1966 Chevy Corvair Corsa Convertible on 2040-cars
Miami, Florida, United States
1966 CHEVY CORSA CONVERTIBLE This is a very unique and rare piece of American Automotive History. The Corvair was the first and only American rear engine production car. The Corvair was also the first and only air cooled American production car. The Corvair was also the first American uni-body production car. The Corsa was the “high performance model” and was only produced for 2 years, in 1965 and 1966. Only 2,300 Corsa Convertible’s were made in 1966. The car has a factory rear mounted, all aluminum, flat 6 cylinder, air cooled, “Boxster” style motor, with 4 one barrel down draft carburetors. The transmission is a 4 Speed manual Saginaw. It also has a 3:55 standard differential. The car has its original motor, transmission and differential. I have had the car for about 6 years and restored most of the car during that time. I also upgraded the car along the way but kept it period correct looking. Highlights: 1. The motor makes good power and has good compression (150 on all cylinders) and has a loopy cam. Both cylinder heads were redone. 2. All 4 carbs were rebuilt and the engine is now running 4 “primary” carbs. 3. All 4 of the carb tops have been machined to remove the chokes and “duck bills”. 4. The two “secondaries” have been bored out and all 4 carbs have been re-jetted with larger jets. 5. All 4 carbs have custom velocity stacks with screen air cleaners. 6. New “Roger Parent” full bearing throttle linkage. 7. New “Roger Parent” transmission accelerator pivot. 8. New spark plugs and wires. 9. New Petronix II electronic ignition system. 10. New one wire 65 amp Alternator. 11. New Dale Harmonic Balancer. 12. New Windshield. 13. 4 new NOS wheel well moldings. 14. New door handles. 15. New windshield top end caps and sunvisor/top lock pieces. 16. All stainless trim polished. 17. Full American Pi billet aluminum pulley set (Fan pulley, idler pulley/stand and bearing and alternator pulley with fan). 18. American Pi engine bay side covers. 19. Custom grill in air intake. 20. New top cover bearing. 21. The distributor was also rebuilt by Clark’s with new bushings. 22. New clutch and throw-out bearing. 23. Installed shift tube bearing kit and had shift rod polished with new coupler. 24. Equal length racing headers with a custom dual exhaust with twin Magnaflow polished stainless steel mufflers with 3 1/2 inch stainless steel double wall tips routed through the lower rear valance. The car sounds like a V-8. 25. The suspension was redone with new shocks, new front HD springs and new rear lower control arms, new front wheel bearings and new nylon pitman arm bushing. 26. All new Corvair Underground performance urethane rear suspension bushings and transmission mount bushings. The car was lowered around 2" and has a nice aggressive stance. 27. New bigger wheels and tires, 225 50 15 on BMW 5 spoke aluminum wheels. 28. New fuel pump, all new fuel lines, new fuel tank and sending unit. (Also have new electric fuel pump to install). 29. 4 new Hella European Halogen headlights, with 2 bumper mounted yellow fog lights and new wiring with 2 relays. 30. Stone guards on headlights. 31. New engine wiring. 32. New “Optima” Red Top Battery. 33. All new brake lines, new dual master cylinder, drums turned and new pads. 34. Aluminum Offenhauser oil pan and IECO valve covers. 35. New custom built center gauge pod with oil temp, oil pressure and volt gauges along with two speakers. 36. New retro radio with i-pod adapter. 37. Custom two tone blue/white interior (new carpet but now sun faded). 38. Wood 3 Spoke Steering Wheel with billet aluminum adaptor 39. New Convertible Top (Power top motor good). 40. New side cables. (Gear boxes/bearings need to be redone). 41. All new whether striping, seals and gaskets, viton o-rings and viton front and rear crank seals. 42. Trunk, interior floor pans and entire underside were sanded and then treated with POR 15. Trunk refinished with correct gray/white splatter paint. Underside sprayed with black epoxy enamel. 43. 1967 Style Camaro rear spoiler. 44. New emblems and lots of other new or reconditioned parts. Well over $20,000 spent so far. A lot of time and money has gone into the car. I won a lot of awards and trophy's with the car. It gets attention every time I drive it or park it. When I first restored the car I took it to the Corvair convention in Jacksonville in 2009 and entered it in the Concourse judging where it won a Senior Gold award 95.06 points. The car was also selected and featured in a National Frito Lays ad for the 4th of July. However, like most 47 year old cars it does need a few things. The car needs to be repainted. It still looks OK, but the paint on hood and trunk lids are now fading. It has a little rust spot about the size of a quarter by the driver’s side below the windshield and a little rust starting to peak out along the bottom edges of both sides of the car. The carpet is fading from the sun. The convertible top is a little slow and probably needs the side gear bearings replaced. The front and rear bumpers are original and still shine and look OK, but should be re-chromed. It is a lot of fun to drive and is a rare, good looking car. A little cosmetic attention is needed to bring her back to her glory. The car is located in Miami, FL. Contact: Joel L. Roth at (954) 562-4880 or jrothesq@gmail.com |
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