Welcome back! Today we’re looking at a pair of air-cooled projects, and in what might become a theme for the week, one is kinda normal and the other is out there a bit. You’ll see what I mean in a minute, but first, let’s see how our city cars fared yesterday:
Yeah, I figured. But look at it from my perspective: if I find something like that ComutaCar for sale in our price range, I can’t not talk about it. You can’t ask a dog to ignore a bit of cheese that lands on the kitchen floor, and you can’t ask me to ignore a weird old electric car, no matter how little sense it makes.
In that spirit, I present to you today’s contestants. A Corvair is good enough on its own, but wait until you see this bizarre mutant of a dune buggy I found for sale. Let’s dive in.
1964 Chevy Corvair Monza – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.7 liter air-cooled flat 6, 4 speed manual, RWD
Location: Happy Valley, OR
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Will start, won’t stay running
Despite what killjoys and naysayers like Ralph Nader and Ford’s marketing department say, there’s a lot to like about the Chevy Corvair. Its styling was sharp, and got even better with the second generation, which almost never happens. It’s a fun car to toss around if you respect it and understand its handling. And because of its reputation, its value has stayed near the bottom of the classic car market.
What we have here is a Corvair Monza two-door coupe, equipped with a 110 horsepower version of the Corvair’s signature flat six. It’s hooked to a four speed stick with a floor-mounted shifter, which, despite what Ford’s marketing team thought, was not “outdated” in the slightest. It’s what all the kids wanted. The Monza trim also included bucket seats and some other fancy interior bits. As a ’64 model, it also has a much tamer and more pleasant suspension setup than earlier Corvairs.
This Corvair has been off the road since 1990, and as such, will need to have some work done on it before being put back into service. But the seller says they have gotten the engine to run from a separate fuel can, which is an encouraging sign. That means it has spark and compression, and now it just needs a steady supply of fuel. But brakes and other soft parts that haven’t been in service for 32 years are not to be trusted before a thorough inspection.
At first I thought this car had an even coating of surface rust all over, but I think it was just a gold color that has faded to a dull rusty look. There is some rust on it, but it’s not bad at all. It’s hard to say how much of the existing interior will clean up, but the Corvair has remained popular enough that plenty of reproduction parts are available, including seat upholstery kits, and whatever mechanical bits you might need.
“1978” VW-Based Dune Buggy – $1,750
Engine/drivetrain: flat 4 of unknown displacement, 4 speed manual, RWD
Location: Yamhill, OR
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Yes, but engine needs overhauling
This one had me scratching my head a bit, and I’m sure it will have the same effect on you all. What we have here is an obviously home-built VW-based dune buggy that has not been treated kindly at all in recent years. It looks like a piece of industrial equipment that someone parked behind the barn and forgot about.
The seller gives us a little bit to go on, but gets a few things wrong as well. They’re calling this an “EMPI Imp Sportster,” but the Imp and the Sportster were two completely different things. The Imp was VW aftermarket supplier EMPI’s answer to (and ripoff of) the Meyers Manx, with a one-piece fiberglass body. The EMPI Sportster, which was introduced earlier (before the Manx even), used a steel body, more Jeep-like in construction, with flat front fenders and a folding windshield. It was available as a kit, but also as a set of plans for an enterprising do-it-yourselfer to cut the sheetmetal and build the body themselves.
The seller says that this car is based on the mechanicals and floorplan of a Type 3 Squareback, and not a shortened Type 1 Beetle as the plans called for. I suspect that the builder of this car had a set of EMPI plans, a rusted-out or wrecked Type 3, and a lot of enthusiasm. They only broadly followed the plans, fudging where necessary to make things fit. The result is a sort of Brutalist interpretation of a dune buggy. It’s not unattractive, exactly, but it definitely feels industrial, or agricultural.
The seller says it runs and drives, but smokes, so the engine needs overhauling. And somehow they managed to convince the Oregon DMV to title it as a 1978 Volkswagen, but listed as “reconstructed.” Thing is, the VW Squareback went out of production in 1973, so I’m not sure how that all works. Best not to ask, maybe.
[Editor’s Note: This thing is amazing. That’s clearly a Type 3 engine, which is why this hone-made airport tug-like beast has such a useful rear cargo tray. Also, I’m very curious where that instrument pod came from. It’s not a Type 3 or Ghia – not even sure it’s a VW? – JT]
Well, there they are: a more-or-less reasonable restoration project of a maligned American classic, or a home-brew mutt of a dune buggy that actually looks like a lot of fun. Which one are you taking home?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
If you can’t have an inline six, you might as well have a flat six. Gimme the Corvair.
Maybe a Crown conversion would be in order…
One of those rare cases where both choices feel like they could have some merit although the prices for both are a tad on the high side. Welcome to today’s ridiculous market pricing.
I went with the Corvair because it looks like it has decent bones to be a solid starting point for a project.
That dune buggy beast is weirdly appealing in a brutal sort of way.
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Corvair, just b/c a soft spot for GM’s occasional crazy attempts to make totally non-GM stuff. It’s so good esp. given how GM is usually the most bureaucratic of the Big 3.
For my generation, it was the Pontiac Fiero. It still amazes me that in the ’80s, GM decided it was going to make a mid-engined, true 2 seater…and pitch it as an everyday car you could use for commuting. The wonderful insanity of that time even infected Ford, who built its front engine EXP sport coupe with no rear seats.
I think you can do better than that particular Corvair for the money. That’s the glory of them staying so cheap. I still voted for the Corvair, because that “dune buggy” is a horror show of monumental proportions.
