zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
For $11,000, This 1966 Chevy Corvair is Back To The Future
For $11,000, This 1966 Chevy Corvair is Back To The Future-November 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:04

Seeing as it rocks a 350 in its nose, today's Corvair could be considered to be bass-freaking-akwards. It has some other mods too that are just as eye-popping, but the question is, does this custom Chevy come with a price that you can all get behind?

Joe Walsh famously sang about a Maserati that went so fast that it left his driver's license in the dust. The result was that he had to make do with a limo. In the back. With the doors locked.

You could pretend to be Joe Walsh in yesterday's limo-like , which was priced so that almost anybody could fly like an Eagle. Unfortunately, as many of you pointed out, there's nothing more expensive than a cheap exotic, and that Italian four-door, which according to the ad was in need of some 'minor TLC,' dropped in a decisive 72% Crack Pipe loss.

Quattroporte means four-door in Italian, and that's just how many ways you can get into today's …

Harder, better, faster, stronger... Today's 1966 Chevy Corvair is also a four-door, it too has a romper stomper V8, and it will get you noticed as you drive it owing to its unique proportions. Wait a minute, what the deuce, a V8 Corvair?

There's a long history of dropping V8s into Corvairs, the kit-maker Kelmark at one time offering both the Tory, which placed an entire Toronado drivetrain - 455 and all - behind the seats, and the Reverie, which traded the back seats for a V8 engine that was mated to the Corvair's stock 4-speed transaxle rotated 180°. The company claimed that two stout men could convert a 'Vair in a weekend, barring running out of beer.

This V8 Corvair looks to have taken longer than that to reach its current state, and unlike the kit cars, this one puts its SBC up front in what was once the car's trunk. That's backed up by a 3-speed THM350 and the drivetrain is masked inside by a tall console that looks to have been sourced from a '90s Pontiac. The arrowhead brand also looks to have been the donor of the seats.

That's not the only odd bodkin bit about this Corvair as it's also been shortened along with the switch in driving ends. The result is a car that looks almost stock, but is off enough to make you do a double take.

It's still a 4-door, with the rear ports hinged off the half-height center pillar, just like stock. They have been shortened however, to the point that the only way you'd fit through the opening is if you're a stick figure, and stick figures are usually too busy playing games of hangman to drive any place.

Why the truncated body along with the V8 in the trunk? Who knows, and the ad isn't telling. Maybe the builder didn't have a long enough driveshaft and felt shrinky-dinking the body was the easier route to take. More likely, the uni-body car is resting on some sort of frame and it was cut to match that. That's just a guess, however.

Whatever the reason, the whole thing is amazingly pretty professional looking. The rear doors, shorn of their handles, blend into the body giving the car the proportions of a coupe, only with strangely short front doors.

The glass in the back doors matches the roofline, making the whole thing lockable and seemingly watertight. Still, the car looks a little weird, and the placement of the moonroof - towards the back of the roof - doesn't help.

You need to help and decide if this one-of-a-kind Corvair is worth its $11,000 asking price. It's pretty likely that you couldn't replicate the build for anything near that, and of course this car would be a hit at pretty much every car show it attends, but is it all that and a bag of chips?

You decide!

Las Vegas , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to packard_rat for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
For $19,200, you could be Supra, thanks for asking
For $19,200, you could be Supra, thanks for asking
Japanese sports cars, unlike that country's delicious sashimi, have pretty decent shelf lives. Today's Toyota Supra still looks pretty tasty even after 18 years. Its price and lack of a turbo however, may make you say fugu you! Another Japanese sports car - and one from competing brand Nissan -...
Nov 1, 2024
2012 Audi TT RS: First Drive
2012 Audi TT RS: First Drive
The new has loads to brag about: Ludicrous power, astounding grip and a luxurious interior that smells of nutmeg. It's even manual only (in the U.S.). But does the TT RS live up to Audi's turbocharged, inline-five legend? And can you even get one? We found out. Audi wanted me...
Nov 1, 2024
For $2,764, relive the dream
For $2,764, relive the dream
Some car companies build a reputation over time, while others create their mystique one model at a time. Today's Audi V8 Quattro leapfrogged the German brand into über sedan territory, but is its price, reputable? Considering how many times Germany has invaded France (seriously, Henri, change the locks) you'd think...
Nov 1, 2024
Revenge of the Electric Car: First Watch Review
Revenge of the Electric Car: First Watch Review
Chris Paine's 2006 documentary film, Who Killed the Electric Car, was a rallying cry for fans of electric vehicles who'd felt betrayed by government and industry. Does his sequel, grab the mantle and run? We got an early look to see for ourselves. The filmakers provided us an exclusive look...
Nov 1, 2024
Electric DeLorean: First Drive
Electric DeLorean: First Drive
The DeLorean's long been associated with technology and performance, despite being saddled with a French-Swedish powerplant that made those associations slightly laughable. This weekend I drove the . I'm not laughing anymore. This weekend was the International DeLorean Owners Event in Houston, Texas. Lovers of the stainless steel sports car...
Nov 1, 2024
For $5,000, my fair lady goes topless
For $5,000, my fair lady goes topless
In Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady Professor Henry Higgins manages to turn cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle into a right proper lady. Today's Datsun Fairlady has also been transformed - into a custom roadster, but should the seller learn to lower the price? Well, Audi pardner! That's right, you...
Nov 1, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved