More Re: <VV> Happy Birthday Corvair????...corvair stories

[FrankCB at aol.com]

        My late wife Milly enjoyed telling about some great encounters with 
her 65 Corvair.  She used to pull up next to the gas pump with her gas tank 
flap near the pump and the young attendant would invariably tell her to pull up 
further so he could place the nozzle near the REAR of the car.  Without protest 
she would do so and then let him hunt around for the location of the opening. 
 Eventually he would give up and have to ask her where it was.  When she 
showed him, then of course she would have to back up to again bring the nozzle 
near enough to fill the tank.
       Here in NJ we're not allowed to fill our own tanks since our gasoline 
is more dangerous (more flammable?) than in practically all the rest of the 
USA.<GGGGG>  Isn't it GREAT that we have our wonderfully vigilant politicians 
looking out for our best interests.(:-)
       Then there was the time when Milly was in the auto parts store buying 
some part that I had requested and the persistent salesman insisted on trying 
to sell her some antifreeze that they had on sale.  He wouldn't take NO for an 
answer so she told him she would buy it only if he would show her WHERE to 
put it into her car, parked close by in front of the store.  He came out with 
her, took one look at the Corvair and turned around muttering and retreated back 
into the store.  Milly knew, of course, that Corvairs were air-cooled and had 
no use for antifreeze.
       She also delighted in following Mustangs up slippery snowy hills in 
Winter and then, when they started spinning their wheels, she would pull out and 
pass them with a cheery wave of her hand and a big smile.  Studded snow tires 
on the Vair were quite effective as long as the snow wasn't too deep.
       Then there was the time she encountered a jacked-up Dodge hot rod 
behind her on a narrow country road.  On the straight-aways he would be on her 
bumper with his big HP trying to get by but every time the road made tight turn 
she would lose him as he had to slow way down and she didn't.  Guess he didn't 
have an advanced independent rear suspension.(:-)
       Frank "remembering" Burkhard

In a message dated 10/2/05 7:21:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mark at noakes.com 
writes:

> I, "it's air cooled like the old Porches and VWs."
> 
> He, "oh, but where do they put the radiator?"
> 
> I gave up.  He never did get it.  What I didn't get was that he was old 
> enough that he should have remembered when Corvairs were fairly common.  
> Whatever.
> 
> This is my second favorite Corvair encounter.  My favorite one was 20 years 
> ago when I showed up at a radiator shop in the 61 Lakewood hauling the 
> radiator to my wife's 80 Z28 Camaro.  The guy met me at the door to "We don't  fix 
> no Corvair radiators!"  We both had a good time with that and fortunately he 
> did fix Camaro radiators.
> 
> Mark Noakes
>