1964 Corvair Monza Convertible Automatic Air Conditioned Barn Stored 35+ Years

1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Description

This listing is for a very rare 1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible. Most of these cars were sold with manual transmissions and very few Corvairs came with air conditioning. Although I have not been able to find an exact production number for AirVair production, most information seems to suggest that only a couple hundred were produced. These cars were considered economy cars at the time and air conditioning was a very expensive option. Other options on this car include an automatic transmission, tinted windows, power top, AM radio, and dash clock. I purchased this car last fall at an estate auction. It had been stored since about 1980 in the previous owner's barn along with over 30 other Corvairs. I have some paperwork left in the car by the previous owner indicating the car had been prepped for storage by running the carbs dry and squirting oil into the cylinders. He also noted that the rear brakes were not working at that time.
I hooked up a small fuel can and hose to the engine to see if the car would still start and it started right up. I ran the car for about 15 minutes while lots of blue smoke poured out of the tailpipe. The smoke finally subsided so I took it for a test drive after topping off the brake reservoir and transmission. I drove it around my block a couple of times without incident. The car starts easily and idles well but it would not accelerate like it should. I could get it to speed up with some effort but it will probably at least be needing the carburetors cleaned. I planned to pull the car apart over the winter and repair the body in preparation for paint so I would have a convertible for this summer but other things got in the way so now I am offering it for sale here. I was able to complete some work including a good general cleaning and tire replacement. I also purchased some replacement parts including a fresh battery, tires, hood and engine cover, some tail lights, the jack and lug wrench, parking brake cable, radio, hubcaps, boot cover, rear seat and some other miscellaneous parts. The seat I found was black so I dyed it white as can be seen in the pictures but it should be dyed again as the interior is more a cream color than white.
This car is still in need of a complete restoration but is pretty much complete. There is some body damage primarily at the driver's side rear corner above the bumper that included the engine bonnet. That is why I bought a replacement. The replacement is not shown in the pictures but I have since installed it on the car. It matches the original color and looks pretty good on the car. There is a crease running along the driver's side of the car that should not be too hard to repair. The hood I purchased for the front of the car is yellow and will need some light repair but is in better condition than the one that came with the car as it has some rust under the front lip. This car has extensive rust that will need repaired before painting. I placed a patch in the bottom of the trunk area where the metal had rusted through as well as both front floor sides. The patches are not welded in but were placed there only to cover the holes. There are a couple small holes behind the front seats that could be patched without replacing the whole floor. The doors and rockers panels appear to still be solid but there is rust around the drip channel for both the hood and engine covers. The doors do not sag and open and close easily. There is body rust on the fenders and around the wheel wells. Most of the body will need rust repair as can be seen in the pictures. The top should probably be replaced once the body has been painted but it is usable as is for now. The motor for the top does not work but I have purchased a used working replacement that has not been installed.
Although this car can be driven, it should be towed to its new home and not run on the open road before completely going through the mechanical parts for safety reasons. The rear brake line was disconnected by the previous owner before it was stored and the junction block was plugged so the front brakes could still be used to stop the car. I have not tried to replace the rear brake line but did inspect the rear brakes. There is still plenty of pad left on the brakes and the other hardware appears to be intact. I have not tried to put gas in the tank and have not inspected the fuel line but think there is a chance they could need some attention too. The air conditioning parts came with the car but the parts that connect to the engine were in the trunk when I bought the car. Some of the parts look like they were purchased new and never installed. It looks like all of the parts are there including the mounting brackets but I have not tried to hook it up. The compressor still appears to spin freely and may still be functional.
I have tried to include everything I know about this car in this listing but please feel free to ask any questions. Buyer must make all arrangements for pick up. Thank you for viewing my listing and good luck ebuying.