Tony Martin, Independence, MO - 67 Monza Coupe Project
|
|
This is a 1965 Corvair Corsa Turbo 180 and was built in 1969 - 71. Bought the car for $650 & sold the turbo motor for $250 (in 1969). I originally planned to use the Crown conversion but was unaware of the requirement to use the 66 & later transmission when I bought the car. After a lengthy search for a suitable transmission that fit the budget of a high school kid, I went with a 68 Chevy truck 3 speed. I removed the tail shaft housing, designed & machined an adapter plate (2 pieces required – machined in my high school shop after class) to mount to the 3:55 posi diff, & had a local machine shop shorten & re-spline the output shaft to fit into the pinion shaft. The Chevy 3 speed appeared to be maybe 2-3” shorter than the standard Crown setup, so this one has plenty of leg room & still has adjustable seats. Seats are from a 66 Galaxie 500XL, with the springs removed from the back & replaced with foam to provide significantly more side support.
The engine is a 327 bored 60 over with a 097 Duntov solid lifter cam, double hump heads, Holley 4 barrel, & Edelbrock intake. Estimated power was around 360hp. The custom headers feed directly into Hooker Header Mufflers, which end up at the rear valance panel. The exhaust tips are 4” drive shaft tube.
The fender flares, front & rear spoilers are all hand formed steel. The stars on the back are 3M reflective tape applied over deep blue metal flake and under a clear coat.
I tried all sorts of combinations to try to make a radiator work in the back. I finally gave up & put it in the front where it belonged. I removed the original gas tank and put a Mustang tank in the back. It just needed to be cut in two & narrowed about 3 inches to set on the frame rails as the floor of the rear trunk just like in the Mustang. The gas cap on the right rear quarter is from a TR3 or TR4.
Sorry about the low quality pictures (there were no digital cameras back when these pictures were taken).
I sold this car back in 1984 (Kansas City, MO area), & about 5 years ago, I started looking for it again. After a couple of years of looking, I was finally able to find it, however it was way too far gone for me to want to buy it back, having spent at least 15-20 years broken (spider gears) & stored outdoors to rot away infested with all sorts of wild life. From what I gathered from the guy who now owns it, he plans to keep the “rat rod” look. I’m looking forward to seeing it back on the street again.
Last week I bought another Corvair – this time a 67 Monza coupe. My plan is to build this “new” one to look just like my previous one. Although this time I plan on using the C5/big car Saginaw combo.
Stay tuned
The engine is a 327 bored 60 over with a 097 Duntov solid lifter cam, double hump heads, Holley 4 barrel, & Edelbrock intake. Estimated power was around 360hp. The custom headers feed directly into Hooker Header Mufflers, which end up at the rear valance panel. The exhaust tips are 4” drive shaft tube.
The fender flares, front & rear spoilers are all hand formed steel. The stars on the back are 3M reflective tape applied over deep blue metal flake and under a clear coat.
I tried all sorts of combinations to try to make a radiator work in the back. I finally gave up & put it in the front where it belonged. I removed the original gas tank and put a Mustang tank in the back. It just needed to be cut in two & narrowed about 3 inches to set on the frame rails as the floor of the rear trunk just like in the Mustang. The gas cap on the right rear quarter is from a TR3 or TR4.
Sorry about the low quality pictures (there were no digital cameras back when these pictures were taken).
I sold this car back in 1984 (Kansas City, MO area), & about 5 years ago, I started looking for it again. After a couple of years of looking, I was finally able to find it, however it was way too far gone for me to want to buy it back, having spent at least 15-20 years broken (spider gears) & stored outdoors to rot away infested with all sorts of wild life. From what I gathered from the guy who now owns it, he plans to keep the “rat rod” look. I’m looking forward to seeing it back on the street again.
Last week I bought another Corvair – this time a 67 Monza coupe. My plan is to build this “new” one to look just like my previous one. Although this time I plan on using the C5/big car Saginaw combo.
Stay tuned
|
|
Here's the "new" 67 Monza - waiting for the new garage construction to be completed - before starting the transformation into a real life "water pumper"
