I found a letter in an old Rod & Custom Sept. 1963 issue from a Corvair owner. Interesting to read. So what happened to Guerdon Gootee and his Corvair in Springfield, Ohio.

See article:

I tried to explain to a younger guy why I hate the current trend of black wheels. Back in the day, in northeastern Ohio, it was alright to run black painted wheels like this Corvair if you had whitewalls, or run blackwall tires as long as you had full wheelcovers or custom wheels. If you couldn't run either one, it meant you were poor, and low on the bragging rights ladder for your car. Walking through a Pik-A-Part yard today, there were stacks of silver aluminum wheels all over the place. Since manufacturers try to save weight with aluminum wheels, guess younger guys try to stand out with their black wheels. Now, manufacturers are following the trend and offering black wheels from the factory, wonder what the next trend will be? I know, joining Mark in the curmudgeon ranks.

Scott
Danville, In.
'65 Corsa basket case
'66 Monza coupe
[corvaircenter.com]

A two inch rake on a Corvair is a frightening thought. Wonder how he was accomplishing that? Those things that used to screw between your spring coils come to mind. ????

Frankford, De., eight miles north of Ocean City, Md.
1966 Corsa convt.

Ironically, the reader’s car does not look custom at all from the photo. That editor was having a slow month to showcase a car without wheel covers or any features of interest.

CA

C.A. Rose
Metairie, LA
1962 Spyders

Colorsarge Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A two inch rake on a Corvair is a frightening thought. Wonder how he was accomplishing that? Those things that used to screw between your spring coils come to mind. ????


2" isn't that tough. MY 66 Corsa had AT LEAST that when I bought it.

It had coils cut in front, and spacers between the coils in the rear. It also had taller rear tires.


Eric P.
DeWitt, IA

From his "traction enhancement" comment, I suspect that he installed 24 40# bags of sand in the frunk and then raised the tire pressure to a "correct" 33 psi...

---

Dan Davis ~ Pierce County, WA ~ CORSA Western Director + Corvairs NW + North Cascades Corvairs + Corvanatics
1966 Corsa Turbo coupe ~ ~ 1966 Corsa 140 Coupe ~ ~ 1965 Monza 140/4 Convertible Sierra Tan/Fawn ~ 1964 Monza Spyder Convertible ~ 1960 Monza Ermine White/Red PG ++ ~ 1965 Monza 140/4 CoupeEvening Orchid w/ ivory/black interior ~ 1962 Monza Wagon 102/4 ~ 1963 Rampside/Scamper ~ 1963 Red/Greenbrier ~ 1969 Ultra Van #468