(hat tip to Jonathan F.) This is something of an inadvertent followup to the recent “My Cousin Vinney” post, where I debunked the premise of the ’63 Tempest having a limited slip differential. Although the Tempest shared much of its transaxle with the Corvair, it did not get the optional limited slip differential that the Corvair had starting in 1962.
Although it’s not stated in the ad, I rather suspect that this Corvair, showing off its off-road prowess in a Florida swamp, did have that, for good measure. But even without it, the Corvair had superb traction, as I found out by taking my ’63 Corvair off-roading in the snows of Iowa instead of the swamps of Florida. It never failed to amaze me as well as amuse me. Imagine white snow instead of green muck, as other than that there were considerable similarities as I bounced around a snowy field and made wild spins on the ice of a frozen reservoir.
If you want more of the Corvair’s prowess on display, here’s one from 1960:
who was the expert driver, he looks familiar from other videos
Looks a lot like Fireball Roberts of early NASCAR fame – who was from Florida.
I know it can’t be him, but he bears a passing resemblance to Jack Webb.
” … but he bears a passing resemblance to Jack Webb… ”
I agree.
So also does the music resemble the original Dragnet Theme composed by Walter Schumann.
Whoever he was, it’s too bad he didn’t get the memo saying that it was ok to actually look like he was having fun. Because, I do think that he was having fun.
(he DOES look like Jack Webb…that was my first thought as well)
Corvairs had traction for sure. Too bad they weren’t blessed with more ground clearance. The Corvair platform would have made.a great base for a US Kübelwagen.
A US Kübelwagen was my first thought while watching the video of the Corvair blasting through the Florida swamp, as well. Definitely a missed opportunity. One has to wonder if there were any prototypes built.
I vividly recall plates (JC Whitney?) that allowed the Corvair engine to bolt up to a VW transaxle. There were surely more than a few Corvair-powered dune buggies back in the day.
OTOH, did anyone else notice that all the shots were of a Corvair moving at a quite rapid clip? I don’t think the results of a much slower moving Corvair trying to plow its way through a muddy swamp would have been nearly as photogenic.
Well, as anyone who has driven through deep snow or mud can attest, the key to not getting stuck is to keep your momentum going. Going fast where you have traction to carry you through the areas you don’t. Still a pretty impressive video. Interesting that the drivers window was open in the close up shots, with nary a fleck of dirt on the driver, where the rest of the car was inundated with mud.
The ground clearance was a real issue, which almost certainly explains why they picked a soft swamp and not a rocky place.
The Kubelwagen/Schwimmwagen idea did not go unnoticed:
https://www.motortrend.com/features/1601-backward-glances-an-experimental-military-amphibious-chevy-corvair/
Fascinating. That’s a new one for me.
I never knew it was such an off-roader! Pretty cool……
That was fun. When I was small I have fond memories of my Dad overcoming deep snow and mud in the family Dodge Polara or one of the Bugs. The VWs had the traction and the Polara had the power. Maybe the Corvair had both of those things.
There was a little bit of bragging rights conferred among him and his fishing buddies on who had got their cars or 2 wheel drive pickups to the worst spot. There’s a hill that I know was scaled by a 1966 or 1967 Plymouth Sport Fury with a boat on the roof no less, in pursuit of rainbow trout.
Pretty cool, they definitely pushed it hard.
A great clip, thank you Paul .
I had no idea any Corvair came with limited slip .
I wonder how many bogged down Corvairs needed towing out to make this fun clip .
The driver looks nothing like jack Webb, he just has the same dead pan look on his face .
Not to different from Rod Sterling in The Twilight Zone .
-Nate
How many Corvairs did they drown / high center / destroy while jumping?
“Corvair fights the sucking swamp!” I just bet it did.
Like others, I first thought the driver was Jack Webb and the music reminded me of the Dragnet theme. The driver also resembles Hugh Reilly who was Paul Martin on Lassie (The Timmy years from 1958 – 1964)
Love it! It’s a good thing there was no need for a hard stop with those soaking wet drum brakes.
Hemming’s Classic Car recently had an article about Corvairs and the Central American Darien Gap-
Crossing the Uncrossable: A Tally of Those Who’ve Driven the Darien Gap
A link to a depth article is here-
https://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/30470/Crossing-the-Uncrossable-A-Tally-of-Those-Who-ve-Driven-the-Darien-Gap
AND
https://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/30470/Crossing-the-Uncrossable-A-Tally-of-Those-Who-ve-Driven-the-Darien-Gap
There’ s even more on Youtube.
There’s an at from 1961 where a hardtop coupe, four door and Lakewood are all put their paces in the Nevada nuclear test facility……..it’s the only ad I could find with more than a passing mention of the Lakewood. Side note I had a VW Type 3 wagon for a couple of years in the late ‘80’s not a Lakewood but as close as we got in Australia.
It could have been called the Amphivair.
Sorry but I’m calling bullshit on this clip. By their own admission the driver is a pro.Two minutes of four second film clips stuck together prove nothing. In every situation just as the car might have been stuck the film is cut. I’ve worked fields with four wheel drive tractors and if I had the power of editing that is exhibited in this film, it would have save me a lot of grief.