THIS beautiful car has gone to a new home in South Carolina. Although I did hate to see it go, building the Corvair family has always been at the root of what we do.
Purchased this car in 2013 in Oklahoma. It had belonged to some Iowa Club members who sold it into Arkansas, then it went to OK where we found it. I was looking for a power top. My beloved Monza had a manual top, very difficult to put up by myself.
White, with white top and black and white interior, it was on the boring side. A 140hp car, it was a 3 speed. Unusual, but if you didn't spend the extra $50, this is what came with the Corsa package unless you paid the extra for a 4 speed. Interesting.
A clean slate for whatever color, it was agony selecting what to put on the car. The day before the paint went on, I still wasn't sure.
Chevy did not put Tropic Turquoise with a white interior. We thought it would be striking and it sure is. We did a reveal video
and didn't tell anyone what color we had chosen. What fun.
We rocked this car out in record time, for us. About 6 weeks from
start to finish...or almost finished..the new top was installed
a couple months after the car was finished.
First trip was from Iowa to Helen GA for Springfest.
70mph 24.5 mpg, the car drove like a dream.
2018 we decided to have an engine built for the car. ALL new internals, pistons, sleeves, 270 cam, bearings, THE WORKS. The original engine ran ok, but it was tired. The result was stunning. John has experimented with exhaust and achieved a real throaty sound for the car that causes people at shows to ask, "WHAT is in that Corvair?" John loved to lift the lid saying, "so, you've never seen a V8 in a Corvair? Well, you STILL haven't!" People would laugh and marvel that it was STILL a Corvair engine. 2019 saw the complete drive train rebuilt, the engine featuring heads by expert Tom Knoblouch of Texas who worked with Rob during the engine build to get just the right fit. Tom declared, "Drive the car, you will never drop a valve seat!" Well, here in 2026, it holds true. The car has been driven thousands of happy miles, 24.5 miles a gallon, which is awesome, and nary an issue!.
