In the 1960s, a Corvair with a V8 engine swap was a dream combination for car enthusiasts. At one point even the factory got into the act with this nifty 1965 prototype.
Built in late 1964 on a new 1965 Corvair Sport Coupe platform, Chevrolet’s prototype departed from the other Chevy/V8 swaps of the day in one obvious way. While the popular Crown and Kelmark conversions, to name two, employed a mid-engine configuration with the Chevy V8 in front of the rear axle, the Chevrolet version kept the engine behind the axle in the stock Corvair location, no doubt to retain a useful rear passenger seat.
Chevrolet R&D engineer Frank Winchell reportedly directed the installation, which featured a 327 CID small block V8 with a four-barrel carb (the 250 hp version we presume, but we don’t know that). As we can see in the photos, it was a tight squeeze but they got it all into the original flat six location, partly with the help of a fiberglass deck lid with a generous clearance blister. A pair of radiators, one in each louver-ized rear quarter panel, handled the cooling duties.
The transaxle (above) was a completely novel setup with no production Corvair parts. A Muncie four-speed gearbox was coupled to a Corvette IRS center section, with an elevated intermediate shaft that raised the engine in the chassis to provide oil pan clearance. While they’re not shown here, the axle shafts were evidently Corvette pieces modified to fit the Corvair trailing arm system.
The cockpit, below, featured elaborate bolsters on both sides of the driver’s seat, no doubt to aid in tearing around the Milford Proving Ground at maximum speed. With a big Chevy V8 hung out over the rear axle, questions about the prototype’s weight distribution and handling are inevitable, but it was probably fun in any event. The prototype was presented to Chevrolet general manager Bunkie Knudsen for evaluation but he gave the project a thumbs down—which may be no reflection at all on the vehicle or its handling. By the spring of 1965, the car that became the Chevrolet Camaro was on track for production. -Detail photos courtesy of Corsa Communique Nov/Dec 2017.
I think the 215 Aluminum V8 would have been a better choice from a size and weight perspective.
Agreed. In some ways GM would have been better off equipping the Corvair with the 215 BOP V8 above an all-alloy V6 in place of the Flat-Six, perhaps through retaining the rights to build the 215 Oldsmobile version whilst still selling off the 215 Buick to Rover prior to diverging in a different direction.
There was a mechanic in Marin County CA that built a Corvair that had the 215 Cu. In Olds in it. I’m not sure what was done inside the engine but it could blow the doors off a 911S!
Do you know how he got the rotation direction changed?
If he did change the rotation I wouldn’t know.
Had one of those; loved it! Had one with a Chevy V8, but the 215-powered car was better balanced.
There is a gentleman that lives in Mesa Arizona, that this is his specialty to this day. Although he uses a 455 Oldsmobile, mated up with a tornado front end.
He’s getting old, but still turning wrenches. Is the only one that I know that can still do this!
Absolutely, that aluminum 215 was a screamer, had one in a ’63 F85, but…the heads would warp and I double gasketed the heads…get a new pair…yep, end up double gasketed, get a new pair…loved that thing, yep. Lol
Transaxle pictured was a drag race unit that was never used. The car used an automatic trans. The body was stretched about 5 inches in the rear.
I’ll bet that was thrilling to drive around a track; don’t lift!!!
Years ago I had the opportunity to examine a ’65 with the powertrain turned around, taking up much of the back seat, making it essentially a mid engine car. The work was all done by the owner and I questioned him thoroughly on the engineering challenges of dong this.
A mid-engine V8 swap on a Corvair is relatively easy. There are complete kits still in production to do it, and it improves handling due to shifting a great deal of weight forward.
Passenger capacity and front seat legroom, on the other hand…
I too bet that it was a riot to maneuver around the track!
Considering General Motors had ordered that no further development work be done on the Corvair after April 1965, I’m amazed they even attempted a V-8 Corvair…
Considering that the (admittedly iron-block) Buick V-6 was also in production by then, I’m surprised they never considered that, nor a flat-8 Corvair, either.
I had many Corvair•s, just “no way” candidate for that power. I did a Vega V8, could never keep it on road without re engineering frame and suspension. Unibodies just Not structured for over certain power/torque.
The car was “ just right” the way it was, especially with Corsa-air 180HP. Wish I had mine back!!
I have 2 corvairs that are in a field. One is one that my wife drove in the 70’s, hardtop.
The other convertible for parts.
Eldorado,ks
Way back when I had a Corvair that had a 195 HP engine. I sold it to a Gordon White in Martinez CA.
Ingenuity with the Corvair still continues.
Check out John Reynolds YouTube series as he installs a LS4 into his Corvair.
I’ve owned ten Corvairs, most of them convertibles. Russ Meeks did a ’65 coupe with the Olds Toronado package. It sat pretty much under the vents back of the back window, and with a useable back set moved only four inches forward and half-sized trunk in back.
I had a ’62 Monza. Years later, while working on the Cadillac/Olds Premium V-8’s (Northstar/Aurora) I did a demonstration on “negative polar moment” and the transverse FWD configurations we all see today. Mass distribution was probably what killed Corvair even with the original “flat-six”. Engines, whether longitudinally or transversely mounted really need to be somewhere between the front and rear axles. However,.. I too believe this thing would have been a rush at the dragstrip??!!!
I have a 2:15 olds in my sand rail. Beautiful fit
Are you sure about the Buick V-6 being an iron block? I disinctly remember I’m the late ’60s dropping a Buick aluminum V-6 in an Alpha Romeo coupe.
Buick special. Small body had aluminum v8.63 .like 215 cu.
The Buick had a ‘nail head’ while the Olds F-85 215 alum. block didn’t.
The Olds F-85 could be massaged more than the ‘nail head’. The F-85 that was in the Corvair that I saw had an AFB carb. on it among other things.