This is my second Corvair convertible. I sold the 1969 Monza convertible to help finance my Stinger clone race car.

Actually, I was over a year without a drop top Vair and I was surprised how much I missed it so, I began actively looking for another one. I had decided it would be a 1968 which is the only year Corvair I have never owned. Also since I wanted it to be a Dairy Queen/parade cruiser I wanted a 110 horse power automatic! Never thought I’d ever say that! Having done several parades with the 69 140 four speed I realized it was no fun creeping along, stop and go style for an hour or more in a parade with a shaky clutch leg.

That is what I based my "wants" on.

Initially I had no success finding exactly what I wanted but, during a Thanksgiving visit upstate my step brother mentioned off hand that he had seen a late model Corvair on a used car lot uptown. I said I would stop and check it out on the way home.

The car lot is in an old gas station in the town where I attended grade school. As we pulled up I saw a black 65 coupe sitting out front, not the car I was looking for. I decided to check it out anyway because as we all know if you are a Corvair guy you will look at ANY Corvair!

The owner came out and as we talked I mentioned I was looking for a Corvair convertible. He said he had one. I asked what year it was. He said 1967 to which I replied after looking around the lot, where is it?

Turns out it was in his storage building behind the station so, we went in for a look. It was back behind several other cars in the ill lit building and had a lot of dust on it but, I was liking what I saw.

It was a cold day and we were anxious to get home so after getting a price I said I’d think about it and call later.

I made the call and advised the owner that I would be in town the next Saturday and he said he would have the car cleaned up and in the service bay on a rack for me to inspect. He didn’t know what a "pinhead" he was dealing with!

Armed with the Serenska Checklist and a big flashlight we showed up at the dealership bright and early. Unfortunately, he was not a bright and early person so we had to wait several hours before he showed up.

I had every intension of buying the car and pulled my trailer along for that purpose but, not wanting to seem too anxious I dropped the trailer at the mall parking lot and drove the truck to the dealership.

As promised he had it cleaned up and put it on the grease rack so I could inspect it. After about an hour he indicated he needed the rack for some other cars so I finished up quickly. He was rather surprised at all the things I pointed out that he wasn’t aware of……and he said he was a Corvair guy!

Anyway he wouldn’t budge from his "low" price which was actually the high price I was willing to pay so we bought the car.

After retrieving my trailer, loading it up and saying bye to my step brother and some other family that showed up we hit the road for the 100 mile trip home. I was not real satisfied I had made a good deal but the car had new paint and a lot of new interior pieces plus all the weather strip had been replaced so someone spent a bundle. Once back in my shop I would find out what I really had.

Surprisingly, the floors were in great shape with only surface rust. That included the area under the bottom of the back seat which on a convertible in this region is unheard of. A little wire brush work and some rust inhibiting paint did the trick.

As is usual for these cars a lot of previous owner repairs or lack of had to be addressed. The most outstanding was the brakes. I replaced everything from the master cylinder to the shoes. This car had one of the worst wheel cylinders I have ever seen!

I rebuilt the carbs, installed a new dale points plate, plugs and wires then, cleaned up the engine room and replaced the stock air cleaner with some small chrome units. Also replaced the bad muffler with a set of "pea shooter" trombone exhausts. They add a nice touch and I like the sound, not too loud.

The color, Royal Plum, is original to the car as is the white electric top according to the option code on the body plate.

I replaced the ugly wheels and tires from an S10 that came on it with a nice set of Ansen Sprints from American Racing and some high performance tires.

There is a lot more I want to do to her but that will all come in time. For now she is a sweet little driver and already knows the way to all the local Dairy Queens!