<VV> CORVAIR UNDERGROUND 1974-2009

[Jim Houston]

Order from Underground ... he's not finished yet!!

Jim Houston

Dave Smith wrote:
> Ah, so for me, who just ordered a catalog 2 weeks ago and was planning
> on spending money, where do you suggest I go?
>
> I've bought my first Corvair a couple weeks ago. Overheated it less
> than 48 hours later and am in search of another Corvair or an engine.
> I'm not sure yet.  I'm not going to give up on Corvairs through me
> being a dumbass.
>
>
> -Dave
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 4:08 PM, corvairs <corvairs at pacifier.com> wrote:
>   
>> CORVAIR UNDERGROUND
>> 1974-2009
>>
>> It would be trite of me to say that this is the hardest letter I have
>> ever had to write. It would be trite and, well, untrue as well. All of
>> us have had negative events in our life, some worse than others. On a
>> scale of negativity this letter ranks pretty high, but I've seen worse.
>>
>> In 1974 I was young and stupid. I started a part time business that, by
>> any rational measure, looked like an eccentric lark. For reasons I still
>> don't fully understand that excursion blossomed into a full fledged mail
>> order business.
>>
>> When my 2nd wife and I separated in 1982 I almost lost the business. But
>> I kept stubbornly plugging away and, with the help of Linda (whom I
>> married in 1983), managed to rebuild the Corvair Underground into a
>> legitimate International player in the Corvair parts market.
>>
>> 35 years is a long time for any business to last, but very little lasts
>> forever. 2009 marks the year that Linda and I will begin to liquidate
>> our corporation. We've seen and had to make many changes in the way
>> we've done things. That's how you survive 35 years.
>>
>> But the past 3 years have been just a bit much. First we tried to sell
>> the business for somewhat less than it was worth. Then we tried to sell
>> it for a lot less than it was worth. Then we almost gave it away. In
>> every case the "serious" buyers passed up on a real opportunity, mostly
>> because of a lack of funds.
>>
>> I have had health problems before, but my heart/stroke surgery 2 years
>> ago really threw a monkey wrench in everything. Add that to failed
>> attempts to sell, losing my key employees in the process, and a general
>> downturn in the economy has made the going rough. Truthfully I promised
>> Linda Winter before last that we would not struggle through another
>> Winter (Our traditionally slowest time of the year). And here we are.
>>
>> It's time for me to do something else. What that is, I have no idea. But
>> I do know that it's time to wind this business down.
>>
>> Our intention is to have Corvair Underground closed by late Spring of
>> this year. Whether that will be possible or not remains to be seen. Even
>> though our operation is considerably smaller than our "heydays" of the
>> past 35 years, there is still an unbelievable amount of inventory here.
>> I would still claim that we are the second largest inventory of new and
>> reproduced Corvair parts in the world. We also have about a quarter mile
>> of shelving and a lot of other equipment and stuff.
>>
>> Is there a buyer out there? Time's running out. I may have to dump all
>> this stuff on the open market and though "garage" sales. Not really
>> looking forward to that.
>>
>> If you have even a passing interest in our clearance make sure you're
>> signed up for our electronic NEWS. It's free and easy. Just log into our
>> website at www.corvairunderground.com. That will be the primary way I
>> will be announcing open house sales dates and other breaking news.
>>
>> So far as continuing to take and process your mail orders - that will
>> not change at all. A number of our reproduced items will NOT be replaced
>> and some inventory that requires large purchase commitments will not be
>> replaced either. In the meantime we'll keep processing orders for the
>> foreseeable future just as we have since 1974.
>>
>> Has Corvair Underground been a positive force in the Corvair parts
>> market these past 35 years? Well, the age of self-promotion of my
>> business has ended for me. Other people and history will answer that
>> question, eventually.
>>
>> Lon Wall
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>>
>>     
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