I’m feeling another wave of Corvair love coming on; like in a Corvair Fest or such. We have so many fab articles on it in our archives, and I still have a few new things to add. Hopefully soon. This vintage snapshot really brings home a key point about the Corvair: it was shockingly low. How low? Take a guess.
Ok; it was 51.3″ in height. Which is exactly 3/4″ taller than a Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ sports coupe. And yet it didn’t feel cramped inside, due to the flat, low floor. And at 6″ (according to one source), ground clearance wasn’t exactly overly generous. What it did do is clearly mark the Corvair for the role it quickly came to fill: a sporty little car, and not a tall and boxy economy car, like the Ford Falcon.
An Edsel, a Studebaker and a Corvair went into a bar…..
…and the Rambler ducked!
Oh good, a chance to show off my Corvair. It is a 1963 700 coupe and I’ve owned it for eleven years.
That is a beautiful car and a stunning color!
I owned a ’63 coupe in college. Maroon in color. Wish I still had it.
Nice! ’63 Monza four door four speed was my first car. And I’m hankering for another. But it’s going to be a coupe this time, a ’64.
Wish you would do a writeup. Tell us all about it, how you got it, work needed and done, lots of pics, etc. etc.etc. Sure would be interesting.
What a handsome car!
Is that a factory color?
Factory color, yes. Azure Aqua. Matching interior too. It has been re-painted but interior is original.
It is a front range car. Originally purchased at Day Chevrolet in Denver. 102hp, two speed “Powerglide” so not fun like it could have been. Your English teacher’s car. 25K miles now; only use it around town for cruise-in/cars ‘n coffee (where’s the engine?).
I had no idea Corvairs were so low to the ground.
My favorite 1st generation Corvair is the station wagon, followed by the 4 door sedan, the 2 doors just don’t appeal to me all that much.
Probably one of the few cars where I would “accept” an automatic transmission as it just seems to suit these cars as well as the manual transmissions.
Just remember sitting in one, imagining driving, while my dad shopped for a new Chevy in the early sixties, and thinking, “I like this car”. Recollections of the flat floor and stalky shifter stand out, Unfortunately one never made it to our driveway, but I have always loved these cars, and if I didn’t have my gearhead feet in so many bear trap projects presently, I would definitely be trying to scare a nice one up. There are a few nice original survivors plying the roads here around Richmond California, and they never fail to get my automotive dream mill turning when i see them.
About the height of the Pinto and Vega and Mustang II of the 70s with a lot more practicality and no transmission hump to eat up space.
I loved the flat floor of the 65 and 66 Monza and Corsa my parents had.
I like the low look, part of the reason my favourite family saloon (or should I say favourite compact sedan?) is the Vauxhall FD series (1967-72), though they can quite match the Corvair at 51.7″ high. Then again they have the engine at the front and the drive at the back. Personally I don’t have any trouble getting in and out of low cars, but then again I’m not very big!
Very pretty. I looked them up on Google Images. I like the Hillman Hunter as well, though not sure how low they are.
I finally got over low cars when the cartilage in my hips disappeared. The original S Series was low as well and finally had to give it up. Loved the styling of it, but….
Even now with new titanium bits , it’s a bear to enter and exit. My brother has it and has no problems and he’s taller than me. And I’m less than 5′ 9″.
Stay limber, my friend.
Thanks, I’ll try my best to.
The Hunter is over 4″ higher so, along with the slightly more upright screen angles, is easier to get in and out of; I’ve travelled in both in the past. Essentially it was a Mk.I/Mk.II Cortina clone, though slightly more handsome in my view. As such it was bang on its target market. Interestingly the styling evolved from the aborted rear engined Swallow (big brother to the Imp), so though it doesn’t share the extra low stance there is a kind of link with the Corvair.
Count me a fan of Corvairs. I’m partial to the second generation, as I think they’re among the most beautiful cars ever produced. Especially the four-door hardtop! The first generation cars were no slouch in the looks department, and had a far greater influence on automotive design.
I looked it up, and the 55 Studebaker sedan is a full 10 inches taller than the Corvair, at 61 5/8 inches. I caught a recent shot of an early Corvair in traffic which confirms its small size.
Oops, forgot the picture.
It’s a shame the Studebaker wasn’t a ’53 Starliner. It would have been a much more interesting comparison since the Loewy coupe was quite a sensation mainly due to how low it was to the ground in comparison to other cars of the time.
Regardless, the early 4-door Corvair with its rear sun visor cuts quite a dramatic figure, particularly when viewed in period photographs with other cars of the time, and may actually have been the best looking of the line, at least until the convertible arrived on the scene. It really seems like the Corvair was the zenith of GM’s engineering prowess and daring, and sadly unfortunate the thoroughly conventional and uninspiring Falcon stole most of the Corvair’s thunder, forcing GM to react with their own dowdy version, the 1962 Chevy II. GM quickly realigned the Corvair’s marketing focus towards sportiness, only to be slammed once again by the stylish Mustang, ironically based on the Falcon, too.
