I am EXTRAORDINARILY excited to offer for a sale this beautiful, are, 964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder Convertible. It has been well cared for, rives like a DREAM and looks absolutely stunning in Goldwood Yellow over Black vinyl. This is a long ad, ut please be sure to read the entire thing - there is a lot of wonderful detail to cover! Let's dive right in!
Background:
We all know the background on the Corvair: feeling pressure to fill a gap for smaller cars in the American market, hevy, ed by general manager Ed Cole, ushed the now famous Corvair through to production for the 1960 model year. It offered a number of differences then anything else the Big 3 were producing like a unibody frame, ear mounted horizontal air cooled engine, small sporty stance and super sleek body. Corvairs came in a variety of flavors from coupes, o sedans, o forward control style vans and pickups. But one of the stand out models of any of the Corvairs offered was the very rare Monza Spyder Convertible.
So what made this car so special?
Chevy had done reasonably well with the convertible Corvair selling ~31,000 of them in standard Monza trim in 1964. But this Monza was upgraded from the factory to a Monza Spyder and that one little word makes all the difference. Gracing the engine bay of the pretty convertible was a turbo charged version of the Chevy flat-6 engine that produced upwards of 70 more horsepower than the stock 80hp engine! 150hp from a drop top, mall Chevy made this little beauty a sight to behold AND a treat to drive. Because many people were looking for a more economical car when purchasing the Corvair, ot many Monza Spyders sold in their short run for the additional $317 it cost to check the Spyder box. About 4,700 cars were sold, ith only a fraction remaining today! The Spyder offered not just the engine, ut revised gauges, ustom badging and bespoke trim
So let's chat more about this car specifically!
Made in October of 1964 and ordered in the stunning pastel known as Goldwood Yellow, his car looks remarkably sporty over its black vinyl interior. The top, lso black, ompletes the overall look. Paired with the boosted engine was the optional 4 speed transmission, aking this a wonderful car to drive!
This car is part of a major private collection featuring some very significant marques. It has been cared for in house and kept in ready to drive condition by a large team. It sits beside other Corvairs within the collection: a Greenbriar, edan and wagon. Check out the below featured Cover Story from Classic & Sports Car Magazine on this very Corvair and its stable mates in the collection! This car is part of a greater enjoyment and celebration of all things Corvair, ot just a one off purchase.
The Condition and Service:
Let's start on the engine and drivetrain:
-ENGINE
This engine comes to life immediately with a twist of the key. With even a crack of the throttle it, he Corvair feels torquey, mooth and powerful, nd effortlessly pulls away! More then a leisurely drive? Keep your foot in it and the real thrill of the engine comes to life! The turbo is in its sweet spot of building boost and you comfortably and quickly pull away from your fellow drivers. The sound of that flat 6 with a hint of turbo noise whooshing behind you reminds you very quickly how special this car really is. ZERO air/fuel issues, ERO detonation, ERO black smoke, ERO hesitations or flat spots.
Check out the underside pics and the engine bay pics!
-TRANSAXLE
The 4 speed transmission is in FANTASTIC shape. Tight, onfident shifts. NO grinds, O syncro issues. The shifter eases into gear without any drama.
-SUSPENSION
No bangs, o rough ride, o clunks! The shocks dampen wonderfully! The car is tight in corners, nd comfortable on the straights!
-BRAKES
Confident pedal, reat pressure with a firm positive stop. Shoes and drums have good life in both front and rear and feel fantastic!
-STEERING
Steering feels good, o excessive play or vibrations.
Let's continue to the exterior:
-PAINT and BODY
The paint is VERY nice! It is a 8 out of 10 easily. Shiny, eautiful, oldwood Yellow paint was recently polished, inished and waxed and looks wonderful. Car was repainted in the reasonably recent past and shines nicely. No signs of a bondo job, ccidents, r rust. The flaws are so minor they are essentially unnoticeable unless someone points them out. Some very minor overspray in little insignificant areas, mall chips or touch ups, nd other such minor flaws. I can only see some of these extremely minor flaws from certain angles and I can't capture it in pictures well, ut I have included below any of the photographable flaws. This car presents as a "Driver +", o some perhaps a "Show -". Clean floors and no rust lurking around. The trunk floor has a couple areas where the splatter paint has chipped and there is some light surface oxidation (photoed below).
-WHEELS
In 1964, he 13" Kelsey Hayes wire wheels were a $900 option! Thankfully, o save yourself the headaches of finding a set to complete the ideal Corvair, his yellow beauty already features a set! These wheels when they come for sale are VERY expensive. The wheels present well, hine bright and look nice! Some minor flaws, hipping of chrome, ight surface oxidation at those chips, tc, ut nothing significant to take away from the overall beauty of the wheels and the car.
