Wayne Shimp/64 Monza Coupe
Back when I was young, I'll never forget my parents telling me that my brother had bought a "Corvair". I was about 11 at the time and all I heard was "Corv..something". I was certain he had bought a vette and got really excited. When he brought it home, I raced outside to find a 63 Corvair Coupe sitting in the driveway and I couldn't tell front from back. My father had to show me the headlights. Needless to say I was disappointed. After my father helped my brother get it tuned up and driving on the road, he loved the car so much, my parents went out and bought another..and another..and another. Soon, my oldest brother Paul had one, the "middle" brother Alan had one, my sister Jane had one and so did both of my parents..not to mention the spare parts cars in the back yard. At the time, my parents had a van and I was closing in on 16 and driving on my own. My parents had sold the van to Alan and the 4 door 64 model 700 was available. My parents offered it to me, and being on the verge of driving and having a car to drive, I took them up on it. I would start it up and drive it around the driveway before I had my license, and my brother took me out to a church parking lot to learn how to drive in it. My first driving experience was in a Corvair. I really learned to appreciate that car the more I worked on it and drove it. It slowly grew on me to the point that I would look for them everywhere we went. I learned to love the lines, the sound and the way it drove. At one point, we set up four of our cars in our backyard and took a picture. My father sent a copy of the picture to Cal Clark who put it in his office. At the time, we were having so much fun, we joined a new Corvair Club that had formed: The First State Corvair Club. That was back in the early 80's.
From left to right: Father 66 Monza sedan, Mother 65 Monza, me 64 700 Sedan, and Sister 66 Monza coupe.
After I was sideswiped on a back road in my 64 4 door, I went looking for replacement trim and had a friend who had a 64 convertible sitting in his back yard. When I went to look at it, I couldn't believe just how well the trim looked, however the car had been sitting a long time. It had 4 flat tires, rusted out floor panels and the engine housed a large hornet colony. I offered my friend's father $75 for the car and we towed the car home behind our family motorhome. Once we got it home, my father told me if I liked, we could restore it and install the engine from my 4 door. I was in heaven. Now I'd have a convertible! After months of daily work, we had reupholstered the interior in chestnut colored crushed velour, repaired the floor panels, repainted the dash board and interior, installed the engine, put on a new top, switched out the manual transmission for an automatic and repainted the car in Goldenwood Yellow. It was a sharp looking car and fun as hell to drive. That is until we were traveling up a local road during rush hour with our dog in the car when the dog went over the steering wheel and forced us into oncoming traffic. The car was totaled and so was my Corvair hobby. That is, until my parents decided to retire to Florida and I bought my father's 66 Monza Sedan. I had that car for a couple of years until having a family and trying to have reliable transportation forced me to sell it and buy a more modern car.
11 Corvairs later, there is yet 2 more to add. A 68 Monza Convertible and a 64 Monza Coupe.
I bought the 64 Coupe back in July of 2005 after discovering that my 68 Convertible that I bought in August of 2004, and was restoring was beyond my capabilities. I had the Convertible running beautifully but after finding the door jams and rocker panels rusted out, I had to either give up on the hobby or find another car. I found the 64 Coupe sitting in a major car dealership lot after seeing it listed online. My anticipation was that it was going to be in fabulous shape, however upon arriving, found it to be solid and in need of work. Exactly what I was looking for: a restoration project within my means.
I was drooling over the car when my daughter went to fetch a salesman. He walks up and says "a real creampuff here..garage kept it's whole life". I'm thinking "b.s." and point out the rust runs on it from sitting, the oil spots under it and the torn seat covers. I really ride the guy about the car, although deep inside I really wanted it knowing that I could handle the restoration. When I asked him about hearing it run, he tells me they can't get it started, but it was driven there; a promising aspect! We haggle over price and I laugh at his starting price and then ride him about the condition again. Apparently they couldn't get rid of the car and finally found someone interested. We went down the next day and wrote a check and drove it home and around to my backyard so I could go over it.
After finding the registration in the glovebox, I contacted the original owner who told me of it's problems and what needed to be done. There was a grinding sound in the rear end that turned out not to be the differential like I was informed, but wheel bearings in desperate need of rebuilding. I had taken the engine out to replace the differential and stripped and recoated the engine shrouds, blower, pulleys, etc.. Here's before and after pics:
At this point on the car, the interior still needs work (floor panels patched, seats and door panels recovered) and the exterior body putty'd on some superficial rust spots scattered about the car. Once I'm finished the body work, I plan on painting it myself an emerald green with a saddle interior. This car will not be a hardcore stock car, but more like improvements where needed basis. I have to say that after not having a Corvair for 10 years, I'm sure glad I have one again and glad to be part of a unique group of people. During the years that I didn't have one, I had many dreams of driving my convertible, working on the engine and such. The dreams happened more often than I'd like to admit..but that's what it's all about..walking out to my garage, running my hands over the car..I'm obsessed!