Yenko Stinger
A 1965 Yenko Stinger in a vintage race at Watkins Glen International.Don Yenko, who had been racing Corvettes, could not compete successfully against the Carroll Shelby Mustangs after they arrived on the scene; he therefore decided to race modified Corvairs, beginning with the 1966 model. As the stock Corvair did not fit into any of the SCCA categories, Yenko had to modify four-carburetor Corsas into "sports cars" by removing the back seat; in the process he would introduce various performance improvements. As the SCCA required 100 cars to be manufactured to homologate the model for production racing, Yenko completed 100 Stingers in one month in 1965. Although all were white, as the SCCA required for American cars at the time, there was a great deal of variety between individual cars; some had exterior modifications including fiberglass engine covers with spoilers, some did not; some received engine upgrades developing 160, 190, 220, or 240 hp (119, 142, 164, or 179 kW). All were equipped by the Chevrolet factory with heavy duty suspension, four speed transmission, quicker steering ratio, positraction differentials (50 with 3.89 gears, and 50 with 3.55 when Chevrolet dropped the 3.89) and dual brake master cylinders (the first application of this by Chevrolet, to become stock equipment the next year). The Stingers competed in Class D Production, which was dominated by the Triumph TR4, which was very quick in racing trim; however in its first race in January 1966, the Stinger was able to come in second by only one second. By the end of the 1966 season, Jerry Thompson had won the Central Division Championship and placed fifth in the 1966 Nationals, Dick Thompson, a highly successful Corvette race driver, had won the Northeast Division Championship, and Jim Spencer had won the Central Division Championship, with Dino Milani taking second place.
The next year, however, Chevrolet dropped the Corsa line, and the Monza line was not initially available stock with the four carburetor engine; the engine was eventually offered as a special performance option, however, along with the 3.89 differential. The Monza instrumentation did not have a tachometer or head temperature gauges, which had to be separately installed. The SCCA, on the other hand, had relaxed its ruling regarding color, and the cars were available in red or blue. It is believed that only fourteen 1967 Stingers were built, but Dana Chevrolet, who distributed Stingers on the U.S. West Coast, ordered an additional three similar cars to be built to Stinger specifications, but with the AIR injection system to meet California emissions laws, with Yenko's permission. A total of 185 Stingers are believed to have been built, the last being YS-9700 built for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company as a tire test vehicle in 1969–1970. Comedian, television star, and car enthusiast Tim Allen owned and raced Yenko Stinger #YS-043 until he sold it around June, 2009.
[edit] Fitch Sprint
Longtime roadracer John Fitch was particularly interested in the Corvair as the basis for a spirited road and track oriented car, due to its handling. The basic Sprint received only minor modifications to the engine, bringing it to 155 hp (116 kW), but upgrades to the shock absorbers and springs, adjustments to the wheel alignment, quicker steering ratio, alloy wheels, metallic brake linings, the obligatory wood-rimmed steering wheel (leather available for an additional $9.95) and other such minor alterations made it extremely competitive with European sports cars costing much more. Body options such as spoilers were available, but the most visually remarkable option was the "Ventop", a fiberglass overlay for the C-pillars and rear of the roof that gave the car a "flying buttress" profile.
Fitch went on to design and build a prototype of the Fitch Phoenix, a Corvair-based two-seat sports car, superficially resembling a smaller version of the Mako Shark based Corvette. With a total weight of 1,950 pounds (885 kg), even with a steel body, and with the Corvair engine modified with Weber carburetors to deliver 175 hp (130 kW), the car delivered spirited performance for $8,760. Unfortunately, the Traffic Safety Act of 1966 placed restrictions on the ability to produce automobiles on a small scale; this was followed by Chevrolet's decision to terminate production of the Corvair, which confirmed the end of Fitch's plan. He still retains the prototype however, and occasionally exhibits it at car shows. The car may be glimpsed briefly in the documentary film Gullwing at Twilight: The Bonneville Ride of John Fitch.[30]
[edit] V8 Corvairs
The ultimate Corvair modification was replacement of the engine with a V8. As daunting as this might seem, two things made it possible:
1.The Corvair engine rotated in the opposite direction from most other engines, so that if a V8 was placed in the rear seat area (the added weight of a V8 in the original location of the Corvair engine would be abominable to drive without proper suspension modifications) and coupled to the front of the transmission via a supplied custom made clutch gear and input shaft, this would drive the car in the proper direction with four speeds forward and one reverse.
2.The switch in 1966 to using standard Chevrolet Saginaw gear sets in the manual transmission could handle the torque of a V8.
A radiator occupies the former trunk, in the front of the vehicle. However, the former engine compartment in the rear now is available as luggage space. A complete kit to adapt a Chevrolet small-block V8 to a Corvair was manufactured by a company named Crown Manufacturing, for $600. The resulting vehicle weighed only 2,750 pounds (1250 kg), compared to 3,700 pounds (1680 kg) for a small block Corvette, and possessed independent rear suspension of almost the same design. Crown's prototype with a 350 hp (261 kW) Corvette engine recorded a quarter mile (402 m) elapsed time of 12.22 seconds and 105 mph (169 km/h). An advantage of this modification is that the mid-engine design provides optimal handling characteristics for the road, as well as excellent drag strip traction without the need for slick or "cheater slick" tires as seen in front engine cars, let alone modifying the wheelbase as on the FX funny cars of the time. Although a few Corvairs have been modified to accept the Chevrolet big-block engine, the added size of the engine makes the work significantly more difficult, and the result, although a great performer, tends to be unreliable. Yenko Corvair YS99 was one of the 300 or so CORV8 conversions made. It is also possible to install a reverse rotation small block chevy in place of the flat six with many modifications.
[edit] Eshelman Golden Eagle
The first Eshelman Golden Eagle was an ordinary mid-1960s Chevrolet Corvair retrimmed with special emblems and other ornamentation and marketed through used-car dealers by Eshelman Motors Corporation of Baltimore, Maryland.
By 1967, the model was called the Eshelman Golden Eagle Safety Car and was based on the contemporary Chevrolet line, but now each Golden Eagle had a patented standard 15 mph (24 km/h) impact-resistant "crash absorber" fashioned by incorporating each car's spare tire into the front bumper. Advertising claimed the cars were "Designed for the owner who has a special value for his life and the lives of his loved ones." Known Golden Eagle dealerships included the former Kislack Kar Sales in Houtzdale, Pennsylania and Plaza Motors in Niagara Falls, New York, but exact sales numbers are not known.
[edit] Dune buggies and aircraft
Corvair flat-six engines were a popular alternative to Volkswagen engines in dune buggy applications, and off-road racing. Some Corvair engines have also been used to power light aircraft.
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