- Thread starter Heyseed
- Start date
notjustair
Well-known Member
I'd give my right arm to have a rampside.
CenTex Farmall
Well-known Member
Ironically, the only time that I can remember seeing a similar rig was also at a Home Depot. It had the blue and white paint scheme and was the van variety.
blue water massey
Well-known Member
Greenbrier's were a rare site where I grew up
the pick ups I only remember seeing one of there were a few vans
always wanted one
but I like the oddballs
the pick ups I only remember seeing one of there were a few vans
always wanted one
but I like the oddballs
Just cause one person has one and drives it daily doesn't make it safe. IIRC you have to run non standard tire pressure in the front tires of those. Putting them at standard pressure caused handling problems on uneven roads and hence directional control issues. Back in the day of full service stations the attendant didn't know that those things had a different than standard tire pressure. They started the pump, check the oil and tires. OPPS! And the average owner didn't bother to read the owners manual. Double OPPS!
Look at it. The star rating system for vehicle safety today is by class. That means that a 5 star rated large vehicle is much safer than a 5 start rated mini. Statistics run something like this. A full sized car with a full frame VS a micro the people in the small car have a 10 times greater chance of death or serious injury in a small large crash and a 8 times greater chance of death or injury in small VS small compared to large VS large. The government and EPA don't want these facts to be common knowledge. They want you driving a small car. The facts are there if you bother to do a little research.
That said it is very cool to see something like that!
Rick
ShadetreeRet
Well-known Member
I knew several people that had Corvairs and none ever had a wreck with it. Ralph Nader was the moron who started that and was able to get enough other refugees from the psychiatric ward to go along with his "unbiased opinion" until GM dropped them. They were no different from ay other rear engined vehicle. You just had to learn ow to drive them. Just like the Jeep a few years later. When all the Urban Cowboys began buying trucks and Jeeps,they didn't realize that the Jeep had a higher center of gravity, and that along with its shorter wheelbase caused problems for those who were not familiar with country life. There was a lot of negative press about this also.
ObsoElitist
Member
And, "they" estimate over 1200 Americans die per day of tobacco and 241 from Alcohol. Pick your poison and dont preach.
Nader failed mention that IN ITS WEIGHT CLASS the Corvair scored well for safety.
I had a '66 4 door 4 speed. That one had the "independent link" rear suspension compared to the earlier models that were subject to 'jacking'. The earlier VWs had the same kind of 'De Dion' suspension but with practically no horse power and such skinny tires you never heard of jacking issues with them. Sold the Corvair to a guy who claimed they were so safe (daughter crashed several and wasn't hurt. After that I would think she needs comfortable shoes rather than another car). What killed the Corvair, and other air cooled cars, was that as emmision control started to come into use air cooled engines were too difficult to control (temperature variations). But then again I could be wrong.
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
I was told by a good mechanic of that era that once they figured out how to work on them and stop them from leaking oil they were good vehicles..
Billy Shafer
Well-known Member
Buddy of mine in high school had a Corvair Monza Spyder. We drove that thing harder than Nader ever thought of. Never had a problem except for some oil leaks.
jimg.allentown
Well-known Member
Back when they were still in production and common, I started working on them - Corvairs, that is. Of the many things I found out about them...
Oil leaks were common. The reason for this is that GM was too CHEAP to use the correct material for the pushrod tube seals. In this engine design, the pushrods for the overhead valves ran inside metal tubes that were sealed at the block and cylinder head with O-rings. GM used the cheap neoprene O-rings. Parker seals of Rochester, NY made up a set of O-rings from Viton. That ended the oil leaks for many years to come.
What was stated about tire pressures was correct. They had an unusual weight distribution that made the front of the car very light. As such, standard tire pressures had to be adjusted to accommodate this. Too many service folks seem to think that the pressure on the tire is the "recommended" or proper pressure while it is actually the MAXIMUM pressure recommended. If the tire pressures recommended by the owners manual were followed, the cars handled extremely well.
Just a point of information about Nader.....
