The Corvair definitely has a limited following in the grand scheme of the hobby, but they are cool cruisers nonetheless. Just ask Ralph Nader.

Welcome to another addition of Home-Built Heroes. We’re calling this one the Overlooked Edition. Most of our readers enjoy the classics like a first or second-gen Camaro or Chevelle, but this week, we have a few classics that seem to get overlooked. So, sit back and take a look at these cool cruisers that defy the norm of hot rodding.

Boxy Bruiser

We’ll start with Bob Black’s 1978 Malibu. He tells us he purchased the car about 5 years ago from a friend of his, and it runs the ¼-mile in the mid 10-second range at around 130 mph. The car not only runs like a Banshee, it looks good too. “The car has received two trophies from local car shows in western Massachusetts,” he said.

Inside is mostly as it left the factory, with the exception of rollbar and Autometer gauges. “It even has the clutch pedal from when it left the factory as a manual transmission car,” Bob stated.

Not your typical Disco-era power developing engine.

Under the hood is a 468ci big-block with Dart Iron Eagle heads, an Eagle rotating assembly, and a roller camshaft with .714-inch lift. Behind that is a Turbo 400 transmission with a manual-shift valve body and a trans brake. Finally, a 9-inch rear with 4.11 gears and a locker complete the tire-frying package.

Small Stick O’ Dynamite

Nello Bini jr. lives in Brazil and tells us he found this ’64 Corvair on eBay. “Owning a Corvair has always been on my mind since my uncle Mario bought a 1960 sedan. The car was blue with white top. Although it was a novelty, I fell in love and never forgot it,” Nello stated.

The endurance of this Corvair rightfully snubs whet Nader called, unsafe at any speed.

He also tells us that while the car’s interior and convertible top looked bad when he got it, there was minimal rust, and he could see the potential in the project. But, having a project in Brasil presents some serious parts-acquisition issues. Nello verified, “Here in Brazil, there are practically no new parts for old cars, only some dealers who work with used parts. Everything we need or want has to be imported from the U.S.”

The 140-horsepower engine has been gone through, and now benefits from electronic fuel injection, power brakes, power tinted windows, electric power steering, LED lighting and a Retrosound radio.

Large And In Charge

Micah Sheveloff says he saw an ad for the new 1977 Chevrolet Caprice when he was 13 years old. Apparently, it left an indelible mark, because here were, and he has one. “I saw the ad for the new Caprice, and since then, I always liked that design. I vowed to have one someday. Later, I discovered the police version, called the 9C1, which I thought was way cooler. In 1996, I bought one,” he said with a grin.

The police version, called the 9C1, had a heavier frame, oil cooler, gauge package, and other unique traits.

As much as he liked the look of the car, he needed to make some upgrades to give it a little more of a performance edge. “I went off the deep end and completely re-engineered the car. I upgraded the drivetrain and suspension geometry, and added an upgraded music system to listen to my favorite tunes.” By the way, that music is transferred from classic vinyl to a CD.

Do you want to read about more Home-Built Heroes? All you need to do is click here. If you own a Home-Built Hero, we want to hear about it. Since we’ve started the series, we have received more than a few candidates, but we still want to see more – we can never get enough. If you want to see more cars built by you the readers, send us a few pictures of your car showing the engine, interior, and exterior, along with all of the pertinent information, and we’ll make you Internet famous. You can send your submissions to [email protected].