I grew up in a Corvair household. It was the very first car I ever drove. My father was a huge fan of the car and owned dozens of them over the 60's and 70's. Just 2 of the Greenbrier vans were bought new, all the rest were used and in need of repair. At one point we had 9 Corvairs in the yard including 2 Greenbrier vans, a Rampside pickup, corsas, spyders and monzas, 3 of which were rag tops. The only model type he never had was the Lakewood wagon. He would buy them junked, fix 'em up and sell them. I can't tell you how many times I watched him swap engines out of 1 wrecked car into a usable body by himself in an afternoon in the driveway. The engine had a very unique sound that could be identified easily. Us boys always knew when dad was coming home from work from over the hill and a half mile away. Good memories.
Awesome Comment !! I remember driving around Massachusetts and seeing “Corvair Mechanic “ signs ! I also remember “some “ people putting a fake radiator grill on the front !
I have watched scores of these episodes and Jay, if I may say, I really appreciate the kindness and courtesy you display to each person who owns or has sold you the car, whether celebrity, or just a local Fireman, you treat them all the same, very relatable to normal people who just love cars! Great Job!
@m.erosson2758 Jay Leno Statement of "Firemen being Honest" is the statement of someone who has Never suffered a House Fire. my Mother owned a three Flat (Story) Building here in Chicago and she feels the responding Chicago firemen Unnessasarily caused too much damage to one of the units putting out the fire (Way to Much Water used) and the firemen Stole her tenants Jewelry! i guess they figured It was Covered by Insurance (Tenant had No Tenant Insurance) so Tenant was SOL. I don't think my Mothers Tenant would think the word "Honest" Applies to Fireman.
Great to hear Jay speak so fondly of Corvair, as my father was a real enthusiast. As far as I know, he never had a Yanko Stinger, but he did own a lot of the make over the years.
Jay Leno is the man, car guy, doesn't forget where he comes from. Doesn't claim to be something he isn't, just a real enthusiast. You Sir, to me, fall in with Paul Newman, James Garner and Steve McQueen. A car guy, who stands in front of a camera from time to time. Thank you for these shows and keep up the excellent work.
@@jjs777fzr Racing Garner was an owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) auto racing team from 1967 through 1969.[69] Motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director Andy Sidaris teamed with Garner for the racing documentary The Racing Scene, filmed in 1969 and released in 1970.[70] The team fielded cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring endurance races, but is best known for Garner's celebrity status raising publicity in early off-road motor-sports events.[69] In 1978, he was one of the inaugural inductees in the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.[69] Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC).[71] His shops prepared ten 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race.[72] Garner did not drive in this event because of a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, taking three of the top five places in the sedan class.[73] Garner also drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985 (see: list of Indianapolis 500 pace cars).ormhof.org/inductees/1978/
ormhof.org/james-garner/ As a famous actor, James Garner brought much needed publicity to off-road racing in the early years of sports development when it needed the attention the most. James Garner was born James Scott Baumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, April 7, 1928 to Weldon Warren Baumgarner and Mildred Meek; his father worked as a carpet layer. As a young man, Garner worked numerous jobs including a stint at a gas station. At the age of 16, he joined the Merchant Marine. He then joined the National Guard. The U.S. Military drafted him to serve in the Korean War, where he received the Purple Heart. Garner attended University of Oklahoma. He became interested in acting and studied the art at Herbert Bergoff Studios, New York. Garner enjoyed a long and successful acting career with appearances on stage, television and in movies, winning the Emmy Award in 1977 and 1986. His career began with the stage production The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, in the early 1950s. Following, Warner Brothers offered him a contract. In 1956, he made his film debut in Toward the Unknown. He is perhaps most recognized for his title role in the television show Maverick which ran from 1957-62 and for his title role in The Rockford Files, NBC-TV, 1974-79. He acted in the movie The Great Escape in 1963 with fellow Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductees actor Steve McQueen and stuntman Bud Ekins. In 1966, he appeared in the automobile racing movie Grand Prix. Beyond the screen in “real life” Garner also actively participated in auto racing both on-road and off-road. He drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions in 1975, 1977 and 1985. He owned the American International Racing team, from 1967 through 1969; team members raced in both Daytona and Sebring. Garner participated in many off-road races as a driver. His presence often brought a touch of publicity to the sport, while still being treated as an “everyday-man” by his fellow racers. He attended the first Stardust 7-11 in Las Vegas. There, he co-drove with Scooter Patrick in a Porsche-powered Manx owned by John Crean. The men did not finish the race. His presence at the 1968 NORRA Mexican 1000 helped to generate publicity for the event and coverage on ABC’s show the Wide World of Sports. In 1972, Garner raced the Banshee, a vehicle built for him by fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Vic Hickey. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in the vehicle, despite the fact that he crashed the car towards the end of the event. He also placed the car in the top five at a number of races. Hickey said of Garner “The thing about Garner was that, while he wasn’t the world’s most fearless driver, he had the best retention of any man who drove for me. On a pre-run, if he hit a bump, he come back five days later andwould tell you where it was within ten feet.” Garner had a history of involvement with humanitarian and other causes he believed in. In 1963, he helped organize Martin Luther King’s March in Washington for Civil Rights and visited the troops in Vietnam in 1967. He was a member of the National Support Committee of the Native American Rights Fund and the National Advisory Board of the United States High School Golf Association. He was involved with the Save the Coast movement to stop offshore drilling in California. One of his more recent endeavors was his involvement with the Save the Children organization. Garner is an inductee in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Cowboy Hall of Fame. James married Lois Clarke, who already had a daughter named Kimberly. James and Lois had Greta Gigi Scoot Garner together in 1958.
1972, Garner raced the Banshee, a vehicle built for him by fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Vic Hickey. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in the vehicle, despite the fact that he crashed the car towards the end of the event. He also placed the car in the top five at a number of races. Hickey said of Garner “The thing about Garner was that, while he wasn’t the world’s most fearless driver, he had the best retention of any man who drove for me. On a pre-run, if he hit a bump, he come back five days later andwould tell you where it was within ten feet.
Garner played “Rockford” on the tee vee show. The character owned a Pontiac TransAm painted goldish bronze. A plain Jane model but I always loved the trans am styling. Very cool.
I had a corvair as a first car. British racing green, super charger, 2 door, wooden steering wheel. Loved it. Best driving car I've ever had. The only problem was the engine would fall out of it if I downshifted at high Rpms. My Dad would tow it home and fix it. He was a great Mechanic with a love for cars from the 40s and 50s.
Yup. Drove a 1965 and I owned a 1969 Monza, one of the last, and designed the Corvair Society of America (“CORSA”) oval sticker on the driver’s side rear window of this Yenko.
Did NOT KNOW this car existed. (One of the few downsides of being a Canadian). RUST was an enormous issue for Corvair in urban Canada, due of course to our climate and the profound use of salt on our urban streets and main highways. My father's 1966 (regular top model) was remarkably well built. Doors, hood, boot etc fit beautifully, all of which helped to accentuate the magnificent, subtle, lines of this vehicle. Not popular in northern, 'snow-belt regions' due to the fact this automobile was definitely not built for snow. Regardless of the fact the engine and 'powering wheels' were both in the back, the great void in the front tended to make this car very unstable on snow and ice. Coupled with rapid brake-fade, it really was more for spring/summer/fall driving. My maternal grandfather was a design engineer for Ford of Canada from 1912-1935 (he died at only 51). So my Dad's purchase of this GM automobile was surprising. But, regardless of Mr. Nadar's condemnation, my Dad thought this automobile was unique in both styling and power plant. Our 19641//2 Mustang was far more adaptable to winter driving in Canada. Dad had both cars 'Zeibart' ed, (the earliest rust-proofing company in America and still going today) so both cars were kept in immaculate condition. Never driven in the winter, (save for a bi-monthly 20-mile hike on good winter days to prevent garage rot), Jay is correct in mentioning that the Corvette was nearly immune to being left indoors for long periods of time. The Mustang remains in the family. However, in 1990, I sold the 1966 Corvair to an absolute enthusiast whom I knew would take good care of this immaculately preserved car. (only 11,248 miles on the odometer at point of sale). The Mustang was 'upgraded' in 1996 with the interior being converted to full leather, but keeping the original design pattern as much as was possible. I suppose this disqualifies the car as a true, 100% original, but stepping into the Mustang today reminds me of stepping into a top model Vauxhall or Austin of the early fifties -- that wonderful, English smell of leather suffuses the interior. Save for the upgraded seating, door inserts and dash, the car is otherwise 100% original or original replacement parts. Like Jay, I personally love round backlights. Ford embraced this in their early 1960s models in the 1961, 1962 and 1963 Ford models and of course its early 60's 4 seater Thunderbirds with their huge 'rocket-like,' tail-lights. As for the Yenko Stinger Covairs, (serial 54) was wholly unknown to me. Happy to hear that of the original 100 produced, it is good to know that some 60+ of these cars are believed to still exist. Thanks for your coverage, Jay. Your encyclopedic knowledge of automobiles adds so much to our understanding of the cars of the 20th-century. Better still, these excellent programs will continue to influence future generations. It is good to think that after retiring at the top of the entertainment industry, you reinvested that success into an entirely new career that will go on to provide this and generations-yet-to-come, with a cohesive history of the Age of the Gasoline-Propelled Automobile. I sincerely hope that your incredible collection will be preserved intact, and protected by a major, American Historic Institution.
hi jay leno! my name is Christian Renaud,from North Grosvenordale Connecticut, i am a big fan of Corvairs, my grandfather gave me his 1965 110 hp 2 door coupe on my 14th birthday, it was in rough condition needed a new windshield and windshield frame, we decided after going to a place called Clarks Corvairs in Sheldon falls Massachusetts, that we are going to restore it. i am now 15 and we are about 80% done with our restoration, we have been inspired by this video and your Yenko, to paint our corvair to look like yours. i am a huge fan of the handling, it handles like a slot car, and i am very proud of having a special place in my grandfathers heart that reminds him of when he was young, and one day, hope to help him re live his memory of his first corvair.
Christian Renaud hello from putnam. i'd love to see your vair. my best friend in idaho has several corvairs. he introduced me to corvairs back in the 80's and i've loved them since then.
gremlins are hard to find parts for, and a cj 7 is a tad bit expensive, my advice is to go with the jeep, but only bc they are easy to care for and they are fun to crawl with!
I sold the remains of my '68 to Clark's. I hope the cylinder heads, 4 speed posi-track, and Delco AM-FM are enjoying a second life in someone's Corvair.
Northern Outcast I hope you add a liquid cooler system if it's one of the models that didn't come with that, and I also hope you get to drive that to school. It'll be the only one in the parking lot!
What a gorgeous car! Such beautiful, classic lines! I was just 16 years-old when this came out, and I thought it was one of the coolest cars ever -- and, it still is. As Jay notes, one of the great classics. One of the first cars I ever owned was a regular Corvair. I had it for a few years and just loved it, and wanted to "mod" it, but just didn't have the bucks for it. Watching this was really fun and brought back fond memories. Who wouldn't love owning one of these!
When I arrived in Hawaii in 1977 as an 18 year old soldier in the Army, I laid down all my cash on a used car. A 1967 Corvair I paid $350 cash for. It had a 2 speed powerglide trans with the shifter on the dash. I loved the car but it had reliability problems I never fixed. It had an oil leak that would cause smoke to come out of the interior vents, and it was hard to start. I owe my career to that car, literally. Being stationed in Hawaii we were required to take a water survival course at the base pool. My Corvair would not start and I arrived 15 minutes late. The class was already in session with guys in the water. They made me sit on a bench with about 6 guys who couldn’t swim. I’m a SoCal born and raised kid and swam like a fish. Next thing you know a guy came by with a clipboard and wrote down our names because we now had to take a swimming class. I saw it as a fun way to spend my mornings for a few weeks so I played dumb and went along. It turns out I knew the swim instructor and we used to surf together. He told me the following week at the same time at the other end of the pool an Advanced Life Saving class was to begin. So that first week while the other guys were blowing bubbles and picking pennies off the bottom of the shallow end, I was practicing my rescue strokes. When the classes were over, they were beginning swimmers and I now had my Advanced Life Saving Card, that made me eligible to become a lifeguard in the Army. I was a beach lifeguard on Oahu for 12 months. I took my first CPR class. When I received my honorable discharge I went to jr college and took an EMT course. I became an EMT and then went to Paramedic school. I became a Paramedic and was now exposed to the fire service. I became a fireman. I’ve been a fireman/paramedic for 35 years now about to retire and I owe it all to my Blue 1967 Chevy Corvair. I’d love to own another.
That's a really cool story. I love how cars can impact so many peoples lives in this such manner and literally define who they become. What you told is a prime example of how the automotive culture is so integral to the human way of life. Who'd have thought that cars were going to completely re-pave how humanity experiences life.
Thanks for the memory, we took my friends mother's Corvair Monza Spider out to a trial day for a competitive Autocross meet. Taped up the head lights looked cool, but had no idea what we were doing. Later in Life ran an early Miata Mx5, won a couple, and the thrill never goes away!
