<VV> 66 Monza Convertible / tale of woe

[UltraMonzaWest@aol.com]

What a bummer!  If he had just enlisted your help BEFORE buying 2....at least
YOU  are being straightforward about it's condition....good luck!

I suggest you BOTH  take a vacation out west and purchase cars AFTER you
inspect / drive them!  [  even rusty east coast cars come to Calif. to be sold
later when the rust gets too bad ]....buyer beware!

Matt


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In a message dated 9/29/2004 12:41:23 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
djbillt@usadatanet.net writes:

>
> Anyone looking for a 66 Monza Convertible please see the link below ;
>
> http://www.billt.com/66monzaconvertible.htm
>
copied from webpage

Accepting any offers on this car. There has been over $6000.00 invested in
this car, this year, with receipts to prove it. He may sell it on Ebay but
wanted real Corvair people to have a chance first. Please read the long story
below
before you contact me with your offers.
 
This is kind of a sad story, but typical to those who buy a Corvair not
knowing anything about the car, then take it to a body shop and tell them to
restore it for you. You give them the Clarks Corvair Parts book for parts and
tell
them your budget is $4000. You have paid $1400 for the car to start with
because it looked pretty good, the seats were nice, the power top looks good
and it
works, even the engine looks good, but the day you bought it, it was raining
and you did not drive the car because it wasn't registered and did not have a
battery and the tires looked kind of bald. Crawl around under the car ? Never,
why should you ? It looks good and you want it. Next to the car you are about
to buy in the rain storm is another Corvair, but it's a 1965 Monza Auto Coupe.
You inquire and you buy that one for $1300. It has some rust you can see, but
the seats look nice !. You pay the owner in cash, and now you own two
Corvairs.
 
You arrange to have them brought to your home. The coupe goes in the barn and
the convertible goes to the body shop, you give them the budget and the
Clarks book and you leave to go to Florida on well deserved 2 week vacation.
You
call about a week later and the car is done and ready to picked up. When you
get
back, you eagerly await the finished product. When you see it for the first
time, you are impressed. The paint looks great, and you are overwhelmed how
the
transformation was a success and how proud you are of your First Corvair, a
restored 1966 Monza Convertible. Because you haven't done a thing to the
engine
yet, you have the car moved to your mechanic who then puts a set of new
radials on, new battery and try's to fix the electrical mess that the body
shop
left when they had the car apart. The car gets a fresh New York State
Inspection
sticker and is then delivered to your home.  You then start to enjoy the car,
taking it on local errands, turning heads everywhere you go.
 
A few months go by and you start to realize that this car is nice, but not
really what you wanted. You don't like the lack of power, and have a hard time
finding "park" so you use the emergency brake... you are also noticing that
the
car is starting to make "funny sounds". You decide to put it on the lawn with
a for sale sign, asking $7500. You want to make a few dollars over what you
invested, but are willing to sell for $6000 if you have to.
 
