Good morning! Well, here it is: the least important decision you will make today. Or maybe it’s the most important? We take project cars pretty seriously around here, as you may have noticed. Either way, you’ll only be out a grand in imaginary internet money.
Yesterday, we looked at two stalwart old GM battle wagons, each $1,800, and I wasn’t sure if the Bonneville’s needed repairs were going to keep it from taking the win. I guess not. That poor Lumina absolutely got its ass handed to it.
I’d be fine with either one, though I agree the Pontiac is definitely “more” car. For purely transportation purposes, I’d probably take the Lumina, just because it’s ready to roll, and it should use less gas. But for a project, or as a potential future classic, that supercharged Bonneville has a lot more going for it.
All right. We don’t do politics here, but there’s no point in ignoring the fact that it’s a stressful day here in the US. Whichever side you’re on, it’s a big decision, and there’s a lot on the line. But it’s at these times when a good hobby can really be your friend, and my hobby (and lots of yours as well) is cars. So we’ll just spend the day debating the merits of a couple of old rusty fixer-uppers, and let the chips fall where they may on everything else. Sound good? Here they are.
1956 Simca Aronde Type 90A – $1,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.3-liter overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Gardena, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Engine runs, but not drivable
By far my favorite part of this whole gig is having a reason to research cars I don’t know much about. I had always known French automaker Simca as part of Chrysler Europe, along with the Rootes Group in Britain, but I didn’t know much about the company’s history before then. Turns out, Simca was started by Fiat way back in the 1930s, and in 1956 when this Aronde was built, was partially owned by Ford. Chrysler didn’t come into the picture until 1958, when it bought Ford’s share in Simca, and eventually took over the rest of the company. This Aronde was one of 1.4 million of them built over the course of more than a decade.
This second-generation Aronde is powered by a 1290 cc four-cylinder, nicknamed the “Flash.” The seller claims it runs, but they also say they planned to turn this car into a drag racer, which means the Flash would probably have gotten yanked out in favor of something more powerful: Despite the engine’s speedy name, this car takes more than twenty seconds to reach 60 MPH in stock form. It’s not drivable, obviously; it has been off the road for years, but if it really will run, that’s a step in the right direction.
Inside, it’s trashed, but were you really expecting anything else? Obviously, you won’t find restoration parts for it, but you could find seats to fit without too much trouble, and a good upholstery shop could take care of the door cards and headliner. Or, do it yourself; it’s not like this is some priceless rare collectible. It’s just an old French car. Get creative.
It has some surface rust outside, but the seller says it’s solid underneath, and all the glass and light lenses are intact. Keep the patina, or use it as a chance to try your hand at some bodywork. It’s cheap enough to play with a bit.
1963 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside – $1,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter overhead valve flat 6, two-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Tarzana, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Engine turns over but doesn’t run
Chevy went all-in on the Corvair. It wasn’t just one car, it was a full line – sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon, van, and pickup, all based on the same basic architecture, all with an air-cooled flat-six in the back. Because of that rear-mounted engine, the pickup couldn’t have a traditional flat bed; instead it had a couple of levels of floor to the bed. The section over the engine was higher, and the center – with no driveshaft tunnel to get in the way – was flat and at frame level. Chevy took advantage of this, and put a side-mounted ramp on the driver’s side. Bell Telephone used them to haul drums of phone cable, but I bet a lot of beer delivery services used them for kegs as well.
Under the high part of the bed floor is a standard-issue Corvair flat-four, driving the rear wheels through a Powerglide two-speed automatic. It does not run, but the seller says it turns over; whether that means by hand or via the starter they don’t say. Either way, it’s not seized, and Corvairs have enough support that it shouldn’t be terrible to get it running and driving again.
Interior parts might be a little harder to come by, but again, it’s a cheap old mass-produced vehicle; there’s no reason to do a full-on restoration. Just clean it up, get a nice wool blanket to throw over the seat, and enjoy.
The rust on the outside might be more of a problem, but there are some photos of the underside in the ad, and they don’t look bad at all. So again, you could just leave it. Also, I don’t know about any of you, but I want to go look at this truck just to poke around this guy’s yard; he has some other really interesting cars sitting around, including a couple more Corvairs, a Studebaker Hawk, a Chevette, a 1970s Honda Accord, and more.
That’s the best part, anyway: checking out the cool cars. It doesn’t even matter what they are; if someone loves them, and has a good story about them, then that’s all that matters. Matt talked about it a while back, but it bears repeating: If you’re into cars, you’re my friend, and I want to talk cars with you. My wife and I had a housewarming party a couple of weeks ago, and I spent quite a bit of time in the garage, showing off my MG, and talking with one neighbor about his modified Audi S5, and another about his ’62 Corvette. I have no idea who either of them are voting for, but it didn’t matter. It was about the Audi, and the Corvette, and the MG, and the stories told about them. It’s a connection, and a powerful one.
So with that in mind, imagine you were going to tow one of these home, and talk to your neighbor about it, over a beer or two in the garage. Which one do you want to talk about?
(Image credits: sellers)
Rampside with a IRS BEV conversion would be pretty stellar. It would make for a great trade show vehicle for electric tool brands. I could definitely see it in a Ryobi livery.
Corvair and paint it some old time livery. Brown and yellow PG&E would be my vote.
