1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa 4-speed Rebuilt 140 And More!! on 2040-cars

Summary

You are bidding on a true 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa 4 speed car. The VIN Number is 10737SW288233.

** WARNING: This is a long post, but I like to give a lot of details so you know exactly what you are buying. ***

I have owned this car for 15 years, in which 13 of the 15 the car was just sitting. In the summer of 2013 I started working on the car again because I finally had some time and really needed to do something with it instead of watching it rust away. I have done a lot of mechanical work on this car in the past 9 months and it is detailed below. If something is not in detail, then it probably is in good shape. I never intended for this to be a concours show car or a trailer queen. The end game for this car should be a really nice, reliable weekend car show/drive-in car that you can actually enjoy to drive, not just look at. All of the work was done with that in mind. All of the work that has been done on this was done properly, but not to the extreme of powder coating everything or polishing every nut and bolt or buying brand new everything, although I probably did go a little overboard on some things. Overall this car is in solid shape. It does have it’s issues, but mechanically at this point I would feel comfortable driving it across the country as comfortable as you would any 50 year old car. Cosmetic-wise it does need some work, but it is worth finishing in my opinion and many others who have seen it recently. I have been driving the car off and on for the past 6 months, and it amazes me how many surprised looks and thumbs up it gets even looking a little rough like it does. The motor rebuild was completed  and installed in October 2013. I have been repairing all of the mechanical bugs that have surfaced since putting the car back on the road from a 13 year break. At this point I feel like everything has been fixed/repaired/upgraded to make this a very dependable running car.

History

I bought this car back in 1998. I had a 1968 Monza I owned for 1 month when someone pulled out in front of me and smashed the front. I found this car already painted this color and had been sitting for a few years outside. It had no interior and no motor. It looked like someone was going to start a quick restoration but never got back around to it. Originally I swapped my 68’ interior and motor into the car and drove it for over a year. I had the car repainted the same color in 1998 by the same person that painted it this color. Just the outside was re-sanded and painted, so that way it kept the cost down of having to redo door jambs, etc. In 1999 I replaced/rebuilt the entire brake system, suspension system and steering system (Clark’s Adjustable shocks, springs, new tie- rod ends, ball joints, control arm bushings, etc.) I drove the car for another month or so, then pulled the interior out and was going to start working on that, then never got back around to it. It sat outside from 2000-2010. In 2010 I made room in the garage and stored it in there because I had acquired all kinds of new motor parts and was planning on building the 140 motor, but never got around to it until the Summer of 2013.

Rebuilt 140 Engine

The engine is a 1966 140 block (big bolts) with a full matched set of 1966 carburetors. Most of the machine work and build was done in the Summer/Early Fall 2013. My Father-in-Law was a big Corvair guy from the late 60’s until the Late 90’s. He worked on and owned hundreds of Corvairs, and was the local “go-to” guy for years when it came to Corvairs. I talked him out of retirement to build the motor and help out with other areas. The motor currently has around 700 miles. I recently did the first oil change and went from the break in oil to Castrol Synthetic Blend 20/50 with ZDDP additive and Clarks oil filter.  If I did not list a specific part, then it is either an obvious new part (like Gaskets/Grommets/Seals etc.) or it is a used in good shape part. All of the shrouds were used, and they were hot tanked/steamed then primed and painted. The shrouds are in good shape but underneath there are some dents and dings. The only shroud/part that is missing is the left side heat shield for the 140. Everything else is complete. (Picture of Motor parts was taken BEFORE it was sent to the machine shop)Below is a full breakdown of the engine rebuild:

