1965 Corsa Crown Conversion

Matt's Corv-8 was originally built in the early seventies by a Chevy dealer mechanic in California. He sold it in 1998 to a neighbor and Matt bought it from him in 2002. As far as he knows, the engine has never been rebuilt since the original owner installed it. 1965 Corsa Right Side

The body is all steel and was painted in 2002, a nice shade of Saturn metallic blue with the bottom edge painted black all around. The wheel openings have been enlarged and flairs added.

The interior has a Crown seat unit and the steering column has been shortened and topped with a flat 12" diameter steering wheel. 65 Corsa Interior

Engine wise, we find the Chevy 327 small block with four bolt mains and a steel crank with a Milodon six quart oil pan and skid plate for low clearance on the bottom. Oil Pan The heads have 1.96 valves. A Holley 650 carb administers the gas helped along by a 250 HP Nitrous shot. Ignition is by Mallory with a  knock sensor. Engine

A set of custom headers and Flow Masters make the exhaust noise. The exhaust pipes Exhaust Pipes at Rearexit the rear through  Turbo Corvair style cut outs in the rear valence.

The transaxle is a four speed with a four spider 3:55 ring gear and a girdle on the differential.

All the Crown suspension pieces are on the car and are gold anodized. Crown Suspension The brakes are drums with metallic shoes. The master cylinder is the dual truck style from Crown which uses one circuit to actuate the clutch slave cylinder and the other for the brakes. Steering is by a Ford power rack and pinion set up driven by a Chevy pump. Rack and Pinion Top View It produces two turns lock to lock. You can see in this photo Rack & Pinion Hammer Clearance the "hammer" clearance on the gas tank for the steering shaft.

Cooling is by a front mounted radiator with air openings Front Air Openings under the front bumper.

Wheels US Mag Wheels are US Mag 13" X 9" alloy slots on the front and 13" X 10" on the rear with a 5" offset. Tires are 215-50-13 and 235-50-13 front to rear BFG Comp TA's. Not too many V8 Vairs run 13" wheel and tire combos but the advantage is it saves the transaxle from certain death if you get too aggressive on the loud pedal.

For specific questions you can contact Matt at patiomatt@aolcom and you can see more of Matt's V8Vair and other toys by visiting his web site at  http://www.members.aol.com/patiomatt/ .