1961 Chevrolet Corvair Wagon Comes Back from the Dead

Words and Photos: Gary Rosier

This 1961 Corvair Lakewood Wagon returns from the grave, ressurected as something beautiful and fresh. Well, fresher.

Kyle Whitmore of Holly Hill, Fl now owns this 1961 Corvair Lakewood Model 700 wagon. At the time of production, it was the upscale model in the station wagon lineup, which lasted all of two years. It sat languishing away in a field for years, 5 to be exact, at least as long as his Dad (Richard) could remember. He had been running to a junkyard that he loves in Bunnell Fl called John's Junkyard and noticed it sitting nearby, in someones yard, just returning to the earth slowly but surely.

Now Richard, Kyle's Dad and he were often tinkering with "weird stuff" as they like to call it. A 1958 Morris Minor pickup, 47 Studebaker pick-up, 64 Comet Caliente, 76 Pontiac Safari Wagon and 29 Model "A" street rod are some of their projects over the years they've tacked together.

Kyle has all the skills and more for these things. He just gets after them and is very creative for sure. Like hot rodders of old, they tinker with this and that and make it work on a limited budget. This particular project took awhile to get going however. When Richard inquired about the sale of the wagon, he was referred to another fella that always seems to pop up in these deals. Someone who - SOMEDAY- was gonna fix her up!

So first things first, who owned it took a bit of research and prying it out of their hands with a clean tittle was next. At first, like always, the price was too steep! Richard walked away. But then, the owner had a change of heart and called Richard back. After much haggling, the deal was struck. A clean tittle was assured and even the owner agreed to haul it out of the field and deliver it to their home in Holly Hill, Fl on a flatbed.

The car sat for nearly two months in their front yard. As you can imagine, an old car with lots of "junkyard patina" didn't sit well with the township! Wasn't long before the code enforcement bunch showed up to demand its removal!

As luck would have it, Kyle convinced 'Back from Dead Customs' in Samsula to allow him to work on the car there in exchange for his labor and helping them fix up some special projects they had going on. Kyle is quite handy, he can weld, wrench and figure out almost anything. So the car now had a secure and safe home away from home. Also, the place had plenty of "donor" vehicles lying around that Kyle could peruse for his little project! One thing he couldn't touch tho was the steering wheel - his dad Richard said "that has to be left stock"!

Kyle and his new found friends starting tearing the Corvair apart. Out came the engine - Corvair's are rear engine/air-cooled vehicles remember - and this area became the new resting place for the 15 gallon aluminum fuel cell and aluminum radiator. The interior was a disaster, riddled with mouse nests and debris. All the seats and headliner were tossed in the trash - completely un-serviceable.

A pair of used universal bucket seats were scored off of E-Bay and bolted in. The interior is still unfinished, but Kyle is already underway building a new console and acquiring a rear seat ( more buckets). A duramatt like material (Fat Matt) was laid down throughout, including the headliner area once everything was shop vacuumed and cleaned up to everyone's satisfaction....and relief!

In scrounging around the yard there at Back from the Dead Customs, a 1986 S-10 was relieved of its regular cab frame. Brackets were welded up to locate the now -devoid of any running gear- original Fisher body Corvair. The original paint is still hanging on pretty well (its called Roman Red) and while there is some rust, a few dents too - it will remain that way because that's how they like it Kyle said.

Its go-power was another story altogether as you can imagine. The front trunk area was now to become the engine bay. A little fabrication, both cutting and welding in some new firewall material, provided the nestling place for the used but healthy Chevy 350/350 combo. Its shifted by a B&M Quick Shifter and the internals are monitored by AutoMeter gauges and 10K tach. All that power is transmitted back to a 10 bolt posi with a 3:73 geared limited slip rear end.

It rolls on a set of Pro-Star Weld aluminum wheels, 275/65R15's out back fitted with Nitto Drag radials, and 155/65R15's up front. Front disc and rear drums bring it to a safe stop but don't tell Ralph Nadar any of this please! Ralph Nadar was a consumer protection activist who claimed in his 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed" that the Corvair didn't have the proper handling characteristics to make it safe for the average consumer. This was later proven false by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Kyle's distinctive little car certainly turns a few heads at all the local shows and while it's also certainly true that the circumstances surrounding this car may have raised the eyebrows of many a safety expert in its day - it now takes on another whole new life - to live another day. It just proves that the true Hot Rodder in us can never leave anything alone and we're sure glad Kyle got creative and back from the dead or not, brought some new life into this old distinctive Corvair.

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