Transmission/Rear End

When the Engine was rebuilt, we also installed a New Pilot Bushing, New Otto Heavy Duty Flywheel/Pressure Plate, and a Rebuilt Heavy Duty Clutch Disk. Transmission/Rear End is a Correct 1965 “Muncie” 4-Speed Transmission (When I bought the car, the engine was removed but had the Tranny/Rear End still in it. This could possibly be the original setup, but not sure). I used an electric pump (since there is no drain plug on the later model Trannys) to pump out the old gear oil, then pumped cheap gear oil back into it, pumped that back out and finally pumped in new Amsoil Synthetic 90w Gear Oil. What a difference it made in the shifting! Also, back in 1998/1999 when I drove the car daily, I did install the Clarks bronze bushing upgrade kit to help take some of the slack out of the shifter. Currently it shifts pretty good. It is not going to shift as slick as today’s manuals. The rear Hubs were also rebuilt with all new Timkin bearings and seals. Synthetic grease was used, and hubs were tapped with a zerk fitting. All of the U-joints were replaced with new Moog Heavy Duty U-joints that were also packed with synthetic grease. The half shafts were sanded and coated with POR-15 and Gloss Black Rustoleum paint.

Fuel Tank/System

During the Summer of 2013, I dropped the fuel tank and to my surprise it was in really good shape. I cleaned the inside of the tank very well and used Red Kote Tank Sealer to seal the inside of the tank. On the outside of the tank, I surface sanded it and used two coats of POR-15 and 2 coats of Gloss Black Rustoleum Paint. I installed a new sending unit kit in the tank. I also replaced all the rubber hoses including the filler neck hose/grommet/etc. that goes to the tank. No more spillage when filling up! In the rear of the car it has new rubber fuel line with an in-line filter, new mechanical fuel pump, and the carbs were also rebuilt. No old stinky gas has been anywhere near this fuel system/carbs or motor. All the factory metal lines were used, but I did flush them really good first before running any new gas thru them.

Wheels/Tires/Steering/Suspension/Brake System

In the late 1999s, I did a complete rebuild of the suspension and brake system. This included all new tie rods, upper/lower control arms, sway bar bushings, pittman arm bushing, Clark’s Adjustable Shocks, Springs, Brake Hoses, Wheel Cylinders, Brake Shoes, Springs, etc. I am probably forgetting a few things here or there, but I think you can get the picture. After sitting for 13 years, everything is still in good shape. Most bushings were changed to urethane, so it stood the test of time well. The past winter of 2014 after driving the car a bit, I had to do some brake work. I had to replace both front wheel cylinders, shoes and I did do a Clarks Dual Master Cylinder Conversion. It now stops really well for a drum brake system. The steering system was replaced in the summer of 2013. I acquired a correct EARLY 1965 Telescopic Steering Column with factory wood wheel. The column was complete except it was/still is missing the horn button. The wood wheel is in OK shape. It is fine to drive with, but would need some cosmetic attention. The turn signal works just fine, but the chrome turn signal lever is rusty and looks bad (I do have a new chrome turn signal lever that was purchased for a standard column. Don’t know if it will work in the telescopic or not). The steering box was rebuilt with new bearings and seals and synthetic fluid. I was told by the person that rebuilt it that it did have some pitting/gaulding on the worm gear. We went ahead and installed it anyway to see how it did. After having the steering calibrated/adjusted correctly, it does have some play in the steering. This is not rack and pinion so it does have a different feel, but it probably has a little more play than it should. I have been driving I the past few months and it does not bother me that bad, but it would be something I would try to replace again but currently it is not that high on the priority list. I have heard of someone locally that has some EARLY 1965 (with long shaft) steering boxes if needed. The wheels are factory Camaro wheels from the early 70’s. I had them hot tanked and steamed. I primed and painted all 4 wheels (inside and out).Then I had New Falken Ziex ZE912 195/60/14 Tires installed. I ordered new chrome trim rings, and all 4 hubs had new wheel studs installed, and I used new chrome lug nuts on all 4 wheels as well.

Heater

All of the heater hoses were replaced with new hoses including the oddball oval hose. The rubber flaps in the heater box that I had were chewed up by some kind of critter that moved in at some point. I ordered another complete heater box from Corvair Ranch. I disassembled it and sandblasted/painted the complete heater box, and used Gummi Pfledge Rubber Rejuvenator on the rubber flaps. I installed a new high speed blower motor (needs 30 Amp fuse in panel now) and also had to replace the front plastic duct from the floor to the defroster due to the old one being rotted.

