Cars from 40's, 50's and 60's

[leadfoot4]

Originally Posted by Fleet

They were quite reliable. More reliable than the Corvair.

Funny you mention that. Prior to the Chevy II, my father had a '62 Corvair Monza. Being a sales rep for an industrial equipment company meant that he used to run up the miles on his cars, and traded every 18 months, or so. I don't recall him having any issues with the 'Vair, but maybe he didn't keep it long enough....

[Icy Tea]

Room. And comfort. Now I can say that modern bucket seats are more comfortable and supportive, but being able to rest your arm on the door sill with the window open or closed makes for relaxing driving. And fabric and upholstery on the doors and no hard plastics adds comfort. Room. Can you put your arm through the side of the car seat and the door and side pillars? Our small dog could walk from the front seat to the back between the seat and the doors.
Can you sit three people comfortably on the bench seat front and back? Lots of leg room in both? Huge cavernous trunk?
The family car was a 1967 Chevy Biscayne for 10 years. Then my first car was a 1962 Buick Invicta.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by leadfoot4

Funny you mention that. Prior to the Chevy II, my father had a '62 Corvair Monza. Being a sales rep for an industrial equipment company meant that he used to run up the miles on his cars, and traded every 18 months, or so. I don't recall him having any issues with the 'Vair, but maybe he didn't keep it long enough....

Yes, maybe that is why. I have many of those old Consumer Reports annual auto issues. The frequency of repair for the Corvair ranged from average to worse than average. For comparison, the mid-'60s Plymouth Barracuda ranged from better than average to much better than average.

The Barracuda also had several advantages over the Corvair:

- Available V-8 engine, including a 4-bbl V-8.

- Automatic transmission was the 3-speed Torqueflite; the Corvair for all the years it was made (1960-1969) was stuck with the primitive 2-speed Powerglide.

- The hi-po version of the Barracuda could run 0-60 mph in 8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 16 seconds; the hi-po version of the Corvair usually ran 0-60 mph in the 10s and the 1/4 mile around 18 seconds.

- A/C available in the Barracuda; not sure if available in the Corvair.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Icy Tea

Room. And comfort. Now I can say that modern bucket seats are more comfortable and supportive, but being able to rest your arm on the door sill with the window open or closed makes for relaxing driving. And fabric and upholstery on the doors and no hard plastics adds comfort. Room. Can you put your arm through the side of the car seat and the door and side pillars? Our small dog could walk from the front seat to the back between the seat and the doors.
Can you sit three people comfortably on the bench seat front and back? Lots of leg room in both? Huge cavernous trunk?
The family car was a 1967 Chevy Biscayne for 10 years. Then my first car was a 1962 Buick Invicta.

The advantage to the bench seats was in dating. My wife and I will hit our 50th anniversary next fall, and we dated in my 1964 Skylark Sport Wagon, and she sat in the middle of the front seat. Today when she rides with me in my 1974 Nova with bench seat, she stays on the passenger side, because it has a stick shift.