The Phantom: ’68 Chevy Corvair Monza

The Corvair actually turned out to be a decent car. Granted, its shaky start is legend and it made Ralph Nader, well, Ralph Nader. When you think about it, GM engineers had the chops to get the Corvair right. Look what they did with the Corvette. Rear-engine cars were popular because they provided packaging and dare we say, handling advantages. Granted the early swing-axle cars were a little tricky. We seem to recall Ernie Kovacs met his fate in one. The second generation, however, was much better because they went to a fully independent rear suspension based on the Corvette. Not too shabby. David E. Davis and friends at Car & Driver loved the new car although it didn’t go fast enough. Yenko and Fitch made a business out of fixing that. Which brings us to this one. It is a true survivor with 27,200 miles. One might ask if the original owner read Nader’s book and was too afraid to drive it? But it is a beauty with pretty much everything like it was 1968. Really low mileage cars are fun to look at and to show. They become the benchmark cars at club meetings. If you bought this Corvair, you need to make sure it isn’t going to start leaking all over the place from seals that have dried out. Like any classic car purchase, just because the mileage is low doesn’t give it a pass from a PPI. If you love Corvairs this might be a nice add to your collection although it would be more fun with a 4-speed and the 140hp motor. Why did we title this one The Phantom? GM had stopped all marketing for the Corvair in ’68 so Car Life Magazine referred to it as The Phantom. Check it out here on eBay.