The modifications to the rear section of Larry's Monza are extensive. In the picture below, you get a good look at the custom rear quarter-panels that not only accommodate the wider track of the Toronado transaxle, but incorporate ample air exit vents to help exhaust heat from the engine compartment and give the car a unique "I'm built for speed" appearance. The extensions fall short of the rear bumper wrap-around, allowing the retention of the stock rear bumper and preserving the attractive rear contour of the body.

The stock Corvair rear suspension was replaced by what was formerly the Toronado front suspension and axles. This is obviously not a job for the faint of heart!

The brakes on Larry's '66 use a power-assisted dual master cylinder, replacing the stock single cylinder unit. Front brakes are stock Monza drums fitted with metallic shoes. Future plans call for swapping out the drums for discs. Rear braking is provided by stock 1967/68 Olds Toronado/Cadillac Eldorado 4 piston caliper discs. Incidentally, stock late model Corvairs were strong in the braking department. Front brakes were equivalent to those used on Chevrolet's larger Chevelle model.

You may recognize the rear wheels as stock Toro/Eldo 15x6 steel units. They provided the best fit for the body because of their offset. The fronts are 15x6 American Racing wheels, which as Larry points out, took some styling ques from the Toro units.

The bronze colored interior features a Corvair Corsa dash, with the tach recalibrated to 8 cylinders and the cylinder head temperature and manifold pressure (vacuum) gauges replaced by an ammeter and water temp gauges.

Controls include a Corvair factory quick steering box, connected to a telescopic column with a leather covered Corvette wheel in matching bronze, and an aftermarket rachet shifter connected to a Morse cable to handle the beefy 3-speed Hydramatic transmission.

Stock '66 bucket seats were retained, and the rear seat was eliminated to make room for the engine, which is covered by a carpeted rear deck.

This shot reminds me of the Beach Boys' lyric "Two cool shorts standin' side by side, a fuel-injected Stingray and a 413"... substitute "425!"

That's Larry's wife, Marybeth, having some fun at the track! The 'vette lost! She also eliminated a Camaro the same day. She says it might have eased off to avoid breaking out. That's bracket racing, Marybeth. You won fair and square!

Larry's best run to date was in the 13s. He's been collecting pieces to freshen up the motor, which he describes as "tired." He plans to send the heads to Mondello, the Olds performance experts, and have them "do it to it." He'll also install a higher-stall torque convertor as the same time.

When asked about the car's handling, Larry gave me the straight goods: "Handling? Admittedly awful! It's just too tail heavy. It was named "Lead Tail Lump" by an acquaintance. We've called it that ever since. I'd say it handles on par with a Renault Dauphine, which, if you can't relate, is not as good as a stock '60/63 'vair. If calm driving finesse is not required, it can be driven in a manner of a 385 horsepower go-cart, the tail hung out at the touch of the throttle. I have autocrossed the car twice, with amusing results. But let's be honest, its forté is not cornering."

Some good advice from the man who crafted the (say it with affection) Lead Tail Lump:
"I bought this car partially complete. It was either finish it or scrap it, so I finished it. If I had started it from scratch, I would have used a '79/85 Toro as the base frame/suspension, rather than the '66/67 unit it uses now. The newer parts weigh a lot less, and take up less space."

Editor's note: If the two larger pictures on these pages look familiar, you may have seen them in an issue of Corsa Communique, the official publication of the Corvair Society of America (CORSA), where they first appeared.

The reference to "breaking out," adjacent to the picture of Marybeth at the drag strip might not be familiar to those not acqainted with bracket racing. In this class of drag racing, competitors determine the true potential of their cars in pre-race time trials. They then declare the quickest time they expect to run when they race. This is called a "dial-in." If you complete the quarter-mile more quickly than your dialed-in elapsed time, you are disqualified. This practice is intended to allow unevenly matched cars to race fairly, using staggered start times tied to the dial-ins of each car. It discourages cheating.

June, 2000 - Larry reports he's sold his uniquely styled Monza coupe to Steve Cole, of Houston. It seems fitting that the large cubic inches would end up in Texas!

Special thanks to Larry and Marybeth for their assistance in preparing this feature. Look for the Claypools on the Virtual Vairs forum, which you can learn more about by visiting the Links section of this site, under Clubs/Organizations.

Thanks as well to Mike Mann for suggesting this feature.