Will the Corvair Kill You? | Hagerty Behind the Wheel - Episode 1

In 1965, a young lawyer named Ralph Nader published a book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," which was a harsh critique of automotive safety. One chapter of the book was dedicated to the curious handling of the Chevrolet Corvair, which Nader called “the one-car accident.”

On a wide-open runway in a borrowed Chevy Corvair that was once owned by Nader himself (we aren’t kidding), Hagerty’s Larry Webster sets out to test Nader’s assertions and answer the question, “Will the Corvair kill you?

Video produced by FREE AGE

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[Smedleydog]

Mom & Dad bought a Corvair in 64. I loved that car. But he got rid of it in 66, because he said the back seat wasn't big enough for me and my brother to fight in.
He traded it in for a Buick Electra 225. (talk about one extreme to another) That back seat was so big, I had to get up and walk over to my brother to hit him.

[passwordbosco]

My Mom had a 1969 Corsa and it was a fun car to ride in and drive. Really responsive and zippy. I used to drive it after I got my license in 1973. Every time I parked it it smoked from oil leaks from the engine. People would come up and say "Your cars on fire" as I walked away. I'd tell them, " I know". Then look at the look on their faces as I kept going. Priceless. Thanks Mom. RIP.

[blanchae]

The problem with the infamous youtube video is that they slid the car sideways down a small hill causing it to roll. Pretty much any car will roll under those conditions.

[pierrettebrouard]

You forget to mention that on this video demonstration the Corvair was equipped with radial tires that were not available in the 60s. Radial tires make a huge difference in the handling and the safety of any car.

[JohnDoe-mlru]

"perfectly maintained car" Aaaa... I can see through the bumper! lol

[Joeyrox]

In 1964, I was in the rear seat of a Corvair when it overturned on a sharp curve. The windshield fell out and was collecting gasoline dripping from the fuel tank. I was lucky to survive.

[freetolook]

In 1965 GM solved the problem of rear end oversteer by switching to a double jointed rear axle with two constant velocity joints on each axle. This design enabled the rear tires to stay flat on the road instead of undercutting. But by then the damage was done. I had a 1966 model. It got good gas mileage, great acceleration, good handling and never felt unsafe in it.

[zxcvbob]

Didn't the Corvair switch from a swing axle rear to independent rear suspension in '64 or '65? That probably eliminated most of the instability and oversteer problem (a little bit of oversteer can be a *good* thing for faster turns.) So by the time the book came out, the problem had already been resolved.

[RandomTask]

Watching the rear tires crab in on those sharp turns is very disconcerting.

[CastleGraphics]

Same thing happened to the Bronco. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of physics knows that a short wheelbase 4x4 vehicle, when *very* abruptly turned and the wheels catch, will roll over.

[chuckschillingvideos]

Imagine the carnage that the Robin Reliant would have caused here!

[robertdavis]

I bought my girlfriend, now my wife, a 64 Monza convertible for 125.00 in the early seventies. The Corvair had a tendesey to vibrate due to flywheel delamination. My wife drove that car 68 miles a day from home to college getting close to 30 miles per gallon. A drunk driver pulled in front of her a totaled the Corvair, luckily she was OK. Every time we drive by an early Monza she speaks of how she misses her Corvair. Times were simpler in those days, but cars were more personal.

[EIBBOR]

