In the late fifties the American automobile manufacturers were beginning to feel the impact of the foreign car invasion.
The Chevrolet Division of General Motors brought out the Corvair in response to the VW Bug, which was a small car with a rear mounted air cooled engine.
The Corvair was introduced as a 1960 model and was also a small car with a rear mounted four cylinder air cooled engine.
The Corvair had a more conventional shape than the VW Bug and was initially well accepted.
Several models were available. The first generation was built from 1960 through 1964. In 1965 a sportier second generation car was introduced and remained in production
through 1969.
Over 1.7 million Corvairs were sold, but the model was eventually replaced by more conventional front engine cars.
Typical of all automobile manufacturers, the low priced, basic Corvair eventually grew into the more luxurious and high performance Monza.
However, none of the original cars came close to George’s high performance Corvair.
George bought his 1966 Corvair coupe in 1977. The car only had 33,000 miles and had its original six cylinder, opposed engine
The car didn’t run too well and the engine gave up the same year. The car was left to sit and deteriorate for 25 years.
In 2002 George decided the Corvair was really a pretty cute little car and it would make a great and very unusual hot rod.
He replaced the original engine with a highly modified Buick Rover 4.9 Liter engine which was adapted to the Corvair transmission.
Since he kept the engine in the rear of the car and the original engine was air-cooled, George had to build
an elaborate water cooling system with the radiators in the front of the car.
George upgraded the brakes and tires to complement the increased power.
The car was fitted with four wheel disc brakes and 16 x 8 inch wheels with 255 x 50 tires.
This car has a macho look in a nice bright silver color with a black interior. The modified engine sounds good
and the car attracts a lot of attention.
Be sure and check out the license plate; I think it pretty much says it all.