GM had planned for Corvair production to end with the 1966 model. The reason was high production costs. GM decided that the cost of making them was too high, and that not enough parts could be shared throughout the other GM cars of the day. The 1967 to 1969 models were produced in open defiance of Nader. Also note that Nader's REAL target was the VW bug. He just didn't have the nerve to go up against such a popular car. His strategy was to attack a similarly constructed car with less popularity, and then moving on to the VW by pointing out similarities in construction.
Oil leaks were common. The reason for this is that GM was too CHEAP to use the correct material for the pushrod tube seals. In this engine design, the pushrods for the overhead valves ran inside metal tubes that were sealed at the block and cylinder head with O-rings. GM used the cheap neoprene O-rings. Parker seals of Rochester, NY made up a set of O-rings from Viton. That ended the oil leaks for many years to come.
What was stated about tire pressures was correct. They had an unusual weight distribution that made the front of the car very light. As such, standard tire pressures had to be adjusted to accommodate this. Too many service folks seem to think that the pressure on the tire is the "recommended" or proper pressure while it is actually the MAXIMUM pressure recommended. If the tire pressures recommended by the owners manual were followed, the cars handled extremely well.
Just a point of information about Nader.....
GM had planned for Corvair production to end with the 1966 model. The reason was high production costs. GM decided that the cost of making them was too high, and that not enough parts could be shared throughout the other GM cars of the day. The 1967 to 1969 models were produced in open defiance of Nader. Also note that Nader's REAL target was the VW bug. He just didn't have the nerve to go up against such a popular car. His strategy was to attack a similarly constructed car with less popularity, and then moving on to the VW by pointing out similarities in construction.
Donald Lehman
Well-known Member
Yup Nader made himself rich and famous on false pretenses. Pretty much like Al Gore is doing now. Same thing with the "exploding" gas tanks on Chevy pickups. By the time it comes out the "crusader" is a liar, the damage has been done. Same deal with milk, butter and eggs.
dr sportster
Well-known Member
When I was a kid I asked my Dad was Ralph Nader an engineer and my Dad says no he is a lawyer. I said what does he know about cars and Dad said probably not much.
The 2 big things Nader went after were the stability/control issues and the gas tank under the seat. That's not saying that there were not other issues but the 2 big things I remember seeing in the news didn't address exhaust gasses.
Nader got mostly discredited in the 70's. I know he was trying to ride the "I'm saving you from the big bad companies" routine into the White House. By the time he gained enough of a name for himself the info about the rigged tests was coming out.
And for those who want to take me to task over my original comment on here I never said they were unsafe. I said that because one person drives something for a long time that doesn't make it a safe vehicle. Then I spilled my little rant about the safety rating system. To really rate safety on vehicles you have to test them all to the same exact standard. But then if they did many of the small cars would fail and be banned. That doesn't fit into the green agenda. The same agenda that has time and again had segments that have admitted that they would sacrifice human life for the environment.
Rick
The early ('60-'63) Corvairs had the swing axle design with no compensation for camber. It was relatively easy to get the outside rear wheel and its axle to tuck under with sufficient lateral loading. Not so in the '64 and succeeding models which incorporated a lower link resulting in camber compensation. (both rear wheels remained more or less vertical in comparison with the earlier models) The tuck under problem was usually not experienced by the type of driver that GM designed the car for. Namely those who would have otherwise been driving a Volkswagen. To GMs pleasant surprise, the car was quickly gobbled up by a younger, faster type of driver although not necessarily more experienced. Kind of like letting a new student pilot try to fly a GeeBee Model R.
Another car with the single jointed rear axle IRS system was the early Pontiac Tempest. The thing (a 63 Tempest 4 cyl with rear transaxle)scared me out a few times during hard cornering, as did my 62 Corvair coupe. The rear wheel would tuck under the car and jack the rear up in the air, a real unstable setup. The old VW beetle and the pre 64 corvair used the similar setup. The little 2CV Citrone used a similar single jointed transaxle with front engine and front wheel drive, it had similar jacking and rollover problems.