If I could, I’d try to swing both. The Corvair gets my vote but it’s 50.1% to 49.9%. They both look like they’d be fun to try to resurrect.
Shit no for either of these pieces of fecal matter. I’ve seen better hunks of shit in my cat’s litter box. Not worth fixing either, not worth dying in…Even after doing a ‘wake and bake’ these still make my head hurt.
The dune buggy has a Glickenhaus Boot look to it.
Both of these vehicles do the term “Shitbox” proud. The Corvair is the better buy because it could actually be worth something after a mechanical restoration. That said, I can see why some of you love that questionable dune buggy. There’s something to be said for throwing all caution out the windows that it doesn’t have and going for the high risk project.
You said everything I was going to say. This was the purest showdown of shitboxes I think I’ve seen here yet. I like ’em both. They both look like they’d be a hoot, for pretty different reasons. And when it came down to it, I picked the Corvair because, alas, I simply don’t have anywhere nearby where I could legally drive that dune buggy, and I have neither a trailer nor anything to tow it with.
I don’t recall where I read this, but what I recall is that if you want to drive around the Arc de Triomphe, you do it in the most scabrous beater you can find. Random drivers will stay clear of you if it looks like your car has nothing to lose.
So give me the VW. The rust might ward off mall crawlers.
Voted Corvair, but I’m intrigued by the tug looking thing. If I had a big spread of land, that would be my choice.
Came here to post basically the same thing, but if I had the land I’d get them both.
I’ve been to hell and back with two Corvairs, one was an unredeemable pile of rust and bondo and the other was a reasonable driver that had an aversion to using all 6 of its cylinders. Owning a Corvair means living in constant fear that your fan belt will fly off and get chopped to bits by the fan. It means glorious unpredictability in every turn, and it means getting regaled by never-ending stories from former Corvair owners who had one at one point in their life and loved it until it blew up on them.
So, YES CORVAIR.
Learn nothing. Grab wrench. Repeat.
It’s as good a motto as any.
I want that and an MG logo on a t-shirt!
I can’t believe that “VW” doesn’t have a corrugated metal roof as opposed to the flat piece of metal there. The corrugated metal would have added to the death trap feeling that grated passenger floor gives to the interior… If I’m going to die, why not a shed built “VW” go cart.
Post-apocalyptic, Mad Max dune buggy please. That is one sick project “car”, but could be fun once it is finished and running.
That dune buggy is like mechanical chop suey – a mess of crap they had laying around. Ballsy asking anything more than a couple hundred bucks and being happy someone removed it from the property.
I’m a secret Stan for those old Corvairs. They were unique, looked sharp, and GM really went out on a limb with it. This is a very nice example for a pretty fair price.
But that EMPI is glorious. I appreciate the homebrew look of it, with definite aspects of Jeep DNA in it. The pancake motor is a nice touch, which adds utility as JT pointed out in his note. I love the patina, the utility, the beefy appearance, so much that I don’t care that the engine needs some help.
Corvair is the only answer here, but 2500 is a bit too rich for the restoration work needed. Fully restored they are only $12k (last I looked). Offer $1800 and call it a day.
Broadcloth or burlap? This one is “no contest” today. I went Corvair.
Dune buggy. I love dune buggies. Miata is always the answer? No, dune buggy is always the answer.
But to be fair I’d rock the corvair too. Looks to be a good candidate for mild restoration. I’d get it functional but not too pretty and drive the crap out of it. Or sawzall it and turn it into a dune buggy…
Also, adding again in defense of the dune buggy (since I’ve read the comments now). The sky is the limit with that thing. IF you have decent mechanical knowledge, a welder, and some scrap metal, you can make it whatever you want. Infinitely customizable. Something that amazing does not deserve to be bound by the constraints of societal expectations of what a car is.
I like Corvairs. Dune buggies, especially homebuilt dune buggies, not so much. a Manx would have made this a much harder choice, but this ain’t no Manx….
Corvair parts are pretty easy to find, and I don’t see anything beyond salvage here. Given its age and long storage, I’d probably pull it all apart anyway, so brakes, fuel system, etc. hold no major worries for me.
I have a tire gauge, too. And I know from experience what underinflated rear tires do to Corvairs. So I know which way I’m voting, especially if the seller were willing to knock a few bucks off the price.
Like yesterday I am going to vote for the actual car on this. Some folks might say it’s not really a fair fight (as many did yesterday), but I really enjoyed reading the comments from folks enthusiastic for the electric weirdo, and I am hoping to hear from folks who think this buggy is the right kind of weird. It’s an interesting thematic choice, and I hope that by the weeks end you may find something off the wall that is my kind of weird.
The VW is so hilariously bad that NO ONE would sit in it with the driver. Look at the mold on the passenger seat which is clearly missing from the used driver seat. Total win in my book.
oh, no no no no, neither of these is worth the asking price. The Corvair has some potential, but needs a good mold remediation session. not sure how they tried to start the 30 year dormant engine, but lets hope they primed the oil and lubed the cylinders before just going for it with starter fluid. those cylinder bores will not hold compression long if the latter is the case. I chose the Corvair as I think the sum of it’s parts would be enough to recoup the already high sell price if it does not clean up and run with a new set of points and carb rebuild.
This is a good way to look at it. Corvair’s are cheap, could maybe get it running for not much. If not, then it would make a good parts car. As for the Buggy its just not even worth entertaining IMO
Corvair is the only choice here.
I picked the Corvair, at least it doesn’t have metal grates as floor mats. But like most showdowns, both of these would be great project cars.