This channel, more than anything else has defined Jay Leno. You can't judge a book buy it's cover but you can tell alot about a man by what's in his garage. The quality of work, the attention to detail and Mr. Leno's passion for autos is an inspiration to gear heads everywhere. If I could make one addition to my bucket list it would be the privilege to visit this automotive shrine in person. Thanks Jay!
Agree 100%. I'd _LOVE_ to see Jay's collection. I wish there was a way. Maybe he could have docents do the walk-around, so it wouldn't impose on Jay himself too much.
Does Jay ever read the comments? I'd like to think that he does, I'm just really glad someone with a lot of money who enjoys cars is actually willing to show it to us, for free, on youtube.
Crimbly Crimbo he not showing them to us for free exactly, at least not enough n th sense you mean. Sure, you do t have to pay to see the, on RUclips but the where near made for free nor dies he not make money off the RUclips channel. As these where originally made first, for as a web show available on an NBC website that was advertising supported, and later it moved to CNBC started, in a longer full length tv show format, (also partly ad supported, partly cable fee supported). Later clips from the show where uploaded to RUclips, which pays a share of the ad revenue to the production company of the show (I.e. monetization). Leno most certainly gets paid for doing the TV show via a contract and likely part of 5hat comes fromRUclips ad revenue.. So no one is doing this for free in this sense you mean, It’s more like “free” in the same sense that any broadcast/over-the-Air tv show is “free”, at least to viewers.
Crimbly Crimbo: Yes he reads and responds. Courteous, compassionate and loving. When I watch Jay I too reminisce and am transported to a higher realm. Jay is like finding an exquisite family gem. Instantly captured with his multifaceted dazzling display of knowledge. He is unsurpassed in his humanity. He does read and answer. He possesses the traits and character we can all aspire to.
Really nice example of one of the quirkiest cars ever to come out of GM. It’s mind boggling that the designers and engineers ever got this car past the bean-counters. Such a cool design. And Yenko working his magic on it just makes it that much better. Excellent!
Ridiculous, ignorant statement. Unsafe at Any Speed was not a book about the Corvair. So, you show your ignorance by the fact you haven’t read it. Furthermore if you had read it, you would know it was in reference to the 60-63 Corvair with swing arm suspension. 1965-69 Corvairs full IRS suspension and handles beautiful. .9g of lateral acceleration in the skidlad. Don Yenko went to GM, Not GM to Don Yenko. Last NHTSA out all of Ralph Naders nonsense to rest in an extensive 2 year study fully exonerating the 60-63 Corvair. www.corvair.org/index.php/history-and-preservation/unsafe-at-any-speed
What an awesome, beautiful and rare car. Thanks so much for sharing this one. My dad owned examples of both 1st generation and 2nd generation Corvairs back in the 60's. Because of the family connection, and the fact that I find the Corvair to be incredibly fascinating from a historical perspective, I considered buying a 2nd Gen car myself a number of years ago. I accumulated a lot of great documentation when few others were interested in these cars. Some great books, catalogs, magazines, tuning guides, etc.. But as it turned out my collective automobile/motorcycle interests ultimately lead me in other directions. A little more than a year ago a friend of mine told me about a someone who he knew that had a young son who had developed a strong interest in Corvairs and ended up buying one to restore and use as his first car. I thought that this was exceptionally cool. I told my friend that I had a treasure trove of documents to give the kid. Upon searching for my stash I was saddened to find just one book. But the kid was still happy to get his hands on anything having to do with these cars. About a month ago I finally ran across all of the other materials that I had just assumed were lost while moving at some point in the past. Around 20 pounds of documents in all. I'm really happy to pass all of it along to a young fan of these cars representing a new generation of gearheads. It's not like I'm all that old (late 50's), but I would love to see more young people taking an interest in older cars in general and the Corvair specifically before the ICE is no longer with us and everyone is driving electric vehicles instead.
Back in the days I owned two Corvairs (a '65 and a '66) - both with the 4-carb Corsa engine. I adored them. A lot of fun! Being a sort of wild young a-hole, I'd scare the hell out of passengers by kicking the back end out on a corner and recovering with a bit of opposite lock. They were convinced they were gonna die. But they became convinced that they were a beautiful handling car. Even the drum brakes worked very well. My Corvair career ended when the one I retained was written off in a rear ender - while it was parked. A "poor man's" Porsche is no lame statement in the vid. That's what my friends called them at the time. The Corsa carbed engine was faster than the turbo from 0-60, but after that the turbo would spool up and the extra 40 horses would leave me sucking dust
I had a '67 Turbo Corsa 4-speed. I really loved taking it up in the mountains bc at high elevations the turbo would just keep on pumpin' plenty of air while the carbureted engines of the day were starving for o2. Even hot rods couldn't keep up. I can still remember the sound of those V8s roaring; could hear them downshift and the secondaries open wide while getting about 1 mile per gallon. It was like driving an airplane!
+Chaleco Salvavides The trouble is Yenko put that ugly sail panel on the back, which detracts from the beautiful top lines. I had two 64 Spyders, one a convertible, and one 66 two door 110hp and automatic. I have always liked the second generation better, watching anything about Corvair makes me want to get another one.
505197 - I really liked this car when I was a kid. Owning a Yenko would be incredible, but I'd be happy with a lower end model. I think it's just a great looking automobile.
I owned a '65 and a '66 - the latter being preferred. Both were the 4-carb, 140 horse version. I have driven some cool cars - the 140 horse Corvair remains one the most fun machines I have ever driven. I think the body was designed by Ghia. Excellent, totally predictable handling. It was so infectious that when on a twisty road in the mountains I would wish it would never end. Good on ya' Jay for celebrating this historic car.
my dad hated ordering cars. he'd want to drive right off the lot. so we got a 4-carb 140 hp 1965 corvair. great sports car. I could beat all my buds on the curvy country roads.
Not really, I had a 63 Spyder and i would get the revs up just to the point where the turbo was starting to spool, usually around 2800 rpm. You didn't pop the clutch but rode is slightly, it would get out of first gear about the same as a 327 Corvette. Once you hit second it was wave bye bye because the Corvette was up to the power curve.
I love that now he has more time for the important things, his garage! and the best part about jay is that he drives all his cars and keeps them in great condition.
What's going on with the side glass, with the massive C-pillar, small side window, but what appears to be the stock drip rail? It almost looks like a sedan roof on a coupe body.
@@kimisdaman Yenko raced these Corvairs on Sports Car tracks in the 1960's, and the 'massive C-pillar' stiffened the frame which helped handling, particularly on the winding, hilly, sports car tracks. I remember seeing them in the SCCA Regional races, many times they would beat Corvettes, which really shocked the 'vette owners. The Corvair got a bad rap from the early 60 - 64 years, which were economy cars with poor suspension. In '65 and up to '69 they had greatly improved suspension and the handling was no more dangerous than a Porshe, VW, or any other rear engined car. The worst mistake Chevy made with the air-cooled engine was using cheap rubber seals for the pushrod tubes, valve covers, etc. which caused major oil leaks. Higher temps that air-cooled engines run at require that you use high-temp silicone seals as aircraft engines use. If you use the better seals you seldom have oil leak problems.
@@WJV9 Late '60's - I was hitchhiking and was picked up by some guy in a corvair. The corvair then blew up. I got a job in Honolulu, and the boss had a corvair van. I rode in it twice times, and it blew up. Corvairs failed to make a positive impression on me. Air cooled engines are inferior to water cooled engines. The Corvair was a failed vehicle, and an embarrassment to American enterprise, since it was supposed to be the answer to the Beetle. This car was a product of an unfortunate corporate culture that fused cheapness with arogance and produced cars like the Dodge Omni, Chevy Vega and a huge T-bird that rode like a boat.
@@The_DC_Kid 2 seperate vehicles, one in Hawaii and one in California. I've only taken 3 rides in Corvair's, and they have failed to impress me in way shape or form. The body style is reminiscent of the best of Communist East German engineering. That's a cruel thing to say about a car that people form an irrational love for. So, I take it all back. An air cooled engine, nothing better. Corvair - the ultimate chick magnet.
@@The_DC_Kid You've never been in a car where the engine failed? It's not a good feeling. If you were the passenger, like I was, it's still not a good feeling, but the owner is stuck on the side of the road with a car he wished he never bought. Of course, I'm just imagining what the owners of these 2 corvairs felt after the engine blew up...I didn't ask. In my lifetime, I've ridden in 4 vehicles where the engine failed (I won't use the misleading term "blew up"). Three of them had air cooled internal combustion engines. If I were to advise somebody about buying a vehicle, one of things I'd state is make certain the engine is water cooled. BTW - Do they make cars with air-cooled engine anymore?
Dear Jay, I LOVE your RUclips channel, for the simple reason that I can hear the passion you have for the subject you speak about. You are doing much more then just presenting the show, you are bringing these cars alive, by mixing in your own experience and tips.. I will probably never use those tips, I will never own one of these awesome cars. Still I have watched nearly every video on your channel, and love it when you explain how to start your steam car, how it works, and what makes the car special. It brings us closer to the vehicle, then just watching it as a museum piece. Keep the video's coming, and I will keep watching the beautiful vehicles, and listening to the stories that come with them. With kind regards, Maikel, a fan from The Netherlands.
I couldn't agree more. When you talk about the paper work and all the stuff done to the car, you speak with such passion that only true car guys would know about. I wish there were more people from the younger generation that were into more than just selfies and video games. I'm only 28 but have always been a hands on kind of person and a car nut myself. Keep up the great videos Jay!!
Jay, Here's some history on the Corvair you will never read in any book. When I was a kid, my dad took me and my brother to a car lot that had recently changed owners. This new dealership was not one of the big three, American Motors or VW. This dealership was the home for Mercedes-Bentz, Land Rover, MG and Porsche. The new owner was the same age as my dad and like my father had been stationed at the Naval Air Station and upon discharge, ended up staying. I remember when Ralph Naders "Unsafe At Any Speed" was published. My brother being older with a paper route bought the book. Being a diehard Ford (Shelby GT) fan, he continued to be a Corvair naysayer. Anyway, my dad struck up a friendship with the new owner due to their starts in Gymkhana racing rallies held at local shopping centers usually on early Sunday mornings. One particular day a Corvair entered this gymkhana for that weight class other than 50's vettes which usually raced each other. There really wasn't anything that heavy as most cars were of the Austin-Healy, MG, Triumph and Porsche Speedsters class. The Corvair actually turned in respectable times. This was due to its rear mount engine and improved suspension and superb drifting capability of the Corvair after Naders book. This friend of my father was young and cockey, some would say arrogant as he certainly had a self-assured swagger. Not wanting to be limited to a race against the clock, a challenge was made. In those days the interstate highway stopped a short drive from this shopping center. It was agreed a friendly comparison on the two vehicles would be made on a section of highway already paved for approximately 7/10's of a mile because of a jog (curve). This would allow for some cornering. Upon the appointed time both drivers drove as everyone walked the highway for FOD. After a few practice runs, the race was on. The '68 "poor man's Porsche" and the '67 911. Basically the same engine setup and transaxle, the Chevy held its own leading the first half-mile. It was an almost photo finish with the 911 by a length. Afterwards, the Corvair had earned its street creed over its big brother the Corvette, and with the Deutsche contribution to racing. In the end the deciding factor was attributed to, less weight, equals more horsepower. The new owner of the dealership was Peter H. Gregg, a former navy officer stationed at NAS/JAX. He had purchased this car lot and its name would become synonymous with racing and the most successful dealership in North America - Brumos Porsche located on the SW corner of W.5th & North Main in the Springfield neighborhood on the edge of downtown Jacksonville, FL. The shopping center was Gateway at W.44th & Norwood Ave. The highway was I-95 which ended at Lem Turner & Norwood. Only a few short years later Peter Gregg and Porsche Carrera would dominate Fords GT 40.Years later in 1980 as a Firefighter/Paramedic I responded to a call for a person down. Life being stranger than fiction, the call involved a person who it was determined had taken his life. That person was the man who nearly lost to a Corvair years eariler in a friendly competition to see who had the better car. My father lost a friend and racing lost a legend, but more so a brilliant, if not complicated and conflicted man. Like the cars he drove, Peter H. Gregg was the real deal: "there was no exception".
Not really "ahead of its time" since no one really copied any of this afterwards. How many other rear-engine, air-cooled flat six cars were built in the US, or anywhere, after this? And it isn't like Yenko invented the idea of a lighter, faster car with six or four cylinders, this was a copy of what Europeans were already doing. So I don't see how this was "ahead of if it's time" in any way. You can't even say it foresaw the move of American carmakers to copy European cars more (and in reality they both copied Japanese cars in the end), since it was the Corvair that was copying European cars, the Stinger was based on the Corvair.