This old chevrolet propaganda video of the Corvair pickup VS the Ford econoline pickup, it's a real hoot to watch, especially the Econoline picking the rear way up under hard braking. I had a 63 Econoline and had to remove the gas tank to repair a leak. between the body and gas tank was what looked to be about a 300 pound cast iron weight that was the "fix" for their being so light in the rear 
Corvair VS Econoline pickup :
Corvair VS Econoline pickup :
And this one, I love how they bash each other over what was some pretty pathetic rigs from both car makers.
Falcon VS Corvair
Falcon VS Corvair
Had a 64 Corvair, one of the best cars I ever had.
Later, I had to downgrade to a Falcon. They were never in the same class.
Also, drove a 64 Corvair van, that thing got seriously overloaded about once a month delivering magazines. Like the rear-end bottomed out. Just kept on a going.
Later, I had to downgrade to a Falcon. They were never in the same class.
Also, drove a 64 Corvair van, that thing got seriously overloaded about once a month delivering magazines. Like the rear-end bottomed out. Just kept on a going.
dr sportster
Well-known Member
The Pontiac Tempest was an interesting car . It started out as a Corvair transaxle but that could not handle the power of the 421 engine. They used Corvair transaxles but two compoinents in one case. The car had a weight distributioin of 50/50 . In the Daytona 250 Challenge cup it lapped the Ferrari 250GTO 7 times and lapped AJ Foyts second place 427 powered Corvette twice . The Pontiac was driven by Paul Goldsmith.
NoNewParts
Member
nice little rig
had the similar competitor, Ford econoline back in the day.
neat toys.
I liked that econoline...long trip, engine acting up, pop the cover and work on it driving down the freeway!
safe?...lol...nothing back then was 'safe'
Ever drive a 428 CJ powered Mustang with manual drum brakes on each corner?....uni-bodied with no sub-frame connectors...stamped tin front shock tower braces.
They sold these new on the showroom floor like this?..to anybody? really? lol
and then I trailered it around with my big ol rompin-stompin late 60's F250...ya know..with the factory gastank in the cab with me.....
had the similar competitor, Ford econoline back in the day.
neat toys.
I liked that econoline...long trip, engine acting up, pop the cover and work on it driving down the freeway!
safe?...lol...nothing back then was 'safe'
Ever drive a 428 CJ powered Mustang with manual drum brakes on each corner?....uni-bodied with no sub-frame connectors...stamped tin front shock tower braces.
They sold these new on the showroom floor like this?..to anybody? really? lol
and then I trailered it around with my big ol rompin-stompin late 60's F250...ya know..with the factory gastank in the cab with me.....
Owen Aaland
Well-known Member
My 1960 Renault Dalphine has the same type of axle system. I have never had a problem with it but the car had a shipping weight of 1500 lbs with about 350 of that on the front end. You really can't do any high speed sharp corners because the front end will just slide out. it is also another car with widely varying tire pressure. 15 in the front and 23 in the rear.
DENNIS MIN
Member
oldtankner,
I feel compelled to add a comment. My co-workers were debating the merits of vehicle safety. I told them in few words that I'd rather drive the full size ford 4x4 truck with a three star rating rather than the mini-van with no frame and a five star rating.
Physics have not changed. Gov't standards project a false sense of hope, especially in car safety ratings. Mass time velocity.
D.
I feel compelled to add a comment. My co-workers were debating the merits of vehicle safety. I told them in few words that I'd rather drive the full size ford 4x4 truck with a three star rating rather than the mini-van with no frame and a five star rating.
Physics have not changed. Gov't standards project a false sense of hope, especially in car safety ratings. Mass time velocity.
D.
Mark - IN.
Well-known Member
Very, very, very nice. A Dodge A-100 could be found with a 426 Hemi though.
Mark
426 Hemi Dodge A 100
Mark
426 Hemi Dodge A 100
Hobo,NC
Well-known Member
- Location
- Sanford, NC
dr sportster
Well-known Member
One of my favorite all time dragsters. I did the model kit . That was a nice video.
Wemedeeres
Member
I knew a guy that had a Ford version of that, it was all white, he was planning to fix it up some day and put vanity license plates on it the read "SPERM"
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