-TIRES
Plenty of tread left on the 175/80/13 tires!
-BUMPERS and BRIGHT WORK
The bumpers are in wonderful shape! No dents, racks or issues! Chrome is nice all around the car with only minor flaws.
-GLASS/WINDOWS
Not to let a pebble defeat this car, he windshield is great shape, ith no chips or sandblasting. The door and rear glass is wonderful shape! Clear and clean!
-CONVERTIBLE TOP
The top is in nice shape! No tears or splits and very flexible and not brittle. The black top shines nice in the sun! The rear window is reasonably clear. If 1 was destroyed and 10 was crystal clear, would call this a 7+ or 8-. No tears, ery soft and pliable, ut just a touch of sun fade. Still easy to see through when driving and does not obscure vision nor take away from the car. The latches snug up nicely and line up very nicely with the dowel pins when putting the top up. With a touch of a button, he top hides away! No issues with the mechanism!
Onto the cabin:
-SEATS
The Black vinyl seats are in great shape! No splits, o worn spots! Just wonderful soft vinyl! To my belief they are the original seat coverings and look 9/10 on condition! They are comfortable and the dual buckets look great! Rear seats are in great shape as well!
-DASHBOARD
ZERO cracks. Beautiful shape!!
-DOOR PANELS
Very nice what appear to be original panels, onderful map pockets and armrest!
-CARPET
Very nice carpet in the car! No heel wear or stains!
-WINDOWS
All windows roll down and up with no issues. Good tracks and no dead rollers.
-RADIO
Original radio looks great, ut is not working. Have not had this checked out because a turbocharged flat 6 sounds much better than anything on AM :)
-STEERING WHEEL
The wheel is in great shape with no major defects or cracking!
-GAUGES
All the gauges work! RPM, peedo, oost, uel and temp all read loud and clear!
The Experience:
This Corvair is a dream to drive. It is tight, ery comfortable, ery quick, imble and smooth. It has all the power it had from the factory and then some, nd from even a little gas is torquey and responsive. It is so easy to fall in love with this Spyder. Two latches and a button and the top is down. One twist of the key and she is whistling away behind you! Rowing the gears of this Corvair with the wind in your hair and the 150hp turbo engine rocketing you along is one of the best experiences for early 60's American motoring. There were so few cars like the Corvair and certainly no true peers in the American market. I find myself in odd cars all of the time, rom the hyper expensive and rare, o the quirky, o the mundane. This Corvair seemingly always gets more thumbs up and questions then any other car. In a short drive just to photo it the other day I think I was stopped/waved at a half dozen times. There is something about a Corvair! And that feeling is even greater as a driver then an onlooker. I hope you can tell by my long ad that this car is an wonderful and beautiful Corvair Spyder. This really is a very special car to drive and with the ongoing care within the collection, t is a worry free Corvair, eady to be enjoyed for the second half of summer and fall!
Feel free to ask me any questions at all. Residents around the country I am happy to be flexible for your arranged shipper so that you can get your new car as soon as possible.
My standard disclaimer/mantra for any car regardless of service or price: The car is sold with no warranty. You are buying a used car. Eventually every car will break, f you find one that doesn't please let me know. I do my ABSOLUTE BEST to offer only cars that are of TOP NOTCH service. I am not a dealer, ust a guy who loves Corvair (among other cars) and hope to pass along my passion and fervor for these cars. That said if ever you encounter an issue I do my best to provide advice, irection or even parts if I have them. Please understand that it is a used car and will have minor signs of use. That means please do not expect a showroom brand new car. Please adjust your expectation level to that of a 50+ year old car, ut however is WELL above average for it's year/miles. This is very nice condition for a Corvair of this year, ut please just remember that no 50 year old car is perfect. It is though a great Corvair! Please only bid if you intend to buy. If you would like to have an Ebay 3rd party mechanic service check out the car I MORE than welcome it. Please have the car checked out BEFORE bidding and not after, f you intend to use that service. And please, f you would like to utilize this service, ontact me with more than a couple days left in the auction so we can arrange schedules. Please check your local laws and registration procedures before buying. Buying over the internet can be scary sometimes! I get it, ecause I am an enthusiast too!! For that very reason, am more than happy to answer every and any question you may so you know 100% what you are buying. But, lease ask any and all questions ahead of purchase! All sales are final, ou are buying as-is, he sky is blue, tc, tc. Sorry to have to give the boring speech.
Please feel free to ask any and all questions!!
"Corvair: You can't imagine how joyous a compact car can be!"