Here’s a guaranteed way to get your Cohort posting to be posted at CC: do as William Garrett did and find a gen1 Corvair, like this fine ’63 Monza convertible. I’ve had a major thing for Corvairs since I discovered several in our new neighborhood after arriving in Iowa City in 1960. Wow! Americans can build air-cooled rear engine cars just like my beloved VW and Porsches.
It was purely coincidence that my first car turned out to be a ’63 Monza (four door sedan); my older brother had picked it up for $75 in Towson, drove out to Iowa City in it, then took a job at Thule Air Force base in Greenland as a civilian contract employee. So he gave it to me, a somewhat uncharacteristic thing for him; maybe making amends for all the times he took advantage of me financially when we were kids? Lending me money with (high) interest, or blackmailing me to do his paper route for a measly dime.
No matter; I was very happy to accept the gift, especially as it had the much preferred four speed transmission. And my love for them just deepened that much more.
This convertible has the Powerglide. Before some of you feel the Pavlovian urge to diss the PG, especially in the Corvair, please note that it was actually faster 0-60 than the three-speed manual, and only about a second slower than the four speed. We covered this in an exhaustive Vintage Review here. That’s not to say that I didn’t strongly prefer the four speed for the sheer joy of shifting and better control, but given the choice of a three-speed manual or PG Corvair, I’d take the latter. The three speed had very poorly spaced gears, with a giant canyon between second and third.
While we’re looking at that interior, let’s keep in mind that the Corvair was a marvel of space efficiency for the times, with its interior space being the functional equal of typical “big” cars of the times, which were of course notoriously poor in that regard. And that’s despite it being very low, as in only 51.5″ tall. The flat floor only a few inches above the ground made that possible.
The crossed flags on the back of this Monza indicate that it has the optional 102 (gross) hp Turbo-Air engine instead of the base 80 hp version (84 hp with PG), all of which had 145 cubic inches, for the last time; in 1964, displacement grew to 164 cubic inches.The 102 hp engine had a hotter camshaft and recalibrated carburetors. And of course there was also the 150 hp turbocharged Monza Spyder.
Somewhat surprisingly, this white convertible in the brochure doesn’t have the crossed flags; I have a hard time remembering any convertibles without the 102 hp engine. And that goes for the great majority of all Monzas.
My white four door had the black interior, which was still in primo condition. The back seated folded down, which was great for my extended treks as well as frequent moves. Everything I owned easily fit in there and in the front trunk.
Now there’s a political sticker I can support.
I’ve probably written more about the Corvair here than any other car, except maybe the Volkswagen (my second and third cars). First cars tend to leave a deep impression, especially if they’re one you already were infatuated with since childhood. I knew I should stash my Corvair in a barn for 40 or 50 years, to enjoy in my old age, but that just wasn’t in the cards. So now I write about them, over and over:
These are just a sampler of gen1 posts, not including the van and pickup. Enter “Corvair” in our Google search bar for the whole enchilada.
Auto-Biography Part 13: 1963 Corvair Monza – The Tilt-A-Vair
Curbside Classic: 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder Convertible – The Turbo Revolution Started Here
Automotive History: 1960-1963 Chevrolet Corvair – GM’s Deadliest Sin?
Automotive History: How The 1960 Corvair Started A Global Design Revolution
Curbside Classic: 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder Convertible – The Turbo Revolution Started Here
Curbside Classic: 1962 Corvair Monza Wagon (Lakewood) – Why Did We Go Ahead And Build This?
The Corvair. A Love Affair. An Interview With Ed Cole. The Father of The Corvair (by Geelong Vic)
Curbside Classic: 1963 Corvair Monza Coupe – A Coup For Chevrolet; A Sedan For Me
Looks like the PG lever is gone, or mostly broken off? I see the selector dial at the right end of the cluster, but the lever doesn’t show in the picture.
The lever is there, it just has a black knob so it doesn’t stand out.
My ’64 convertible had the base 95 hp engine and three speed manual. The engine power was adequate but that unsynchronised first gear was a pain. Eventually I learned how to double clutch. That was the only three speed I ever had in fifty years of driving.
