Yesterday on eBay Stories, we talked about a custom 2013 Nissan GT-R autographed by the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt. Today we are looking at another custom car, this one from the 1960s. Now, if you think this blog is destined to only talk about cars, you are wrong… we just happened to find two really cool cars to highlight this week and we know how much our readers appreciate hearing about them. If you love cars and want to read about them every day, head over to the eBay Motors blog, which talks about all sorts of cool cars found on eBay and also provides car reviews.
But back to today’s remarkable find. We stumbled across this one-of-a-kind 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Convertible:
The Corvair sports cars don’t need much of an introduction, ranking right up there with the Corvette Stingray or with the Chevrolet Camaro in terms of name recognition. Aside from the many production-style Corvairs, there was also a subset of modified and racing Corvairs created in the mid-1960s. The Yenko Corvairs among these modified racecars, created, in part, to compete with the Shelby Mustangs in the Sports Car Club of America.
If you’d like more information about the different types of Corvairs, take a look at the Wikipedia Corvair entry on the car, which is very extensive. Suffice it to say, the Yenko Corvairs were rare, but even more rare — there was only one Yenko Corvair convertible ever created — is the one up for auction here.
The listing describes the car, and details its various modifications over the years. Read below about the history of this vehicle, designated as YS302:
“The history of this car is very interesting, It was actually converted to Yenko Stinger specs in 1976 from a pristine 1966 Corsa 140hp 4 speed convertible for Yenko customer Everett Gouak of Fort Washington, PA. I have a copy of the Yenko authorization letter dated 7/7/76 referencing the GM VIN and the Yenko tag number. Yenko didn’t have a deck lid in stock at the time the mechanical mods were done. The Yenko decklid was shipped to Everett on 7/13/76 to finish the Yenko body modification. I have the original trucking company consignee’s memo and the original letter from Everett to Don Yenko complaining about how long it has taken to get his parts! Sometime between 1976 and 1979 Everett sold the car to Lewis Friedman of Potomac, MD. Then between 1979 and 1981 Lewis sold the car back to Everett! In 1981 Everett sold the car to Harry Bennett of Scottsdale AZ. I bought the car from Harry in 1991. I sold the car in 2007 to James Kamihachi of North East, MD, a few months later I traded Yenko Stinger YS003 plus cash to get the car back! I have owned 10 Yenko Stingers total!”
Here is a video that shows this Yenko Stinger Convertible in action:
If you are interested in this one-of-kind convertible, get bidding, and good luck.
Excuse me, but isn’t this the car that Ralpf Nadar referred to as “…an automotive deathtrap”, in his article, “Unsafe at any speed”?
So what is your point? Nader had it in for GM. If you think this car is a death trap you’d better not be driving a small Japanese car. They scored worse in impact tests for 20 some years after the corvair was discontinued. Did Nader have anything to say about them? No.
The Corvair had a spyder that was 140 MPH. What’s the big deal
Actually, Nader was referring specifically to the earlier generation Corvairs which, with their very rudimentary rear suspension, could accurately be labeled a “death trap”. Many drivers of the early Corvairs suffered death and injury because they were either unaware or ignorant of the car’s inherent weaknesses, which were corrected in the second generation prior to Nader’s hatchet job.
As a matter of fact, handling in the later Corvairs was on par, if not superior, to many of that generation’s best handling Detroit automobiles, including the Vette.
GM ought to have done a better job in the original design, as they should have with almost every one of their products.
I had a turbocharged convertible that handled great, even at high speeds. I liked the flat floor and the suspension. At 140 hp it was a respectable machine. I was nice at the drive-in too.
You guys get it correct. Chevrolet never made a 140 HP turbo car. The first turbos where 150 HP until 1965. In 1965 we had Corsa Corvairs with 4 carbs at 140 HP and the Turbo version was 180 HP. The last turboed auto was 1966. One of the rarest corvairs would be a Corvair convertable with the 180 HP turbo engine
My first car was a 1965 Corvair Corsa, 180 hp turbocharged. It was fun and looked great, especially with the reverse chrome wheels and wide tires I put on it. It was pretty easy to hang the back end out, but I never had trouble controlling it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t made very well. For a blast from the past, take a look at the original Corvair commercials on You Tube. Chevrolet shows them to be stable in all sorts of conditions that might have been expected to cause roll over. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmPpry8JiK0
This questions my respect for Yenko mods. It’s like putting money and time into a Vega or a Maverick. I understand that the Corvair has a following, but this is just wrong.
I remember going to see Ralph Nader as a kid in grade school on a field trip.My father had a corvair it was one of the first cars i ever drove. I remember it having an exhaust leak some where and exhaust fumes would get in the car.We did not keep that car very long. And i do remember Ralph not liking that car very much.It brings back old memories.
@Steve: Thanks for the link to the YouTube video. Incredible!
I bought a 65 2dr. hardtop in 66 for only $700. This was a lot of car for the money. I did have a problem with the push rod tube seals leaking oil on to the muffer [replaced them twice] that let the heater suck the oil flumes into the car. It is a shame that in the 60′s they couldn’t produce a rubber seal that would with stand the engine heat of that engine.
I drove a 66 from and to high school. It was too low to the ground to surpass any amounts of snow, and never did well in the summer heat either. I don’t recall getting over 65 with it. Hey it was a teenager thing..
if you like it bid on it and hope you win, if you dont like move on to something else and take your crticisiam with you
This is a blog. It creates a forum for people to exchage opinions about things they enjoy. You should try it…..
@Sal…you must be forgetting the Cosworth Vega (1975/1976). It won kudos from the motoring press in its time. Its problem, it was priced like $600 less than the 1975/1976 Corvette.