Corvair Myths

   This information comes from Lon Wall from Corviar Underground

      Over the years you have probably come across a number of "Corvair experts" who have been more than glad to share their genius with you. The opinions they will try to present as fact range from the comical to the annoying. Here are some of the best:  

HEY, ISNT THAT THE CAR RALPH NADER GOT BANNED? First, no car of any kind has ever been banned from American highways, and certainly NOT the Corvair. In fact the Corvair is, to date, the only car that was thoroughly investigated and found perfectly safe by the federal government. Keep in mind that, at that time, the senate committee doing the investigating was made up of folks who dearly wanted to prove Nader right.  

WELL, OK THEN, RALPH NADER GOT CHEVROLET TO DISCONTINUE THE CORVAIR - Sorry, wrong again! When Naders book came out in early 66 Chevrolet had already (2 years before) made the decision to quit making the Corvair after 1966. Because of the controversy Chevrolet made the decision to make 3 more production years (til 69) just to prove that Nader had no effect on them!  

CORVAIRS ARE DANGEROUS! Horse manure. (Refer to comments already made above). The 1960-64 Corvair body was deemed "the most structurally sound" car ever built by the SAE. The 65-69 is in the top 5 of all time. While the cars are rear engine and handle differently than front engine cars that doesnt equate to dangerous. Keep in mind that 65-69 Corvairs are still winning  autocross races - thats against 2001 cars and everything in between! This whole idiocy about the cars being unsafe actually predates Nader by almost 6 years. The Ford Motor Co. Was involved in an unrelenting smear campaign against the Corvair before it even hit the dealers showrooms in Oct 1959 - attempting to cause fear and suspicion in the buying public.(Gee, I wonder why Ford would do that?) Anything that is radically new and different, like the Corvair, is always a perfect target for small minds. So far as Nader is concerned - well, Ill let the past 35 years of frivolous lawsuits speak for themselves. Nader is properly credited for being the father of modern torte insanity. He used the unique basis of trying to prove to a jury that General Motors "willingly and intentionally" built and marketed a dangerous car. Besides the fact that the entire concept is insane and makes no logical sense it also ignores the fact that many of GMs top executives had family members that drove Corvairs (including wives, daughters etc). Nader can be credited for institutionalizing this "legal" reality - If you fear or distrust a large corporation enough - and their pockets are deep enough - then logic, rationality and fairness have no place in a damages lawsuit. Nader even admitted later that he attacked GM because they were the largest car maker in the world (at that time) - NOT that their cars were the most dangerous - just because they were the largest.  

CORVAIRS ROLL OVER - In our 27 year history we have parted out over 800 Corvairs. Many were wrecked (as all cars can be) but yet only 2 out of 800 had been rolled. Go into any wrecking in the nation and pick out 800 of any other kind of car and I can guarantee that more than 2 will have been rolled (a LOT more than 2). Quite frankly Ive come to the conclusion that Corvairs are probably LESS likely to roll over than other cars!  
THE CORVAIR WAS DESIGNED BY VOLKSWAGEN (OR PORSCHE) - Incorrect. The car is throughly American. GM spent millions of 1950's dollars and nearly 7 years of development to make this one of the best designed cars ever built. This myth about Porche and VW comes from the superficial observation that all three are rear engine air cooled. NO company in the free world made anything larger than a 4 cylinder air cooled in 1960.It would make as much sense to say that Ford invented the Camaro because both are front engine waterpumpers.  

CORVAIRS ALWAYS LEAK OIL - Well, they are harder to seal than SOME other cars. This is because they are air cooled (and run hotter) and they originally used some o ring materials that were not adequate. A lot of Corvairs do not leak oil, and they can be made that way with updated materials and techniques.  

CORVAIRS CONSTANTLY THROW FAN BELTS - Again, not true. We drive our cars 20,000-30,000 miles a year and only replace a belt every couple of years.  

CORVAIRS CANNOT BE DEPENDED ON FOR DAILY TRANSPORTATION - Again, horse manure! They are actually one of most reliable, unbreakable cars ever mass produced. How many people do you know who drive 40 year old cars daily? Well, we have many customers who do (including us).  

MY UNCLE HAD A 4 CYLINDER CORVAIR - no no! All Corvair motors were 6 cylinder except for a few (less than 10) experimental engines that were 8 and 10 cylinder. Add to this list - CONTINENTAL KITS, POWER STEERING, RACK AND PINION, TILT WHEELS, and POWER BRAKES. NONE of those items came on Corvairs! In addition there are lot of other parts/changes on currently surviving cars that have nothing to do with what came from the factory! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! Put the ninnies and the twits in their place with the truth about our favorite car! Lon Wall