@@justforever96 William, in specific reference to the market and the domestic manufacturing of the time, I definitely feel it was. To me what supports it was the introduction of combined technologies not widely deployed in mainstream domestic production at the time. The domestics did not have the same demands to meet as those makers elsewhere. A domestic car with a fully independent suspension, turbocharging, a flat six air cooled engine and a 4-speed stick was in no way the standard of the time. Unless you went with boutique manufacturers who were in no way of the same scale of production at that time. Nor even anywhere close on price. (Porsche) Also, the modular power pack spawned so many different models. Vans, rampsides, Corsa's, etc. I also don't think the Corvair was an outright attempt to copy anything. Perhaps inspired yes, but even Europeans will use technologies others have pioneered if it meets the project goal requirement.
I remember my aunt having one of these back in the early 70's she used to take me and my cousin for rides in it now it wasn't a Yenko Stinger if memory serves me correctly it was a Corsa and I gotta tell you that thing handled very well with pretty good balance and despite what people might think these cars were pretty quick for what they were needless to say I've been a fan of these cars ever since.I once tried to buy one but it was just too far gone it would have taken more than I could afford to bring it back to glory,but maybe one day lol.😀
What a fine tribute to the name and legacy of Swiss race car driver, engineer, and co-founder of Chevrolet, Louis Chevrolet. Corvair really captures the European influence and flavor, combined with American influence. Beautiful sounding, smooth running car! Great echoing roar to the engine! Sadly, it wasn't shown starting up. The rear mounted engine is the same opposing six cylinder engine found in light airplanes, like Cessna, or Beechcraft. This car really does live up to the old motto: "Heartbeat of America."
I remember my first one, a 61. It was great in the snow. A friend of mine I went to school with had a old Chevy, and he would give me a 5 min head start. I'd jump on the " New" interstate and be cruising about 90 mph and he'd pass me like I was stopped. Literally ran that Corvair to death. I got a 63 after that, but had trouble with smoke in the cab, so had to let it go. Went to a Chevelle after that. Still love those old Corvairs.
I just purchased a 66 Monza this week. It's rough but yours gives me hope! BTW, it still has the owner's manual, operator's manual AND the original Protect-o-Plate!
An amazing car; would love to own this car. Looked around before I bought my C4 but only found clones. I think the styling is timeless. Thanks for sharing this beauty with us Jay.
WOW, I love this car. As an Aussie I have never seen one of these close up and only ever heard rather demeaning things about it. What a sound it has and a great looking car.
Yeah it's one of the best parts of the car. It has a very unique, clean sound. It seems to sound a lot better than most 6 cylinder engines, it has a real growl to it. It makes me sad that most people have probably done a V8 conversion because they didn't want to learn about the flat 6.
A lot of Americans never did get what the Corvair was all about. Even on the posts here, there are a lot of comments about being unimpressed with it. See, Americans usually think in terms of muscle and speed, as enthusiasts. We never manufactured anything like an MG or Triumph here, and what people don't get about Corvair is that that car was of that sort, and that's one reason why it was such a historic car. People forget that the Corvair, at that time, was a small car. While it was bigger and more useful than a Triumph, and a family car, it really was in that segment. Road racing, with smaller displacement engines, and an emphasis on handling. Yes, I said handling..While the 1960- 1964 cars were victims of GM budgetary arguments over $15 stabilizer bars, and handled atrociously, from 1965's suspension redesign through to the end of the car's run in 1969, a Corvair was one of the finest-handling cars for road racing anywhere, and would leave a Mustang or Corvette in the dust on a course like Laguna Seca--all because of cornering. When people talk about Corvair being a "poor man's Porsche", they mean this second generation car. It was sweet to drive, using the rear slingshot of weight exactly the same way Porsche does. If the Corvair hadn't developed such public relations problems, or if GM had corrected some of the handling problems sooner then they did, we might today still have our own American air-cooled road racer. Imagine the car with modern electronics, with better fuel delivery, twin turbochargers....Alas!
I think it is yourself that does not understand American cars. European markets were highly regulated meaning manufacturers could only produce certain types of cars. There was not engine limits in the US meaning a manufacturer could build a 7 litre engine if they desired. When manufacturers have that luxury of experimentation they will find out that larger engines are far smoother to drive and allow the car to be large. Mercedes is the only European manufacturer that actually got the bigger engines but there cars were twice the price of a house.
I had a 1965 coupe with the custom Spyder Dashboard ,4 carbs and a the High performance 4 speed manual trans back in my High School days (1975) and I used it for my Pizza delivery boy job. It was a blast to drive, zipping around from one stop to the next. We also have a county park in the area that is designed like a beautiful race track type roadway that surrounds the park, every now and then I would go there in the very early morning and just drive the crap out of it. Lot's of fun :_)
The formerly proposed third generation Corvair was supposed to be strictly a sport coupe somewhat resembling the DatsunZ, but with squinted versions of the 2nd generation Corvair headlights.
My buddy back in the 70's had a Corvair convertible. Fun car. The car of course was air cooled. It leaked oil pretty bad, the oil would burn on the cylinder heads and get blown in the cab by the heater fan. Living in Maine, we rode around with the heat on full blast and the top down in the winter. Wasn't a babe magnet, but we did the best we could.
I don't know much about corvairs, however when I was younger I'm 65 now, I got to go for a ride I believe it was in the 1980s early 1980s! I got to go for a ride in the 66 Corsa with a three rotor all aluminum and titanium Mazda modified motor! I don't think I really need to say more. The car was totally custom tube chassis out with custom suspension and the rotor was set up Mid Engine, do not know transaxle make! What a land rocket!! I grew up in a sports car racing as well as an offshore Pro-Am racing family in Southern Florida, that is still the most radical ride I have ever had! Love the video love this Stinger what a ride
I love the Corvair. My Dad had a Corvair for his 'work car'. As a teenager with a new drivers license driving that car was a blast. My younger brother even bought a Monza as his first car while in high school. I curse Ralph Nader every time a see a Corvair.
Many small cars were built on very similar designs in the early sixties, including the well-loved VW Bug. Somehow it escaped the curse. Both were rear-engined swing axle cars (first-gen Corvair 'til '64, and Bug until 1968 or so double u-joint axle cars)
my favorite thing about this show is that Jay is a REAL car guy... He could do anything he wants and he choses to save cars..... how cool is that? OH WHO AM I TRYING TO FOOL??? I LOVE HIS GARAGE AND IT'S CONTENTS LIKE EVERY OTHER CAR FREAK ON YOUR SITE!!!!! Jay, can you adopt me? i'm 47 so you will not have to house break me.... much.. I'LL SLEEP I THE GARAGE !!!
I had a '66' Corvair with the Spyder engine boosted to 200 hp and a 4 speed. It was light yellow with black interior. Like Jay says they're a great car and handle fantastically...surprisingly sporty. I also had a '67' big block Corvette and '68' big block SS Chevelle at the same time when I had that Spyder and no joke I enjoyed that Corvair every bit as much as those other rods. The thing would scoot. It was a super fun car. Thanx for showing this car Jay!
Yet another car my dad worked on designing too. We had a Corvair, Camaro, Chevelle SS & other "family" Chevys in between. He was a GM Tech designer from the 50's on, in Warren, Michigan. The good old days. Hearing that engine & seeing the beauty of that Corvair...Wow.🇺🇸
I owned a 62 hard top, a 64 convertible, a 65 hard top, a 65 convertible, and a 66 hard top, all 2 door cars. Two of them were 140 horse. Sold the last one in 82. Loved them, fun to drive. My dad said to carry an extra fan belt, and tools to change it ( since that's what kept it cool, the fan), and if your fan belt broke, to stop and replace it. We had very little trouble with them. Thanks Jay, enjoyed it !!!!!
Don Yenko died in a plane crash with Jerry Spear (another Pittsburgh Chevy dealer) in Charlston, WV on March 5th 1987. I was driving my (non-Yenko) Nova that I had bought used from Spear Chevy when I heard it on the radio. It was a sad day for Chevy heads.
my mom knew Don he was a jazz musician and a pilot also she told me a story of her flying in his plane when she said the weather was bad but he said it would be ok ,she said she was scared to death but he joked around saying like were going down and making the engine cut out and telling her to take control of the plane hes having a heart attack or something but it was just in fun but she didnt think it was funny and for him to die in his plane is just a coincidence ?
Corvairs always had a bad review! Nader did his share, but I guess the reason that most folks hated this awesome little American car was the way it leaked oil. Like the old Harley Motorcycle, the pushrod housings peed out oil continuously onto the ground and made life impossible for the neat nicks. To me, an aircraft mechanic, this little engine was really more of an aircraft engine, than an car engine. Go figure, 6 cylinder boxer motor, ran very smooth, power curves were good, and with a little help with fuel delivery and a decent cam, bit more compression, and wha la, you have a hell of a quicky on your hands. The Monza, the supercharged 140 h.p. was a good choice if you took care of it. So now comes time for me to pick an engine for my Zenith 750 S.T.O.L. (short takeoff and landing) aircraft. I wanted 100 h.p., so I could cruise about 80 mph. What did I choose, 1965 Corvair engine out of an automatic coupe. William Wynn is the reason I did choose this. He's the innovator of this engine for aircraft. There are many flying to this day. Reliable, and fuel stingy, too. About 4-5 gallons per hour. William has done exhaustive research, and proven worthy to be an aircraft engine. I choose a Michigan mechanic, Roy Szarafinski, to built my engine. Forged pistons, mild cam, and Roy's 5th bearing modification to smooth out propeller oscillations, and helping out the other main bearings. On the test stand, it turned 1/4 turn and it was running. So, we'll be flying it in about a year. It's a kit, so I need that long to get 'r done. Oh yeah, thanks to modern day Viton oil seals, leaking oil is a thing of the past. Thanks Jay. Nice piece about Corvairs.
I agree, the corvair was more aircarft than car. the tiny valves indicate steady throttle, not a cars variable. Subaru did the little boxer as well, and some use it for aircraft. Big valves, and liquid cooling.. that should stay a car motor more than flying.
My Zenith 750 is powered by a 1965 Corvair boxer engine. 100 hp Cam, forged pistons, heads reworked, and a 5th bearing set up by Roy Sarafinski of Michigan The 5th bearing buffs out the forces of the propeller and makes tis car motor, an airplane engine. Roy is a real innovator and has helped me understand the why's and where's of the Corvair application. He is also my friend.
Hello, their are more than 12 corvairs in my area and 4 to 5 of them are in my price range and do not have much rust or none at all ranging from 61 to 67. I appreciate the history and would like to drive one daily. I want to buy one but are they reliable as drivers to college and back say 20 miles range?
Reliable - yes, very. But there are caveats to note if they have not been done over. Engine seals: even back in the days, more heat resistant seals were available to keep oil from leaking into the heater shrouds and fouling the interior with fumes. Rust: one nasty spot is a welded junction in the monocoque ... just in front of the windscreen. In Cali it is probably not an issue. Where I lived in B.C. they rusted there. Rain would run straight into the car. Fortunately there was a drain plug under the carpet :). Synchronizing the linkages on four Rochester carbs should be checked once in a while to keep them nimble. Some owners went to a single, big Holly and a trick manifold. An uncared for engine may have it's lifters loaded with crud. I replaced mine with the Buick version which were nicer. The cranks last forever. I'd upgrade the brake master for sure. And BTW, those four drum brakes work better than you'd imagine!
Love that he brought the original owner in to speak. Awesome video! I have a newly found obsession with the corvair. Such beautiful and unique cars! I want one some day, maybe just a corsa though lol
What a fine vehicle, yeah kinda late to the party, but I'm sure glad I finally watched this one. I am eternally grateful to you Jay for your dedication to old metal, and your time spent showing us some wonderful vehicles. As well, I love that you took Jeff for a spin, bet its a 'forever memory', you really are a true gentleman. Kudos.
Back around 1973 I was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS. There was a lieutenant living above us and as I was walking by one day, I noticed John rummaging around in the trunk at the BACK of the car. I introduced myself and asked where the engine was now. I smiled and opened the passenger door, popped a sheet of about 3/4" plexiglass,lifts up a tonneau cover made of 3/4" plywood (carpet covered) and there sat a 350 ci V8. It had a full set of headers with the mufflers attached where the collector would be. He took me for a drive and the car was blistering fast, and handled like a dream - really hugged the curves. Hope he sees this. John said the conversion was done with a kit, which included much beefier suspension components. What a ride!
My uncle and three of my neighbors had Corvairs when they wer new. My uncle’s Corsair nearly burned his house down when a fan belt broke. My next door neighbor’s engine blew when it was three years old and my neighbor across the street had a lot of trouble with his so naturally I bought it from him for $10.00. They were built horribly and were GM’s most troublesome car of the era. Three months later it was running on five cylinders. I was only twelve at the time and would drive it around our property upstate. I got it wedged between two trees and it’s still there today with the trees growing around it and now close to engulfing the entire car. If you’re a hunter near Kingston NY you’ve probably used it as target practice.
@@scottbaker1018 Not really. It was Chevrolets reaction, or lack thereof, that killed the car. Like a lot of other GM cars, they got it right far too late.
That car looks and sounds so nice! On my 16th birthday, my dad bought me a yellow Corvair Monza 4-carb 140Hp convertible. He bought it used from a neighbor who had parked it in the weeds by his house and left it there for a while. My dad paid $300 for it and, to me, it was worth a million. I loved the way the car looked and sounded. I rebuilt the engine myself and, for my highschool graduation, my parents had a new convertible top installed on it for me. It was a sweet ride!
