Slideshow!

The beginnings of the build

When removing the front bumper I noticed there was previous damage to the lower front. This is pretty common but I always thought it would look better without the license plate flat area  there so that is where I started. I also removed the trunk key and trim.

Having that finished I decided to split the bumpers. I am thinking now that I may just use a slightly modified 69 Camaro lower valance. If I do that the lights etc. will be easier install. I will have to cut what I have done to do that but I think it will be worth it.

Next in line after the bike.

I really don't have a car for myself that is drivable at this time. I do have a truck but it's not really my style I just needed a utility vehicle for getting materials and dump runs etc. The plan was to have my car done last summer but this house purchase changed everything. After the bike is finished this 1965 Corvair Corsa Convertible will be next in line.

 I had purchased a pair of cars both Corsas one was a Turbo coupe, I really wanted to build that one but I also had a 140 Convertible. I like to keep my projects (somewhat) in check. I was also living in a rented place so not the storage I have now. I decided to roll the dice. I listed them both on Craigslist and the one that sold would provide the funding to start the other one. I ended up with the red one on the bottom. The good things about it are the power top and pretty solid car. The only really bad parts were the trunk floor, due too a varmint infestation. the lower drivers rear also had some cancer from the battery acid.  Me being a self inflicted poor man had found some great deals on parts as I knew I would be building another Corvair. I purchased a complete interior kit for $100 what a steal! There was also a disc brake front end that I found very cheap as well, $300 I think. I will probably end up using that on the Crown car now and keep the drums on the Convertible. I also had a Yenko Stinger carbon fiber deck lid that I had purchased a few years back, now that was a pricey item. I think nearly $600 after shipping. It is a good thing that my wheeling and dealing generally makes most of my parts virtually free! What I am going to do in the next couple of days is get you all up to speed on this car. That way you will know how it arrived at the point it is now. In the future when I finish the car. You will already know the work that it took to get it there. This car was originally Gold with a black top and interior. I was going to go back to original with it but after it threw a few surprises at me I decided I could go custom with it! It will be a medium dark silver with semi flat black accents, top and a light blue interior.

Scavenging for stuff

Here is an old light post base that I found while taking my girl and our dog out for a walk. What a pain to remove but it will make a cool tool stand, there is another one as well, Maybe I will use them for my bike stand?

I had walked by this for a year before I needed an air cleaner for my bike. I asked my neighbor if I could buy it and $25 later I had the start to a unique air cleaner!

 

My Crown Corvair

Sorry to skip around so much but I wanted to say a little about my crown Corvair. Crown Mfg Co. Started by Ted Trevor made kits to install V8 engines behind the front seat of a Corvair so you basically have a 2600 pound 300+ horsepower mid engine car. Mine has the complete kit but I plan on setting it up differently and improving on the original builders work. I basically traded it for a welder that I paid $500 for so I could not pass it up. This will be the last in line project. My bike is to be finished next then my Corvair Corsa convertible.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Crown from the day I went to look at it.

The car is really in pretty good shape, no rust through, and it is an original air conditioned car so that will be nice with that engine sitting behind the seats. It is a 69 307 with a set of 67 Corvette heads. The plans include filling in the body panels cut out by the previous owner and moving some plumbing also adding some stiffer suspension and roll bar etc. You will see it her at a later date!

The other projects

From here until I finish talking about my projects I am going in reverse order of importance. So my Crown Corvair would be next.

   First a little history. Corvairs have been long misunderstood. People think they are unsafe, that Ralph Nader killed the Corvair, and all sorts of things. Truth be told Ralph probably kept the Corvair in production a couple extra years! Chevrolet did not want the people to think that he was right so they kept production going. The Mustang was killing the sales of Chevrolet Corvairs and they were slated to stop production. After Nader's book came out they thought it would be better to keep them going. Corvairs are one of my favorite classic cars. They are very innovative for the time and the 65-69 body style is one of my all time favorites. Camaros take a lot of styling from the Corvair. They were the first production turbocharged car, they were also air cooled rear engine rear wheel drive cars. Can you imagine how they "freaked out the squares" when they came out? Opening the trunk at the front to put groceries in. That still gets people!

    Corvair performance Most people look to Corvette Camaro etc. for a Chevrolet performance car...those cars are very limited. I will take a Corvair any day! The power to weight ratio in a Corvair rivals the best of the muscle cars. When you have that along with the best fully independent suspension, available quick steering and shifting. A corvair could keep up with most high dollar muscle and leave them in the rear view once it was time to turn!  Don Yenko one of the biggest names in the Camaro and Nova etc. world started first with the Corvair. He saw the potential in these cars as racers and set out to prove that in the SCCA. He became aware of the changes for the 65 models and wanted to do with the Corvairs what Shelby was doing with the Mustang.
To be continued......

A bit about what is going on.

I have realized that I don't have time for this everyday and I know that eventually I will. Please keep an eye on this and I will try to keep a better update of what is going on. I have four major projects right now. #1 is my house. I have the American dream, a nice house on an acre (almost) in the city of Colorado Springs. We scraped and saved and lived below our means for 5 years. My girlfriend is mostly responsible. I did work hard and also had to be very convincing and always steered towards the positives. When there were three of us and our Siberian Husky living in a less than 400 square foot house it  took a lot of positivity! It ended up that we found this place in June and with the help of my sister barely made the purchase.We could have done a lot of different things but I have come to hate banks and credit in general so I wanted to find a place that we could pay cash for. This place is really a dream come true but also a ton of work. All my other projects have to take a back seat. I have hit it pretty hard but come to a point sometimes where I could really use a hand! Like hanging drywall on the ceilings! Those times slow the process. There is also prioritizing, I have to work on exterior stuff as weather permits etc. My garage is last in line right now. The former owner or vandals that were out scrapping took all electrical, the windows and the siding from it! It really puts a damper on my contributing to our income. I take a little comfort in the fact that I am saving us more by doing the work than I probably would be making. I also have a three year old to watch, and that makes everyday special and challenging. There is a long way to go with the house and garage but I still work on the other things a little everyday. I will get to the other projects and some other updates as soon as I can, until then.........