Chevrolet Corvair

Chevrolet Corvair at a glance

Corvair timeline

First generation (1960–1964): swing axles and the Monza

The first Corvair went on sale for the 1960 model year with a 60 kW (80 hp) engine; in 1960 prices started at US$1,984 for the base coupé, and the 500-series sedan cost US$2,038. Motor Trend made it Car of the Year. The Monza club coupé, added late in the first year, set the course: in 1962 it was the most popular model, with 151,738 of the 292,531 passenger cars built.

A front anti-roll bar became optional in 1962 and standard in 1964. A convertible arrived in spring 1962, the same year the station wagon was dropped. Base prices stayed close to US$2,000 throughout this generation.

The two Wikipedia editions count differently, so both columns are shown.

The air-cooled flat-six

Every Corvair used the same basic engine: an aluminium, air-cooled horizontally opposed six with overhead valves, mounted behind the rear axle. It grew in two steps, from 2,295 cc (140 cu in) to 2,375 cc (145 cu in) in 1961 and 2,683 cc (164 cu in) for 1964.

The Spyder's torque figures and the displacements in cc come from German Wikipedia; the horsepower figures are SAE gross values, so they read higher than modern net ratings. To compare them with today's cars, use our power converter.

Corvair 95: Greenbrier, Corvan and Rampside

From 1961 the flat-six also powered a family of forward-control commercial vehicles with the driver sitting over the front wheels. The Greenbrier was a window van for passengers, the Corvan a panel van, and the Rampside a pickup with a fold-down ramp in the side of the bed, ideal for loading wheeled goods. A conventional Loadside pickup was offered in 1961 and 1962 only.

The Corvan and the pickups ended in 1964, and the Greenbrier followed in the 1965 model year after 1,528 final units. Between the first and second El Camino, these Corvair-based models filled Chevrolet's car-based pickup role.

Second generation (1965–1969): Corsa and independent rear

The 1965 Corvair was all new: pillarless two- and four-door hardtops and a convertible, all without a B-pillar. Its rear suspension now used a fully independent layout with coil springs, similar in concept to the Corvette Sting Ray. The sporty Corsa replaced the Spyder, with either a 104 kW (140 hp) engine on four single-barrel carburettors or a 134 kW (180 hp) turbo.

Prices started at US$2,022 for a 1965 500 coupé, while a Corsa convertible cost US$2,608. Sales nevertheless fell fast after a strong first year. Octane names the reasons: Chevrolet stopped major Corvair development and concentrated on the Camaro, partly because of the Ford Mustang, while Ralph Nader's book raised doubts about the earlier cars' handling.

The four-door hardtop was dropped after 1967 and the Corsa after 1966, although the 104 kW (140 hp) engine returned as a regular option in 1968. In the last year a 1969 Monza convertible cost US$2,641.

Corvair prices by model year

German Wikipedia preserves the factory price lists, which show how the range moved upmarket. In 1960 the cheapest car was the 500 coupé at US$1,984, the 700 sedan cost US$2,103 and the Monza 900 coupé US$2,238. By 1965 the cheapest model, again a 500 coupé, cost US$2,022, while the new Corsa coupé was listed at US$2,462 (1965) and the Corsa convertible at US$2,608 (1965).

The spread between the basic and the sporty versions stayed at a few hundred dollars. Outside North America the Corvair was assembled in South Africa, Mexico, Venezuela, Belgium, Denmark and in Biel, Switzerland, where a four-door 700 was built for European customers.

Nader, the 1972 study and the end

Unsafe at Any Speed (1965) criticised the handling of the first-generation Corvair with its swing axles; Octane notes that the earliest cars, without a front anti-roll bar, were sensitive to tyre pressures. The book helped the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and hurt Corvair sales. In 1972 a study carried out by Texas A&M University for NHTSA concluded that the 1960–1963 Corvair's handling "does not result in an abnormal potential for loss of control or rollover". By then the car had been out of production for three years.

Buying a Corvair today

Octane's buying guide of April 2024 describes the engines and gearboxes as durable when maintained. Overheating is rare and usually a sign of neglect, while dropped valve seats are a growing problem, so a car with rebuilt cylinder heads is a plus. Rust is the main concern: check the lower windscreen surround, the battery tray, wheel arches, sills and floor, and look for poor repairs. Early cars without a front anti-roll bar need correct tyre pressures.

Octane put good examples of regular versions at £6,000–£10,000 in 2024 (about €7,000–€11,700), with turbocharged Spyders and Corsas from £30,000 (about €35,000). Second-generation cars are generally more sought-after than the first.