Jay, regarding the shifter "long throw", and a few other possible improvements... you'll find that John Fitch of Lime Rock fame made a replacement a "drop in" part for the shift linkage that shortened the throw to a "wrist flick". He also had a shortened steering arm kit, which made the already quick steering even better. There is a kit for the fan belt which eliminates the infamous thrown belt syndrome, by installing a pivot on the right side idler wheel arm and a tensioner spring that mounted between the idler arm and the license plate backer plate. The heavier duty wheel bearings that were used on the Bus and pickup truck variants, also fit the standard sedan nicely. John Fitch also had an exhaust system kit which has to be seen to be believed, sort of like a trumpet on steroids...one for each side, and did they ever sing a wonderful song. Lastly, try replacing the stock tin push rod tubes with milled aluminum finned tubes fitted with aircraft grade o-rings. No more oil leaks, AND you can bet all your friends $10 that they won't be able to spot your "oil cooler"... "WINK" For kicks and giggles, check the SCCA records for the 1970's slalom racing results, and note how many of the top ten seasonal finishers were OMG gasp gasp CORVAIRS, even 10 years after production ceased.
Yes, but all of that should have come from the factory...many don't realize what a great handling car this was, esp the '65 and later..I had '65 Monza convertible but as a poor student drove it factory stock with over 80,000 miles on it...sure could of used another 100 hp, and the upgraded push rod tube seals...if I had it today it would...and ofcourse the mandatory 3.89:1 axle..
BTW, I knew many Corvairs to have fuel pump cavitation (vapor lock) issues which was easily fixed by doubling up the gasket, but knew none, repeat none, to have fan belt issues even with the strange 90° bend..
Great video Jay. I like the technical aspect of your presentation, good video, lots of angles, very good audio of engine sound etc. Your videos also point out good and bad features of the vehicle, are well researched technically, are not biased regarding country of origin, and very entertaining and engaging. Bringing in vehicles from independent owners is also a good idea, as it adds depth to the program regardless of the car inventory you own. All in all I can't fault your production or presentation. I love your show and drool over most of the vehicles presented. Keep em coming. Cheers from down under. Rob
If you are looking to vary the show a bit more, it would be great to see you feature some non street legal race cars of an earlier vintage occasionally. A Fangio era Ferarri D50 would be nice. But then you would of course have to buy some suitable white overalls to drive it, and take it to a track, and these things all cost money. Particularly the overalls. Rob.
I'm old enough to remember when these were new (granted, I was a young kid). Where I grew up we tended to only have white Corvairs. I dubbed them bathtubs on wheels. As I get old(er) I now appreciate the beauty and semi-exoticness of these cars.
Nearly 200 hp with only 2700 lbs to push made this a fast car in its day. Still pretty fast. I've always loved the styling of this car. The 15" wheels really fill up the wheel wells.
I hope you let the guy you bought it off of drive it off camera. The expression on his face was like, "Dude, you have 557 cars worth untold millions of dollars. Please let me take it on the freeway and see what she'll do one last time! Did you bring me all the way here to watch you drive? Seriously?" He only put a couple thousand miles on it, and he doesn't have deep pockets (um, like some people), so he probably never revved it too much. At any rate, my dad had a brand new '66 Corvair back in the day. He didn't love the car; he worshipped it. He let my grandmother drive it once (his mother in law), and she putted it around all day (a hot day) and severely over-heated the engine. It was ruined. My dad still brings it up from time to time. Thanks for the vids over all these years. It is always a hoot to see you tool around in one of your toys. We all live vicariously through you.
I love the look and sound of the Stinger! Beautiful car. I'm a fan of the Corvair myself. I had some old cars in my youth: a 327 '65 Impala wagon, '67 383 powered Plymouth Fury two-door, and a rally modified '73 Audi Fox. Those all got driven. The one project I had that I really regret I never got to finish and see on the road was a '62 Corvair two-door body shell that would have had a somewhat custom interior( since the original was mostly gone, but for the dash, and I had some ideas of my own), and a higher performance '64 engine.
Beautiful, just amazing. Heck I haven't seen a corvair in probably twenty years with my own eyes. Wish I could have been able to get something like this back in the day and had the foresight to keep and care for it... Basically any older American vehicle. I'd imagine it is very difficult and expensive to get parts. Unless you are a machinist or have a strapping account, it's much cheaper to get a modern vehicle and of course they ride better now. Watching these shows is bitter sweet to me.
The Corsa was beautiful. I learned to drive a standard transmission on my friends car. We raced it at Connecting Highway every Friday and Saturday night. Better than my ‘69 Plymouth GTX.
I had a '66' Corvair, it did choke you when idling at red lights, but the 2 speed automatic transmission made it what I called the "Tollbooth Terror", 2nd gear didn't kick in until about 50 mph! "bye bye everybody!"
First time I've heard anyone talking good about the automatic corvairs. Two speeds is OK (meaning you can make it do if that's what the car has) if you have a good amount of torque, as with a V8, but even the 140 hp weren't exactly fast compared to what they were with a 4-speed. The Powerglide was the cheapest thing available from GM.
Curse you Ralph Nader Corvairs where cool! I really like the concept of the station wagon they had there. seating for 5 and cargo room of a fullsize car IN A COMPACT!!! I wish some one would bring a modern mainstream rear engine car back XD
Yes, but Nadar had a point, the 63 design had crap rear suspension and the cars flipped easily. 50 years later, GM decided to kill 124 people over an 80 cent ignition part.
I enjoyed your Yenko Stinger video. It brings back memories. Around 1973 or 74, I had the pleasure of watching one autocross. It looked and sounded wonderful, like yours.
I worked with a guy that was a Corvair tech. He would hunt for wrecked cars in the salvage yards to get the motors and trans axles, then turn them into dune buggies. The 140 hp. engines would pull a 2ft. wheel stand in second gear if you weren't carful. He was a wealth of info. and fun; we are running out of guys like that, stay healthy Jay we need you...
Don Yenko contracted my father to drill the rivets out of the steel friction plates that attached them to the flywheels to mount them with bolts and to mill sections out of the perimeter to lighten the iron part of the flywheels for competition. I could probably produce the coffee cans full of the cutouts if I looked hard enough around his shop. I personally know Warren Dernoshek who lead the Yenko team that assembled the Stingers. I had the pleasure of meeting Duane Hixon,another member of the Yenko Super Car build team before he passed away on September 3,2012.
I thought they installed a gasoline fired, (since it was air-cooled I believe they had a cold weather option to put in a optional heater which actually burned gasoline?). corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,233814,234155 .... yes believe it or not it had a gasoline powered heater for the interior of the car with a constantly lit pilot light.all supplied by the fuel tank ....
We all appreciate you collecting the most interesting cars on the planet.Good work Jay. I had a 1963 Corvair. I was going to make a dune buggy out of it.
I like all the shows. But some of the tips you present are Extremely useful. An example was the gasoline additive "archoil" which will make gasoline last of years. I used to use "stabile" additive and had problems anyway and the fuel system got destroyed by gasoline going bad. I Never heard of archoil until I watched your show. That tip alone will save me a lot of money in the future.
You mean you like the shows AND some of the tips are useful...? It's not a counterpoint to liking the shows, is it? I just get thrown off when people use "but" like that; I read it twice looking for the exception you're about write, then finally realize it's something "in addition too" I can really use.
abbeykroeter When you attempt to explain the correct usage of the English language to the semiliterate you don't get much gratitude, but you do get a lot of abuse. ;-)))
MrKeyboardCommando abuse is polluting the youtube comment section with grammar corrections when the reader clearly knew what he meant .. ridicculing someone by publicly piking on their punctuation or grammar is abuse .
I had a '63 dodge polara 426, no power ANYTHING but the engine, drum brakes, no power steering,etc, had to make an appointment to stop, but it sure was fast in a straight line! High rise cast iron headers, 3:91 posi, sure miss that car! 5 m.p.g on hwy 101 in northern cal. 3 speed beefed torqueflite, sweet car
I had a '63 Polara. White 4 door with red interior. 318 Poly with a push-button. P/S, P/B. Rolled it in '69..walked away without a scratch. I could cry when I think of her.
What a wonderful, wonderful car! My neighbor had a base convertible Corvair back in the 80s and it was a total rust bucket. It's really great to see one of these in the Yenko COPO race trim and so well cared for. And oh my goodness...that exhaust note! Wow! Who knew?
Owned a '66 Turbo for about six months back in the mid-70s. It had been lowered a bit, with 50 series tires and looked very cool. Although it had quite a few miles on it and needed some attention, it went damned well and handled a well as many sports cars I've driven. I was sorry to let it go. And yeah, I wish I had it now, but that holds true for several cars I've owned. I'd need a garage like Jay's...and unfortunately I'm not a wildly successful comedian. Or wildly successful anything, truth be told. So I really appreciate seeing Jay drive cars I've owned and cars I'll never even get close to.
I grew up in a Corvair household. It was the very first car I ever drove. My father was a huge fan of the car and owned dozens of them over the 60's and 70's. Just 2 of the Greenbrier vans were bought new, all the rest were used and in need of repair. At one point we had 9 Corvairs in the yard including 2 Greenbrier vans, a Rampside pickup, corsas, spyders and monzas, 3 of which were rag tops. The only model type he never had was the Lakewood wagon. He would buy them junked, fix 'em up and sell them. I can't tell you how many times I watched him swap engines out of 1 wrecked car into a usable body by himself in an afternoon in the driveway. The engine had a very unique sound that could be identified easily. Us boys always knew when dad was coming home from work from over the hill and a half mile away. Good memories.
Awesome Comment !! I remember driving around Massachusetts and seeing “Corvair Mechanic “ signs ! I also remember “some “ people putting a fake radiator grill on the front !
I have watched scores of these episodes and Jay, if I may say, I really appreciate the kindness and courtesy you display to each person who owns or has sold you the car, whether celebrity, or just a local Fireman, you treat them all the same, very relatable to normal people who just love cars! Great Job!
@m.erosson2758 Jay Leno Statement of "Firemen being Honest" is the statement of someone who has Never suffered a House Fire. my Mother owned a three Flat (Story) Building here in Chicago and she feels the responding Chicago firemen Unnessasarily caused too much damage to one of the units putting out the fire (Way to Much Water used) and the firemen Stole her tenants Jewelry! i guess they figured It was Covered by Insurance (Tenant had No Tenant Insurance) so Tenant was SOL. I don't think my Mothers Tenant would think the word "Honest" Applies to Fireman.
The exhaust sound that this Corvair makes is awesome!
Jay is a true gentleman and Everyman. I am extremely impressed with how he presented this vehicle and the credit he gave to the previous owner.
I'd love to agree but I don't know how charitable he is beyond his hobby. THAT'S a lot of money he was making. 🚽 Museum?
Great to hear Jay speak so fondly of Corvair, as my father was a real enthusiast. As far as I know, he never had a Yanko Stinger, but he did own a lot of the make over the years.
Jay Leno is the man, car guy, doesn't forget where he comes from. Doesn't claim to be something he isn't, just a real enthusiast. You Sir, to me, fall in with Paul Newman, James Garner and Steve McQueen. A car guy, who stands in front of a camera from time to time. Thank you for these shows and keep up the excellent work.
D. Oshea - james garner? Not too many folks remember he was a car guy/racer. Love it!
@@jjs777fzr Racing
Garner was an owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) auto racing team from 1967 through 1969.[69] Motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director Andy Sidaris teamed with Garner for the racing documentary The Racing Scene, filmed in 1969 and released in 1970.[70] The team fielded cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring endurance races, but is best known for Garner's celebrity status raising publicity in early off-road motor-sports events.[69] In 1978, he was one of the inaugural inductees in the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.[69]
Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC).[71] His shops prepared ten 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race.[72] Garner did not drive in this event because of a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, taking three of the top five places in the sedan class.[73] Garner also drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985 (see: list of Indianapolis 500 pace cars).ormhof.org/inductees/1978/
ormhof.org/james-garner/ As a famous actor, James Garner brought much needed publicity to off-road racing in the early years of sports development when it needed the attention the most. James Garner was born James Scott Baumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, April 7, 1928 to Weldon Warren Baumgarner and Mildred Meek; his father worked as a carpet layer. As a young man, Garner worked numerous jobs including a stint at a gas station. At the age of 16, he joined the Merchant Marine. He then joined the National Guard. The U.S. Military drafted him to serve in the Korean War, where he received the Purple Heart.
Garner attended University of Oklahoma. He became interested in acting and studied the art at Herbert Bergoff Studios, New York. Garner enjoyed a long and successful acting career with appearances on stage, television and in movies, winning the Emmy Award in 1977 and 1986. His career began with the stage production The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, in the early 1950s. Following, Warner Brothers offered him a contract. In 1956, he made his film debut in Toward the Unknown. He is perhaps most recognized for his title role in the television show Maverick which ran from 1957-62 and for his title role in The Rockford Files, NBC-TV, 1974-79. He acted in the movie The Great Escape in 1963 with fellow Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductees actor Steve McQueen and stuntman Bud Ekins. In 1966, he appeared in the automobile racing movie Grand Prix.
