Wicked-fast mid-engine V8 Corvair ripping around autocross course

OR the military-issue Jeep, in which a LOT of GIs were killed in rollover accidents....
Ralph Nader was fresh out of college and needing to make a reputation for himself in the early-mid 60s ...
so he attacked GM, who had already stopped production of the 1960-64 rear swing axle corvairs. The problem with Beetles and early 'vairs is they would hit a bump, the car would lift and since the wheels were bolted to the end of the half shafts, the contact patch of the rear tires to the road would narrow and the rear could break-free into every oversteer ...
The post 64 corvairs had an independent rear suspension design so the tires contact area stayed parallel to the road as the car rose and fell over bumps. (Thats the basic idea anyway)

None of which has any connection to military issue jeep rollovers which were,
mostly likely, due to novice drivers, narrow wheelbases, and higher center of gravity.
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT discussion.

Sorry, the Nader story is all old news to most of us who owned corvairs.
 
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What about the front/rear weight distribution of Corvairs? The engine weight was mostly behind the rear wheels, was it not?

When I first got my license my family had a new, 1st generation Corvair which I would drive frequently. On one occasion, I was driving on a 2-lane country road that was covered in slick ice. Even though I was driving in a straight line, I don't recall how but the rear end broke loose. My correction efforts resulted in the rear swinging back and forth, left then right. At one point the car was nearly sideways. Somehow, possibly inspired by fear of my father and his likely reaction to any damage to his meticulously kept toy, that and a massive shot of adrenaline, I managed to get it going straight again.

I am not anti-Corvair at all. In fact I owned a few myself later, including a 2nd gen 4-speed that was loads of fun to drive.

But I am convinced the significantly rear biased weight distribution made its behavior on that icy patch tricky if not outright dangerous.
 
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...but a mid-engine, V8 Corvair, that would be awesome!

I wonder if conversions were done using the Buick/Oldsmobile 215 cu.in. aluminum engine, which also came in a turbo charged version? How much lighter would the 215 be in comparison to the Chevy small block?
 
Ralph Nader was fresh out of college and needing to make a reputation for himself in the early-mid 60s ...
so he attacked GM, who had already stopped production of the 1960-64 rear swing axle corvairs. The problem with Beetles and early 'vairs is they would hit a bump, the car would lift and since the wheels were bolted to the end of the half shafts, the contact patch of the rear tires to the road would narrow and the rear could break-free into every oversteer ...
The post 64 corvairs had an independent rear suspension design so the tires contact area stayed parallel to the road as the car rose and fell over bumps. (Thats the basic idea anyway)

None of which has any connection to military issue jeep rollovers which were,
mostly likely, due to novice drivers, narrow wheelbases, and higher center of gravity.
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT discussion.

Sorry, the Nader story is all old news to most of us who owned corvairs.
See,
I was a little young at the time. For some reason i thought they had the same air to air heat exchange for ventilation as the vws and the beef was when they rotted out the car filled with exhaust. I'm not sure why i thought that . Maybe urban legend:idea:
 
See,
I was a little young at the time. For some reason i thought they had the same air to air heat exchange for ventilation as the vws and the beef was when they rotted out the car filled with exhaust. I'm not sure why i thought that . Maybe urban legend:idea:

Corvairs used the air passing over the exhaust manifold to warm air for the passenger compartment in winter.
So yes, an exhaust leak COULD result in nasty fumes being blown into the car - but like many older cars, corvairs had the neat little flipper vent windows in front of the door glass.
Most of us always had a vent window open in winter, just to be sure we got some fresh air.

Plus, there WAS an optional gas powered heater accessory - actually burned a trickle of gas to create hot air you could blow into the cabin.

...but a mid-engine, V8 Corvair, that would be awesome!

I wonder if conversions were done using the Buick/Oldsmobile 215 cu.in. aluminum engine, which also came in a turbo charged version? How much lighter would the 215 be in comparison to the Chevy small block?

Right, the guy I was talking about in an earlier post (think his name was Woody)
had put one of the Buick/Oldsmobile/Rover aluminum V-8s in the back seat -
so it wasn't overhung weight, it was nicely mid-engine - good handling AND a bit of snap.
 
Plus, there WAS an optional gas powered heater accessory - actually burned a trickle of gas to create hot air you could blow into the cabin.

Only in the 1960 model year. It was so dreadful it was dropped subsequently. I can't say the heater in my '62 was optimal (or odor free), but the '65 worked pretty nicely.

Defrosting the rear window, now, that was another story...

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
...but a mid-engine, V8 Corvair, that would be awesome!

I wonder if conversions were done using the Buick/Oldsmobile 215 cu.in. aluminum engine, which also came in a turbo charged version? How much lighter would the 215 be in comparison to the Chevy small block?
This conversion has been done by a number of folks, while it`s a significant improvement over the stock 110 or even 140 HP `vair engines, it proved to be rather anemic when compared to the small-block Chevy motors. The weight difference between the stock engine and the V8 was not very much.

There`s currently a build in progress, in which a gent is taking a new approach, he`s transplanting an entire engine cradle, crossmember, and suspension from a V6 Pontiac Fiero into the back seat of a Corvair. It`s taking him a while, but I`m anxious to see it on the road.

 
The older small-block engines were definitely heavier, but those hefty figures are for the worst-case scenario....cast-iron intake, etc.
GM specs it`s LS-series engines as ready to install (complete) at 390 pounds. That`s a very nice weight reduction !
 
That's interesting.
Almost makes me want to find a clean donor.
There's actually a clean white one in the next town that a guy uses as his regular driver.
It appears stock and very clean.
I have enough balls in the air though and before I figured it out I could see this getting pricey fast.
I think I'll stay a spectator:thumbsup:
 
That's interesting.
Almost makes me want to find a clean donor.
There's actually a clean white one in the next town that a guy uses as his regular driver.
It appears stock and very clean.
I have enough balls in the air though and before I figured it out I could see this getting pricey fast.
I think I'll stay a spectator:thumbsup:
IIRC, it cost me right under $10,0000 (in 1980 dollars), so adjust that for inflation, and you would need a fairly health budget to do it right....
On the flipside, you would have a unique ride that offers near-supercar performance for a realistic price.
 
I recall a fellow competitor in SCCA SOLO II in Tucson in the early '70s who was running a tube framed dune buggy with a turbo corvair engine/trans. Pretty decent times, and a treat to watch him drive it. So super smooth.
 
None of which has any connection to military issue jeep rollovers which were,
mostly likely, due to novice drivers, narrow wheelbases, and higher center of gravity.
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT discussion.

Part of my USAF duties included driving a MRC-107A around. The 107A was a M-151A1 jeep with about 500 lbs of radios mounted on a pallet above where the rear seat normally lived. Did WONDERS for the center of gravity, making it even higher. We learned to cope, but I and my teammates had them on their sides several times.
 
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Update on the Corv8/Fiero conversion project from Hawaii....it`s currently up and running (apparently quite well), shows a lot of promise !

 
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