[Closed] [PICS] The 1:43 Wish-List Goes On

Graeme, as you are no doubt aware, Brooklin is not too keen on 1960's cars.

However, their recent 1967 Monza Coupe might be a good basis for a 4-door Sport Sedan.

Graeme, I'm with you on the possibility of a Brooklin 1st generation Corvair.

As you mentioned, not many have attempted it and the Franklin Mint was a disaster. Dinky did the best job on the 4 door and Eligor did a fairly nice 1st generation coupe despite its yellow headlights. A '62-'64 Corvair 500 or even a 4-door Monza (Black with a red interior) would be a nice choice, or even a '61 Lakewood wagon!

I still am not sure why Brooklin doesn't like doing cars in the '60's, especially the ones of the early decade. Some of the ones they've done have been great such as the '61 Impala, and that was some time ago, the '60 Edsel convertible, the '60 Impala convertible, and the '67 4-door 'Bird. I have yet to decide whether or not to get the '67 Corvair. It seems to me there are a lot of potential candidates from that era that would attract a lot of takers among collectors. By the way, nice job, Graeme on that blue Corvair!

How about the Franklin 60 Corvair sedan?

How about the Corvair van. Was there such a thing or just badging ?

Randy, there was indeed such a thing. The Greenbrier Sports Wagon was available with different seat configurations and as a camper. There are
many of them still around. The Greenbrier was offered from 1961 through
1965. The vehicle was also available in a cargo configuration, called the
Corvan, from 1961 through 1964.

A Greenbrier would make a wonderful model. I don't know what you mean by
"was it just badging," as the Greenbrier/Corvan featured the Corvair's rear
engine and was a unique vehicle, not shared by any other GM division or by
any other Chevrolet van.

Corvair also offerer Loadside and Rampside pickup trucks. I know several
people who own them, and they are among the rarest of Corvairs. They
featured drop-down side panels for "walk-in" loading, and they also had the
rear-mounted engines. Cool vehicles!

The Green Briar sold better than Coffee.

We used the Corvan as a parts vehicle.

In the 60's,and with many different drivers from time to time,That vehicle held up well till 150,000 miles.

I remember when I was a kid my dad had a friend that had a van.....

and I remember it said Corvair on it. I liked the way it looked. It was red and white. So I remember seeing them but never paid any more attention then that. So I did not know if it was a take off of a GM van or something, and that is why I mentioned the Badging of it. It was a cool looking van though, it would have to have been for me to remember it after all this time. Sure I will take a model of it, you know whenever. RANDY

Shel, I did mention the Franklin Mint model ...

... but it is pretty bad. The body casting lacks crispness, in fact it looks like it was carved out of soap. The front screen is much too heavy and rises too high into the roof. The rear window is completely wrong, it slopes far too much and what should be a panoramic window barely wraps around at all. And the window frames on the opening doors make the side windows far too small. The model looks quite picturesque at a distance with all its parts open, but in detail it is not really an acceptable model of a Corvair.

I agree with your assessment, Graeme. I have the FM four-door because I'm a Corvair guy, but it's a pretty lousy model. The huge B-pillar is
the worst feature, but there is little else to redeem the model. A nice,
accurate early Corvair sedan would be welcome, as would a nice model of the
Greenbriar Sports Wagon discussed earlier.

I hope Brooklin considers reissuing their '67 Monza as a four-door sport
sedan later on. My first 1:1 Corvair (there have been about 12 since) was a
'65 Monza Sport Sedan which I got in 1966; it was Butternut Yellow with a
black interior and a terrific car it was, too. All late-model Monzas had
folding rear seatbacks as standard equipment, which gave the car a lot of
utility when you consider the huge front trunk and the flat rear seat
compartment.

That's a nice model you've got there, Graham. Thanks for posting the pics.

Rick

PIC -- Corvair Van (from Richard Thompson)

Rick Thompson requested that I post the below pic on his behalf. Rick says:

"This one belongs to a friend who I knew in the Austin Corvair Club (he's moved to the DC area now, though). The photo was taken in 1995. With the side doors and rear doors, this van was really utilitarian, and John used it to haul Corvair parts and even engines for other members of the club."

photo no longer available

I just saw the BRK 'Vair at Hooper's Hideaway in VA, and I'm not impressed. The tail end is pinched, the roofline's too high, and it just doesn't make the grade; the sweet character line present on the 2nd-generation gem is all but lost. And I don't beg forgiveness for saying so, either.

A much better casting is available at 1/20th the cost in Road Signatures' '69 Monza convert shown here as bought, and painted by me to replicate a 'vert my brother had.

Larger, click once after opening.

The heavy exterior door handles came that way...

TG

Yat Ming/Road Signature Corvair...

Tom I have sold a few of the Yat Ming's to owner's of the 1:1 and they were pleased with them.

My only issue with the YM Corvairs is, viewed from the side, the windshield is as high as the rest of the body is thick. WAY oversized. I got the
YM in 1:18th and repainted the interior, but have never been able to convince
myself to get one of the 1:43rds even though I've owned five or six late-model
'Vair convertibles. Instead, I asked JR to make a convertible for me from the
Brooklin model just like the last 1:1 I had, and it's a gorgeous model.

That windshield height on the YM ruins the car for me, and Corvair fans have
noted that problem often.