I’m obviously taking the Rampside, but the Simca seems like a good candidate for a body swap onto a Geo Metro or something, whatever is small enough.
Now there’s an idea! Put it on an old Subaru and you could have a 4×4 Simca!
The correct answer here is both, but since that’s not an option, voted Simca. The Corvair gets lots of love, and rightly so, but variety is the spice of life. I want to see what flavor that little car brings to a journey.
I feel a bit like the “80’s Spaceman” Lego character when I see one of those Corvair pickups. Rampside… Rampside! RAMPSIDE!! It’s pretty-much my favorite truck in existence, so super-easy vote today.
Corvair is a FLAT 6. Think of it as a Porsche 911 pickup. And it gets my vote today.
I see you got it right some places and not others.
With swing axles…
That Rampside looks like it has the body rigidity of a damp washcloth.
I’ll take Cool at Any Speed, and rock that Corvair like I just don’t care.
Mr. Tucker, this is a good take. Neighbors and community members that respect each other regardless of political affiliation is generally the way to go. My block has signs for all of the above and we’ve all gotten together and had good laughs in the last few weeks. Thanks for limiting the politics here.
Also, Corsair is my answer. Love the simca, but I’ve had a soft spot for ramp side pickups since I saw one sitting in little valley junk yard outside of Killeen when I was in high school
Same, mixed neighborhood here. I respect this site (and commenters) always putting politics on the back burner.
That Simca is cool but I’m going Corvair here. It’s going to be way easier to get running again and it’s in that sweet spot where it’s nice enough to save but not too nice to use. I’d fully intend to use that Corvair for light truck duty once it’s running and driving.
I’ve always wanted a Corvair, but… this? Not exactly what I was envisioning.
The only thing I know about Simca is that they designed the Omnirizons.
Yep, and the Omnirizon was based on the platform of the earlier Simca 1100 from 1967, which was the last car sold under the Simca name in the US (Chrysler pulled the brand from North America in 1970). Always found it weird that the Horizon and Omni were seen as such revolutionary new products from Chrysler when it was really just them giving us back a repackaged version of something we had already had, but that nobody bought
I wonder how much of that Simca stuff made it into the K platform, which lasted forever and turned into a plethora of different cars.
Going against the grain on team Simca. I bet it would be a fun little runabout. The engine runs, brakes and such may take some effort for parts but it expect the rest of the car is stone simple.
I’d love either, and that CA rust is so benign compared to anything Northeast. But for that price the Corvair is a steal
I see what you did there;
Would rather have the rampside, but today I am not voting red
Hopefully you all are making (or have made) a more consequential vote today.
It honestly didn’t even occur to me that one was red and one was blue.
Oooo! Tucker being tricky today!!! Consciously or not!
If he was, it woulda been a black F-250 diesel vs. a Prius in pink with purple polka dots.
An air-cooled fan, I’ve wanted a Corvair for years. Gotta be the Rampside for me
I’m Amped about the ramp. Corvair for me.
I’m on team Corvair here. That’s just begging for a Subaru swap or an EV conversion.
I’ver been curious about what it takes to swap in a subie motor, guessing you need to plum in a radiator etc? prolly should google sometime and find out lol
It’s a bit tough, because the only transmissions that will really work with a Subaru engine in the rear mount configuration are Porsche 911 ones, since the original Subaru ones are meant for front mounting, and the Corvair ones can’t be reused, because the stock engine spins the opposite direction from Subaru. Also, the Porsche transmission doesn’t work with the Corvair’s half shafts, so the whole rear suspension needs a lot of custom fab work. The radiator and plumbing is kind of the easier part
wow ty for the info on that, man that sounds narly lol
Oooh! How about a Citroen SM drivetrain swap? That’s got the engine behind the trans, too.
This is, obviously, the sensible choice…
Man, what choices today but had me at Rampside. In the imaginary Frank Wrench Garage I’d love to have one of each Corvair configuration, preferably with manual transmission.
As someone who has family with mobility issues, I just got the unnatural desire to graft a Rampside ramp onto a Corvair van body to make the coolest mobility van ever.
The Rampside must be a one-of-one, as Mark says it’s powered by the “standard-issue flat-four.” Or maybe someone just yanked out two sparkplugs….
Still, it’s the choice, as I don’t have a clue as to where my nearest Simca dealer might be, and that puppy’s going to need a whole lot of parts.
On top of that, I like Corvairs. Wish it was a Greenbrier, though.
The data panel above correctly IDs it as a flat-six … Tucker’s probably distracted by all the voting going on. 🙂
Dammit, that was a brain fart. And I saw it, and forgot to go back and edit it.
What’s two cylinders among friends?
In the ‘Vair’s current state the driver is sure not to notice.
We love old French cars around here, but it’s really no contest: Rampside for the novelty, utility and robust owner community.
That Corvair is the clear choice today. Parts are still available and knowledge on fixing them abounds. Getting that example restored would make for a great project. Useful as well.
Rampside!! Weld in an LS3 from an Impala SS and try not to become my very own crumple zone!
I like the way you think
Ramp it up, baby and take a deep breath, ‘cause there ain’t no air like Corvair!
That price is suspiciously low for that Corvair ramp side.
Neither car has a title, which is probably part of the reason for the price.