What’ll probably be one of the few disappointments over the course of my life, I’ve never owned a Corvair as much as I love them. Ok, that ’65 Monza coupe that dad brought home the last couple of months he had the dealership so I could drive around the streets adjoining the property (little matter of my being only 15 at the time) really doesn’t count.
And no, it’s not going to happen, as whatever garage space I’ve got available goes to whatever vintage motorcycles I come across. Bikes replaced cars, permanently, on my desirability list about a decade ago. When you can go thru a Porsche 924S, Pontiac Solstice, Fiat 500c Abarth, and Honda Civic Si . . . . . and still save the nice days for whatever’s on two wheels in the garage . . . . . sorta tells you something.
As that Corvair is up there was a Citroen and Saab as my ‘never did it’ disappointments.
That’s a beautiful car .
I too like Corvairs, the earlier the better .
-Nate
Nice article…Although I have never owned a Corvair I really like them and still hope to have one of them someday…but I actually prefer the early four door ones which seem to be seldom seen (at least here in central Texas)…and of course I like the Corvair van which is no doubt pretty scarce anymore as well…
I thought I was the only one who appreciated the first gen 4 door Corvair. As you note though they’re not often seen.
I always liked the Corvair, but prefer the second generation’s sleeker design and handling improvements. Aaron’s ‘vair that was featured here yesterday has it all over this one in the looks department, IMHO.
I’m kinda sad that the Corvair was trounced by the extremely popular Mustang, resulting it its cancellation after 1969. I would’ve loved to have seen what Chevy came up with for a third generation Corvair.
Of course the seventies were when a lot of things got weird, so a third generation may not necessarily have been an improvement. The Monza Spyder that came out in like 1978 or 1979 was just a glorified Vega, and not a very impressive attempt at carrying on the name. Of course having said that, it was the car in which I learned to drive a stick, having briefly dated a girl who bought one new in silver with light blue decals and stripes.
I, too, fall into the camp of preferring the 2nd gen Corvair, but the more upright styling of the 1st is growing on me, particularly the convertible models. Even the sedans have a certain, early-sixties charm to them.
It’s also easy to see how it wasn’t lost on Iacocca when Corvair sales began skewing towards the sporty models and a major influence on bringing out the Mustang, which is an irony, considering how much it impacted sporty Corvair sales. Although I never noticed it before, there definitely seems to be an interior influence with the early Corvair’s dual-pod style dash which the Mustang obviously copied and carries on to this day.
It’s not all the dissimilar to the theory that the downsized 1962 full-size Mopars, although a styling disaster, had superior power-to-weight ratios that would influence John DeLorean into bringing out the 1964 GTO.
My very first (running) car was a ’64 four door Monza PG, bought when I was 15 years old in anticipation of getting my license. I also motocrossed a Suzuki TS-90 and found that I could cram it in the back of the Monza with the back seat folded down. I think all I had to do was take off the front wheel and handlebars.
Simply love Chevrolet Corvairs, particularly the second generation 1965 – 69 models and even better if they are Right Hand Drive (see attached photo)
Another attempt at adding the photo of our Right Hand Drive 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Monza convertible.
Well looks like my photos not attaching. Can’t understand why? Here’s a last try
You need to reduce the size. We can’t take “full size” images. 1200 pixels width works.
Not the one I sometimes saw in Strathpine, Queensland? RHD, with a rack & pinion conversion.
No Chris,
Our Corvair is a 1965 Monza convertible and its RHD conversion is 100% mirror image. I did consider ‘rack & pinion’ but was concerned about ‘bump steer’ and above all wanted the conversion to look factory correct which I am report is the case. I am located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria so no its the Queensland car.
I would guess this one is also a 63. The original CA plate is earlier than than the one in the story. This looked like a very well kept original 100% CA Corvair.
I constantly flip-flop between which Corvair convertible I prefer – the first or second generation. I remember reading someone else’s description that the first Corvair had a “Doris Day-like cuteness about it”. Apt.
The first Corvair is cute where the second Corvair is hot.