In fact, although GM had a few brief flings with some interesting vehicles, I’d go so far as to say that it wouldn’t be over a half century later and the 2011 Chevrolet Volt that GM would come out with anything as radical as the 1960 Corvair.
The 53 Stude Starliner hardtop was 56 5/16 inches in height, so roughly 5 inches taller than the Corvair. Stii, quite a feat with old fashioned sitting-atop-frame construction.
I didn’t snap a picture, but there was a Ford Model A (the 2nd Model A) parked next to a similar Chevy Corvair at the local cars and coffee this morning. I was really struck by the contrast in the automotive evolution between the two, especially their overall heights and H points. I think it’s interesting that vehicles are returning to heights that were common before the mid fifties. I’d say a new Ford Escape/Edge/Explorer are probably pretty close in height to that 1928 Model A parked next to the Corvair.
Personally, I loved the Corvair convertibles. I’d love to get a ’64 Monza and a ’66 base convertibles they were THE perfect car to get around cities like Montreal and Portland, and for a 60’s car sipped Petrol. I hope to get them soon when I graduate from College.
I’ll take the 1959 Edsel Corsair convertible in redwood poly on the far left, please.
Poor little thing has those sad blanks instead of backup lights, although the trim indicates it’s the deluxe (700 I think) model.
Paul, this and the beach photo are great. Please keep at it, and thanks!
Is the Vair already leaking oil? It’s either shadowing but my experience says it’s blowback coming out of the rear lower air exhaust. Hope it’s warranty work!
As an aside, that is a sweet mid-century modern restaurant these cars have pulled up to. I wonder where it is/was? Reminds me of the newer HoJo’s with that band of windows on the right, like the ones we used to visit on the PA Turnpike back in the 70s.
And I recall the classic 57 Chevy was exactly 60 inches tall, so the Corvair just 3 model years later was quite low in comparison.
My 98 Nissan Frontier 2wd pickup is 63 inches tall, and just as in the Tri-Five Chevys, you simply slide right into the driver’s seat, no ducking or climbing.
Those days, the late fifties early sixties American design was leading tghe world, Pininfarina; the great Pininfarina’s creation from that era were all American inspired with small fins, look at the Austin Cambridge/Lancia Flamminia/ 404 Peugeot/FIAT 1800.
And then came Corvair, a game changer in het design world, a low wide car, little chrome and the wide body, a floating roof and a low waisteline.
I believe trhe Corvair has been the basis for modern design, most sixties designers like Paul Bracq, Louis Bionnier (who created the Panhard BT24 series) Claus Luthe NSU Prinz ( a shrunken Corvair) and R0 80, Rover man David Bache all were admirers of the Corvair’s shape.
I still believe tghe Corvair deserves a place in automotive design history next to Citroën’s DS and NSU’s R0 80, actually it should be positioned right bang in the middle of these two cars.
I think this was taken in New Jersey.
The only problem with the Corvair being so low is that today’s drivers don’t see it. I have a ’64 coupe and I long ago lost count of how many people turned uncomfortably close in front of me. Drivers are sitting in higher vehicles and seem to be focusing on about beltline height for a new F-150, which is above the Corvair’s roof.
I like the first photo ! .
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I remember scenes like that clearly .
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I thought the 700 series was the base model Corvair, my ’61 was a 700 with Power Glide slush box and _nothing_ else ~ I had to score a Delco AM radio out of a junker to get tunes in it .
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The base model 140 C.I. (IIRC) twin carby engine , when properly tuned , made those light little cars zip right along so if your ’63 is slow, it needs help .
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The oil leaks are time consuming and filthy to address but not overly difficult ~ use Viton O-Rings (they’re brown) and some red RTV to make a good job of it ~ my ’61’s engine was clapped out and blew oil out around the dipstick so I capped it with a rubber cap and it didn’t mark its spot anywhere .
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Good little cars, kinda touchy steering and the early swing axles that liked to tuck the rear tires up on their sidewalls and flip the car if you weren’t careful but I ran mine flat out most of the time and never had any issues .
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Only 25MPG though, that was expen$ive for me at the time with house payments and Child to support .
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-Nate
The late actor Ernie Kovacks was killed in his Corvair after he swerved on a mountain road flipping the car and ejecting him. GM knew about the deadly dangers of the rear swing axels on Corvair’s, yet they kept silent about it. Thank goodness for the brave, intelligent, safety advocates like Ralph Nader who fought the villains in the auto industry making them accountable for their misgivings to the unsuspecting consumer.