What’s it Like to Drive a 1965 Chevy Corvair Corsa?
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What’s it like to drive a 1965 CHEVY CORVAIR CORSA?
I’m in love with the funk.
What does that mean? It means that if you’ve got funk, then life is cool. But funk isn’t limited to cars – it can be food, travel or anything that life offers. But when you love something that much, by the Great Law, it comes rollin’ to you like a ship o’ gold.
Which is why “Funk” is this week’s Ride of the Week.
A few weeks back, I was at my Malibu Cars and Coffee show, mindin’ my own business when I spotted the funk. The actual funk itself! A 1965 Chevy Corvair in silver. But this was no ordinary Corvair. It was a Corvair Corsa – Chevy’s Funkadelic FunkMobile – and the owner was lucky Porsche mechanic, Clayton Greene.
As I approached Clay, my eyeballs canvased this silver car and transported me into a world of cool. It had been a long time since I’d seen a Corvair this nice. I immediately told him we needed to take a spin, so we set a future time, meeting at the Starbucks at Trancas for our inaugural roll out.
Right off the bat, Clay started telling me about the car and how he’s pretty much done everything himself. An air-cooled Flat6 with 140hp, Bored .060 over and with a big cam. Now, a car that light with 140 horses can be a bit of a wee screamer, but we managed to cruise Pacific Coast Highway up north to get some cool shots and film for my show.
“I’ve had it for under a year,” explained Clayton. “Found it on Craigslist out past Hesperia. I’ve always wanted a Corvair, but never found one in decent condition, or at a reasonable price.”
That is, until he found this lil’ rocket. But what does he love the best? Of course, the way it handles. Pretty much unlike any car on the road. The motor’s center of gravity is so low that it would be hard to push out this tail. And there’s enough room in the engine compartment to plop a sleeping bag and get some shut eye.
Being Clay’s daily driver, it was clear that the car needed to be in great shape mechanically. And Clay being a mechanic for Porsches, it became a forgone conclusion.
“I love driving PCH and the winding roads,” he said.
Fun in the Funk, I’d call it. But what was Clay’s best short story? Well, it was the shortest story I’ve gotten since starting Ride of the Week three years ago. It was getting this actual interview, he said.
Now, that’s a comment I don’t take lightly when someone mentions that driving with me was their best experience yet. It’s humbling and I feel tremendous gratitude for it. And although I haven’t said it enough, I’m thankful to the peeps at The Malibu Surfside News for having me take on this challenge. I get to meet cool people and take spins in the coolest town on the planet. And thanks to Clayton for rockin’ the Funk and allowing to sit shotgun.
And that brings me to Clay’s final thought. His favorite movie car? Can you guess it? Yeah, I thought so, but I’ll tell everyone else: It’s the ‘73 Ford Falcon XBGT from “Mad Max.” Although very cool, I’d like to see Max drive a ratted out Corvair next. That would be serious wheels, and I hope he’s up for the challenge.
And with that, my fine feathered roadsters, until next time: Stay positive and drive on!
WATCH MY DRIVE WITH CLAYTON HERE!
The post What’s it like to drive a 1965 CHEVY CORVAIR CORSA? appeared first on Fireball Malibu Vlog.
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Source: http://fireballtim.com/2017/03/17/whats-like-drive-1965-chevy-corvair-corsa/
“there’s enough room in the engine compartment to plop a sleeping bag” – you must be pretty short. Even if you’re referring to the trunk, which is in the front of the car, this doesn’t make any sense.