1965 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Coupe
Corvair was the brainchild of Chevrolet General Manager Ed Cole, said Corvair Preservation Foundation historian Dave Newell and technical adviser Larry Claypool. Cole began the project in 1956, ordering parts and blueprints under the guise that it was for GM's Australian division, Holden. This is similar to the surreptitious development of the GTO package for the Pontiac LeMans. Cole considered front- and rear-engine placement and 4 and 6-cylinder air and water-cooled engines. He settled on a 140-cubic-inch, rear-mounted, flat 6, air-cooled engine, powering a 15-foot, five-passenger car.
For consignment a 1 owner Corvair Monza. This car comes with extensive records even some telling of when gas was put into the car! A few faults around, but all the basics are there, and it remains an all original car save for an earlier exterior respray with a slight color change. This was the first year for the Fisher Z body and it addressed the Nader false accusation of the suspension being unsafe with a rear suspension that now resembled the Corvette.
Exterior
Garage kept all its life this car has undergone a color change respray a while back. It went from its original mist blue to a now baby blue. Some cracking and crazing as well as slight rust in the rocker area on the rear are two areas of concern, otherwise paint remains shiny. Steel panels have moved just a bit over the years, and gaps are just a bit off in places. Chrome and trim work is still nicely shined, glass is good, and there is a small dent in the rear fender which is the only mishap with this car. This happened at the garage during a servicing when a tech backed into another car! Standard wheel covers are wrapped by plain black wall tires.
Interior
All original interior which shows some age in the form of smudges and areas of dulling on the original vinyl. Bucket seats upfront are original and have had lap belts added at the dealership. The rear bench is all there too in the same color and sports the lap belts too. The original dash in dark and light blue painted metal houses original gauges, knobs and levers. An aftermarket radio with only an FM bandwidth is below the dash and the original AM only radio. Nice dark blue carpet covers the floors, and a light blue headliner is tight but has areas of light mold and soiling.
Drivetrain
A lift of the trunk and we see an all be it dusty but nicely preserved and obviously well maintained 164ci 6-cylinder engine. It has dual 1-barrel carburetors on top, and a 3-speed manual transmission attached to this horizontally opposed air-cooled configuration.
Undercarriage
Plenty of years of patina make up this undercarriage. Little to no surface rust is noted on the unibody and a few bottoming out scratches are seen in the metal. All structurally sound underneath.
Drive-Ability
This car started right up, and after a short warmup, ran great. Nice handling, a good ride, and shifting was effortless. Only fault I noticed is the gas gauge is inoperable, otherwise all is in working condition.
A 1 owner car who was very fastidious about the maintenance, and always kept this car in the garage. A respray with a few faults, and a nice original interior. Just a smidge of some TLC and you will have a fine working example of the 1965 Corvair Monza. Chevrolet's venture into the air-cooled rear engine sports car market.
VIN Decode
105375W287656
1-Chevrolet
05-Monza
37-Coupe
5-1965
W-Willow Run, MI Assy Plant
287650-Sequential Unit Number
Trim Tag
06D-4th Week June Build
ST 65 10537-1965 Corvair Monza
BDY WRN68413-Willow Run Body #
TR 733-Blue Vinyl
PNT DD-Mist Blue
4P-Comfort & Convenience Group
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 500 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.