Beyond the screen in “real life” Garner also actively participated in auto racing both on-road and off-road. He drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions in 1975, 1977 and 1985. He owned the American International Racing team, from 1967 through 1969; team members raced in both Daytona and Sebring. Garner participated in many off-road races as a driver. His presence often brought a touch of publicity to the sport, while still being treated as an “everyday-man” by his fellow racers. He attended the first Stardust 7-11 in Las Vegas. There, he co-drove with Scooter Patrick in a Porsche-powered Manx owned by John Crean. The men did not finish the race. His presence at the 1968 NORRA Mexican 1000 helped to generate publicity for the event and coverage on ABC’s show the Wide World of Sports. In 1972, Garner raced the Banshee, a vehicle built for him by fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Vic Hickey. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in the vehicle, despite the fact that he crashed the car towards the end of the event. He also placed the car in the top five at a number of races. Hickey said of Garner “The thing about Garner was that, while he wasn’t the world’s most fearless driver, he had the best retention of any man who drove for me. On a pre-run, if he hit a bump, he come back five days later andwould tell you where it was within ten feet.”
Garner had a history of involvement with humanitarian and other causes he believed in. In 1963, he helped organize Martin Luther King’s March in Washington for Civil Rights and visited the troops in Vietnam in 1967. He was a member of the National Support Committee of the Native American Rights Fund and the National Advisory Board of the United States High School Golf Association. He was involved with the Save the Coast movement to stop offshore drilling in California. One of his more recent endeavors was his involvement with the Save the Children organization.
Garner is an inductee in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Cowboy Hall of Fame. James married Lois Clarke, who already had a daughter named Kimberly. James and Lois had Greta Gigi Scoot Garner together in 1958.
1972, Garner raced the Banshee, a vehicle built for him by fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Vic Hickey. Garner won the Riverside Grand Prix in the vehicle, despite the fact that he crashed the car towards the end of the event. He also placed the car in the top five at a number of races. Hickey said of Garner “The thing about Garner was that, while he wasn’t the world’s most fearless driver, he had the best retention of any man who drove for me. On a pre-run, if he hit a bump, he come back five days later andwould tell you where it was within ten feet.
Garner played “Rockford” on the tee vee show. The character owned a Pontiac TransAm painted goldish bronze. A plain Jane model but I always loved the trans am styling. Very cool.
I had a corvair as a first car. British racing green, super charger, 2 door, wooden steering wheel. Loved it. Best driving car I've ever had. The only problem was the engine would fall out of it if I downshifted at high Rpms. My Dad would tow it home and fix it. He was a great Mechanic with a love for cars from the 40s and 50s.
I love it when ordinary guys like Jeff take on a project like this and see it through - What a fabulous car.
I'm from Europe and for me this is the most beautiful and elegant American car ever made, just love it. Wish I could find a 66 over here
One of Brooks Stevens' best. The VW412 was the version that I once drove. None of those remain over there?
@@Coolingfin yes still can find type 4 here. Most of them in Germany. It was never very popular in the rest of Europe
Who is here from the pandemic edition on Jays red 66?
J Leno
Me
Yup. Drove a 1965 and I owned a 1969 Monza, one of the last, and designed the Corvair Society of America (“CORSA”) oval sticker on the driver’s side rear window of this Yenko.
Did NOT KNOW this car existed. (One of the few downsides of being a Canadian). RUST was an enormous issue for Corvair in urban Canada, due of course to our climate and the profound use of salt on our urban streets and main highways. My father's 1966 (regular top model) was remarkably well built. Doors, hood, boot etc fit beautifully, all of which helped to accentuate the magnificent, subtle, lines of this vehicle. Not popular in northern, 'snow-belt regions' due to the fact this automobile was definitely not built for snow. Regardless of the fact the engine and 'powering wheels' were both in the back, the great void in the front tended to make this car very unstable on snow and ice. Coupled with rapid brake-fade, it really was more for spring/summer/fall driving. My maternal grandfather was a design engineer for Ford of Canada from 1912-1935 (he died at only 51). So my Dad's purchase of this GM automobile was surprising. But, regardless of Mr. Nadar's condemnation, my Dad thought this automobile was unique in both styling and power plant. Our 19641//2 Mustang was far more adaptable to winter driving in Canada. Dad had both cars 'Zeibart' ed, (the earliest rust-proofing company in America and still going today) so both cars were kept in immaculate condition. Never driven in the winter, (save for a bi-monthly 20-mile hike on good winter days to prevent garage rot), Jay is correct in mentioning that the Corvette was nearly immune to being left indoors for long periods of time. The Mustang remains in the family. However, in 1990, I sold the 1966 Corvair to an absolute enthusiast whom I knew would take good care of this immaculately preserved car. (only 11,248 miles on the odometer at point of sale). The Mustang was 'upgraded' in 1996 with the interior being converted to full leather, but keeping the original design pattern as much as was possible. I suppose this disqualifies the car as a true, 100% original, but stepping into the Mustang today reminds me of stepping into a top model Vauxhall or Austin of the early fifties -- that wonderful, English smell of leather suffuses the interior. Save for the upgraded seating, door inserts and dash, the car is otherwise 100% original or original replacement parts. Like Jay, I personally love round backlights. Ford embraced this in their early 1960s models in the 1961, 1962 and 1963 Ford models and of course its early 60's 4 seater Thunderbirds with their huge 'rocket-like,' tail-lights. As for the Yenko Stinger Covairs, (serial 54) was wholly unknown to me. Happy to hear that of the original 100 produced, it is good to know that some 60+ of these cars are believed to still exist. Thanks for your coverage, Jay. Your encyclopedic knowledge of automobiles adds so much to our understanding of the cars of the 20th-century. Better still, these excellent programs will continue to influence future generations. It is good to think that after retiring at the top of the entertainment industry, you reinvested that success into an entirely new career that will go on to provide this and generations-yet-to-come, with a cohesive history of the Age of the Gasoline-Propelled Automobile. I sincerely hope that your incredible collection will be preserved intact, and protected by a major, American Historic Institution.
hi jay leno! my name is Christian Renaud,from North Grosvenordale Connecticut, i am a big fan of Corvairs, my grandfather gave me his 1965 110 hp 2 door coupe on my 14th birthday, it was in rough condition needed a new windshield and windshield frame, we decided after going to a place called Clarks Corvairs in Sheldon falls Massachusetts, that we are going to restore it. i am now 15 and we are about 80% done with our restoration, we have been inspired by this video and your Yenko, to paint our corvair to look like yours. i am a huge fan of the handling, it handles like a slot car, and i am very proud of having a special place in my grandfathers heart that reminds him of when he was young, and one day, hope to help him re live his memory of his first corvair.
Christian Renaud hello from putnam. i'd love to see your vair. my best friend in idaho has several corvairs. he introduced me to corvairs back in the 80's and i've loved them since then.
+Christian Renaud nice story man im 16 in ct also, new haven county. debating whether to put my money towards a cj jeep or amc gremlin
gremlins are hard to find parts for, and a cj 7 is a tad bit expensive, my advice is to go with the jeep, but only bc they are easy to care for and they are fun to crawl with!
I sold the remains of my '68 to Clark's. I hope the cylinder heads, 4 speed posi-track, and Delco AM-FM are enjoying a second life in someone's Corvair.
Northern Outcast I hope you add a liquid cooler system if it's one of the models that didn't come with that, and I also hope you get to drive that to school. It'll be the only one in the parking lot!
What a gorgeous car! Such beautiful, classic lines! I was just 16 years-old when this came out, and I thought it was one of the coolest cars ever -- and, it still is. As Jay notes, one of the great classics. One of the first cars I ever owned was a regular Corvair. I had it for a few years and just loved it, and wanted to "mod" it, but just didn't have the bucks for it. Watching this was really fun and brought back fond memories. Who wouldn't love owning one of these!
Thanks, Jeff Gazetta for preserving this piece of history and Jay Leno for having the good grace to capture this all.
When I arrived in Hawaii in 1977 as an 18 year old soldier in the Army, I laid down all my cash on a used car.
A 1967 Corvair I paid $350 cash for. It had a 2 speed powerglide trans with the shifter on the dash.
I loved the car but it had reliability problems I never fixed. It had an oil leak that would cause smoke to come out of the interior vents, and it was hard to start.
I owe my career to that car, literally. Being stationed in Hawaii we were required to take a water survival course at the base pool.
My Corvair would not start and I arrived 15 minutes late. The class was already in session with guys in the water. They made me sit on a bench with about 6 guys who couldn’t swim.
I’m a SoCal born and raised kid and swam like a fish. Next thing you know a guy came by with a clipboard and wrote down our names because we now had to take a swimming class.
I saw it as a fun way to spend my mornings for a few weeks so I played dumb and went along. It turns out I knew the swim instructor and we used to surf together.
He told me the following week at the same time at the other end of the pool an Advanced Life Saving class was to begin. So that first week while the other guys were blowing bubbles and picking pennies off the bottom of the shallow end, I was practicing my rescue strokes.
When the classes were over, they were beginning swimmers and I now had my Advanced Life Saving Card, that made me eligible to become a lifeguard in the Army.
I was a beach lifeguard on Oahu for 12 months. I took my first CPR class. When I received my honorable discharge I went to jr college and took an EMT course. I became an EMT and then went to Paramedic school.
I became a Paramedic and was now exposed to the fire service. I became a fireman.
I’ve been a fireman/paramedic for 35 years now about to retire and I owe it all to my Blue 1967 Chevy Corvair.
I’d love to own another.
Awesome story. We need a time machine back to 77’
That's a really cool story. I love how cars can impact so many peoples lives in this such manner and literally define who they become. What you told is a prime example of how the automotive culture is so integral to the human way of life. Who'd have thought that cars were going to completely re-pave how humanity experiences life.
But Ralph Nader sead !!!oh ,tell Ralph to go jump in the pasific 😂
So many useless details for a car story
I don't believe you.
Thanks for the memory, we took my friends mother's Corvair Monza Spider out to a trial day for a competitive Autocross meet. Taped up the head lights looked cool, but had no idea what we were doing. Later in Life ran an early Miata Mx5, won a couple, and the thrill never goes away!
This channel, more than anything else has defined Jay Leno. You can't judge a book buy it's cover but you can tell alot about a man by what's in his garage. The quality of work, the attention to detail and Mr. Leno's passion for autos is an inspiration to gear heads everywhere. If I could make one addition to my bucket list it would be the privilege to visit this automotive shrine in person.
Thanks Jay!
Agree 100%. I'd _LOVE_ to see Jay's collection. I wish there was a way. Maybe he could have docents do the walk-around, so it wouldn't impose on Jay himself too much.
Does Jay ever read the comments? I'd like to think that he does, I'm just really glad someone with a lot of money who enjoys cars is actually willing to show it to us, for free, on youtube.
Crimbly Crimbo he not showing them to us for free exactly, at least not enough n th sense you mean. Sure, you do t have to pay to see the, on RUclips but the where near made for free nor dies he not make money off the RUclips channel. As these where originally made first, for as a web show available on an NBC website that was advertising supported, and later it moved to CNBC started, in a longer full length tv show format, (also partly ad supported, partly cable fee supported). Later clips from the show where uploaded to RUclips, which pays a share of the ad revenue to the production company of the show (I.e. monetization). Leno most certainly gets paid for doing the TV show via a contract and likely part of 5hat comes fromRUclips ad revenue.. So no one is doing this for free in this sense you mean, It’s more like “free” in the same sense that any broadcast/over-the-Air tv show is “free”, at least to viewers.
Crimbly Crimbo: Yes he reads and responds. Courteous, compassionate and loving. When I watch Jay I too reminisce and am transported to a higher realm. Jay is like finding an exquisite family gem. Instantly captured with his multifaceted dazzling display of knowledge. He is unsurpassed in his humanity. He does read and answer. He possesses the traits and character we can all aspire to.
@@justabigbaby Jay is an imperialist: he says that America should defend Israel for ever
@@ireneuszpyc6684 idiot
@@Laffy1345, I guess you're an imperialist too
Really nice example of one of the quirkiest cars ever to come out of GM. It’s mind boggling that the designers and engineers ever got this car past the bean-counters. Such a cool design. And Yenko working his magic on it just makes it that much better. Excellent!
Ralph Nadar: “Unsafe at any speed.”
GM: “Let’s give it to Don Yanko to make it go faster.”
Problem solved.
Ridiculous, ignorant statement. Unsafe at Any Speed was not a book about the Corvair. So, you show your ignorance by the fact you haven’t read it. Furthermore if you had read it, you would know it was in reference to the 60-63 Corvair with swing arm suspension. 1965-69 Corvairs full IRS suspension and handles beautiful. .9g of lateral acceleration in the skidlad. Don Yenko went to GM, Not GM to Don Yenko. Last NHTSA out all of Ralph Naders nonsense to rest in an extensive 2 year study fully exonerating the 60-63 Corvair.
www.corvair.org/index.php/history-and-preservation/unsafe-at-any-speed
Flat6 you need to take a Xanax and a deep breath. You read way to much into comment than it was intended. Get a grip, man.
