The Case of the Methodical Men: A Rare 1959 Corvair Film

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This super-rare 1959 film takes us behind the scenes for the design, development, and production of the 1960 Corvair.

 

This video comes to us courtesy of Corvair expert and historian Eva McGuire.  Organizer of the “Meet the Makers of the Chevrolet Corvair” project, among her accomplishments, she collects and preserves for posterity the first-hand memories of the GM engineers, designers, and auto workers who created the Corvair.

This super-rare 1959 film by GM Photographic, titled The Case of the Methodical Men, goes into fascinating detail on the development and production of the innovative rear-engine Chevy, which entered production in July of 1959 as a 1960 model. The storyline is unique for an auto industry film: It’s a murder mystery.

Spoiler alert: The “killer” in our story is project engineer Kai Hansen, whose job it was to “kill” all the Corvairs he could in the testing and development phase. At around the eight-minute mark, there’s an awsome look at a hand-built hardwood engine model, followed by the assembly of prototype engines and dyno testing. Then we pay some visits to the GM proving grounds (fun fact: early test cars were disguised as Holdens, see our feature here) and then to the Tonawanda, New York engine plant and the assembly plant in Willow Run, Michigan. Thanks again to Eva McGuire for posting this rare and excellent film. Video below.

 

5 thoughts on “The Case of the Methodical Men: A Rare 1959 Corvair Film”

  1. I’m sheepish to admit that I bought a `64 Corvair new. Endemic to that was breakage of a rear wheel hub sealed bearing assembly. The wheel would travel outwards, so that the drum would be outboard of the brake shoes, and the splined half shaft would pull out of the transaxle. The wheel would bind against the rear fender, wrenching the car to a lurching stop. It happened to me in an unsafe neighborhood in East Cleveland….

  2. Meanwhile, Ford and Chrysler just quickly cranked out shortened, cut-off, squeezed down versions of their regular cars and handily outsold the Corvair. It must be frustrating for engineers to design something actually innovative, only to find that the potential buyers are unable to think outside the box. It’s so much easier to just change the shape and location of the tail fins every year, stick some more chrome on, and call it “All New”. I liked my 61 Corvair (with all it’s many faults), but I tend to like things that are weird and different, and I only paid $300 for it, in 1968.

    • I had a similar thought while watching that segment of the fim. “Hey, that’s what Ford is doing!’

  3. I was a young designer in the Corvair Engine Group at the Chevrolet Engineering Center in Warren, MI. When this unique American car went on sale in October, 1960, I rushed to the local Chevrolet dealer to take one for a test drive. It was an exciting experience. I bought a 1963 Monza sedan and when I brought it home, my wife’s comment was “how are you going to see to drive when you bring a Christmas tree home as the “trunk” was in front of the windshield. Problem resolved by carrying the tree on the roof. I had the opportunity during a GM Openhouse to watch Corvairs being assembled at the Willow Run plant. What was really amazing was Chevy IIs were built on the same line.

  4. A great film, and it’s worth watching the other film on the YouTube channel which looks at very early drawings for the Corvair.

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