'61 Corvair Monza, '96 Caprice, AMC Eagle+Scirocco update

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RustRocket

Master Mechanic
Sep 8, 2014
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Well, it is with a heavy heart that I say I sold my '82 Cutlass Calais T-Top, but I badly needed a daily driver. So, since the Eagle's brakes were getting worse by the minute, I picked up "Grimace" here. '96 Caprice Classic. L99(lame) 4.3L, 97k miles. Terrible paintjob, perfect interior, runs great, gets me where I need to go. After having the Caprice for two months, while the Eagle is down for brakes, and my '84 Scirocco turns out to be the biggest pain in my *ss, I couldn't live with myself at just how astonishingly boring the Caprice is. I very recently just picked up this very nice "Neptune Green" '61 Corvair Monza 900. Previous owner told me it has a later 110hp engine with the original Saginaw 4-speed. Doesn't matter much to me, because its a blast to drive. I was looking for a good driver in the 1960-70 range, and it was either the Corvair or a blue '65 Olds 88 convertible, 425/auto with a white top and white guts. I passed on the Olds, which would normally be my first choice, as I was looking almost exclusively for a manual trans. The 'Vair was partially restored about 10 years ago, including the paint and engine. The trans+diff fluids, clutch, and full interior are fresh as of about a year ago. The previous owner was very enthusiastic about this car and keeping it nice. Definitely a great car to fill the beloved Cutlass' "Fun Car" spot.

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DRIVEN

Geezer
Apr 25, 2009
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Corvair definitely looks nice. I remember seeing your Cutlass ad a couple months ago. It was tempting for the price you were asking.
BTW, I'll be passing through Elko in a few days. Try to keep the heat down for me, if it's not too much trouble.
 
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1evilregal

Comic Book Super Hero
Apr 23, 2009
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hopefully the 82's new owner will take care of it as well as you did...

I like the replacements, the 'vair is beautiful, and having owned a couple of the bathtub cappy's, I'll agree that the 4.3 v8 blows... at least you can always venture over to GP403's new B-body site, and still be part of the family ;)
 
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Z48LT1

Greasemonkey
Oct 10, 2015
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Grats on the Corvair! It looks like a beauty. I was a Corsair nut back in the day. Fun cars.

The Caprice is a fine looking car, too. Shame you can't find an LT1 engine or at least short block with some miles left in it. There's gotta be some seniors within Craigslist range getting rid of their '95-'96 Roadmasters or Fleetwoods. Instant coolness.
 

Longroof79

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G-Body of the Month
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A few interesting cars there. The Corvair is in super nice condition. Being an aircooled nut, I always had a fondness for Corvairs . I'm more of a fan of the later '65-'69 body style....but I wouldn't turn that one down.
The AMC Eagles seem to have a following of their own.
 

Ribbedroof

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Jan 4, 2009
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Neat stuff!

I've been casually looking at second-design Corvairs myself, they seem to be getting a lot harder to find. Shoot, I remember a time when you could buy them 3/$1000, back when they were the undesirables.

We were having a discussion at work last week about how you never see anything "different" anymore on the streets....I'm medium old (okay, old) and I miss the plethora of uniqueness we had in the 60s/70s. Scirocco is a perfect example of that.
 
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Longroof79

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Brian,
I agree with you. You very rarely see older (unique) vehicles on the street anymore. I almost get excited when I see an older Dodge Dart, Valiant, Maverick, etc. Cars that were extremely common and I normally wouldn't take a second glance at.
In that respect, that's why I enjoy watching older movies from the '60's and '70's and grooving on all the cool older vehicles. Cruise-ins usually provide the fix I need, but nowadays you're seeing more and more late model Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, Mopars, etc. Sure they're cool cars in their own rite, but they've become the common everyday cars you see on a regular basis....boring. :sleep:
Another good example is a pre-'80's VW bug. These cars were the Honda Civic of the day and were so ubiquitous . I have to smile when I see an old bug driving by.
 
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Doug Chahoy

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Nov 21, 2016
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I was at my Upullit yard today, there were atleast 3 LT-1 90s GMs in the yard.
Corvairs were fantastic little tanks, when you see how much thick steel is under the sheetmetal. They were made like they were building a fullsize car. Great find. I've seen alot of cool engine swaps for power over the years.
 

RustRocket

Master Mechanic
Sep 8, 2014
351
86
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Las Vegas, Nevada
hopefully the 82's new owner will take care of it as well as you did...

I like the replacements, the 'vair is beautiful, and having owned a couple of the bathtub cappy's, I'll agree that the 4.3 v8 blows... at least you can always venture over to GP403's new B-body site, and still be part of the family ;)
I've been itching to take my Dad's '94 Roadie off his hands, he keeps saying he'll only get rid of it for a Roadmaster/Caprice wagon, possibly a Custom Cruiser.
Grats on the Corvair! It looks like a beauty. I was a Corsair nut back in the day. Fun cars.

The Caprice is a fine looking car, too. Shame you can't find an LT1 engine or at least short block with some miles left in it. There's gotta be some seniors within Craigslist range getting rid of their '95-'96 Roadmasters or Fleetwoods. Instant coolness.
I jumped on the Caprice since it didn't cost me much of anything and it has low-ish miles. Turns out a coworker of mine had a '96 9C1 and he still has the LT1/4L60E laying around his place. I don't really have the ability or space to do the swap, but it's a thought. It has been sitting for about 10 years or so.
Eventually I'd like to stay in the G-Body game. I'll only own another Cutlass if its as identical as possible to my car, otherwise I've been lusting after a '78-80 GP since I first saw one on here, so when I'm in the market for one that's my first choice
 
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