'66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

I might have struck gold with this one!

On tuesday i bought this 1966 Chevy Corvair 500 Coupe.
She is sandalwood tan with a fawn/tan interior. In bright sunlight the tan looks more gold, thus the name "Marigold"

She has a 164cid 110hp opposed six, fed with 2 single barrel rochester carbs, backed up with a power glide. She also has manual brakes and manual steering, like all of the other corvairs ever produced.NONE had ps/pb

This car is a ton of fun to drive, and so far it has proved to have pretty good gas milage.

In 1965 the Corvair body style changed completely to the more curvy and sporty lines, it was also the first year for the new Independent rear suspension.

In 1966, 36,747 500 Coupes were produced.

I can't call this a build thread, because, well, there will be no building, So I'm going to call it a "updates" thread. I will occasionaly post updates on things i change/ do to the car. I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Corvairs are another passion of mine, this being the second Corvair in the family. If anyone has a question about Corvairs, please feel free to ask, I like to spread knowledge about these cars!

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2091.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2078.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2079.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2080.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2082.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2081.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2096.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2097.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2083.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2086.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2084.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2087.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2088.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2098.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2085.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2089.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2090.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2094.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2095.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2101.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2099.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/102_2104.jpg

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Awesome! Love those. Good call on letting it be. I'd do the same. I have to admit a LS powered Vair fills my daydreams from time to time.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks for the kind words! Its funny you should mention an LS Vair.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1032.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1033.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1034.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1035.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1036.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1038.jpg

I saw this at the Adirondack Nationals car show last year in Lake George, NY. Looks like its a beast!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

...and struck gold you have! That is beautiful, just the overall condition is great. I bet that's a real fun driver, have fun with it.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks man! she is a blast to drive.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

That's really nice! I'm not very familiar with them, but is there an A/C option?

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Super nice car!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thank You.

Yes, both early and late model corvairs, starting in '61 had an A/C option, however, 67 was the last year for A/C in a Vair. Here are some Stats:

Air Conditioning was only optioned on Cars, Not on Greenbrier vans, Rampsides, Loadsides, wagons or turbocharged cars.

# of Corvairs optioned w/ Air
Early Models
1960- not optioned
1961- 3000
1962- 7650
1963- 6641
1964- 6401
Late models, with vents incorporated into the dash, and the condenser moved off of the top of the engine.
1965- 9483, largest production of A/C Vairs
1966- 4780
1967- 1396, the last production year with A/C, and the fewest produced.
1968 & 1969- Not optioned

Needless to say, it is rare to see Air in a Corvair.


Thanks!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Beautiful example you have there!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks FF. I've been watching the sunbeam build. Nice work!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Very sharp car!

I do have to ask though... who does that 57 belong to? It's not listed in your sig. Looks like a "looker" as well.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks Jesse! The 57 is my Parents car. They bought the car in May of 2008, and we restored it that winter. It was our first "Family" restoration. Pics:

Before
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/IMG_0677.jpg

Right after it was finished
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_1526.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_1613.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_1511.jpg

With Cragers
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN0709.jpg

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

I guess this is an update, just not one that i like to be posting

As I'm sure many of you know, Hurricane Irene is making her way up the east coast, and she is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so we have been bringing in and tying down every thing that could fly away.

We decided to put the corvair under the deck and under a tarp for the storm. she should be pretty safe under there.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...1-21-21_23.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...-22-27_254.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...-42-13_640.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...-42-03_358.jpg

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Good luck with the wind/rain my man. Wish we could get a small part of that rain here. our prayers are with everyone there effected.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Very nice!

I had the exact same color on a '65 Corvair Monza that I owned a long time ago. You are right, they are fun to drive!

I've been a big fan of the Corvairs for many years

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks Clyde, so far all we've gotten is rain, no real wind here. Believe me, i would happily give you all of the rain from up here if i could.

Thanks! You don't happen to have any pics of your corvair, Do you?

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Unfortunately I do not.

I owned my Corvairs back in the '90s, and so if I did have actual photographs they were lost.

I wish I did though.

But I still think of the 1965 Corsa convertible that I let go way back when.
I know the guy that has it, well actually his Dad has it now. But it is in a thousand pieces in his garage, and sadly he has let it sit that way for many years...

That one was originally painted a strange purple color from GM.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Hi Cameron, I too Have corvairs,,actualy alot of corvairs and parts and I restore them for other people and Have been driving them for years,,my first car when I was 12 was a 69 corvair and have driven them ever since,,I have 28 of them at this time,,Fantasic fun cars if you build them right:burnout:

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

We've had a few through the years as well -

Here's one, gettin' some work done:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...1/63Covair.jpg

Four one bbls on this one - there's seven carburetors represented in that photo!

K

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Very cool! i got into corvairs when i was 14 with this one:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN0669.jpg

i would like to have a 69 someday.

