Electric Corvair a Tough Sell but Converting to Low-Cost Car Insurance is Easy

Filed in archive Did you know , Information About on March 9, 2010

Of the many fine collector cars I see when attending shows, one of my favorites is the 2nd generation Chevrolet Corvair. Its lovely, curving lines are perfection from every angle and, having raced modified Beetles and a Porsche, I'm not bothered by the rear engine configuration. When they were new I owned two Corvairs, though not at the same time. The first was a 1965 Corsa coupe which was first driven from the Toronto showroom to Sebring, Florida and back in a 3-day weekend (!), and later, with my family, to Vancouver during a brief attempt at relocation to the west coast. That's it, below, at the side of the road somewhere in Montana.



Upon returning to Toronto, this time by train, the first thing I did was buy a Corvair Corsa convertible. I loved it, my wife hated it. Well, not the car, but she disliked riding with the top down. For me it was wind-in-the-face but for Maggie it was bad hair and messed-up makeup.

Way back then, a company called Electrovair converted Corvairs to battery power. Another company, Electroauto, produced a 144V AC 24 conversion kit, worth $10,000, which was driven by 18 eight-volt lead acid batteries. Such a car has suddenly made an appearance (photo at top) on e-Bay. The batteries are "mounted as low as possible for good balance" and Electroauto says similar conversions are capable of 90 mph and have a range of 50 mph. The Buy it Now price is $39,000 but at the time of writing the best bid was $10,900. I wish the seller the best of luck and approve the trend to electric cars but frankly, I don't know why anyone would want such a conversion. One of the charms of the Corvair is a flat-six, air-cooled engine that delivers ample power and with care, has a long life. To each his own, I guess.

I've no idea what steps an owner takes to insure a vehicle modified for electric power but that aside, buying low-cost car insurance these days is a much simpler process than it once was. It can be done online, with a quote provided in as little as seven minutes. Considering the importance of getting proper coverage for a collector (or any) car at the lowest possible price, makes you wonder why anyone would do it any other way. And that's my thought for today. Electrifying, wouldn't you say?