The Corvair Museum has come home to Ypsilanti.

Welcome to the Detroit Area Corvair Club's home Page.



CORVAIR...STYLISH AND AFFORDABLE, THEN AND NOW.

The Corvair started as a concept car that was designed and developed by the Styling and Engineering Staff of the General Motors Corporation. The project was under the direction of Edward N. Cole. When General Motors decided to produce the Corvair, they gave it the code name Holden, in order to keep the project a secret. Production was started and the Corvair was brought out on October 2, 1959.

The Corvair was an engineer's car, through and through. It has an independent suspension, weight of under 2400 pounds, 180 inches long, with a wheel base of 108 inches for the car and a 95 inch wheel base for the forward control (truck) models. The engine was in the rear and was aluminum, six cylinders, horizontally opposed valve-in-head, 140 cubic inch displacement, and was air-cooled. The engine weight was about 400 pounds. Two transmissions were available: There was the two speed Power Glide automatic and the three speed manual, with a standard rear axle ratio of 3.55:1. An optional four speed all-synchromesh manual transmission was offered.

Small for it's time, but compared to the compact cars 20 years later, the Corvair’s wheelbase was longer than the 1980 Chevrolet Citation. The Citation had a 104.9 inch wheelbase. The Corvair also had more headroom, more legroom, more hip room and more luggage space. Over all, even though it appeared very small, it was a very comfortable and stylish car. Truly ahead of it's time.

Contrary to popular belief, and even though he would like to take the credit, General Motors Corporation planned to discontinue production of the Corvair six months before Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate, published his book, "Unsafe At Any Speed", in 1965. The Monza was improved with each passing year and was a very popular model. Two out of every three Corvairs sold, were Monzas. The total Corvair Production in the U.S., was 1,737,316 and in Canada 48,927 for a grand total of 1,786,243 cars and trucks, for model years 1960 through 1969. The base price was $1,984.00 in 1960 and elevated to $2,811.00 for some models prior to the end of production in 1969. Production of the Corvair ended on May 14, 1969, when an Olympic Gold Monza coupe reached the end of the assembly line.

In 1970, Corvair enthusiasts established a social club: CORSA, Corvair Society of America, Inc. Currently there are approximately 6000 members. This is an international organization of Corvair owners and enthusiasts with 134 chapter clubs across the U.S., Canada, France and Switzerland. The DACC, Detroit Area Corvair Club, has approximately 150 members.

Click here for a DACC Membership Application Form

Click here to request information about the DACC;

Click here to submit technical questions for the newsletter and/or meetings;

The AirCooler - DACC Sample Newsletter's.

Enjoy reading some sample newsletters from the Detroit Area Corvair Club archives. The newsletter is published around the first of each month. Click on the sample you wish to view. Download  Adobe Acrobat Reader To view or print.

Web Editor: John A.                    Times viewed since January 15, 2000