Strange.... Every time I see or hear the word 'valance', I think of the movie 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'. ....Good flick by the way.

Some Corvair Guy in Ramona

But Phil, "valance" is the word the factory used to name the panel, correct or not according to your sources. The auto industry has their own terminology.

All, here's what the S-10 spoiler looks like on my Arizona car.

-Mark

Phil, that's because I try to use the industry standard terminology. It may not be what any other source or even the rest of society uses, but it's what the auto industry uses. Like the terms "sedan", "pillar", "tulip" and "quarter" panels, etc. If we are going to be automotive enthusiasts, we should sound like we know what we're talking about and use auto industry terminology if and when possible. If we're going to be enthusiasts of the '60's era cars, we should use a term like "sedan" instead of the slang term "post car", "4 door hardtop" for a premium body car instead of the term "sedan", which means a low line body car regardless of the number of doors. When you say a car is a "sedan" you aren't telling me how many doors it has. Have we no pride in ourselves? Let's talk the talk if we're going to walk the walk. We shouldn't sound like we just fell off the turnup truck.

-Mark

I agree with 67 airvair.

General Motors designed the car and the valance panel on it.

Educated engineers providing a very involved product buy the millions.

Sure there will always be models that aren't as good as others but no endeavor is perfect.

Since I cannot duplicate the same ingenuity, fortitude and expertise to do the same as the manufacturers I'll pay them a little respect and use their terminology for their parts.

Valance doesn't seem like a bad word for the stock spoiler. It fosters the impression it's concealing something unsightly, which seems to be it's main purpose. I think maybe '66 onwards the cars might have slightly greater ("aristocratic" as the inimitable Ken Hand said) front ride height perhaps, and it's just there primarily to camouflage the trunk floor bottom and springs.

I personally can't tell if the original valance is installed without looking just from the impression behind the wheel at top speeds. Probably helps but might just be a thing like a freshly washed car always seems to run better.

Brent

You're talking two different worlds, Phil. Look at what a valance panel does. On a curtain, it covers up the (sometimes unsightly) top of the curtain, and all its folds. On a Corvair, it covers up the unsightly front suspension that shows beneath the front roll pan. Top or bottom has nothing to do with it. It's what it does that matters.

For the most part, automotive terminology is mostly literal, but you've got to think the way the automotive industry thinks, and sees things.

-Mark

Look at the center of the factory valance panel. It turns under the car. It doesn't "air dam/divert" the air around the underneath, but rather it probably just shoves the air under the car. Therefore it is meant to be more visual rather than practical.

-Mark

I don't think either one of us has any aerodynamic tests of the Corvair valance panel, so neither one of us is properly informed as to where the air actually flows. Thus neither one of us can say with any degree of certainty. I'm only going by visual cues, which tell me that its intent was more cosmetic than practical.

-=Mark

That is extremely presumptive mark.
You have NO IDEA how much knowledge Phil has in aerodynamics.
As a Land-Speed Racer, I would venture his knowledge base is FAR greater than your own.
Your whimsical idea that the FACTORY INSTALLED AIR DAM on the '66 and later model being purely aesthetic, is purely pathetic.
While I have never spent the money to run my car through a wind-tunnel, I can tell you from person experience, running the same road MANY times, with and without the FACTORY INSTALLED AIR DAM, that it is NOT an aesthetic piece!

AS has been stated many times around here, GM never spent a dime they did not need to.
The Corvair was Basically GM's entry-level series of cars.
Keeping that in mind, it is downright foolishness to believe that the General would spend money covering up "the unsightly front suspension" on the Corvair, while neglecting to do so on their higher priced, top of the line cars!

When a major corporation decides to use the wrong nomenclature, that DOES NOT suddenly make that term correct for that industry!
GM used a wrong word for an item, and it is still a wrong word, sixty years later.
That is all there is to it, plain and simple.

Just quit trying to always have the last word, admit that you and GM were WRONG, and let's get on with our day.

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WA. state, 1 mile south of the Canadian border, I am not at the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

I just google searched, "valance panel on a car". Interesting.

this seems like the crescent wrench or vice grip debate.


the brand crescent makes an adjustable spanner wrench
the brand vice grip makes locking plyers.


Crescent even lost a lawsuit when other companies started selling adjustable wrenches as "crescent wrenches" (this strikes me as morally wrong)

some of these things become interchangeable just because of popular use. The history of a term is important.

The funny thing about all this discussion is that everyone seemed to know what I was looking for. So no matter what the correct, preferred, or trendy term is, we were all able to talk about the right part.

just my two cents, not looking to add anymore fuel to the flame.

Kleenex
Band-aid
Jello
etc.

When the Blind follow the Blind, they ALL fall in the ditch.

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WA. state, 1 mile south of the Canadian border, I am not at the end of the world, but you can see it from here.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2023 04:16PM by American Mel.

Got mine from Clark's years ago.

Here are photos of the air dam/spoiler/valence panel on my formerly-owned 69 convertible.

You can purchase the spoiler for only $29.00 by visiting restoration world, then click on "1967-92 Camaro" box on the left, then type in F422250 in the "Search By Part Number" field.

Add the item to your cart and complete the purchase.

Do NOT buy the mounting kit or the braces because you will fasten it yourself with parts indicated below.












Dean F. Gemberling
Columbus, Georgia
Heart of Georgia Corvair Club Webmaster
Springfest Webmaster

1963 Rampside w/305 V8 - Built by Ken Arnold in 1998
1965 Monza Coupe - Converting from Drag Race Car to Nice Street Car - 63 Buick 215 V8