Flat6 ya dude and you also need to stop liking your own comments too
@@flat6586 Uh, it was a JOKE
@@matthewbittenbender9191 LOL, that's what I thought
What an awesome, beautiful and rare car. Thanks so much for sharing this one. My dad owned examples of both 1st generation and 2nd generation Corvairs back in the 60's. Because of the family connection, and the fact that I find the Corvair to be incredibly fascinating from a historical perspective, I considered buying a 2nd Gen car myself a number of years ago. I accumulated a lot of great documentation when few others were interested in these cars. Some great books, catalogs, magazines, tuning guides, etc.. But as it turned out my collective automobile/motorcycle interests ultimately lead me in other directions.
A little more than a year ago a friend of mine told me about a someone who he knew that had a young son who had developed a strong interest in Corvairs and ended up buying one to restore and use as his first car. I thought that this was exceptionally cool. I told my friend that I had a treasure trove of documents to give the kid. Upon searching for my stash I was saddened to find just one book. But the kid was still happy to get his hands on anything having to do with these cars.
About a month ago I finally ran across all of the other materials that I had just assumed were lost while moving at some point in the past. Around 20 pounds of documents in all. I'm really happy to pass all of it along to a young fan of these cars representing a new generation of gearheads. It's not like I'm all that old (late 50's), but I would love to see more young people taking an interest in older cars in general and the Corvair specifically before the ICE is no longer with us and everyone is driving electric vehicles instead.
Cool story. I'm sixteen years old and have a '60 700 Sedan myself. I've learned so much wrenching on it.
@@lars1588 That's awesome. I wish you the best of luck with it!
@@VirtualGuth Thanks! All the older folks in my family love the car.
Back in the days I owned two Corvairs (a '65 and a '66) - both with the 4-carb Corsa engine. I adored them. A lot of fun! Being a sort of wild young a-hole, I'd scare the hell out of passengers by kicking the back end out on a corner and recovering with a bit of opposite lock. They were convinced they were gonna die. But they became convinced that they were a beautiful handling car. Even the drum brakes worked very well. My Corvair career ended when the one I retained was written off in a rear ender - while it was parked. A "poor man's" Porsche is no lame statement in the vid. That's what my friends called them at the time. The Corsa carbed engine was faster than the turbo from 0-60, but after that the turbo would spool up and the extra 40 horses would leave me sucking dust
I had a '67 Turbo Corsa 4-speed. I really loved taking it up in the mountains bc at high elevations the turbo would just keep on pumpin' plenty of air while the carbureted engines of the day were starving for o2. Even hot rods couldn't keep up. I can still remember the sound of those V8s roaring; could hear them downshift and the secondaries open wide while getting about 1 mile per gallon. It was like driving an airplane!
The late 60's Corvairs were one of the best looking designs GM ever had. A singularly beautiful car as much as the XKE was a beautiful Jaguar.
+Chaleco Salvavides Rare to hear anyone say it, for some reason, but totally true.
+Chaleco Salvavides The trouble is Yenko put that ugly sail panel on the back, which detracts from the beautiful top lines. I had two 64 Spyders, one a convertible, and one 66 two door 110hp and automatic. I have always liked the second generation better, watching anything about Corvair makes me want to get another one.
Barrett Root
505197 - I really liked this car when I was a kid. Owning a Yenko would be incredible, but I'd be happy with a lower end model. I think it's just a great looking automobile.
And as the first gen Buick Riviera.
Jay's car is numbered 54? Ha. If he ever misplaces it he just needs to shout out "Car 54 where are youuuuuuu?"
I wanted to say that too.
But he beat me to it.
By two years.
Guess I'll keep my day job too!
You had to go there didn't you?lol
Pirfict for a Comideon 🤣
Period correct hilarity. Clever.
Somewhere Fred Gwynne is smiling.....
I owned a '65 and a '66 - the latter being preferred. Both were the 4-carb, 140 horse version. I have driven some cool cars - the 140 horse Corvair remains one the most fun machines I have ever driven. I think the body was designed by Ghia. Excellent, totally predictable handling. It was so infectious that when on a twisty road in the mountains I would wish it would never end. Good on ya' Jay for celebrating this historic car.
Too much, not enough PCH.
my dad hated ordering cars. he'd want to drive right off the lot. so we got a 4-carb 140 hp 1965 corvair. great sports car. I could beat all my buds on the curvy country roads.
Not really, I had a 63 Spyder and i would get the revs up just to the point where the turbo was starting to spool, usually around 2800 rpm. You didn't pop the clutch but rode is slightly, it would get out of first gear about the same as a 327 Corvette. Once you hit second it was wave bye bye because the Corvette was up to the power curve.
I love that now he has more time for the important things, his garage! and the best part about jay is that he drives all his cars and keeps them in great condition.
A true hero to me, and turns me green with envy. He has done SUCH an mazing job with his collection, and this show.
Is anyone in love with the styling of this car as much as me?
What's going on with the side glass, with the massive C-pillar, small side window, but what appears to be the stock drip rail? It almost looks like a sedan roof on a coupe body.
@@kimisdaman Yenko raced these Corvairs on Sports Car tracks in the 1960's, and the 'massive C-pillar' stiffened the frame which helped handling, particularly on the winding, hilly, sports car tracks. I remember seeing them in the SCCA Regional races, many times they would beat Corvettes, which really shocked the 'vette owners. The Corvair got a bad rap from the early 60 - 64 years, which were economy cars with poor suspension. In '65 and up to '69 they had greatly improved suspension and the handling was no more dangerous than a Porshe, VW, or any other rear engined car. The worst mistake Chevy made with the air-cooled engine was using cheap rubber seals for the pushrod tubes, valve covers, etc. which caused major oil leaks. Higher temps that air-cooled engines run at require that you use high-temp silicone seals as aircraft engines use. If you use the better seals you seldom have oil leak problems.
@@WJV9
Late '60's - I was hitchhiking and was picked up by some guy in a corvair. The corvair then blew up. I got a job in Honolulu, and the boss had a corvair van. I rode in it twice times, and it blew up. Corvairs failed to make a positive impression on me. Air cooled engines are inferior to water cooled engines. The Corvair was a failed vehicle, and an embarrassment to American enterprise, since it was supposed to be the answer to the Beetle. This car was a product of an unfortunate corporate culture that fused cheapness with arogance and produced cars like the Dodge Omni, Chevy Vega and a huge T-bird that rode like a boat.
@@The_DC_Kid
2 seperate vehicles, one in Hawaii and one in California. I've only taken 3 rides in Corvair's, and they have failed to impress me in way shape or form. The body style is reminiscent of the best of Communist East German engineering. That's a cruel thing to say about a car that people form an irrational love for. So, I take it all back.
An air cooled engine, nothing better. Corvair - the ultimate chick magnet.
@@The_DC_Kid
You've never been in a car where the engine failed? It's not a good feeling. If you were the passenger, like I was, it's still not a good feeling, but the owner is stuck on the side of the road with a car he wished he never bought. Of course, I'm just imagining what the owners of these 2 corvairs felt after the engine blew up...I didn't ask. In my lifetime, I've ridden in 4 vehicles where the engine failed (I won't use the misleading term "blew up"). Three of them had air cooled internal combustion engines. If I were to advise somebody about buying a vehicle, one of things I'd state is make certain the engine is water cooled. BTW - Do they make cars with air-cooled engine anymore?
Dear Jay, I LOVE your RUclips channel, for the simple reason that I can hear the passion you have for the subject you speak about. You are doing much more then just presenting the show, you are bringing these cars alive, by mixing in your own experience and tips..
I will probably never use those tips, I will never own one of these awesome cars. Still I have watched nearly every video on your channel, and love it when you explain how to start your steam car, how it works, and what makes the car special. It brings us closer to the vehicle, then just watching it as a museum piece.
Keep the video's coming, and I will keep watching the beautiful vehicles, and listening to the stories that come with them.
With kind regards,
Maikel, a fan from The Netherlands.
I couldn't agree more. When you talk about the paper work and all the stuff done to the car, you speak with such passion that only true car guys would know about. I wish there were more people from the younger generation that were into more than just selfies and video games. I'm only 28 but have always been a hands on kind of person and a car nut myself. Keep up the great videos Jay!!
I'm just thankful Jay knows how to find happiness spending his money in a way that educates his audience.
Jay, Here's some history on the Corvair you will never read in any book. When I was a kid, my dad took me and my brother to a car lot that had recently changed owners. This new dealership was not one of the big three, American Motors or VW. This dealership was the home for Mercedes-Bentz, Land Rover, MG and Porsche. The new owner was the same age as my dad and like my father had been stationed at the Naval Air Station and upon discharge, ended up staying.
I remember when Ralph Naders "Unsafe At Any Speed" was published. My brother being older with a paper route bought the book. Being a diehard Ford (Shelby GT) fan, he continued to be a Corvair naysayer. Anyway, my dad struck up a friendship with the new owner due to their starts in Gymkhana racing rallies held at local shopping centers usually on early Sunday mornings. One particular day a Corvair entered this gymkhana for that weight class other than 50's vettes which usually raced each other. There really wasn't anything that heavy as most cars were of the Austin-Healy, MG, Triumph and Porsche Speedsters class. The Corvair actually turned in respectable times. This was due to its rear mount engine and improved suspension and superb drifting capability of the Corvair after Naders book. This friend of my father was young and cockey, some would say arrogant as he certainly had a self-assured swagger.
Not wanting to be limited to a race against the clock, a challenge was made. In those days the interstate highway stopped a short drive from this shopping center. It was agreed a friendly comparison on the two vehicles would be made on a section of highway already paved for approximately 7/10's of a mile because of a jog (curve). This would allow for some cornering.
Upon the appointed time both drivers drove as everyone walked the highway for FOD. After a few practice runs, the race was on. The '68 "poor man's Porsche" and the '67 911. Basically the same engine setup and transaxle, the Chevy held its own leading the first half-mile. It was an almost photo finish with the 911 by a length. Afterwards, the Corvair had earned its street creed over its big brother the Corvette, and with the Deutsche contribution to racing. In the end the deciding factor was attributed to, less weight, equals more horsepower. The new owner of the dealership was Peter H. Gregg, a former navy officer stationed at NAS/JAX. He had purchased this car lot and its name would become synonymous with racing and the most successful dealership in North America - Brumos Porsche located on the SW corner of W.5th & North Main in the Springfield neighborhood on the edge of downtown Jacksonville, FL. The shopping center was Gateway at W.44th & Norwood Ave. The highway was I-95 which ended at Lem Turner & Norwood. Only a few short years later Peter Gregg and Porsche Carrera would dominate Fords GT 40.Years later in 1980 as a Firefighter/Paramedic I responded to a call for a person down. Life being stranger than fiction, the call involved a person who it was determined had taken his life. That person was the man who nearly lost to a Corvair years eariler in a friendly competition to see who had the better car. My father lost a friend and racing lost a legend, but more so a brilliant, if not complicated and conflicted man. Like the cars he drove, Peter H. Gregg was the real deal: "there was no exception".
Beautiful Corvair! Excellent restoration Jeff, congratulations Jay, thanks for sharing with us :)
These are just gorgeous. And such a beautiful restoration, really well done. One of my all time favourite cars and so ahead of their time.
Not really "ahead of its time" since no one really copied any of this afterwards. How many other rear-engine, air-cooled flat six cars were built in the US, or anywhere, after this? And it isn't like Yenko invented the idea of a lighter, faster car with six or four cylinders, this was a copy of what Europeans were already doing. So I don't see how this was "ahead of if it's time" in any way. You can't even say it foresaw the move of American carmakers to copy European cars more (and in reality they both copied Japanese cars in the end), since it was the Corvair that was copying European cars, the Stinger was based on the Corvair.
@@justforever96 William, in specific reference to the market and the domestic manufacturing of the time, I definitely feel it was. To me what supports it was the introduction of combined technologies not widely deployed in mainstream domestic production at the time. The domestics did not have the same demands to meet as those makers elsewhere. A domestic car with a fully independent suspension, turbocharging, a flat six air cooled engine and a 4-speed stick was in no way the standard of the time. Unless you went with boutique manufacturers who were in no way of the same scale of production at that time. Nor even anywhere close on price. (Porsche) Also, the modular power pack spawned so many different models. Vans, rampsides, Corsa's, etc. I also don't think the Corvair was an outright attempt to copy anything. Perhaps inspired yes, but even Europeans will use technologies others have pioneered if it meets the project goal requirement.
