John Hawley - St Joseph, Michigan
The Crown car is For Sale for $12,500. (11-2022) Email johnjhawley@sbcglobal.net or Phone 269-277-0763
350 sbc with Brodix heads, roller cam, MSD ignition, and over top headers. Car is 95% finished. Engine starts and runs fine, but needs cooling system completed. The brakes (rear discs) need to be filled and bled, as does the hydraulic clutch. I also have an Oldsmobile 215 engine in a 1966, but cannot find a reverse rotation camshaft to get that one running. (November, 2020)
March, 2022 Update
My name is John Hawley. I live in St Joseph, MI with Becky, my wife of 54 years. We have three grown
children, and four grandchildren. I joined the Navy in 1960 and retired in 1994 from the Navy Reserve.
When I returned from southeast Asia in 1967, I bought a 1964 Corvette and the following year a 1965
Corvair joined it. Since then, I have owned 95 Corvettes, and well over 100 Corvairs. I built my first V8
Corvair in 1970, which was a mix of Kelmark and Crown parts. Since the invasion of foreign cars had
not yet began in earnest, I could not find a suitable electric fan. I spent a great deal of time sitting at the
side of the road, due to a traffic jam.
I built several V8 Fieros, and became great friends with V8 Archie. Around 2010 I again got the bug to
build a V8 Corvair. I had about a dozen Corvairs at the time, so picked a pretty rust-free white '65 Monza
body that had been a Powerglide coupe with AC. I built a pretty strong sbc 350 with roller cam and
Brodix heads. It is mated to a '66 4-speed transaxle via a Crown adaptor. It is completed except for
enclosing the engine. It is very loud, and wicked fast. You almost need goggles to drive it, however, due
to all the road dirt blowing up.
Somehow, I got the bug to build a more doscile V8 Vair. I found a '62 Olds 215 V8 4-barrel engine, an
adapter, and an Isky reverse rotation camshaft. The rebuilt engine and '66 transaxle are now in a '66
Corsa coupe. It runs well, and looks totally stock. The nice thing is that I do not need goggles to drive it.
I have thought about selling Corvicious (the white '65 Monza V8) to finance a paint job on the Olds
powered car and a Corvette needing paint, also.
children, and four grandchildren. I joined the Navy in 1960 and retired in 1994 from the Navy Reserve.
When I returned from southeast Asia in 1967, I bought a 1964 Corvette and the following year a 1965
Corvair joined it. Since then, I have owned 95 Corvettes, and well over 100 Corvairs. I built my first V8
Corvair in 1970, which was a mix of Kelmark and Crown parts. Since the invasion of foreign cars had
not yet began in earnest, I could not find a suitable electric fan. I spent a great deal of time sitting at the
side of the road, due to a traffic jam.
I built several V8 Fieros, and became great friends with V8 Archie. Around 2010 I again got the bug to
build a V8 Corvair. I had about a dozen Corvairs at the time, so picked a pretty rust-free white '65 Monza
body that had been a Powerglide coupe with AC. I built a pretty strong sbc 350 with roller cam and
Brodix heads. It is mated to a '66 4-speed transaxle via a Crown adaptor. It is completed except for
enclosing the engine. It is very loud, and wicked fast. You almost need goggles to drive it, however, due
to all the road dirt blowing up.
Somehow, I got the bug to build a more doscile V8 Vair. I found a '62 Olds 215 V8 4-barrel engine, an
adapter, and an Isky reverse rotation camshaft. The rebuilt engine and '66 transaxle are now in a '66
Corsa coupe. It runs well, and looks totally stock. The nice thing is that I do not need goggles to drive it.
I have thought about selling Corvicious (the white '65 Monza V8) to finance a paint job on the Olds
powered car and a Corvette needing paint, also.