Premium Detailed 1960 Chevrolet Corvair 700 Sedan

Garry Dean

Garry Dean Quality!
It's been 48 years since the induction of the 1960 Corvair, on October 2, 1959. Of the 250,007 Corvairs produced in the United States during the first model year, the 700 sedan accounted for 139,208 units, or just over 55% of total 1960 model year production.

In its first year, the stock Corvair was put to the test, and racked up impressive performances, averaging 27.03 miles per gallon in the 2,061 mile, 1960 Mobilgas Economy run. The same car then went on to prove its robust performance by scaling a snowy Pike's Peak to its 14,110 ft. summit!

The 1960 Corvair was also chosen by Motor Trend magazine as Car of the Year. MT called the Corvair, "the most significant car of 1960," and applauded it for "engineering advancement," as well as "four-wheel independent suspension totally unlike any other U.S.-built car," and for its rear engine and transaxle "allowing a flatter floor and lower roofline."

This Corvair was just a rolling chassis. Having no engine or interior in the car, the owner called me to see if the paint was worth saving. As you will see from the pictures it was severely oxidized. He had tried Mothers Cleaner Wax to remove the oxidation with very little luck. The paint on the car was the original color, but it had been repainted about 20 years ago. The repaint seemed to be of low quality, but turned out nice. The owner pulled the door handles, rear bumper, and most of the trim off before I got there.

With the facts out of the way, on with the detail!

Process
Dawn wash
Clay with Blackfire Poly Clay 2
Taped up all trim and edges
Tested several products and pads, but ended up going with Makita 9227, an orange LC CCS 7.5” foam pad, and Megs M85 on thick oxidation (all doors) and Optimum Compound on the rest of the car
Polished entire car with a white LC CCS 7.5” foam pad and Optimum Polish
Dawn washed again to break down any compound or polish residue left on the paint
As the LSP I opted for Collinite 476S paste wax for durability

On to the pics, enjoy!

Befores

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Before of the driver side door

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After driver side door (teaser pic)

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Trying to figure out the best combo

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A little 50/50

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Hood after compounding

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Making some progress!

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Afters!

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Thanks for looking!
 
Looks great.
On the passenger side there are either shadows or staining on the paint. Is it shadows or stains?
 
Nice job of bringing that back to life.
So what was the owner reaction after he saw the transformation? I'm sure that he was quite pleased with the outcome
 
NICE!!

Personally I like working on single stage paint...you can make a dramatic difference ...as you have shown here..
 
Great, you have to get a ride in it and get the final pictures of it. Had a uncle who had one in the 60's and it was a crazy ride to have in NYC at the time.:D
 
It's been 48 years since the induction of the 1960 Corvair, on October 2, 1959. Of the 250,007 Corvairs produced in the United States during the first model year, the 700 sedan accounted for 139,208 units, or just over 55% of total 1960 model year production.

In its first year, the stock Corvair was put to the test, and racked up impressive performances, averaging 27.03 miles per gallon in the 2,061 mile, 1960 Mobilgas Economy run. The same car then went on to prove its robust performance by scaling a snowy Pike's Peak to its 14,110 ft. summit!

The 1960 Corvair was also chosen by Motor Trend magazine as Car of the Year. MT called the Corvair, "the most significant car of 1960," and applauded it for "engineering advancement," as well as "four-wheel independent suspension totally unlike any other U.S.-built car," and for its rear engine and transaxle "allowing a flatter floor and lower roofline."

Great work as always, Garry!

Awesome writeup... except for one thing... I WAS THERE! The Corvair was the worst piece of garbage ever produced by GM. It is the subject of Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe at Any Speed." This automobile almost singlehandedly started the consumer protection movement. The only safety feature was that the engine was mounted in the rear, so that when that four cylinder fireball dropped out of its compartment and hit the pavement (a frequent occurrence) it wouldn't harm the car's occupants.

Plus, mine was way too small for "dating"! :rofl
 
Great work as always, Garry!

Awesome writeup... except for one thing... I WAS THERE! The Corvair was the worst piece of garbage ever produced by GM. It is the subject of Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe at Any Speed." This automobile almost singlehandedly started the consumer protection movement. The only safety feature was that the engine was mounted in the rear, so that when that four cylinder fireball dropped out of its compartment and hit the pavement (a frequent occurrence) it wouldn't harm the car's occupants.

Plus, mine was way too small for "dating"! :rofl

LOL, ok, I understand they were utter crap, but I posted to showcase the paint restoration I did not the quality of the car.

How have you been anyway?
 
Doin' great over here. Stop in anytime. Hey, like I said... I'm a big fan of your work.

But, continuing my GM rant... I climbed Pikes Peak at age 50 on a bicycle! So Chevrolet, what's that say about your hill climbin', Porsche/ Kharmann Ghia/ Fiat/ Volvo wannabe Corvair? Sorry Garry... just really freakin' pi$$ed off at Detroit right now.

Think about it, to have gone from the beautiful classics of 1956 to the epitome of planned obsolescence just four years later, tells me that the crisis we're seeing now in the auto industry was premeditated.

Man, sorry for hijacking your thread.
 
Doin' great over here. Stop in anytime. Hey, like I said... I'm a big fan of your work.

But, continuing my GM rant... I climbed Pikes Peak at age 50 on a bicycle! So Chevrolet, what's that say about your hill climbin', Porsche/ Kharmann Ghia/ Fiat/ Volvo wannabe Corvair? Sorry Garry... just really freakin' pi$$ed off at Detroit right now.

Think about it, to have gone from the beautiful classics of 1956 to the epitome of planned obsolescence just four years later, tells me that the crisis we're seeing now in the auto industry was premeditated.

Man, sorry for hijacking your thread.

No problem. I got a little laugh out of your rant. Stay tuned I have to burn some oxidation off a white 2000 Corolla tomorrow so I will post that one too. I have been in Lakeland several times in the past couple of months, once for a detail and the 2 other times were for car shows. PM me your contact info. I have a boat detail comming up soon if you're still interested.
 
Looks 100% better....still needs a lot of work I am sure if it was in that condition before polishing...I mean like interior work, etc.

Big turn around though!
 
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