Matt was always thrilled by the sleek shape and unusual proportions of the ‘late model’ Corvair, but the powertrain left him a little cold.
After grabbing a decent ‘67, he got to thinking. Retrofitting an old car with a newer, more supported frame could help him blend a classic, swooping shape with a modern powertrain and suspension. That’s why he grabbed a ‘87 G Body’s frame shortly thereafter and planned how to bring the two together.
While setting up his garage for a build this ambitious, he picked up the T56, rear end, and brakes from a 2000 Z28.
When all was ready, Matt began tinkering on the Corvair by stripping the frame clean. With a clean location to mock up the engine and transmission, he realized it’d be best to align the engine and gearbox’s center line with the center line of the frame; ignoring the stock G Body’s offset to the passenger side. This required he fabricate his own engine mounts and notch the front cross member to use the stock F-body’s oil pan, A/C compressor, and alternator.
While the frame was out getting sandblasted, Matt began stripping the Corvair. He knew he had to engineer a way to get the body up in the air so that he could work underneath; fitting the frame without compromising the structural integrity of the body. So, he welded up an internal frame that was strong and rigid enough to lift the body.
He knew he had to modify a few things to make it all work together. Countless measurements and mockups were needed to get the frame to fit the body. Along the way, he notched and rearranged the rear frame rails, added a few reinforcements, and when he was finally done working on the frame, he primed everything in black epoxy.
Next, Matt ordered several UMI suspension components. He got the front adjustable upper and lower arms along with S10 spindles, which allowed him to align the front suspension at ride height for 0.5 degrees of negative camber and 6.5 degrees of caster. These specifications would place wheels where they need to be so that when the body and frame were married, everything would be where it should be.
It was at this point that Matt realized the G body frame needed to be widened to about 56″, which he did by welding a 3/16″ angle along the outside frame rails and extending the rear as shown in the picture below.
Fortunately, marrying the two wasn’t terribly difficult. He had to cut the front rails a few inches ahead of the front sway bar mounting bolts. In the rear, the cut had to be made just after the shock and spring mount bracket. Additionally, he had to ‘rearrange’ the rear frame rails so he could mate them to the existing Corvair rear rails.
After some aligning and welding, Matt entered the second phase of this ambitious build. The end was within sight, and the next step of bolting in the motor wasn’t met with any trepidation. It’s funny how tackling such a complex task makes more predictable processes seem easy.
And though the engine went in easily, some of the ancillaries didn’t. Because the oil pan and alternator wouldn’t fit, he had to pull the engine and move it forward—back to the original G body engine placement. It’s never that easy.
Fortunately, the Corvair steering column and G body steering box aligned pretty well; just a few vertical degrees off. He needed to go with a manual master cylinder as there was no room for a brake booster, and, thankfully, the wiper motor didn’t have to be changed or relocated.
Then came time to fit the gearbox. With a pre-fabbed firewall purchased to save time, he started with a rough placement, then drilled out the spot welds that held the frame mounts and slightly trimmed the top of the panel.
There’s quite a bit on the horizon, including the removal of the G Body transmission crossmember, boxing the frame rails, and the fabrication of some parts that had been excessively corroded. In reality, there is a long list—probably far longer than most builds’, but Matt’s in it for the long haul. For him, a project should challenge him and result in something that is unique. Well, a front-engined Corvair with a V8 certainly fits that bill.
Car Images:
