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Bob Pool Orphan Car Show

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By Skip Peterson, Wheels of the Week Updated 1:42 PM Friday, October 23, 2009

What does a Corvair have in common with an Edsel, Packard or DeSoto? It’s an orphan in the car world — no longer made, but still treasured by its owners. And Corvair was the featured marque of the 13th annual Bob Pool Orphan Car Show, held at  Carillon Historical Park in Dayton on Sept. 26.

“This is our first year to have a featured car,” explained show chairman Gary Grebner. “We’re hoping for 70 cars or more, and another 40 or so for the AMC group, who also has their event here today, but the weather isn’t helping too much.”

Grebner belongs to the Tri-State Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, which hosts the show along with the Wright Brothers Region of Packard Auto Classics.

The gray skies and light drizzle didn’t stop Kettering’s Kevin Clark from bringing out his 1963 Corvair van. “It’s my third Corvair, but my first van,” Clark said.

“I wanted something different, and something that I could use to take my shirt business to cruise-ins and cars shows. This works great. It used to be a plumber’s van, and it was repainted a while back, but it’s in great shape. I put a few thousand miles on it each year,” Clark said. Clark, a member of the Dayton Corvair Club, wasn’t alone as other Corvairs began to arrive at the park.

The Corvair was built by Chevrolet from 1960 through 1969, and was among the first of a new compact class of cars, which also featured other orphans like the Studebaker Lark, Nash Rambler and Plymouth Valiant.

Powered by an air cooled, six-cylinder engine, mounted in the rear, the Corvair was similar to the Volkswagen Beetle. The Corvair came in a variety of body styles, most common being a four-door sedan, but they also built two-door coupes, convertibles, station wagons and the vans, which included the panel delivery, like Clark’s and a Greenbrier, arguably General Motors Corp.’s original minivan.

It is ironic that the Corvair, named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1960, would only last for nine years, but it was very popular at the start. In 1962, more than 330,000 Corvairs were sold, and the entire production run built more than 1.8 million cars and vans.

More than a quarter million Corvairs were built for six years, but as the pony cars like the Mustang caught on, the Corvair lost its appeal, with only 6,000 built in 1969.

But don’t tell Keith Clark and his Corvair buddies — they keep them on the road.

As Clark said, “I can’t explain it; they’re just cool.”

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