A few days later a guy stops with his Corvair and looks over your cherished
possession. He walks around it, and he impressed. He asks to have the car
brought to his shop to be put on a lift to look it over, underneath. The plans
are
made and a the next day the car is brought over. As soon as the car is on the
cement floor, it's pointed out the car has some serious rust underneath and
lifting it in the dedicated spots may not be healthy for it. You insist it's
ok.
It has to be ok because the body shop had to have lifted it up when they
repainted it, right ? The Corvair guy makes some adjustments to the lift spots
with larger pads to be safe. Once the car is in the air, you start to see that
the underside of the car is very rusty, and the Corvair guy points out the
large
gaping holes on the insides of the rocker panels, the small hole in the front
crossmember and fixed spots on the floor pans and tunnel area. He insists
that being under the car on the lift is not a good idea at this time and takes
the car down off the lift. You go out for test drive, just to find out how it
drives. When you start it you notice what sounds like a lifter sticking, and
you
check the oil, it's full but dirty. Who knows when the oil was changed last ?
On the test drive you notice the brakes are horrible and pulls to the left,
then the right and the peddle is low. You stop and check the master cylinder,
and it's full. Back on the road again (top down sunny day) you can't believe
how nice the car actually drives, how well the transmission shifts and of
course
all the heads that turn as you drive down through town. A short time later,
after taking a sharp turn at 40 MPH the engine starts to smoke badly ... then
stops. Another sharp turn, same result. You return home to now look the car
over, outside in the bright sunshine. It's beautiful, and you start looking
for
imperfections in the paint. Where are they ? You then start to notice that
when
it was painted, it wasn't masked very well and you can see the overspray on
the glass, engine grill and front spoiler. You also notice that underside of
the engine is VERY DRY and not wet like others you have seen. Inside the
engine
compartment you look for rust over the shocks, and none is present, but it's a
little hard to tell because the body shop painted everything black... all at
once ? You can see the lower fender repairs, but they look like they were done
right. The top of the engine looks a little oily as well. You pull off the
air cleaner to look at the filter, and it's oily as well. You can tell that
oil
is coming into the carburetors, possible from the vent tube in the air cleaner
? And where is the spare tire ? You close the deck lid and notice new the new
rubber seal and move to the trunk. It has also been painted and you can see
that the trunk has a spot welded in, repaired right as well, otherwise it
looks
ok. Walk around the car and you will find fresh wheel trim from Clarks
corvair parts, and new dual mirrors. You notice that it has new tires, and
original
3 bar spinner hub caps, but they are dirty and pitted, and where is the gas
tank trim and rocker trim, and why is the Monza Emblem so high on the dog legs
?
Wait, why is there two Corvair badges on the front of the car and where is
the deck lid 110 emblem ?
 
You move to the inside of the car and notice the tinted windshield and that
it's been removed and repairs have been made in that area as well, but they
look good. The seats are original black and all of them are in good shape. The
carpet is new from Clarks but not installed right. You then notice a few
goodies
like the factory clock (fuse not working?) and what looks like a factory
emergency flasher under the dash, but it doesn't work either. The black power
top
works as it should and the rear window looks ok, but not as good as the top.
When you try to latch the top closed, you struggle at first, but eventually
get
it closed. You then look at the 65 coupe. It's a 110 Auto and it runs well.
The outside fender skins are shot, but the floor tunnel crossmember all look
good. Someone put a late model dual master cylinder in the 65 coupe, but the
car
has hardly any brakes at the moment.
 
My name is Bill Terwilleger, and I am helping a neighbor sell this car, and
the other 65 coupe as well, together if possible. I have been around corvairs
all my life. My Dad had over 100 of these in the 70's and my entire family
drove them well into the late 1980's . Our road had several neighbors that
also
had them, bought from my Dad. When you drove down East main street in Walden
New
York, it was like going back in time with all the Corvairs that were parked.
He had a complete shop and would go through the cars from top to bottom, all
in his spare time. Over 15 years he worked on 100's of local cars and produced
over 30 beautiful pieces, several of them show caliber including mine that I
still have and drive every sunny summer day. He is retired now and sold off
his
last car several years ago.
 
The Car in the story above is about 1 mile from my home in Verona NY (right
off NYS Thruway Exit 33, about 30 minutes east of Syracuse New York). My dad
has restored much worse convertibles, but in its present condition, I think
this
car is dangerous. If you know how to fix the underside of this car, and want
to swap the engine from the coupe into this car, then get the brakes right
.....all the body work, paint, top, seats, carpet is done. It will never be a
show car, but it could be a fun daily driver for someone out there with the no
how and ability to complete this project. It will be a shame to part it out,
and
send that nice paint job to the crusher and the other car as well.
 
Any interested parties should contact me Click Here To Email Me with
questions, or call me at (315) 336-8789 during the afternoons only. You may
get a busy
signal. Email is the best way for now. I have several photos as well, or you
can come look for yourself, by appointment only.Also, I am looking for a 1966
Monza 110 Auto Convertible, but not this one. I want one that is solid from
the start.






> Feel free to forward this to anyone you know that maybe looking.
>
> Thank you
>
> Bill T
>
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