I loved that little Corvair, it is so fun to drive. Back when I was in high school I worked at a gas station, that was when they all had garages and worked on cars. My boss had a 64 Spider that he kept in great condition and that is were I learned about the Corvair and how to work on them. Basically there were 2 big problems with the Corvair. The first was tire pressure, most mechanics were taught to put 32 PSI in all 4 tires but in the Corvair tire pressure needed to be 15 LBS in the front tires when cold and 18 PSI when hot. If the front tires were at 32or 35 PSI it would reduce the amount of traction and get you in trouble fast. The tire pressure was printed on a sticker in the glove box, but back in the day mechanics rarely check that and just inflate to 32 PSI or whatever the recommended pressure was printed on the side of the tire. My boss Phil told me that the front tire pressure was critical on the Corvair because all the weight was in the back. I know from experience about passing those big Semi Trucks, especially those with the Cab Overs or that have wide flat front ends. They push a lot of air to the sides. Enough to push the front of the Corvair to the side if you pass one on the highway close, like in the next lane. You have to steer into that wind and be quick to let off that steering when you get through that air. I'm sure some of the VW and motorcycle guys will know what I'm talking about.
The second big problem was the "O" ring seal on the valve push-rod tubes, GM used standard O rings, Buna N Rubber, that became brittle with heat and would crack. It didn't help that the Push Rod Tubes were close to the exhaust manifold. The cracked O Tongs would let oil drip down on the exhaust manifold and would cause it to smoke. The bad part of that was if you bought it with out the gas heater option. If you got the standard package, the heat came off the engine from the blower that forced air to cool the engine. With dried out, cracked O rings dripping oil, the car interior would fill up with oil smoke.
My Boss Phil could change the O rings out without removing the heads and showed me how to do it. Most of the time I could get one year out of the O rings before I had to change them out. I think that was the biggest complaint people had with that car. Ironically, any of the rebuild kits for the engine have real good O rings that have fixed that problem. Last one I rebuilt was 5 years ago and it hasn't leaked a drop of oil. There are also kits out there that remove the carburetors, use an EFI fuel system making the Corvair far more fuel efficant and add power.
But what really killed the Corvair was the Ford Mustang and the V8 engine. The V8 could be cast in one piece were as the Corvair engine was a split block and had to be cast in 2 pieces. That split block was $50.00 more to make than the V8 and it had a lot more power. With gas prices at $.25 to $.32 a gallon no one wanted an economy car and opted for the sexier Mustang.
But for an economy car, it had far more interior room than any other economy car and more room in the back seat than most V8 cars like the Mustang or Camaro. One other thing, the Corvair had vents down close to the floor just under the back seat that vented hot or air-conditioned air for the back passengers. I do not know of any other car that offered that.
I now own 4 Corvairs, 2 1962's (One for parts) 1 1963 with factory AC and one 1965. All but one 62 are 4 speed manual shift. The 1965 is running the others are being restored as I get the money and time to work them.

[paulmoffat]

One other thing that I remember about the Corvair, was that the automatic transmission was push-button operated rather than by lever. Also, the handling characteristics came from the Bias Ply tires that were common in that era. Radial tires would greatly improve handling.

[knaz]

My dad collected, rebuilt, and sold corvairs his whole life. I spent a great deal of my childhood in and around them as we had at least half a dozen of them at any one time. They are really nice cars. This video was a neat blast from the past, I wish my dad could have seen it.

[arteleonard]

In 1964, I was driving my dad's new Corvair on westbound the NY State Thruway. I was 16 with Mom and Dad allowing me to get some driving experience. We passed over several large high and low dips in the landscape. The highway was built by filling in some low spots and cutting through high spots.
We passed one of the cuts, we then drove over a river bridge. A strong wind gust was blowing from right to left across the bridge. We were in the right hand lane doing about 60 MPH. The wind lifted the front of the Corvair. This caused the car to drift uncontrollably to the left two lanes and narrowly missing striking the left gaurdrail. As we left the bridge, and entered the next cut the wind was blocked.
We had a terrible scare. My Dad thought I was responsible as I pulled over and stopped. It took a while before he let me drive again

[vitosanto]

I am a retired Auto Body Shop owner that was in business when the Corvair first came out, two of my accounts were Chevrolet Dealers, so we repaired a fair amount of Corvairs, my opinion and estimate was that the Corvair was no worse than any of the other small cars out at that time.Even the full size cars of that era were iffy when in a serious accident. Just my opinion.

[observantservant]

Title reads 'will the corvair kill you?'
My first thought- not before my wife kills me for pulling up another project car😅

[jimmyjimjims]

8:57 "Perfectly maintained car" he says as rust holes are clearly visible both in that exact shot and all over the car lol.

[johncape]

To be fair, watching that rear tire fold up under the body, you gotta say to yourself "that ain't right".
If I recall, the point of the Corvair story was that GM fixed the roll over problem by installing a $12 rear sway bar. They knew that car was prone to roll over but deemed the $12 too expensive.
Models after '65 were redesigned and didn't have that problem.
I had a '66 in the early 80s. It was a great car. I got about 28mpg. And the new styling looked pretty good too.