Some interesting history here. As far as the Corvair "oil leaking" problem --- GM claimed they NEVER had an issue with the pushrod tubes leaking oil. Technically they were correct because the problem DID NOT EXIST UNDER WARRANTY! The warranty was 12 months or 12,000 miles (as I recall). The oil leaking issue didn't occur until the Corvair was out of warranty and the customer had to PAY for the fix. Some Chevrolet dealers made good money replacing those "O"rings! A lot of Corvair owners never bought a GM vehicle again. I worked for a company that had Vega company cars. They started consuming a lot of oil after their warranty expired due to a faulty head design. GM's response -- Not our problem as it's out of warranty. After that the company bought ONLY Japanese cars!! ... View more

Since I'm old I've seen a lot of "projects". One thing not mentioned is the timeline of life. When young and working, it's difficult to find the time and money for a car project. As one ages, if you're lucky, your disposable income increases. Early in life I bought good "beaters" that required a minimum of work and money, but were interesting to own and drive. They also worked as daily drivers so I could save money to buy a house. When I bought a house and a new car, I moved into projects that could "sit" for months in the garage while I worked on them. However, I sent the engines, transmission, and suspension work out to shops. When facing a work relocation I sold off all my old cars. Finally I retired and decided I wanted to attempt to do a full restoration doing a much as I could. It's taken years, but I rebuilt the drivetrain, including a complete and proper engine rebuild. I bought a press and rebuilt the front suspension. I stripped the interior, redid the seam seals, installed new carpet and upholstery. I even rebuilt some of the instruments! It's taken years, as planned, that have made my retirement enjoyable. It's a great day --- I'm going out to the garage to finish some body work. When someone asks me "When will that car be done?", I say "What fun would that be". ... View more

I can't argue about the oils spots, but having owned other 1960's car they ALL leaked oil. With the new style seals the Corvair isn't any worse than others from the era. The "weights at all 4 corners" were only used in the 1965-69 convertibles and in fact they were also used in the 67-69 Camaro convertible! Nothing to do with handling, they were to dampen convertible body "drumming". Once you learn how to set up all the pulleys (position is critical) and properly adjust the fan belt it won't come off. I've never had a fan belt come off on my two Corvairs. ... View more

A good article. I now own TWO Corvairs. In 1969 I bought a new Camaro. Why buy a new Camaro in 1969, but now I own two 1966 Corvairs? A number of high school buddies owned Corvairs and they were fun when new! However after a year or so oil leaks (which made the heater stink) and dealers who only reluctantly (or not at all) would work on a Corvair took the fun out of owning a Corvair. Back then warranties were only 1 year so many owners felt after a year they had a car nobody wanted to work on, many traded them in. So while Nader is often blamed --- it was a lack of service and the oil leaking issue that I remember as why folks avoided buying Corvairs. The Mustang was the final blow offering a sporty conventional alternative. When I retired I wanted a basic simple convertible to let sit all Winter, but would fire up in the Spring. The Corvair's lack of anti-freeze, power steering, power brakes (I've had other old cars and wanted to avoid those issues) made it attractive. Also the oil leaking problem was solved with a better seal material that GM never used. It IS a good looking car and fun to drive. The engine and transaxle are relatively complex compare to other cars of the era. If you live in a big city you'll find experts to fix the unique Corvair engine and transaxle. A club buddy rebuilt my four speed transmission. I rebuilt both 140HP four carburetor engines and was amazed by the amount of work to assemble all the parts compared to a SBC. If your looking to buy a Corvair - buy one that has been restored - it's a bargained compared to buying a fixer-upper and rebuilding the drivetrain. That said I needed a project to keep me busy and I enjoy working on my Corvairs. They are fun! The future of the Corvair --- a buddy and I agree that's it's electrification of the drivetrain. ... View more

What a surprise! The first time I saw one I liked it. YES the styling is weird, but in a good interesting way. Some Thunderbird, some Alfa, 60 Ford tail lights and many other similarities. That said it just works for me. My first Rotary Mazda was a RX-3 wagon company car when companies were going to small Japanese cars. The Datsun and Toyota wagons got better mileage, but they were SLOW, NOISY, and kind of cheap compared to the Mazda RX-3 that was much more pleasant to drive. I liked the car so much I bought a nice used RX-3 wagon when I moved West and put 120,000 trouble free miles on it! The author said NO TORQUE --- I guess the author never drove one! The secret was to get the engine up to 3,000 RPM and slip the clutch a little and it launched off line as well as any four banger. The rotary revved easily to 7,000 and was smooth and quiet. Unfortunately ONLY Mazda was able to make a reliable rotary and it was not an inexpensive engine to build. GM tried to build a "cheap" rotary for their cars and failed miserably! I've only seen two Cosmo vehicles, one in a private collection and the other in Jay Leno's collection. I was told Mr. Leno's Cosmo has a later R12A engine that developed more power vs. the original engine. ... View more

