Chevrolet Corvair: Encyclopedia II - Chevrolet Corvair - History

Chevrolet Corvair - History

The Corvair name originated as a fastback show car in 1954, which, like many Chevy concept cars of the period, were based on the Corvette, including the Chevrolet Nomad and Chevrolet Impala. The design was championed by Ed Cole, Chevrolet chief engineer in the early 1950s and general manager in the late 1950s, as an answer to the growing popularity of small, lightweight imported cars.

The early 1960 models were conceived as economy cars, and had boxy styling, basic trim, and few amenities to keep prices down despite the relatively expensive and unique powertrain. A novel feature available for two-doors was a fold-down rear seat, included on some higher-level models. Passenger compartment heat was supplied by a gasoline heater mounted in the luggage compartment. The line quickly grew from plain, four-door sedans with bench seats (the base 500 and slightly more upscale 700) to the Monza 900, a two-door coupe with bucket seats and plush trim introduced late in the model year. Optional was a more powerful engine rated at 95 horsepower, thanks to a more radical camshaft and low-restriction exhaust. Despite its late introduction, the Monza sold 12,000 copies, making it one of the most popular Corvairs.

Chevrolet Corvair - 1961

For 1961 Chevrolet added an optional four-speed manual transmission to augment the standard three-speed manual and optional two-speed automatic. The Corvair engine received its first size increase to 145 in³, courtesy of a slight increase in bore size. The base engine was still rated at 80 hp (60 kW) when paired with the manual transmissions and 84 hp (63 kW) when mated to the optional automatic transmission. The high-performance engine was rated at 98 hp (73 kW). The standard heater was changed from the gasoline heater to engine cooling air ducted into the passenger compartment. The gasoline heater remained an option through 1964.

A station wagon, the Lakewood, was also added to the lineup in 1961, and it contained a total of 68 ft³ (1.9 m³) of cargo room — 58 in the main passenger compartment, and another 10 in the "trunk" under the hood. Engine heat and gasoline odors migrating up through the floor of the station wagon proved to be a persistent problem, and the wagon was relatively short-lived.

That same year, Chevrolet also introduced the Corvair 95 line of light-duty truck, which used the Corvair driveline and were forward-control, with the driver sitting over the front wheels, as in the Volkswagen Type 2. The Corvan model was available in a myriad of configurations as both a panel van and a window van. There were also two models of pickup available. The Loadside was a fairly typical pickup of the era, except for the rear engine, forward controls, and a strange pit in the middle of the bed, The more popular pickup was the Rampside model, which, as its name implies, had a large fold-down ramp on the side of the pickup bed. Rampsides were used by the Bell System because of the ease with which cable reels could be rolled in and out of the bed.

The Greenbrier Sportswagon used the same body as the Corvan with window option, but was marketed as a station wagon like the Lakewood, and was available with trim and paint options similar to the cars, arguably making it the first American Minivan.

Continuing from the end of the previous year was the Monza, heavily promoted and sometimes considered "the poor man's Porsche." The Monza was expanded to a four-door as well as a two-door coupe, and garnered around 144,000 sales.

Chevrolet Corvair - 1962 – 1963

In 1962, Chevrolet introduced the 150 hp (112 kW) turbocharged Monza Spyder, making the Corvair one of the first two production automobiles to come with a turbocharger as a factory option, (with the Oldsmobile F-85 Turbo Jetfire of the same year). The Super Deluxe Monza Spyder introduced improved brakes and suspension, and a multi-gauge instrument cluster which included a tachometer, cylinder head temperature gauge and intake manifold pressure gauge. A convertible option was added as well. The 1963 model year saw the end of the Lakewood station wagon and Loadside pickup, and the availability of a long 3.08 gear for improved fuel economy, but the Corvair otherwise remained largely the same as in 1962.

Chevrolet Corvair - 1964

Significant engineering and safety changes occurred in 1964, while the bodies and models available remained the same.

The lineup remained relatively unchanged for the 1964 model year, with the exception of the engine growing from 145 to 164 in³ (2.3 to 2.7 L)due to an increase in stroke; the base power growing from 80 to 95 hp (60 to 70 kW), and the high performance engine growing from 95 to 110 hp (70 to 80 kW). The Spyder engine remained rated at 150 hp (112 kW)despite the displacement increase of the engine. The Rampside pickup was discontinued at the end of the model year.

