Chevrolet Corvair, 1964 Corvair | Conceptcarz.com - Pictures, Pricing, Information, Wallpaper, History

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The engine of the Corvair was made completely of aluminum making it very light weight and durable. Road and Track hailed the car as a very well designed car but another man, Ralph Nader, disagreed. He published 'Unsafe At Any Speed' which highlighted many safety concerns and lack of standards in the United States. He attacked all US cars but primarily focused on the Corvairs claiming that the rear wheels 'tucked under' on turns resulting in a vehicle roll. For 1964 these issues were addressed but Nader still championed the idea that the Corvair was still the '....leading candidate for the unsafest car title.'

The courts got involved and disagreed with Nader. General Motors responded to Naders accusations by searching Naders past for any discrediting information. Nadars record was clean and GM looked very guilty. As a result sales of the Corvair dropped from 220,000 in 1965 to 14,800 in 1968. A year later the decision was made to cancel production of the Corvair.

The Monza convertible option was the sportiest of all the four original Corvair models. In 1964 it carried a $2,492 factory price which included a 164 cubic-inch engine capable of producing 110 horsepower.

The Corvair came on the scene in 1959 and featured a flat-six engine mounted in mid-ship. Even with putting the engine in the middle of the vehicle, the weight distribution was not evenly distributed. The engine sat behind the rear axle and this actually caused handling problems. The vehicles main competition was the VW Bug and the Porsche 911. It was originally built to compete with the Bug, but with the flat-six engine, it was more in the Porsche 911 league. But with the poor handling, it was in an undesirable class of its own. The handling issues were addressed in 1965 when new suspensions with upper and lower control arms were added. But when comedian Eddie Kovacs was killed due to over-steer, public confidence and sales plummeted. Chevrolet tried to save the Corvairs by introducing media campaigns that focused on the new suspension. Race drivers were used to demonstrate the cars ability. However, it was not enough and Chevrolet finally ended production of the Corvair in 1969.
The front of the vehicle did not have a grill. This was because the engine was air-cooled, so a grill was not needed.

The car came with fifteen different color options on the outside and eight on the inside. The retractable room was foldable, and an automatic option available for an additional charge. In 1962, a turbocharged version was added to the line-up in attempt to boost sales and improve the image of the vehicle as a sports car. A top speed of 115 mph could be ascertained with the turbocharger with a zero-to-sixty time of about 10.8. In 1966, the vehicle received styling updates and was named the Corvair Corsa. Drum brakes were always used. The vehicle came in a variety of gearboxes such as a three-speed manual, four-speed manual or an optional two-speed automatic. The body was integral chassis with two-door steel body.

The name Corvair came about by breeding the Corvette and Bel Air together, two trademark names of Chevrolet.

The Chevrolet Corvair was introduced in 1959 and remained in production for ten years. It was an economy car that had its engine mounted in the rear which offered superior handling and exceptional performance, especially for the Monza model. An update to the styling in 1965 left the vehicle with a design that was very European. It was slightly wider and sat lower to the ground. Its body was described as a 'Coke bottle'. The Corsa and Spyder were now the top-of-the-line models in respects to performance and style, a title taken away from the Monza.

The Corsa models were equipped with a 140 horsepower four-carbureted six-cylinder engine and fixed to a four-speed manual gearbox. It was offered in two configurations, a two-door coupe and power-top convertible. The interior featured a 140 mph speedometer, re-settable trip odometer, 6000 rpm tachometer, analog clock with second hand, and chromed gearshift boot. The exterior was adorned with badging, dual exhausts, and aluminum-finish taillight cove.

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1964 Chevrolet Corvair
Year	1964
Make	Chevrolet
Model	Corvair
Body Style	Club Coupe
Engine Location	Rear
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Production Years for Series	1960 - 1969
Price	$2,000.00
Weight	2360 lbs \| 1070.5 kg
Combined MPG	0.00

Engine [Optional Engines]
Engine Configuration	F
Cylinders	6
	Hydraulic valve lifters
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	163.60 CU IN. \| 2681.4 cc. \| 2.7 L.
Valves	12 valves. 2 valves per cylinder.
Valvetrain	OHV
Horsepower	95.00 BHP (69.9 KW) @ 3700.00 RPM
Torque	110.00 Ft-Lbs (149.2 NM) @ 2400.00 RPM
HP to Weight Ratio	24.8 LB / HP (Vehicles with similar ratio)
HP / Liter	35.2 BHP / Liter
Compression Ratio	8.25:1
Main Bearings	4
Fuel Feed	Carburetor
	2 Rochester 1-barrel Model 7024023 carburetor
	Vehicles with similar horsepower and weight

Standard Transmission
Gears	3
Transmission	Manual

Optional Transmission
Transmission	Automatic
	Powerglide

Optional Transmission
Gears	4
Transmission	Manual
	Floor Shift

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1964 Chevrolet Corvair