Cool photo! Corvairs are tough little cars.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

I saw a corvair station wagon awhile back, I didn't know they made them.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

How is that even possible? The engine is back there, you'd have to let the kiddes sit on the engine block in the back :lol:

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Here's one I found on the net, The one that I saw was alot nicer.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

That actually looks pretty cool. I did a little research on it, the back was used more like a "bed" for storage, no kiddies sitting on top of the motor :lol:

After seeing the pic, I think I've seen one before, I remember wondering what the hell the vents were for on the side of the body (now I know they're for the engine), it must have been one of these.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Beautiful car! I used to have two, a 65 Monza and a 62 spyder. The 62 was the ugliest car i ever owned and the only turbocharged car i have ever owned . I had a lot of fun driving the 65, it was super fast and handled awesome once I got used to the rear engine. The only thing I didn't like was the occasional cab filling cloud of black smoke that I would get once in awhile. I could never figure out where it was coming from.
I still have a pair of bucket seats I pulled out of it when I found a pair in better shape than the ones that came with it. I spent a fortune at Clarks Corvair parts. I still regret selling it!
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

yep, they are called lakewood wagons. chevy only made them in 1961, and 1962. the engine compartment was located under an insulated cover in the cargo area, so no kiddies burned their buns! heres a pic
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...9651-500-0.jpg

Thanks! the late models handle great with their IRS. that cabin full of smoke sounds like fun! it might have come off the block and through the heating ducts? and yes, its very easy to spend a fortune a clarks!:lol:

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Well, its happened. the white stuff has started to fly. it doesn't look good on a corvair

This is a sad day for sure :(

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1638.jpg

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/DSCN1640.jpg

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

wow, cool thread. Wish mom had finished hers. If I recall correctly it wasa 1964 spyder convertible with 4 one barrels 4 speed and very fast. Someone vandalized it while it was at our shop many years back and mom was so devistated she called the junk man to come get it ( but not before I got the hubcaps off of it. I thought they were so cool, they had what looked like a real black widow in the center of the caps ( if I remember correctly). I am not sure if I have any pictures of the car but I will have to pull the caps out and take a few pics to post.

Richard

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks,

Spyders are awesome, i'd love to own one some day.

Post some pics of the hubcaps, i like hubcaps!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

When I was younger I used to buy cars and sell them after a little fixing up as "good transportation". I sold a 65 Corvair for $200 to a guy that saw me about 7 years later and told me that car was the best transportation he had ever had.

I also remember taking my eyes off the road after leaving a parking lot grabbing the curb and being shot to the right straight into the telephone pole! That front was very light.

I used them for winter driving for alot of years.

Marigold is Gorgeous !

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thank you!!

even though i have never driven a Corvair in the snow, i can imagine that they would perform well, having the engine for weight in the rear.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

thats a beutiful car. If I get a chance I will post a pic of the 427 powered front engine corvair that one of the guys in the shop has. it has been lengthened 6.5 inches. Its painted the same color as yours.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Sorry i missed this. thanks for the compliment! i would love to see some pics!

Took the old girl out for the season today and took some pics with my buddies new ride.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_2414.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_2415.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_2416.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_2417.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/100_2418.jpg

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

First off,

I won my first EVER trophy sunday at a local car show:metal:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...7/IMG_0550.jpg

i also changed out my hub caps because those are nicer and shinier, hopefully ill find some nicer original ones.

i also changes out my right rear window regulator because the splines were stripped

and finally, i added an aux input into my am radio so i could have some tunes!

Marigold will be getting the money funnel for a while as i prepare her for the Adirondack Nationals. updates soon!

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Good job, that is a cool old 'vair :metal:

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Do post pics! It would be a nice adition to the beautiful Corvair Cameron 1137 has.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thank you!

Yes, i do agree, and thanks for the compliment :)

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Congrats man! Just curious, but what was the trophy for? Most original, best corvair, ect? I got a 3rd place at a show with my 67 once. I was estatic :lol:

There's a lot of these in my area. They have a club around here somewhere. Some really nice ones too.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Just ran across your thread, my dad has a convertible that he has been working on I think it is a 65 or 66. Pretty cool little car. He was talking about selling it but I am not sure if he was serious or not. He has so many projects I think he is ready to start downsizing projects...lol. He retired a few years ago and I think he is busier now than when he was working. But it keeps him occupied. Here is a couple of pictures.

Re: '66 Corvair "Marigold"
 

Thanks! I was top 25. Third place is sweet! i was in shock that i even won! Corvairs are pretty scarce in my area. maybe a dozen that i know of. i am part of a corvair club but it is out of rhode island, a bit far from me so its hard to really be part of it. There are some really nice corvairs out there though!

Sweet Vair! Looks like a nice little project, and convertibles are very desirable!