Keith’s Blog: The Corvair I Let Get Away |  |
| Monday, 10 October 2011 13:20 |
As my Facebook friends are already aware, I had a foot operation last week that will keep me driving automatics only for the next couple of months. Which, coupled with the fact that we have a four-year-old who needs to ride in a car seat, made this the perfect opportunity to look for a four-door automatic of some novel flavor. The search narrowed to either a Corvair or an XJ6. My friends don’t really understand the Corvair, but they also don’t have any objections to it. With the XJ6, however, they overwhelmingly tell me I’m nuts. I respond to them, “But I’ve never owned a car with built-in picnic tables before.” A local Craigslist advertisement caught my eye – a 1960 Corvair (first year!), four-door, auto, 32k original miles, original paint and interior, $5,500. Pricey, but worth a look. I had my operation on Thursday, my pain med intake had slackened by Sunday, and I was out on the hunt. The Corvair was exactly as described — EXCEPT—it wore a cheapie respray from years ago, the seats had Wal-Mart covers (poorly installed), and all exterior chrome strips were missing, as well as the chrome around the front and rear glass. Oh, and the engine had a tappet knock, and a vintage, pungent smell emanated from the car’s rear end, due to oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold.It drove well enough, and I liked the fact that the rear seat folded down completely flat. The dash-mounted shifter had a certain “cool” factor and the light steering was a plus. But it wasn’t the car for us. Even if I had offered $2,000 and became an owner, the car was a bottomless pit that could never be made right. I hate to walk away from any car, especially a model I haven’t owned before, but I’d be much better off finding a good one and paying too much. Well, a little too much. If you’d got something, drop me an email at keith.martin@sportscarmarket.com.           |