I'm not an expert on MG's but I've always like them. I read a well researched article on the MGC. The car had many revisions to accommodate the relatively heavy six. The extra weight up front compromised handling. Meanwhile a fellow was installing the Rover aluminum V8 into MGB's that handled better (Rover aluminum V8's were lighter than the MGC six engine) and were faster, although he ended up using some MGC driveline parts for durability. Eventually MG "borrowed" the idea and built the MGBGT V8 cars with the Rover engine, although I'm told they were not imported to the USA. The article claimed the MGBGT V8 is a better car vs. the MGC. ... View more

Some interesting comments, and yes EV's aren't for everyone at the moment. That said a lot of work is going into charging solutions that will eliminate most of the present complaints. The article's author used a nice "Click bait" title, but realistically this is a $60.000 vehicle and to expect the high end interior quality you'd find in a $120,000 vehicle was silly. That said GM and other vehicle manufactures are under tremendous pressure to grow the EV segment, and their price stock, as Tesla has done. So yes this new Cadillac was rushed to production. Time will tell if the issues are minor or major. As my Dad said in the mid to late 1900's - "NEVER buy a newly designed GM car the first year it comes out as GM uses it's customers to find issues they fix the second year". Vehicle review writers always push for improvements that run up the cost of a car and sometimes manufacturers listen and then the cars becomes unaffordable for the majority. The Datsun Z car was one example, there are others in history that became much better cars, but few would pay the price for them. ... View more

The Los Angeles club - West Coast Corsa sent out an email about a fellow who is in a nursing home and his family wants his Corvair "hoard" gone NOW so his house can be sold. WCC is trying to get volunteers to move the parts to a storage shed were they will be sold off --- otherwise it all goes to the trash!! In the last decade I've seen three large Corvair parts stashes in L.A. Ca. go to the trash. Back in the 1970's and 80's Corvair enthusiasts bought these cars, and spare parts, and are now "aging out" of the hobby. Sadly little is done until the last minute, then it's usually "ONLY SELLING IT ALL FOR ONE PRICE". After a few weeks of no takers the owners typically PAY someone to haul it off to the trash heap or recycler! ... View more

Decades back I bought two 1969 Vista Cruisers. One was a rust free desert car with a LOT of miles and the other was a low mileage, well maintained, but rusty wagon. I combined the two and at the time discovered that in 1970 THERE WAS A 442 Vista Cruiser option sold (not many, although I have seen one and the wood grain was deleted). I had a 455 built for mine. At the time "A" body used parts were easy to find. I installed the 69 442 bucket front bucket seats and console and the instrument gauges with the "Tik Tok Tachometer". The front sway bar was replaced with one from a GTO (bigger) and the rear suspension trailing arms were replaced with the boxed units from a SS 396 including the rear sway bar. I did get rid of the "wood grain" and painted the car. The car was quiet, rode well, and handled fine (I installed the optional 15" 442 rally wheels and bit soft rubber radials). The 455 torque was addictive. No tire smoking, just instant sling shot acceleration with the sticky tires. To my surprise my friends really liked the "Vista Cruiser" and the longer frame meant rear seating was very comfortable and all the glass made it enjoyable. Also great for hauling home improvement materials and old car parts. Of all the old cars I've fixed up, the Vista Cruiser is the only one I regret selling. ... View more

Fun article to read, but a some noted --- there are a number of "older" convertibles for under $20K that were not listed. However there is no denying that newer convertibles tend to have tops that seal and you can find someone to service them. I have a 1966 Chevrolet Corvair convertible that is fun to drive, looks great, but I do all my own work because finding a competent mechanic is not easy. Decades ago I helped a buddy fix up a Datsun "Fairlady" 2000 roadster and I really enjoyed driving it, and it was quick compared to some of the "English" roadsters of the time AND reliable. While not sporty, the land yacht American convertibles from the 60's are fun to cruise around in. You don't have to go fast to enjoy a convertible. While not practical as an everyday car, everyone should own one once in their life. ... View more

