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Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked - Junkyard Crawl

Nader Bait
By Steve Magnante
Photography by Steve Magnante
Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked Corvair Convertible
Giving new meaning to the... 
   
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Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked Corvair Convertible
Giving new meaning to the term truncated, Corvair convertibles were offered in every model year except '60 and '61. Convertible production totals were: '62: 16,569; '63: 44,165; '64: 35,806; '65: 34,819; '66: 13,487; '67: 2,109; '68: 1,386; and '69: 521. Notice how output dips sharply after 1965. We can thank the Camaro for that. There isn't enough left of this '65 to '69 ragtop to nail down an exact model year.
Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked 1966 Chevrolet Corsa
The body-colored taillight... 
   
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Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked 1966 Chevrolet Corsa
The body-colored taillight cove tells us it's not a '65 to '66 Corsa. The Corsa, Corvair's muscle model, had an argent silver cove and a standard 140hp four-carb engine. The 180hp turbo engine was optional. Another non-Corsa giveaway is the standard three-pod instrument cluster. Corsas featured a six-gauge cluster.
Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked Monza Convertible Sexiest Corvair
Polar opposites, the red second-generation... 
   
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Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked Monza Convertible Sexiest Corvair
Polar opposites, the red second-generation Monza convertible is the sexiest Corvair, while the stodgy first-generation four-door sedan is strictly for granny patrol. All Corvair passenger cars share the same 108-inch wheelbase. Chevrolet designated the '60 to '64 models as A-bodies; the '65 to '69 models were Z-bodies
Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked Dual Carb Powerplant
The 110 badge on the decklid... 
   
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Rare Chevrolet Cars Junked Dual Carb Powerplant
The 110 badge on the decklid of this convertible identifies the base dual-carb powerplant. Did we say dual carb and base model in the same sentence? Remember, the Corvair's cylinder banks were horizontally opposed 180 degrees. The long distance between each cylinder head would have placed a single, centrally located carburetor too far away from engine heat to prevent icing in cold weather, not to mention the fuel distribution headaches. The solution was to mount a carburetor atop each head. The corporate bean counters must have gone nuts. Ironically, the only Corvair engine with a single carburetor was the '62 to '65 L87 turbocharged engine. It fed its Thompson-Ramo-Woodridge turbocharger with a solitary Carter YH sidedraft single-throat carb. The turbo cars were also equipped with a single exhaust pipe.

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