<VV> The "Last Corvair" in Old Cars Weekly

[Dave Newell]

Hi all,
An article about the last Corvair wannabe, #5214, has appeared on the Old Cars Weekly website, dated 1-21. I'd guess that it will be appearing soon in their print edition. Here's the link and my response. It got kinda lengthy, but this is a near and dear subject!
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/article/The_last_Corvair/
To the Old Cars Weekly Editors,
Thanks for another Old Cars Corvair article: "The Last Corvair?...Maybe" by Phil Skinner. It's a very perplexing article. Some of his information is taken from The 1969 Corvair Finger-Tip Facts book, authored by the late Mark Ellis and myself. But the questions that Phil poses in the article should have also been answered by our book, especially concerning his suggestion that additional cars were built after number 6000, the last 1969 Corvair.  
Phil's interest in the last 1969 Corvairs is understandable, since their story's one of the most  fascinating in GM history. But if he'd contacted the Corvair Society of America at www.corvair.org we would have gladly given him all the details. 
I've personally been researching the '69 Corvair story and the mysteries surrounding it since the 1970s. I've interviewed Gerry Phillips and Jim McClernon, the Chevrolet managers Phil mentioned in his article, plus all those involved with '69 Corvair production and decision making that I could locate. Those men included the engineers who laid out the off-line assembly area where the last 3,806 of the '69s were built, many of the supervisors, plant managment, line workers, Chevrolet distribution personnel, auditors, etc. at the time----even GM Chairman Jim Roche, who was directly involved with the last Corvair.
All of the information in Phil's fourth paragraph ("In the fall of 1968...) came directly from pages 46-47 of our book and is proprietary to my research, There's much more to the story, and those interested can buy a copy of our book from Clark's Corvair parts at www.corvair.com. Just go there and search for "1969 Corvair Fingertip Facts".
The subject car of Phil's article, 1969 Corvair number 5214, was simply one of the final 2500 or so '69s which were built without dealer orders and stored at the Willow Run assembly plant when production ended. These were then shipped to dealers as orders came in and 5214 was one of the last few 69s left at the plant. Chevy Manufacturing Manager McLernon sent the last few cars to Flint, and 5214 ended up being the last one left there. It was taken down to Chevy's Show and Display garage a few blocks behind the GM Building, where auditors discovered it and brought about its auction to local Chevy dealers. 
Unfortunately the letter Phil quotes that accompanied 5214 is now infamous among knowledgable Corvair folks. In the letter, Gerry Phillips stated that "regardless of serial number" 5214 was the last Corvair built. Gerry admitted to me that the car was not the last one built, and that he had confessed the error to an internal GM auditor who made him sign another letter to that effect. The bottom line was that he misinterpreted what was told to him by Jim McClernon, Chevy's manufacturing manager. McLernon also told me that 5214 was simply the last Vair that GM sold.
1969 Corvair #6000 was definitely the last Corvair built. The contemporary rumors of Corvairs being "hand built" after production stopped actually referred to the separate pilot line area where the last 3,806 cars were assembled. Fisher Body built one extra complete Corvair body while their Corvair fixtures were still in place, which may have fueled those rumors. It still exists, with a body number of "XXXX".  
Even though though you might say the miniature assembly area was GM's first "team concept" the quality was poor and got worse in the last few months. 5214 was no better, and there's nothing remarkable or unusual about it compared to other late 69 Corvairs. It has a Fisher Body data plate showing that its body was built in March, with its body number falling in normal sequence with surrounding cars on the line. 
I'm sure Phil is correct in his observations about today's assembly line VIN sequences, and I respect his vast knowledge of Ford and Edsel assembly process. Ford division's were responsible for building complete car including the body but GM had a different arrangement. 
When the Corvairs were built, Chevrolet management made every effort possible to build the cars in the correct VIN sequence. Every Chevy plant had an adjacent, autonomous Fisher Body plant. As bodies were received from the Fisher plant, VINS were assigned sequentially and put on the line in that order. This is easily confirmed by comparing build dates, body numbers and VINS, as well as by my interviews with those who assigned the VINS and supervised the lines. The only way a car could get out of VIN sequence was if it was badly damaged on the line or if it needed repair or parts that kept it from proceeding further down the line. In the Fisher plants, sequence wasn't critical, due to factors peculiar to body assembly.  
All of us at the Corvair Preservation Foundation (CPF) would appreciate it if you could run this letter. The CPF owns 1969 Corvair number 5999, the next to the last Corvair built. We'll be celebrating the 40th Anniversary of its May 14th birth at our 2009 CORSA International Convention in Jacksonville, Florida the week of July 13-17th, where 5999 will be on display. That week will also mark our kickoff for commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Corvair, whicjh was introduced on October 2, 1959. 
Thanks for running Phil's article and to Phil for his interest in Corvairs. I hope I've added some insight into the events surrounding 5214. Please feel free to contact me with any Corvair information you may need in the future.
Dave Newell
CPF Historian
510-782-4265