I remember my aunt having one of these back in the early 70's she used to take me and my cousin for rides in it now it wasn't a Yenko Stinger if memory serves me correctly it was a Corsa and I gotta tell you that thing handled very well with pretty good balance and despite what people might think these cars were pretty quick for what they were needless to say I've been a fan of these cars ever since.I once tried to buy one but it was just too far gone it would have taken more than I could afford to bring it back to glory,but maybe one day lol.😀
What a fine tribute to the name and legacy of Swiss race car driver, engineer, and co-founder of Chevrolet, Louis Chevrolet. Corvair really captures the European influence and flavor, combined with American influence. Beautiful sounding, smooth running car! Great echoing roar to the engine! Sadly, it wasn't shown starting up. The rear mounted engine is the same opposing six cylinder engine found in light airplanes, like Cessna, or Beechcraft. This car really does live up to the old motto: "Heartbeat of America."
I remember my first one, a 61. It was great in the snow. A friend of mine I went to school with had a old Chevy, and he would give me a 5 min head start. I'd jump on the " New" interstate and be cruising about 90 mph and he'd pass me like I was stopped. Literally ran that Corvair to death. I got a 63 after that, but had trouble with smoke in the cab, so had to let it go. Went to a Chevelle after that. Still love those old Corvairs.
Jay seems like the guy you could hang out with all day just talkin car stuff
I just purchased a 66 Monza this week. It's rough but yours gives me hope! BTW, it still has the owner's manual, operator's manual AND the original Protect-o-Plate!
An amazing car; would love to own this car. Looked around before I bought my C4 but only found clones. I think the styling is timeless. Thanks for sharing this beauty with us Jay.
Only car besides the corvair that felt like a bigger go cart, had a number of C4s now after a Corvair
What a beautiful looking and sounding car!
I knew Jay was a serious car collector, but I had no idea that he was such a gear head. A wealth of knowledge and enthusiast who is in his element.
WOW, I love this car. As an Aussie I have never seen one of these close up and only ever heard rather demeaning things about it. What a sound it has and a great looking car.
Wow, that exhaust note is INCREDIBLE!
Yeah it's one of the best parts of the car. It has a very unique, clean sound. It seems to sound a lot better than most 6 cylinder engines, it has a real growl to it. It makes me sad that most people have probably done a V8 conversion because they didn't want to learn about the flat 6.
A lot of Americans never did get what the Corvair was all about. Even on the posts here, there are a lot of comments about being unimpressed with it. See, Americans usually think in terms of muscle and speed, as enthusiasts. We never manufactured anything like an MG or Triumph here, and what people don't get about Corvair is that that car was of that sort, and that's one reason why it was such a historic car. People forget that the Corvair, at that time, was a small car. While it was bigger and more useful than a Triumph, and a family car, it really was in that segment. Road racing, with smaller displacement engines, and an emphasis on handling. Yes, I said handling..While the 1960- 1964 cars were victims of GM budgetary arguments over $15 stabilizer bars, and handled atrociously, from 1965's suspension redesign through to the end of the car's run in 1969, a Corvair was one of the finest-handling cars for road racing anywhere, and would leave a Mustang or Corvette in the dust on a course like Laguna Seca--all because of cornering. When people talk about Corvair being a "poor man's Porsche", they mean this second generation car. It was sweet to drive, using the rear slingshot of weight exactly the same way Porsche does.
If the Corvair hadn't developed such public relations problems, or if GM had corrected some of the handling problems sooner then they did, we might today still have our own American air-cooled road racer. Imagine the car with modern electronics, with better fuel delivery, twin turbochargers....Alas!
I think it is yourself that does not understand American cars.
European markets were highly regulated meaning manufacturers could only produce certain types of cars. There was not engine limits in the US meaning a manufacturer could build a 7 litre engine if they desired.
When manufacturers have that luxury of experimentation they will find out that larger engines are far smoother to drive and allow the car to be large. Mercedes is the only European manufacturer that actually got the bigger engines but there cars were twice the price of a house.
I had a 1965 coupe with the custom Spyder Dashboard ,4 carbs and a the High performance 4 speed manual trans back in my High School days (1975) and I used it for my Pizza delivery boy job. It was a blast to drive, zipping around from one stop to the next. We also have a county park in the area that is designed like a beautiful race track type roadway that surrounds the park, every now and then I would go there in the very early morning and just drive the crap out of it. Lot's of fun :_)
The formerly proposed third generation Corvair was supposed to be strictly a sport coupe somewhat resembling the DatsunZ, but with squinted versions of the 2nd generation Corvair headlights.
Bret Fisher You know Corvair, I use to have a 64 convertible great car, but I kept over reving the engine.I was a stupid kid.
inthepocket Corvette.
My buddy back in the 70's had a Corvair convertible. Fun car. The car of course was air cooled. It leaked oil pretty bad, the oil would burn on the cylinder heads and get blown in the cab by the heater fan. Living in Maine, we rode around with the heat on full blast and the top down in the winter. Wasn't a babe magnet, but we did the best we could.
I don't know much about corvairs, however when I was younger I'm 65 now, I got to go for a ride I believe it was in the 1980s early 1980s! I got to go for a ride in the 66 Corsa with a three rotor all aluminum and titanium Mazda modified motor! I don't think I really need to say more. The car was totally custom tube chassis out with custom suspension and the rotor was set up Mid Engine, do not know transaxle make! What a land rocket!! I grew up in a sports car racing as well as an offshore Pro-Am racing family in Southern Florida, that is still the most radical ride I have ever had! Love the video love this Stinger what a ride
I love the Corvair. My Dad had a Corvair for his 'work car'. As a teenager with a new drivers license driving that car was a blast. My younger brother even bought a Monza as his first car while in high school. I curse Ralph Nader every time a see a Corvair.
Many small cars were built on very similar designs in the early sixties, including the well-loved VW Bug. Somehow it escaped the curse. Both were rear-engined swing axle cars (first-gen Corvair 'til '64, and Bug until 1968 or so double u-joint axle cars)
Jesus those wheels. They look amazing.
my favorite thing about this show is that Jay is a REAL car guy... He could do anything he wants and he choses to save cars..... how cool is that? OH WHO AM I TRYING TO FOOL??? I LOVE HIS GARAGE AND IT'S CONTENTS LIKE EVERY OTHER CAR FREAK ON YOUR SITE!!!!! Jay, can you adopt me? i'm 47 so you will not have to house break me.... much.. I'LL SLEEP I THE GARAGE !!!
you'll have to wait in line dude...
though if you were the owner of the original Bond Austin Martin, you probably would be allowed to bypass the line and step right in.
you don't think my 83 Malibu wagon will pass?
Well....you know, wagon's are all "Classic" so they might just move you to the front of the line.
Bob Jones I think Jay's is the best car show ever.
I had a '66' Corvair with the Spyder engine boosted to 200 hp and a 4 speed.
It was light yellow with black interior.
Like Jay says they're a great car and handle fantastically...surprisingly sporty. I also had a '67' big block Corvette and '68' big block SS Chevelle at the same time when I had that Spyder and no joke I enjoyed that Corvair every bit as much as those other rods. The thing would scoot. It was a super fun car.
Thanx for showing this car Jay!
I saw one of these at a car show in the early 80’s with a vanity plate that read “FNADER” how fitting
I didn't even know this existed. A real eye opener. Great episode.
That sound of the engine omg... getting goosebumps
I miss my Corvair. It was my first car, and still my favorite.
Yet another car my dad worked on designing too. We had a Corvair, Camaro, Chevelle SS & other "family" Chevys in between. He was a GM Tech designer from the 50's on, in Warren, Michigan. The good old days.
Hearing that engine & seeing the beauty of that Corvair...Wow.🇺🇸
I owned a 62 hard top, a 64 convertible, a 65 hard top, a 65 convertible, and a 66 hard top, all 2 door cars. Two of them were 140 horse. Sold the last one in 82. Loved them, fun to drive. My dad said to carry an extra fan belt, and tools to change it ( since that's what kept it cool, the fan), and if your fan belt broke, to stop and replace it. We had very little trouble with them. Thanks Jay, enjoyed it !!!!!
Don Yenko died in a plane crash with Jerry Spear (another Pittsburgh Chevy dealer) in Charlston, WV on March 5th 1987. I was driving my (non-Yenko) Nova that I had bought used from Spear Chevy when I heard it on the radio. It was a sad day for Chevy heads.
Or anyone who loves fast cars,
Met his daughter at Motorsport Park Hastings Corvair Rendezvous.
Very sad
i got the only one in 70 with a green interior all others were black interiors. 427 had to have 600+ horsepower
my mom knew Don he was a jazz musician and a pilot also she told me a story of her flying in his plane when she said the weather was bad but he said it would be ok ,she said she was scared to death but he joked around saying like were going down and making the engine cut out and telling her to take control of the plane hes having a heart attack or something but it was just in fun but she didnt think it was funny and for him to die in his plane is just a coincidence ?
Corvairs always had a bad review! Nader did his share, but I guess the reason that most folks hated this awesome little American car was the way it leaked oil. Like the old Harley Motorcycle, the pushrod housings peed out oil continuously onto the ground and
made life impossible for the neat nicks. To me, an aircraft mechanic, this little engine was really more of an aircraft engine, than an car engine. Go figure, 6 cylinder boxer motor, ran very smooth, power curves were good, and with a little help with fuel delivery
and a decent cam, bit more compression, and wha la, you have a hell of a quicky on your hands. The Monza, the supercharged 140 h.p. was a good choice if you took care of it. So now comes time for me to pick an engine for my Zenith 750 S.T.O.L. (short takeoff and landing) aircraft. I wanted 100 h.p., so I could cruise about 80 mph. What did I choose, 1965 Corvair engine out of an automatic coupe. William Wynn is the reason I
did choose this. He's the innovator of this engine for aircraft. There are many flying to this day. Reliable, and fuel stingy, too. About 4-5 gallons per hour. William has done exhaustive research, and proven worthy to be an aircraft engine. I choose a Michigan mechanic, Roy Szarafinski, to built my engine. Forged pistons, mild cam, and Roy's 5th
bearing modification to smooth out propeller oscillations, and helping out the other main bearings. On the test stand, it turned 1/4 turn and it was running. So, we'll be flying it in about a year. It's a kit, so I need that long to get 'r done. Oh yeah, thanks to modern day
Viton oil seals, leaking oil is a thing of the past. Thanks Jay. Nice piece about Corvairs.
I agree, the corvair was more aircarft than car. the tiny valves indicate steady throttle, not a cars variable. Subaru did the little boxer as well, and some use it for aircraft. Big valves, and liquid cooling.. that should stay a car motor more than flying.
My Zenith 750 is powered by a 1965 Corvair boxer engine. 100 hp
Cam, forged pistons, heads reworked, and a 5th bearing set up
by Roy Sarafinski of Michigan
The 5th bearing buffs out the forces of the propeller and makes
tis car motor, an airplane engine.
Roy is a real innovator and has helped me understand the why's
and where's of the Corvair application. He is also my friend.
The management decided to not include a front sway bar against the engineers recommendations which was a more serious issue than oil leaking
Hello, their are more than 12 corvairs in my area and 4 to 5 of them are in my price range and do not have much rust or none at all ranging from 61 to 67. I appreciate the history and would like to drive one daily. I want to buy one but are they reliable as drivers to college and back say 20 miles range?
Reliable - yes, very. But there are caveats to note if they have not been done over. Engine seals: even back in the days, more heat resistant seals were available to keep oil from leaking into the heater shrouds and fouling the interior with fumes. Rust: one nasty spot is a welded junction in the monocoque ... just in front of the windscreen. In Cali it is probably not an issue. Where I lived in B.C. they rusted there. Rain would run straight into the car. Fortunately there was a drain plug under the carpet :). Synchronizing the linkages on four Rochester carbs should be checked once in a while to keep them nimble. Some owners went to a single, big Holly and a trick manifold. An uncared for engine may have it's lifters loaded with crud. I replaced mine with the Buick version which were nicer. The cranks last forever. I'd upgrade the brake master for sure. And BTW, those four drum brakes work better than you'd imagine!
Love that he brought the original owner in to speak. Awesome video! I have a newly found obsession with the corvair. Such beautiful and unique cars! I want one some day, maybe just a corsa though lol
Third owner...just saying...
What a fine vehicle, yeah kinda late to the party, but I'm sure glad I finally watched this one. I am eternally grateful to you Jay for your dedication to old metal, and your time spent showing us some wonderful vehicles. As well, I love that you took Jeff for a spin, bet its a 'forever memory', you really are a true gentleman. Kudos.
What a beautiful car,original and classic
Never knew Marvin the Martian was a Chevy guy. In all seriousness this car is gorgeous
Where is MarViN?
Very up to date reference...
That exhaust note is sinful. I could just listen to it accelerate over and over.
+grandcarriage1 First thing I've heard on the video, I knew I was in for a treat.
+Ali Haidar it quite literally makes me giggle like a little boy.
Who would have thought a dorky little compact could turn into a gem like this?
I would have loved to hear this start up. Great, strong sounding car!
I would say glorious sounding ! Like an Italian V12 or an E-Type inline 6 !
