1960 CORVAIR 4 DOOR SEDAN 700--First Corvair Delivered to Canada!!
Make: |
Chevrolet |
Model: |
Corvair 700 |
Type: |
Sedan |
Year: |
1960 |
Mileage: |
83590 |
VIN: |
0769W140376 |
Color: |
Turquoise and white |
Cylinders: |
6 |
Fuel: |
Gasoline |
Transmission: |
Automatic |
Interior color: |
Turquoise |
Vehicle Title: |
Clear |
Item location: |
Sevierville, Tennessee, United States |
1960 Chevrolet Corvair 700 Additional Info:
Assembled at Willow Run, Michigan, this built-for-Canada car was the first Corvair delivered to Ontario, Canada and was sold to the local Chevrolet Dealer who gave it to his wife as a gift on Christmas Eve 1959. You can tell it is a "Canadian" car because the interior engine compartment is painted to match the body colour instead of black as American Cars are painted. I purchased the "Little Blue Baby" from the original owner in 1972 when I was 15 years old----I didn't even have a driver's license yet!!
The front driver's side fender had been hit and required restoration, the floors required new metal, and the rocker panels needed to be replaced (northern salt) but, coming from a family of antique car collectors, my father and I executed those repairs so that, in 1975, at the age of 17, I had a reliable car to leave Canada and drive to Arizona to attend Arizona State University and teach Fine Art. Who knew I would still be driving the same vehicle forty-seven years later.
The Baby had 27,000 original miles on it when I purchased it and, after eight cross-continent trips and hundreds of summer-only excursions, currently has only 83,590 original miles. IT RUNS GREAT and served me well all these years including those where I was the first female president of a classic car club and was actively involved with the Detroit Area Corvair Club until I moved to Tennessee, in 1997, when the car was left in storage in Canada. It was imported into the U.S. legally in 2014. It has clear title and comes with the original owner's manual.
However.....
Time and tragedy have not been good to the Baby.
The car was involved in an accident in 1983 crushing the right front fender and pushing it into the right front door (not my fault!). I was getting divorced at the same time and, although I got to keep the car, I had nothing in pocket to restore it when the divorce was final. It was driven as is for the next twenty years.
Upon bringing the vehicle to Tennessee, I began a full restoration intending to cut the roof off and replace it with parts from another Corvair because, by now, the roof lip was rusted and water would leak into the back seat. I had even acquired right and left fenders off another car for the repairs.
Being stored indoors by my mechanic, unfortunately, his crew left the car outside without our knowledge and the new headliner became stained.
I am heartbroken that the Baby is in such terrible condition but, I now find myself in a position where my mechanic is out of business, I am unable to continue the restoration, the car is sitting in the driveway because we are out of storage options, and, as my father recently passed away, I have lost any desire to continue restoring my cherished possession.
I am preparing to leave Tennessee and do not wish to transport the car to a new location. It needs to be sold.
The recent restoration INCLUDES:
5 NEW Thin Whitewall Tires-$600
New Old Stock Gas Tank, gaskets, connector kit-$295
New Brake Lines, New Battery, Engine Tune-up, filter replacement, mechanical repair,
gas tank installation, heater repair, Fan/Defrost/Heat switch and line repairs-$1,200
The heater is working and, unlike, most models, never failed me.
The car only needs brake cylinders to be road-ready.
I have a list of new NOS parts including sets of hub caps and wheel rims, complete chrome trim, fender skirts, and miscellaneous parts, that I will sell after the car is sold. I am only asking enough to pay for the five tires, gas tank, brake lines, and Ebay fees. What you do with the car once it is out of my sight I do not wish to know. I just can't look at it anymore without tears and am putting it up for immediate sale.