wookie (05/11/83)
The rolling of Corvairs was due to the jacking effect of the rear independant suspension. This was corrected first with a rollbar on the rearend for 1964 to solve the problem while therear end was redesigned for 1965. Hence your best bet is a 1965 or newer although the 64 should be OK. So the ones made after the fix are not prone to roll-over and die. As with most air cooled engines the Corvair usually does wind up burning oil especially if the fan belt has been broken and the engine kept running for a while. All in all it wasn't such a bad car although the heater wasn't so good. The spider is probably the most collectable and yes they are becoming a collectable car! Keith Bauer White Tiger Racing Bell Labs Murray Hill
emma (05/11/83)
Relay-Version:version B 3/9/83; site harpo.UUCP Posting-Version:version B 2.10 5/3/83; site uw-june Message-ID:<450@uw-june> Date:Wed, 11-May-83 09:38:24 EDT Organization:U. Washington, Computer Sci The early Corvairs used a swing-axle rear suspension, which was prone to lifting in corners. This was very similar to the Volkswagen of the time. Later, (sorry, don't remember off hand when) they went to a different type of suspsnsion, which corrected the matter. The early Corvairs had a differential tire pressure recommended--higher pressure in the back than the front. If the tires were properly inflated, they were perfectly safe. Unfortunately, some jerk with initials R. N. wanted to get some easy notoriety, and wrote an atrocious book entitled "Unsafe at Any Speed" purporting to demonstrate that they were dangerous, and specifically prone to rolling over. The mere fact the nobody else has ever been able to find any statistical evidence that they were any less stable than other small cars of the day did not deter him, and also did not keep sales from collapsing. Other comments--you 102,000 miles in a '65 high mileage? What do you want? In 18 years, 300,000 would be slightly above average! Also, the car has done its depreciating. Don't expect the owner to want to take a loss on a year's use. One question I would have is why he wants to sell after only a year, though. -Joe P.