It’s a shame when we see cars left to sit and decay, like this ’62 Chevy Corvair that was spotted in a driveway in Cape Cod, Massachusetts by Jalopnik. You know you may even be guilty of it yourself, letting a project car sit outside for years telling yourself that you will get to it someday, when in reality it will never be done.

Some would say it should be junked and would quote “the Corvair wasn’t any good when it was new.“ Political whore Ralph Nader wrote the book “Unsafe at Any Speed” and then elected himself the people’s champion of automotive safety all atop the carcass of the Corvair which, at the time, was only a couple of years old.

Patterned after VW’s air-cooled compacts during the mid ’50s, Chevrolet lobbied to offer a similar “compact” by 1960 (as did just about every other manufacturer once they heard Chevy was coming out with a compact). Chevy may not have “copied” the VW but many of the basics of the air cooled rear engine, compact transaxle and suspension were similar; however,the Corvair was larger, inside and outside and was an “American size compact.” The Corvair would represent several production firsts for Chevy including their first (only) rear air cooled engine, first unitized body, first production car turbo, and fully independent suspension for each wheel-front and rear.

The ’60 Corvair was offered as a two-door coupe and a four-door sedan in two trim levels and in the spring of 1960, a “sporty” Monza model was offered with full vinyl interior, bucket seats and full wheel covers. This sporty model was to really drive Corvair sales and attract the interest of enthusiasts in the coming years.

Is it too late for this Cape Cod classic along with many others? There are now many Corvair clubs and forums out there and these cars have come back strong.For those of you interested in some history of the Corvair please visit Clark’s Corvair Page. Lets keep the car hobby alive and be truthful, if your not going to restore it, sell it to someone that will, because there are to many classics being left to die.