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A Corvair Primer - Corvairs for Beginners

This is meant to be a primer in the schoolbook sense, not the slate grey paint sense.

When I looked online, trying to learn about Corvairs, I found all kinds of sites with wonderful information about the history of the car, the technical wizardry, why the owners love them, etc.,  etc.  What I never found was a site that told me what I was looking at and how I could recognize it.  I had to more or less make this up as I went along.

For many people who are very well-versed in what the Corvair is, how one tells a Monza from a Corsa, a Loadside from a Rampside, or a 110 engine from a 140, there won't be much new (but please read this anyway and help me debug it).  For the newbies, this will introduce you to the basics.

Developing this part of the site will take a while and will be completed in fits and starts.  In the early going, a lot of the pictures I use for examples will be 'borrowed' from places like eBay.  I will replace them with shots of my own as I get some.  If you see something of yours and wish it removed, please let me know.  Or, better, if you have a picture to share, send it along.  I will also try to link to  sites that have examples of the vehicles in question.

For the most part, I am going to focus on visual cues.  Realize that nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to details.  For everything I talk about here, there will be a car on which it has been fudged, altered or removed.  When all is said and done, the only way to truly know what you are looking at is to run the numbers.  There is an online Corvair VIN decoder, which is worth a look.  Other body tags will tell you about the proper engine/drivetrain, colours, etc.  Everything is there if you can read the numbers.

FIRST SERIES - the "Early Models" - 1960-64

The basics: The Corvair is introduced in late 1959 as a 1960 model.  The big three are responding to European imports (like the Bug) and North American independents like Studebaker and Rambler.  The styling was a little unusual, and, depending on one's taste, either had a nice European sensibility or just looked kind of odd.  Anyone who considers the 1960 Corvair to be a little ungainly, just take a quick look at the Falcon, Valiant, Lark, and American.  Though I am actually after a "Late Model", the early model is growing on me.  If I can get a second of these someday, I might go for a '64.

1960 - coming soon.