Start of project - January 20, 2007

I’ve had my eye on this car as it sat in the lot of a mechanic’s shop for something more than ten years, but no one would sell it. Last year it was taken away and I just located it and purchased it.  As you can see from the pictures, it was not very well maintained even before parking it in the shop.  According to the mechanic where it was left, “it ran fine, but had to be pushed to start”. 

I expect the restoration to take a while.  Click here for a little more of the timing and logistics.

Some people have asked:  “Why a Corvair?”  “Why this car when it is in such bad shape”.  The answer lies in the fact that since I first rode in one in 1959, I have liked the styling and the engineering in this car.  I also wanted something unique, restored to what it was.  Add to that the challenge of figuring out its history, abuse, discovering the adaptations, and rebuilding it from the ground up.  I found myself with a nice project.

Some have suggested I could have imported one or two used ones to start from.  That is not possible since the law forbids the importation of cars older than 10 years.

2007-1-25-front-right

2007-1-25-front-left

Trim plate

2007-1-29 ID plate VIN

Once I have finished it, I will frequently drive it to the city with this 500 foot climb through the mountains. That is a 14 mile drive along with cattle, sheep and other animals on the road.

Altitude change from Uriondo toTarija

This is not my first project car, although it will be the first that I will use outside shops to do much of the hard work. Here are the other three cars I’ve restored over the years.

My first project (1966) was a 4 year old Austin Healy Bug-Eye Sprite that had been badly neglected. It had considerable rust and dents, rotten and torn interior, and needed a clutch and carburetor work.

1966-Sprite before

Austin Healy Sprite after

My second project (1971) was a 12 year old Triumph TR3 that had lots of rust, a bad interior and needed valve and transmission work.

1972-7 TR-3 sonia (Custom)

My third project was actually my daughter’s dream car, rebuilt as a father-daugher project over about 9 months of evenings and weekends, finishing in mid 1987.

The 11 year old MGB ran well, but had spent a lot of years in the Florida sun and salt, resulting in a lot of rust and interior work, as well as the restoration of the famous rubber bumpers.

1987 MGB before paint-back

1987 MGB before paint-front

1987 MGB almost finished

This was not that much of a restoration, but I have redone the convertible top and all the blue leather interior. I currently drive this 1988 BMW 325 IC when in Tarija and the roads aren’t mud and ditches.

1988 BMW 325 IC in Tarija

Other interesting cars I’ve had

 
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