Body – Engine Bay

While the motor was out, the engine bay was cleaned and the bad parts were sanded and sealed with POR-15. The battery box section was cut out and replaced with a Clarks replacement. The lower section of the rear quarter panel was rusty and had to be replaced in order to get the new battery box welded in properly. The new metal was welded in and primed, but has not been sanded or finished. The engine bay was then sprayed with rubberized undercoat, and painted with Rustoleum Semi-Gloss Black paint.

Body – Interior and Trunk

As you can see from the pictures, this is one of the eyesores of the car. Everything is solid, but in the interior some at one time tried to patch the floors by riveting in sheet metal. If I was going to keep the car, I would replace both front sides and the rear floor boards. There are no “Fred Flintstone” holes in them now, but they are not perfect either. I think the previous owner did more damage using epoxy and pop-riviting in sheet metal instead of leaving it alone. The trunk bottom definitely needs to be replaced, and there is some other rust spots as well. All of the weatherstrip/fuzzies are gone, but everything is still solid and not falling apart. The interior was sprayed black when I got the car. Originally I believe the interior color was maroon, but cannot remember at this point. The seats are the 65-66 style big seats. They are in poor shape, but I stuffed them with an old pillow and put on a cheap cover, so they work for now. The rear seat is from my 68’ Monza, but I also have a 65-66 set of rear seats as well. The interior is basically complete, and the Corsa dash works somewhat. The speedometer needs some work, the gas  and temp. gauge work fine, the manifold pressure gauge does not work, (gauge may work but tubing may be bad) but the clock needs a little attention (but will spin around for a few minutes at a time), and the tach. seems to be just fine.

Body – Exterior

This is the touchiest subject. I have let three paint/body guys look over this car. Two of them are retired, but they all said the same thing. It is not the worst they have seen or worked on, but it is not the best either. That seems to be the general consensus from most people who look at it. The car overall is solid. When you close the doors, it makes a good solid sound. The same goes for the trunk and engine lid. The rocker panels are solid which is a good sign. As you can see from the pictures, the worst part is the driver’s side roof, front and read windshield areas (what old car does not have this problem) and the fenders. The rear-left fender has already been rebuilt. The guy that did that work said the roof section would also need a patch panel, and it would need a few more patches on the car. He said for something that is going to be a weekend driver, you could POR-15 and bondo a lot of it and that would be fine for some time. Beauty and rust is in the eye of the beholder.

Extra Parts/ Goodies

I do have a lot of extra parts to go with the car. As you can see from the pictures, the crown jewel is the extra Corsa dash. I bought this on eBay back in 2008 and I won the auction for around $500. It was removed from a car in the late 60’s and put in storage until the auction in 2008. I have had it in storage as well since then, so it has not been in a car or really seen daylight in almost 50 years. As you can see from the pictures it is in incredible shape. I also have a set of NOS door weatherstrip and fuzzies, along with an extra set of chrome window trim, front trunk trim bar, full set (minus front glass)of factory tinted glass from my 68’ Monza, a  ton of factory Air Conditioner parts, and a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff.

Closing

Overall I feel like this is a very solid car. It is still a project at this point, but most of the mechanical work is complete. At this point it is more cosmetics. It does not make sense to look really good sitting on the side of the road or on the back of a flatbed. If something was not covered, then assume it would be just like any other old car, or send me a message and I will try to answer as best as I can. I am only selling this car because I have a 63 Spyder Convertible and a 62 Greenbrier Deluxe that need the time, money and attention. I am not looking for any trades because I have too many projects and not enough time. I have receipts showing where I have spent over $3,000 in parts and machine shop labor since June 2013. That DOES NOT include the labor of the motor build/install, or all of the other hours that was spent in the garage doing all of the other work. Also, I acquired the engine parts from a Corvair Club member that was moving and did not want the parts anymore. These days just the new motor parts alone would be worth over $1,500. I have seen other rebuilt 140 motors on a pallet sell on eBay for $2,000+ depending on how complete they were. I do not have to sell this car, so please do not waste my or your time with ridiculous offers.

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More Photos: I have more photos but can't get my Google + account to link with the eBay description. Just message me if you need more photos. Thanks!!