1964 also saw a critical improvement in the Corvair's suspension; the car's swing axle rear suspension's tendency to lose traction suddenly and without warning when pushed to the limit was tamed by use of an additional transverse leaf spring coupling both rear wheels. The change was insisted upon by new Chevrolet general manager Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen, who according to contemporary John DeLorean had to threaten to resign in order to get the change approved.

However, a young lawyer named Ralph Nader had written a book called Unsafe at Any Speed in which the 1960-63 Corvair (and its purported greater tendency to roll over) was used as a dramatic case study. Even though a 1972 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety commission study ultimately exonerated the Corvair and declared it no more unsafe than any similar vehicle of its era, Nader's book, which was published in 1965, dealt a severe blow to sales of the Corvair line. The sporty, inexpensive Ford Mustang, based on the conventionally designed Ford Falcon and introduced in late 1964 in response to the Corvair, ultimately finished off Chevrolet's bold experiment.

Chevrolet Corvair - 1965

A dramatic redesign of the Corvair body and suspension and several powerful new engines came in 1965. The new body style lay somewhere between that of a baby Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a mid-1960s Italian sports car and foreshadowed the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro that eventually replaced the Corvair. A new fully independent suspension similar to that used on the Corvette replaced the original swing axle rear suspension.

The previous 150 hp (112 kW) Monza Spyder was replaced by the normally-aspirated 140 hp (104 kW) Corsa and the 180 hp (134 kW) Corsa Turbo. The Corsa came with more instruments on the panel and a short throw shifter when equipped with the manual transmission. The standard equipment Corsa 140 horsepower (104 kW) engine was notable for the fact that the engine used 4 single-throat carburetors, larger valves, and dual exhaust — the factory's response to a modification which hot-rodders had been making since the car first appeared; it was available as an option on other Corvair trim levels. The base 95 hp (71 kW) and 110 hp (82 kW) high performance engines were carried forward from 1964 for the 500 and Monza models.

By this point, the more utilitarian station wagon, Panel Van, and pickup body styles had all been dropped in favor of the sportier coupe, hardtop sedan and convertible styles. 1965 would be the last year for the Greenbrier window van, which was retained only because of a few fleet orders, with less than 2000 being built. Chevrolet replaced the Corvair-based vans with the Chevrolet Sportvan/GMC Handi-Van, which used a traditional front engine/rear drive axle borrowed from the Chevy II.

Chevrolet Corvair - 1966 – 1969

The 1966 lineup remained essentially unchanged from 1965, and sales began to decline as a result of Nader's book, the popular (and cheaper) new Mustang, and rumors of the upcoming Camaro. The sales decline was also accelerated by a decision at GM to discontinue further development of the Corvair. One change of note was a more robust 4 speed synchromesh transmission for 1966, using the standard Saginaw gear set used by other GM vehicles. The new transmission was capable of handling more stress, though generally wasn't as smooth shifting as the earlier transmission. Also, the gear ratios were carried over from other GM cars, and were not optimal for a street-driven Corvair. A small flexible plastic air dam was installed below the front apron to alleviate problems with front-end lift at high speeds. It is a popular retrofit to the 1965 models both for functional and aesthetic reasons.

In 1967 the Camaro was introduced and the Corvair line was trimmed to the base 500 sedan and coupe, and the Monza sedan, coupe and convertible. The 140 hp (104 kW) and 180 hp (134 kW) engine options were deleted as well, although the 140 HP option would be later reintroduced as a Regular Production Option and would remain available until Corvair production ended.

In 1968 the line was trimmed even further to just the coupe and convertible, and sales were down to 15,400. This model year was the first equipped with true collapsible steering columns, a final response to one of the most valid safety criticisms.

Corvair production finally ceased in 1969 with sales of only 6,000 cars, a victim of Nader's book, Ford's Mustang, and Chevrolet's own Camaro and Nova. Although negative publicity hurt the Corvair, ongoing litigation is believed to have extended the production life of the vehicle, as ending production would have been construed as an admission by General Motors that the product was flawed.

In the 1970s an abortive attempt was made by Corvair tuner John Fitch (driver) to found a company dedicated to acquiring 1965 – 1969 Corvairs in good condition and rebuilding them from the ground up. The finished car was not sold as a restoration, but with newer headlights and taillights and minor mechanical improvements, as a sort of an update. It is not known how many were completed.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki