This isn't my car, but these photos show how the drivetrain is arranged. Whole damn thing fits on a small dolly, and drops out of the car with the rear suspension. Thought it was an interesting view that you wouldn't usually see.

I'm glad to see you get back on this project. I remember when you picked it up. Cool car, looking forward to seeing what you do.

You mention the roof extension. Is that the part that looks like a vinyl top in the pics? What is under it? Will the profile change if you remove it?

Not gonna lie, after reading that article about Corvairs, I really, really want one now, haha. Can't wait to see this thing transform. :yes:

Thanks, yes that's the vinyl-looking piece. Fitch produced Fitch "Sprints", a modified Corvair design back in the 60's. Mine's not Sprint but I do have the roof feature. Underneath is just the stock roof line. I'd rather save the weight and remove it, and the more I look at stock-bodied Corvairs the more I like them anyway.

Here's a quick summary of Fitch:
http://www.corvaircorsa.com/fitch.html
http://www.corvaircorsa.com/fitch01.html

Sadly, there were more aftermarket parts available back then than there are now for these cars. Even Yenko had his hand in them back then, and produced the Corvair Stinger - which I believe was his first involvement with GM. Some parts are still available, and the community is strong so advice is available from guys who have been there already.

Thanks for the links. Good reading on Fitch.

If you are stuck on small block power, some guys do mid-mounted V8 conversions. Crown and Kelmark were two companies who sold kits to mount V8's towards the center of the car. The power/weight ratio can be insane, and weight bias is much improved. There's still a few Corv8's out there, but they're rare. Nobody sells the kits anymore. Here's one very clean version that was built up from an original Crown car shell:

http://www.corvaircorsa.com/norris01.html

If you can find one, it would make a helluva project.

G-body frame with LS1
 

Saw an article in Super Chevy (I think...) where a Corvair and 1980's G-body (Monte Carlo/Grand National/Cutlass/Grand Prix) had the same wheel base and similar track width as a Corvair, and the Corvair body was put on a G-body frame and floor. LS1 / T56 or 4L60E is an EASY swap as the Monte Carlo folks are selling conversion kits.

I thought about this myself for my project after the 1969 Camaro but found an awesome deal on another project car (Need an old car as a foundation out here in California to stay away from the smog nazi's, and I've worked on Corvairs in the past).

Wouldn't take much to get a dead G-body for next to nothing, box and stiffen up the frame, get a DSE suspension kit and you would have quite a foundation to start. Tons of other g-body related parts too, 9-inch rear ends, big brake kits. Need to look at a few things that need to be thought out ahead of time, like cooling the engine, as the Corvair has no grille, but those kinds of things have been worked out before.

Ton of work, on a proven chassis, but easy to do if you are a handy welder and fabricator, and have the time and ambition. Here's an posting on a LS1 conversion. Found it quick, and I've found a few other tech articls on other pages too, I just don't have time to dig them up.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/conver...1-corvair.html

Hmmmm.... Can I post an article from another site and not get it deleted.... Guess I'll find out.....

Nice Project. I had a late model several years ago loved that car. Mine had the 140 hp with 4 single barrel carbs. I put the Holley 390 cfm 4 barrel set up on it. Ran great until temps dipped below 40 then would start freezing the intake runners.

Alright guys, it's been a while! Got a new shop for my business, so I can work on the car on the off-hours, inside for once.

Towing the car to the new shop:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh2/photo4.jpg

Started by taking apart one side of the rear suspension to see what sort of condition it's in:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh2/photo7.jpg

Poor condition, apparently. Didn't take photos, but just about every bushing is shot, along with the shock and spring. Nothing too surprising there. I ordered all new poly bushings for both sides, along with new adjustable shocks and stiffer springs. Installation will have to wait until I get around to sanding and painting the wheel wells. I'll also be rebuilding the hubs and axles.

I also removed the rear roof extension, stripped the vinyl and started sanding for eventual paint. I initially was going to leave it off of the car but I do like the way it looks. It'll be painted body-color.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh2/photo8.jpg

I considered sending the car out to be media blasted after finding this on the lower windshield section:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh2/photo3.jpg

...however after stripping the interior down and sanding some other suspect areas of the body, the car as a whole doesn't look all that bad. I'll just strip the body when I get to that point and fix whatever rust there is. The floors and frame are still in great shape.

Speaking of the interior, I tore it out today and started cleaning up the glue, seam sealer and other crap that was hanging around.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...h2/photo12.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush2/photo.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh2/photo1.jpg

Long way to go. Over the next week I'll get it cleaned up, sand down the floors and repair any rust areas. Then it's POR15 time! I'll also see about getting a better camera, didn't realize how dark the pictures came out.

Any idea how to make the images show up in the post? I used the IMG tags but it just shows the URL.