1969 Corvair
The 1960-1969 Chevrolet Corvair was a rear-engine engineering marvel. Meant to compete head-on with the popular Volkswagen Beetle, the Corvair was Chevy’s first compact car. It featured independent front and rear suspension—the first GM product to have both, and clean, fluid styling applied to Fisher Body’s first unibody, as well as the air-cooled horizontally-opposed, aluminum 6-cylinder engine hooked to either a modified 2-speed Powerglide automatic, or manual 3- or 4-speed transaxle. Ford, Chrysler and American Motors all introduced their own answers to the Volkswagen, but they were conventional layouts and styling. Initially available as a coupe, convertible, 4-door sedan, station wagon, rampside pickup (Loadside) and van (Greenbriar Sportswagon); the station wagon, van, and pickup were dropped when the new styling debuted in 1965.
Controversy surrounded the Corvair, from its habit of tucking wheels under the car during hard cornering, resulting in severe accidents. This deficiency was broadcasted to the world from the book “Unsafe at Any Speed” by crusader Ralph Nader. A simple stabilizer bar was added to the rear end to eliminate the problem, and most Corvairs were retrofitted with the component. The rear end was completely redesigned for the new 1965 models.
A sports car of sorts was created with the RPO 649 “Spyder” package for Corvair Monzas, which added a turbocharger to increase performance. Named the “Super Turbo Air”, stouter engine components, a 4-speed manual transmission, and improved suspension components were found on Spyders to help support the extra horsepower and torque.
Chevy determined the Corvair was more of a “specialty” car than a compact, in spite of sales of over 200,000 units the first six years of production. They initiated a program to design a more traditional compact, which became the Nova in 1961. Sales steadily declined after the Nader book, and Chevrolet cancelled the Corvair after the 1969 model year.
1969 Corvair
Only 6,000 Corvairs were built in this final year. Corvair production was so small next to the hot selling Nova, built on the same assembly line in Willow Run, Michigan, that Corvairs were removed from the line and instead virtually hand assembled in an open area of the plant. Interiors were identical to 1968 Corvairs except for different color availability. Front headrests were federally mandated. The last Corvair was assembled May 14, 1969. Starting in May 1969 buyers were given $150 coupons towards the purchase of a new Chevy through 1973 as compensation for depreciation due to the Corvair’s discontinuation.
AVAILABLE MODELS:
1969 Corvair
Convertible
- Engine Options
- Opposed Flat 6, 164ci 2-1bbl 95hp
- Opposed Flat 6, 164ci 2-1bbl 110hp
- Opposed Flat 6, 164ci 4-1bbl 140hp
1969 Corvair VIN Decoder:
First Character: Make
Second through Fifth Characters:
Sixth Character: Year
Seventh Character: Manufacturing Plant
Last Six Digits: Production Sequence
- Starting number: 700001/up. Subtract 700,000 to obtain vehicle number
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