I had one of the first Corvairs. I would say that if you can afford to restore and maintain it it would be a good “classic car”. Take it to Hot August Nights. People will love it. You will love it - *if *you can afford to restore and maintain it. I believe there is at least one in the museum in Reno.
I think there are 2, with one of them pretty much “off the showroom” floor original and never run hardly. If I remember, it has about 160 miles on the odo, or something like that.
Buy the car. Have fun. Old cars rule.
Brought it up last night. Mrs D will require at least some convincing. Her biggest concern is that with 3 cars and a 2 car garage, she doesn’t want to have 1 car in the driveway all the time. I do not agree with this concern, but she feels it sincerely so I cannot say it is “wrong.” So I’m looking to see what options might be available.
You leave “your” car in the driveway and say you don’t care. While I don’t have a garage right now, if we were to get a house with one I can tell you the motorcycles would be inside, while "my"car would be outside. Let your wife park inside next to the Corvair.
That was always the plan.
I spent a lot of years trying to find the right time. It probably wouldn’t have happened for about 8 or more years. Finally I decided it was time to just bite the bullet and consider how bad the worst case scenario would be… it wasn’t that bad. I’d sell it back and loose some money but it wouldn’t kill us.
Since then I’ve had more fun than I’ve had in a long time. I have a hobby now that is just for me. My boys love it and I’ve had some bonding times that I don’t get that often. We changed a tail light together which made us all feel like manly men even though it may have not required a master mechanic’s degree.
I had the owner of a store that I’ve been going to for 15 years help carry things out to the car for me the other day. I’ve “known” him for the whole time but have never had a real conversation with him. suddenly we are both remeniscing about the Mustangs our Dad’s had and how that was something we both remembered as kids. I came home and hugged the son who was there… he thought I was crazy. I don’t care… I don’t regret a penny I spent on it.
I also bought a good quality car cover and am prepared to let it be the outdoor car during the winter since I don’t think it will be the best in bad conditions.
If you haven’t figured it out yet… if it is what you want and you think it will add to your quality of life, or even just the fun in your life, go for it.
BOUGHT IT! 
Man, my face is starting to hurt from looking like this 
pretty much constantly since yesterday!
Picking it up next Sunday.
Keep your fingers crossed that it makes it the 90 miles home!
I’m late to this thread ---------- terrific news Dinsdale! Does it have one of the many various funky shifters Corvairs are known for? Pushbuttons? The little lever on the dash? Anything like that?
(I drove Edsels through the last half of the 70s and part of the 80s - never regretted it. Easy to find at the parking lot at the mall)
Enjoy your new toy, Dinsdale. I hope it brings you much joy and satisfaction!
Only if you can get it without financing it. Pay cash for toys.
Congrats! You deserve it. And in the long run, it’ll probably be cheaper than the 3rd dog you were contemplating a while back.
Enjoy it.
StG
No financing necessary - the purchase price was quite affordable. Now let’s hope the keeping and driving of it proves to be as reasonable! 
Mine is a 4-speed. The ones with the lever on the dash were powerglide autos. It is curious how many people remember Corvairs having pushbutton trannies, because they never did.
Don’t know of anything really cool about mine, other than I get a hoot out of those little triangular vent windows. And the rear seat folds down - which will be where my mutts will ride! And I had forgotten about the floor switches for “brights.”
Sitting in this car is like a time machine.
Congrats! Hoping you get to keep it in the driveway 
parts will be a problem. My midlife crisis car was a 67 Plymouth Fury III ragtop. I loved it, but the windows never would roll all the way up correctly, and eventually the electricals started failing regulary so I sold it, but really had a good time for a few years…
Fortunately, there are several Corvair specific suppliers, and many many Corvair “parts cars” rusting away out there. And what you can’t find at NAPA, is readily available, as much of the Chevys from that era are interchangeable.
I’ve got a large and active Corvair club that meets 2 towns over from me that I intend to lean on for expertise and help. And one of the nation’s top COrvair wrenches is 20 miles away in another suburb.
And the purchase price was low enough that even if I scrap it after a couple of years (which I don’t anticipate), I won’t be taking a total bath.
Further reasons for my choosing a Corvair.
Good for you! Every guy deserves a good mid-life crisis toy. And welcome to a whole new world of obscure websites that you never knew existed, but now have everything that you really need more than anything else (those radio knobs really should be done in the original matte finish).
You know it. I’ve already started mentally composing my wish list. From manuals and literature, tools and parts, memorabilia …
Good thing my b-day is this month, and x-mas next!
The tunes are definitely going to get attention down the road. Just a serviceable 80s am/fm casette. It has front and rear speakers, which I’ll probably upgrade and add a power amp in the trunk. I understand you can get rebuilt vintage-appearing units with new guts and a jack for an iPod. Or I could get a unit to play my iPod through the FM. But in the meantime, I have an excuse to listen to all of my old cassettes.
Gonna be a lot of fun to play with over the winter. Still grinning here! My wife still thinks I’m stupid, but I think she’s starting to appreciate the value of anything that makes me less f my usual cranky self!
Just realized the major part of my drive home on Sunday will be across Lincoln Highway and up the Kingery Expressway - Rtes 30 and 83 respectively. For whatever reason it gives me pleasure to realize I’ll be driving along a couple of the area’s superhighways of the pre-expressway age. Next up, the mother road - Rte 66 - to see my daughter in college down at ISU!
Yeah - I got it bad!
I could have sworn they were the ones with the buttons over the radio. Maybe that was the push-button Plymouth?
And if I ever get wealthy enough to buy a car company, “wing windows” (what I always called the small triangular vent windows) will be on every car we sell.
A Hollanders Interchange Manuel for your car solves a lot of that. I ran my one 59 from 1978 to 1986 and put a ton of miles on it - I used it as regular transportation not a show car. Using the interchange I could almost always get the part I needed locally.
Fall back is owners clubs. For stuff that could be interchanged or fixed easily, a shout on the two owners clubs Edsel had usually produced the needed item fairly fast. And usually pretty cheap too!
What a glorious day for a nice drive home from Valparaiso IN. 70 and sunny, and the car handled great. Taking it in tomorrow for thorough brake job and otherwise roadworthy tune-up. I’m still smiling!