"Offer him MORE, and say "is that enough"?"...classic!
to see any special gone thru with such detail is a labor of love
Back around 1973 I was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS. There was a lieutenant living above us and as I was walking by one day, I noticed John rummaging around in the trunk at the BACK of the car. I introduced myself and asked where the engine was now. I smiled and opened the passenger door, popped a sheet of about 3/4" plexiglass,lifts up a tonneau cover made of 3/4" plywood (carpet covered) and there sat a 350 ci V8. It had a full set of headers with the mufflers attached where the collector would be. He took me for a drive and the car was blistering fast, and handled like a dream - really hugged the curves. Hope he sees this. John said the conversion was done with a kit, which included much beefier suspension components. What a ride!
that front end looks similar to BMW 3.0SI from early 70s, infact the whole car does from some angles. I love Jay's videos!
One of the best looking car i ve ever seen!
i agree with j. corvair is one of the nicest gm cars ever built.
@ That shows what you know. 1965 and later Corvairs are top 5 GM designs till then.
Ralph nader is the one that destroyed this cars existence
Nevermind My buddy had a monza Spyder 4spd. I remember riding in it.It ripped and seemed to handle decent.was along time ago though
My uncle and three of my neighbors had Corvairs when they wer new. My uncle’s Corsair nearly burned his house down when a fan belt broke. My next door neighbor’s engine blew when it was three years old and my neighbor across the street had a lot of trouble with his so naturally I bought it from him for $10.00. They were built horribly and were GM’s most troublesome car of the era. Three months later it was running on five cylinders. I was only twelve at the time and would drive it around our property upstate. I got it wedged between two trees and it’s still there today with the trees growing around it and now close to engulfing the entire car.
If you’re a hunter near Kingston NY you’ve probably used it as target practice.
@@scottbaker1018 Not really. It was Chevrolets reaction, or lack thereof, that killed the car. Like a lot of other GM cars, they got it right far too late.
I want to thank Jay Leno for his contribution to American History. God bless this man.
That car looks and sounds so nice! On my 16th birthday, my dad bought me a yellow Corvair Monza 4-carb 140Hp convertible. He bought it used from a neighbor who had parked it in the weeds by his house and left it there for a while. My dad paid $300 for it and, to me, it was worth a million. I loved the way the car looked and sounded. I rebuilt the engine myself and, for my highschool graduation, my parents had a new convertible top installed on it for me. It was a sweet ride!
I like the show just the way it is, so don't change a thing! Congrats on your retirement.
I love your name!! Haha! And also agree with you. I like it just the way it is.
Jay, regarding the shifter "long throw", and a few other possible improvements... you'll find that John Fitch of Lime Rock fame made a replacement a "drop in" part for the shift linkage that shortened the throw to a "wrist flick". He also had a shortened steering arm kit, which made the already quick steering even better. There is a kit for the fan belt which eliminates the infamous thrown belt syndrome, by installing a pivot on the right side idler wheel arm and a tensioner spring that mounted between the idler arm and the license plate backer plate. The heavier duty wheel bearings that were used on the Bus and pickup truck variants, also fit the standard sedan nicely. John Fitch also had an exhaust system kit which has to be seen to be believed, sort of like a trumpet on steroids...one for each side, and did they ever sing a wonderful song. Lastly, try replacing the stock tin push rod tubes with milled aluminum finned tubes fitted with aircraft grade o-rings. No more oil leaks, AND you can bet all your friends $10 that they won't be able to spot your "oil cooler"... "WINK" For kicks and giggles, check the SCCA records for the 1970's slalom racing results, and note how many of the top ten seasonal finishers were OMG gasp gasp CORVAIRS, even 10 years after production ceased.
Yes, but all of that should have come from the factory...many don't realize what a great handling car this was, esp the '65 and later..I had '65 Monza convertible but as a poor student drove it factory stock with over 80,000 miles on it...sure could of used another 100 hp, and the upgraded push rod tube seals...if I had it today it would...and ofcourse the mandatory 3.89:1 axle..
BTW, I knew many Corvairs to have fuel pump cavitation (vapor lock) issues which was easily fixed by doubling up the gasket, but knew none, repeat none, to have fan belt issues even with the strange 90° bend..
Great video Jay. I like the technical aspect of your presentation, good video, lots of angles, very good audio of engine sound etc. Your videos also point out good and bad features of the vehicle, are well researched technically, are not biased regarding country of origin, and very entertaining and engaging. Bringing in vehicles from independent owners is also a good idea, as it adds depth to the program regardless of the car inventory you own. All in all I can't fault your production or presentation. I love your show and drool over most of the vehicles presented. Keep em coming. Cheers from down under. Rob
If you are looking to vary the show a bit more, it would be great to see you feature some non street legal race cars of an earlier vintage occasionally. A Fangio era Ferarri D50 would be nice. But then you would of course have to buy some suitable white overalls to drive it, and take it to a track, and these things all cost money. Particularly the overalls. Rob.
I'm old enough to remember when these were new (granted, I was a young kid). Where I grew up we tended to only have white Corvairs. I dubbed them bathtubs on wheels. As I get old(er) I now appreciate the beauty and semi-exoticness of these cars.
I wish more people appreciated the Corvair . Truly a great car. Differently not boring.
Nearly 200 hp with only 2700 lbs to push made this a fast car in its day. Still pretty fast. I've always loved the styling of this car. The 15" wheels really fill up the wheel wells.
A magnificent automobile. My favorite was the Corsa turbo, 180hp, Fitch Sprint version.
Sounds gorgeous.
We own a Corvair Corsa...one of MANY Corvairs that we have owned...and we just love these cars! Loved watching Jay driving that Corvair YANKO Stinger!
I hope you let the guy you bought it off of drive it off camera. The expression on his face was like, "Dude, you have 557 cars worth untold millions of dollars. Please let me take it on the freeway and see what she'll do one last time! Did you bring me all the way here to watch you drive? Seriously?" He only put a couple thousand miles on it, and he doesn't have deep pockets (um, like some people), so he probably never revved it too much.
At any rate, my dad had a brand new '66 Corvair back in the day. He didn't love the car; he worshipped it. He let my grandmother drive it once (his mother in law), and she putted it around all day (a hot day) and severely over-heated the engine. It was ruined. My dad still brings it up from time to time.
Thanks for the vids over all these years. It is always a hoot to see you tool around in one of your toys. We all live vicariously through you.
*DON YENKO WAS THE MAN!!!!!!* Also raced in IMSA back when it was a cult sport compared to NASCAR and IndyCar.
Nice car, love the stripe & I didn't know it had a flap at the back, that's awesome :) Can't wait till next weeks episode
Why, hello there EKDrifter. We all kinda have to love the Corvair. The one I'd like to see is an offroad or a rally Corvair, that'd be cool :)
GM made three really good looking cars in the 60's and this is one of them !
I love the look and sound of the Stinger! Beautiful car.
I'm a fan of the Corvair myself. I had some old cars in my youth: a 327 '65 Impala wagon, '67 383 powered Plymouth Fury two-door, and a rally modified '73 Audi Fox. Those all got driven. The one project I had that I really regret I never got to finish and see on the road was a '62 Corvair two-door body shell that would have had a somewhat custom interior( since the original was mostly gone, but for the dash, and I had some ideas of my own), and a higher performance '64 engine.
Beautiful, just amazing. Heck I haven't seen a corvair in probably twenty years with my own eyes. Wish I could have been able to get something like this back in the day and had the foresight to keep and care for it... Basically any older American vehicle. I'd imagine it is very difficult and expensive to get parts. Unless you are a machinist or have a strapping account, it's much cheaper to get a modern vehicle and of course they ride better now. Watching these shows is bitter sweet to me.
My first car was a 66 Corvair Corsa convertible. 180hp Turbocharged.
Lucky you!
The Corsa was beautiful. I learned to drive a standard transmission on my friends car. We raced it at Connecting Highway every Friday and Saturday night. Better than my ‘69 Plymouth GTX.
I had a '66' Corvair, it did choke you when idling at red lights, but the 2 speed automatic transmission made it what I called the "Tollbooth Terror", 2nd gear didn't kick in until about 50 mph! "bye bye everybody!"
Haha that sounds awesome, man
Henry Homes That's odd. I have a Hydramatic Jetaway that usually pops into second at 20mph, unless I get on it, then it'll wait until 70mph.
Henry Homes 8
First time I've heard anyone talking good about the automatic corvairs. Two speeds is OK (meaning you can make it do if that's what the car has) if you have a good amount of torque, as with a V8, but even the 140 hp weren't exactly fast compared to what they were with a 4-speed. The Powerglide was the cheapest thing available from GM.
Curse you Ralph Nader
Corvairs where cool! I really like the concept of the station wagon they had there. seating for 5 and cargo room of a fullsize car IN A COMPACT!!!
I wish some one would bring a modern mainstream rear engine car back XD
ScottaHemi - Car models are dropped all the time, for a variety of reasons. The 2nd gen Corvair had a five-year run, mostly after Nader’s book.
Yes, but Nadar had a point, the 63 design had crap rear suspension and the cars flipped easily.
50 years later, GM decided to kill 124 people over an 80 cent ignition part.
I enjoyed your Yenko Stinger video. It brings back memories. Around 1973 or 74, I had the pleasure of watching one autocross. It looked and sounded wonderful, like yours.
I worked with a guy that was a Corvair tech. He would hunt for wrecked cars in the salvage yards to get the motors and trans axles, then turn them into dune buggies. The 140 hp. engines would pull a 2ft. wheel stand in second gear if you weren't carful. He was a wealth of info. and fun; we are running out of guys like that, stay healthy Jay we need you...
Don Yenko contracted my father to drill the rivets out of the steel friction plates that attached them to the flywheels to mount them with bolts and to mill sections out of the perimeter to lighten the iron part of the flywheels for competition. I could probably produce the coffee cans full of the cutouts if I looked hard enough around his shop. I personally know Warren Dernoshek who lead the Yenko team that assembled the Stingers. I had the pleasure of meeting Duane Hixon,another member of the Yenko Super Car build team before he passed away on September 3,2012.
nitro burners wow, that sounds like a wonderful coffee friend .
This car sounds grrrrrreeeeaaaaatttt! These cars were not so good in Canada...never could get enough heat back in the day...brrrrr
I thought they installed a gasoline fired, (since it was air-cooled I believe they had a cold weather option to put in a optional heater which actually burned gasoline?).
corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,233814,234155
.... yes believe it or not it had a gasoline powered heater for the interior of the car with a constantly lit pilot light.all supplied by the fuel tank ....
Love Corvairs! Didn’t know Yenko did them too. Side note: is that a Porsche next to his Volga in the background?
We all appreciate you collecting the most interesting cars on the planet.Good work Jay. I had a 1963 Corvair. I was going to make a dune buggy out of it.
Nice to be able to hear the sounds of the engine. I'm glad he takes these out for drives.
Donnie Yanko... Sounds like a famous movie title... The rear end of this car almost look like the european Opel Manta
I like all the shows. But some of the tips you present are Extremely useful. An example was the gasoline additive "archoil" which will make gasoline last of years. I used to use "stabile" additive and had problems anyway and the fuel system got destroyed by gasoline going bad. I Never heard of archoil until I watched your show. That tip alone will save me a lot of money in the future.
archoil 9100 is the real deal.... glad to know the gas addititve is very good too.....
You mean you like the shows AND some of the tips are useful...? It's not a counterpoint to liking the shows, is it? I just get thrown off when people use "but" like that; I read it twice looking for the exception you're about write, then finally realize it's something "in addition too" I can really use.
abbeykroeter I'm really glad you caught hismaistakebefore he handedit in to the TEACHER .......
abbeykroeter When you attempt to explain the correct usage of the English language to the semiliterate you don't get much gratitude, but you do get a lot of abuse. ;-)))
MrKeyboardCommando abuse is polluting the youtube comment section with grammar corrections when the reader clearly knew what he meant .. ridicculing someone by publicly piking on their punctuation or grammar is abuse .
I had a '63 dodge polara 426, no power ANYTHING but the engine, drum brakes, no power steering,etc, had to make an appointment to stop, but it sure was fast in a straight line! High rise cast iron headers, 3:91 posi, sure miss that car! 5 m.p.g on hwy 101 in northern cal. 3 speed beefed torqueflite, sweet car
I had a '63 Polara. White 4 door with red interior. 318 Poly with a push-button. P/S, P/B. Rolled it in '69..walked away without a scratch. I could cry when I think of her.
Napoleon Einstein I always liked the push button autos. I'm only 29 but my dad had some friends that always had old Chryslers .
What a wonderful, wonderful car! My neighbor had a base convertible Corvair back in the 80s and it was a total rust bucket. It's really great to see one of these in the Yenko COPO race trim and so well cared for. And oh my goodness...that exhaust note! Wow! Who knew?
Owned a '66 Turbo for about six months back in the mid-70s. It had been lowered a bit, with 50 series tires and looked very cool. Although it had quite a few miles on it and needed some attention, it went damned well and handled a well as many sports cars I've driven. I was sorry to let it go. And yeah, I wish I had it now, but that holds true for several cars I've owned. I'd need a garage like Jay's...and unfortunately I'm not a wildly successful comedian. Or wildly successful anything, truth be told. So I really appreciate seeing Jay drive cars I've owned and cars I'll never even get close to.