1961 Chevrolet Corvair

Lakewood Station Wagon

Updated September 26th, 2006

On September 26th, 2006, Joe bought a 1961 Corvair Lakewood 700 Station Wagon. It is white in color with a red interior and in need of a good clean up and restoration. The smell of mothballs is a little overpowering as well!

The car's VIN is : 10735W166829

This means :

1 - year built (1961)

07 - trim level (700)

W - Assembly Plant (Willow Run)

166829 - Vehicle number (subtract 100000) (66829th built)

or - This car is a 1961 700 Lakewood Station Wagon.
It was the 66829th Corvair built at Willow Run, Michigan that year.

You can check your Corvair's VIN at http://www.mkellstrand.com/corvairs/resources/vin/vin_decoder.html

and get the meaning of all the codes at : http://www.mkellstrand.com/corvairs/resources/vin/vin_detail.html

A brief history of the Corvair can be found HERE

September 15th, 2006

The first viewing of the Lakewood was in a storage building just north of DeKalb. There were many old cars stored there, including this one, which was protected under a cloth car cover for the last two years. The owner of the car bought it in Ohio two years ago, drove it here and parked it. Prior to Ohio, the Lakewood was registered in Minnesota.

September 21st, 2006

The next week, the car was moved to another building and cleaned up a little. The numerous boxes in the car were inspected and it seems that there are many new parts for the car, including new rocker panels, front valance, headliner and carpet. The engine turned over but did not start. We figred it was just the points being stuck.

September 26th, 2006

The Lakewood was started yesterday. The points were changed, a new battery installed and fresh fuel was supplied from a can in the passenger compartment. The car was alive. It was time to buy so Joe and the owner agreed on a price and the Lakewood made the trip to Sycamore, where it joined Cathy's Corvair in the garage.

September 29th, 2006

The fuel that was in the car was at least two years old so it was time to dispose of that. While the tank was empty, the sending unit was changed since the fuel guage didn't work. It works now! While the car was on the lift I took a few pictures of the solid bottom of the car.