Car of the Week: 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Monza convertible

[mongooz]

(please don't go on about "death on 4 wheels" and all of that. they were pretty cool little cars, as long as you didn't get into a wreck.)

1965 was the year that could have been a big positive turning point in what had already been a good early life for the Chevrolet Corvair. The car had been an unqualified sales success its first three seasons, and for ’65 it got a cool facelift. Not only that, but GM engineers also thought that they had remedied the model’s problematic swing-axle rear with Corvette-like fully articulated independent rear suspension.

Three-speed manual transmission was standard, although more than half of all Corvairs built for ’65 had Powerglide automatic, which was $157 extra. A four-speed floor-shifted manual transmission was also available for $92. Monza and 500 six-cylinder 164 cid/110 hp Turbo-Air engine ($27). Monza and 500 six-cylinder 164 cid/140 hp Turbo-Air engine ($81).

read more:https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/featu...nvertible#gid=ci029de141c0002674&pid=img_2713

 

[B Valley]

They really were great looking cars. Now and then you'll see one that's been converted to front engine.

 

[DinoMikeSr]

I love them. No matter how unsafe the claim was.

 

[mongooz]

I love them. No matter how unsafe the claim was.

yea.....they're no worse than an MGB.....and nobody bitches about them.

 

[tiger roach]

I kinda like that one.

I had a '76 Monza. It was a completely different car in spite of the name, and an absolute POS.

 

[Lerxst]

I kinda like that one.

I had a '76 Monza. It was a completely different car in spite of the name, and an absolute POS.

Those were horrible. Was that a hand-me-down or self inflicted?

 

[Tig]

The 180 HP Devin C was a cool Corvair powered creation, too.
https://silodrome.com/devin-c-car/

 

[tiger roach]

Those were horrible. Was that a hand-me-down or self inflicted?

Hand-me-down, although I was there when my folks originally bought it as a 2nd car. It actually seemed pretty cool when it was a new car, but it didn't take long to show its true colors.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

I like them.

My dad had one - not a convertible. He got cut off and barrel rolled it down a hill. It did not blow up but it got totalled out.

It's weird but I never really think of them as Chevrolet. Just Corvair. I know they are, but first impressions left that bit out and it stuck in my head.

 

[mongooz]

The 180 HP Devin C was a cool Corvair powered creation, too.
https://silodrome.com/devin-c-car/

those pics look like it's a hot wheels car. doesn't even look real.
cool car tho.

 

[Lerxst]

Hand-me-down, although I was there when my folks originally bought it as a 2nd car. It actually seemed pretty cool when it was a new car, but it didn't take long to show its true colors.

I had the Pontiac version and it was a hand-me-down too. I think they measured tolerances with a yard stick those days at GM. Massive POS.

I owned it less than a year before I sold it for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Bob411]

I kinda like that one.

I had a '76 Monza. It was a completely different car in spite of the name, and an absolute POS.

I had the Pontiac version and it was a hand-me-down too. I think they measured tolerances with a yard stick those days at GM. Massive POS.

I owned it less than a year before I sold it for a couple hundred bucks.

For the trifecta, my dad bought a Buick Skyhawk. That was what I learned on. A 4 speed, it once got stuck in both 1st and reverse.

 

[Andrew Sak]

I kinda like that one.

I had a '76 Monza. It was a completely different car in spite of the name, and an absolute POS.

My buddy had one around that year. It was a wagon. It looked just like a Vega.

 

[Bob411]

My buddy had one around that year. It was a wagon. It looked just like a Vega.

Had to google that, had no idea there was a wagon. Kinda like that, better than the hatchback anyways, sort of Nomad-ish.

Also learned that Olds was in on the party.