Doug drove his car to St. Louis for the Corvair Society of America (CORSA) convention in July, 1998. He was looking forward to having his restoration efforts recognized in the Concours event. However, due to heavy rains and life-threatening lightning, the event was called off.

Locally, Doug is looking forward to showing the Monza in car shows this summer, promoting the Corvair and dispelling the "myths" that he says, "always seem to come up when talking to people who see the car." Ralph Who?

Doug got 28 miles per gallon on his trip to St. Louis. The wagons light weight contributed to what is excellent gas mileage for a '62 model car. Overall weight of the station wagon is 2,685 pounds, only 135 lbs. heavier than the 4-door sedan.

Another difference of note between the wagon and the other body styles is the air grill below the bumper. The station wagon version of the grill is contoured at the lower right hand corner to accommodate the tail pipe. An accompanying contour exists in the body as well, whereas the sedan, coupe and convertible models used a grill with a right side that matched the left, and a tailpipe that turned out toward the side of the body.

For those who notice the difference in the luggage rack mounting locations in the photo above and the illustration below, Doug notes that the correct position specified by General Motors is toward the front of the roof. He mounted his over the ribbed, rear area of the roof out of personal preference, and because he doesn't use it to carry heavy loads. He recommends that roof racks intended for serious load bearing duty be mounted in the forward position. This yields better weight distribution and provides better handling when loaded. 

It's good to see such a rare Corvair so completely equipped and so well preserved almost 4 decades after leaving the showroom.

The family depicted in the original Custom Features catalog at right would be proud! Good work, Doug!

Photos by Douglas Englin.