Either out of some sense of nostalgia, because I’m that much closer to being an old man, or because this is just completely different from what I’ve owned & driven, I have to come out of the closet on this: I have a strange and growing fascination with floaty-boaty older American cars from the 60s and early 70s. I’m sure part of it is the amazing amount of torque I imagine these things have, plus the fact you can pile 5 of your friends in, plus luggage, and go somewhere in reasonable comfort, if not with the greatest amount of control! There’s also a certain carefree appeal to driving a large and powerful car with an automatic when you’re used to darting through traffic & working the gears in small 4-cylinder cars.
Posts Tagged ‘american’
The Whale Series: Chryslers, Part 1
May 21, 2009
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Lakewood
May 20, 2009I’ve always had a fascination for this most European of American cars, and it sounds like any classic with a flat 6 and decent horsepower with independent suspension would be a fun drive. Wait, did I just describe a Porsche?
While the later (1965 to 1969) Corvairs got the more elegant design, particular in the front and rear treatments, the lighter greenhouse of the earlier cars works in their favor. With my preference for oddball cars, I’ve gone one further and found a 1962 Lakewood, the station wagon version of the early Corvair, near Seattle in Federal Way. Being an American car, I’d imagine many parts are readily available and reasonable (I didn’t have to go far to find references to Clark’s Corvairs, among others), and some parts might even be shared with other Chevys of the same vintage.
Rusty But Trusty 