A nice surprise to see this car discussed. During the mid 1970's a buddy who worked at Vasek Polak Saab in Manhattan Beach, CA was in the hospital for a couple weeks and asked me to "fill in" as a salesman. The dealer had a used Sonnet III on the lot that they let me drive home every night. It did have it's shortcomings, but it was a FUN car to drive. The V4 had an unusual exhaust sound, but that just made the car more interesting. While my experience with Saab automobiles was short lived, I enjoyed the them and still admire the pre-GM vehicles. This article was a little too passive aggressive with the critical slights vs. some admiration for the the car. I'm in agreement with others that you can't write fairly about the Sonett unless you dive one. A FUN car you have to appreciate just because Saab made the attempt. The idiosyncrasies just make it more interesting to drive. An era we will never experience again. ... View more

Things always take longer than "optimistic" forecasts, but make no mistake things will change due to economics. Simply put EV's will be less expensive to build and operate with lower lifetime maintenance costs. The automotive companies have been reviewing electric vehicle building costs for decades. They now are confident they will build EV's for LESS than ICE vehicles within five years. They have gone from the fear of having to build expensive EV's by regulation to embracing EV's that will offer the consumer more for less money. BTW - Don't invest in lithium mining companies just yet. The new graphite aluminum ion batteries are in development and so far so good. They also have a much higher percentage of material that can be recycled and don't suffer from the "fire" thermal issue the lithium ion batteries do. Look ahead or be left standing in the past. ... View more

Actually 100LL is in the process of being phased out. As for electric airplanes, small electric "trainer" type airplanes are already being sold and are popular - why? The limited short range is not an issue for most training as training sessions are typically one hour. The other plus is the operation and maintenance costs are LESS and they are MUCH quieter in the cockpit!! As I type this I had just reviewed a new type of graphite aluminum ion battery that charges faster and is has more power capacity per weight vs. lithium Ion batteries - AND THEY ARE SAFER - no fires. What many are overlooking is electric small planes AND road going vehicles will be less expensive to buy and operate in the future. That will move buyers into them. As always BS walks when money talks. ... View more

The "too many irons in the fire" is familiar to many of us. I swore I'd never have more than one "hobby" car again (I was up to four at one time). However I could not pass up a "second" car. Both are Corvair vehicles that I'm doing far more to bring back than I should. Like the old lie "Two kids is no more effort than one", two old cars is a LOT more work vs. one. With no end in sight I wondered about quitting the old car hobby, but a buddy said "Just do a little something often, even if it's not much. Before you know it the project will move along. It's suppose to be fun, so don't get frustrated because it's not done yet." Good advice and now when someone says "Haven't you got that car done", I reply "What fun would that be!". BTW - Kyle --- drain that 2 year old fuel out of the tank before starting the car!! BTDT. ... View more

A good article, BUT the old "R134a doesn't cool as well" comment isn't true IF the system is built correct. The main issue with R134a not cooling as well IS the condenser. As mentioned you need a parallel style condenser with fans. R134 is reluctant to GIVE UP heat, but it absorbs heat better than R12 at the evaporator!! Use the proper condenser with fans and the same size evaporator will cools as well, or better, vs. R12. The other issue is R134a pressure is greater at higher temperatures vs. R12. Again a good condenser with fans solves this issue IF you don't overcharge the system. I've had good luck AFTER I did a considerable amount of reading. The biggest problem I find with folks I help is that they overcharge the system. The easiest way to prevent this is to charge to about 75% of the estimated charge, THEN with the evaporator fan on HIGH and a thermometer in the vent closest to the evaporator core SLOWLY add R134a until the evaporator outlet air temperature STOPS dropping. Your done! If you overcharge the system it may not cool as well and the high side pressure can rise to the point of stressing the compressor. Overcharging was NOT an issue with R12 and in fact technicians tended to over charge as old R12 systems often leaked. Old habits are hard to break. As for Vintage Air. I knew a fellow who installed their kits and stopped due to "issues". BTW If you don't want to use bead lock fittings (cheap bead lock tools often result in leaks) take a look at the EATON EZ Clip system. Made for custom installations - so you fit the hose, cut, install fittings using a tool no bigger than regular pliers. The Hose Warehouse in Ohio carries all the Eaton fittings and hose. Eaton sells a 90 in hose fitting for tight bends! The oldest install I know of is six year old and has NEVER leaked. ... View more