another lost but GOOD car, because of ralph nader(bad man).
i owned two of them,1st gen was nice, but 2nd gen. 1965-1969 was GREAT, came with 4 carby,or turbocharged, besides best looking for 1965, it did away with the swing axle, and used genuine Corvette independent rear suspension, with proper setups it could give Porsche some competition.
flat six( boxer), but the american guys gotta do the V8 thing!
google you-tube, and chevrolet Corvair, then Crown Corvair V8.
never think corvairs are anymore dangerous than any other
car,
even the lowly VW bug had swing axle.
car shown, went 175MPH, and went airborn, guy lived with minor scratches,(not recommended).LOL.
Attachments
VW ,Renault R8 ,Porsche & some early Mercs all had swing axles and like all cars with a motor behind the rear axle hung on/gripped well up to a point and then the pendulum effect took over and the back snapped out suddenly in snap oversteer which caught out motorists who had been bought up on front heavy "yank tanks"
The Toyota MR2's also had similar characteristics when pushed.
The Toyota MR2's also had similar characteristics when pushed.
Ronbros
Torque Junkie
pretty much correct, took a special kind of driver to keep his foot in it, as its starting to lose it!
Ronbros
Torque Junkie
richard 1 you have a very nice car there, looks great, color is outstanding!
Richard1
Torque Junkie
Thanks. It's fun to drive too.
Wait til you see the Mini.........
Wait til you see the Mini.........
MikeMcCarthy
Tuner
Having owned three Corvairs and driven each very aggressively I disagree with their being a bad car . The last one I owned was a 1965 and was a great car, actually handled pretty good with " Wide Ovals " on it , lol if you know what those were.
Richard1
Torque Junkie
right. I have no complaints about handling. But I put the right air pressure (10-12 psi less up front) in the tires.
(that picture of the Mini is a little old - here it is today.......
(that picture of the Mini is a little old - here it is today.......
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