What Lies Beneath The Corvair's Paint

Assessing the Corvair project was my next step. I knew there were a few rust issues, but I was not quite sure how bad the project would be. Of all the Corvair body panels the front drivers side was the worst. The only major(?) dent on the Corvair was on this body panel.The major  rust issues were here as well.

The lower front of the Corvair driver's side panel 

The Corvair driver's side front dog leg. The rust seemed to stop right at the seem for this panel.

After removing the trim pieces the rockers seemed solid. I tapped on them and poked them and nothing fell apart!! That was a first!! 

Here is what I found when I removed the head light trim.....more rust on the Corvair!! I have also discovered that when this car was re-painted, a lot of paint was allowed to just drip all over. Of course a lot of the paint was on the trim too so I am guessing that it was a less than professional job.

This was the worst of the Corvair's front passenger side panel. The bottom of this panel was still there when I removed  the trim. The front of this panel looked good. If you consider algae, dirt and scratches to be looking good! 

And here is the Corvair's Engine Compartment!! Clean as a whistle!! The carburetor on the left has some serious rust issues that are not as apparent from this picture. I was told that it was running when parked and I was able to get the engine turn by hand. That will be the next step......getting it running.

Gotta Start Somewhere!

The 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Moza I bought in the summer of 2009 was left back in the woods,. It did not run, had some rust issues, some interior issues and was covered in GUNK. We pulled it out of the woods and I had it towed 20 miles to my house where I began to review the car completely.

In the Beginning...

This is an account of my crazy obsession with restoring an older automobile and getting it back on the road. Up until about 2 years ago I could not really tell the difference between a make and a model! Now I am attempting to restore a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza after just "discovering" classic automobiles.
I am using only shop manuals and books and whatever information I can glean from the search engines. I have no prior experience with car restoration. I am buying the tools and parts I need as I go and I'm just hoping to not lose a finger!