Corvair Fever

For some people, this iconic '60s car is a life's passion and a driving pleasure.

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/21/06

Mention the Chevrolet Corvairs built in the '60s, and some people recall economically priced vehicles that 

were here, then gone, a mere blip in American automobile history.

Others recall cutting-edge vehicles: air-cooled rear engines, independent suspension, low center of gravity, 

light steering.

Some recall that consumer activist Ralph Nader, in one chapter of his 1965 book on the automobile industry,

"Unsafe at Any Speed," called Corvairs prone to accidents and rollovers.

Then, there are the Corvair lovers.

They get a little gleam in their eyes as they recall all of the above yet something more: an object of passion.

Many know, too, that a 1972 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report found the Cor-vair just as 

safe as other cars of the era.

Jim and Nora Mastrian get that gleam.

Their love of Corvairs has stayed steady through 51 years of marriage spent in North Plainfield, Manasquan,

Jackson and, of late, in Leisure Village West in Manchester; through raising two sons and a daughter; gaining

two grandchildren; and through the restoration of a host of Corvairs.

They've even passed it down to one of their children.

Their younger son, Chris Mastrian, 44, restores Corvairs, often with his dad. Chris' domestic partner of 16 

years, Mark Brower, 43, caught by the family pastime, handles Chris' Web site -  www.CorvairGuyNJ.com.

"Chris has an exceptional gift in tuning these cars," Jim, 75, said as the family gathered in the Lakewood 

ranch shared by Chris and Mark.

"Chris' head is always tucked under a car," said Nora, who declined to give her age, laughing.

"I like Corvairs that have been sitting in someone's yard and need fixing," Chris said.

Eight are in his back yard: a 1961 red Lakewood station wagon; a '61 black four-door 500; a '62 white Rampside 

truck - Mark's favorite because there's a side ramp that opens for loading; a '65 teal two-door coupe; a '66 black 

two-door Monza coupe; a '67 blue 500 coupe; a '67 blue four-door 500 and a '65 Corsa convertible Jim is restoring.

"We've had the windshield in our bedroom for the last year!" Nora said of the '65.

"I bought it in 1995. It has a turbo-charged engine, which was pretty rare for that year," Jim said.

The family's everyday vehicles aren't Corvairs: a Dodge Magnum for Chris, a Geo Tracker for Jim, a Chevy Cavalier 

for Nora, a Honda Civic for Mark. But "I only drive the Dodge for work," said Chris, who does commercial cleaning. 

"For pleasure, I drive only Corvairs."

The family attends annual Corvair conventions. Jim belongs to the Howell-based Bayshore Corvair Association and 

to CORSA, the Corvair Society of America. Chris belongs to CORSA; he and Mark belong to the New Jersey 

Association of Corvair Enthusiasts.

Their first Corvair

It all began with a simple purchase.

"I went into business in 1966 manufacturing industrial cleaning machines," Jim said. "and I needed a car to get around in."

A nearby service station had a 1960 dark blue Corvair sedan for sale. He bought it.

"Two years later, I needed a vehicle to transport large items, and I bought a 1965 Corvair Greenbrier. The Greenbrier was 

a big, boxy station wagon. You know what a Volkswagen bus looked like? It was like an enlarged version. It had six doors 

and windows all over, and I could put a lot of stuff into it."

Picking up the thread in the back-and-forth, lighthearted banter among them, Nora added, laughing: "It was yellow. When I 

drove it in the neighborhood, the kids thought it was a school bus. One of our employees wrecked it."

When it came time for their children to drive, their elder son Jay, now 47 and in Maine, got a secondhand VW Beetle. A few 

years later, their daughter, Nora Louise, now 43 and of Dover Township, also got a Beetle. But Chris?

"When Chris was not quite 17, I saw this ad for a 1966 Corvair Monza coupe. It was the original owner. It was $626," Jim said.

"They said we were going for a ride — only me. I thought I had been bad and was being taken to a military school or something,

" Chris said, smiling. "They took me to this neighbor, and there was this little blue Corvair, and they said it was mine!"

"I drove it home," Nora said, laughing. "And oh! He was having conniptions! He was in the car with his father and saying I was 

driving too fast, hitting potholes." "I couldn't drive for another year, but it was the cleanest car in the neighborhood," Chris said. 

"It was an automatic. I had it for 13 years."

"He almost took the paint off, cleaning it," Nora said.

When the car was totaled, he bought a '65 white four-door Monza for $200, which he owned for three years. Then, his parents used it.

"And I bought another one, a '67 coupe, for $50," Chris said.

"I was forced into this," Nora said, straightfaced, of the growing collection.

"Nora was a tolerant mother and wife," Jim said, nodding his head, grinning.

"I delivered the Asbury Park Press for four years in a Corvair. All the customers knew me," Nora said.

Corvair's bad rep

Ralph Nader's take on the cars wasn't a consideration for the family.

"The myths that Corvairs are bad? It never fazed me," Chris said. "It's the driver."

The Corvairs had some problems, Jim said, but by 1965, "those problems were addressed. But the muscle cars were coming up.

You got away from economy cars, which is why the Corvair was created. So Corvairs fell out of favor.

"People say to me, "Why did you decide to fool around with Corvairs?' It's the only American car that was different. It's an air-cooled, 

rear-drive engine.  The American automobile manufacturers never made anything like that again."

The cars kept arriving; people told them about cars or offered cars to them.

"There was this guy in Wall who had two cars that had been sitting in his yard for years. We bought both for $50 - a '64 Greenbrier 

and a '64 coupe.

We towed them out," Jim said. "A guy in Egg Harbor gave us a '61 sedan and two extra engines.

"Most didn't run. That's why they were so cheap. We did most of the mechanical work ourselves."

"They went to night school to learn to do the bodywork," Nora said.

For 10 years, until 2000, they rented a hangar at what is now Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall to work on the cars, Jim said.

"But if you buy something new, you have to get rid of one. Chris isn't so good at moving them out," he said, chuckling.

"I get attached to them. You fix them up, and they run so well. I just don't want to give them up," Chris said.

Occasionally, a car is sold, but they rarely make any money, Mark said.

"If they get what they put into it, they're lucky," Nora said.

"You never get what you put into it, but it was never the intention to make money off them," Chris said. "It's an obsession. 

People drink or smoke.  We buy Corvairs!

"I don't know too many people who spend this kind of time with their family," he added.

Family tapestry

But family ties are strong for the Mastrians.

Nora Louise is "my fishing partner," Jim said, and an animal lover. Jay loves music and electronics, he and Nora said.

And, there have been other interests for Jim and Nora.

Jim has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for 51 years, a Boy Scouts volunteer and a member of Manasquan Elks 

Lodge No. 2534 for 23 years.  Nora was in the Elks auxiliary, involved in PTAs and did some volunteering. The couple travel in 

a motor home.

Still, it is Corvairs that weave the family tapestry.

"One day about a year ago, Chris and I were riding somewhere in the (Corvair) truck," Jim said. "We made up a list of all the 

Corvairs we've owned - that we bought and sold and whatever. There have been 42. Since then, Chris has picked up a few more."

"Six," Chris said quietly, with a smile. "Six."