Corvairs are cool but Crown Conversion Corvairs are cooler. Why? Crown was a company that developed a kit to bolt a small block Chevy into a Corvair where the back seat would be. With the engine mounted center mass of the car and producing twice (or more) horsepower than the stocker, the car was transformed into a hellaciously great handling and fast machine. Now back in the day guys would drop a 283 or a 327 into the back and call it good enough. In today’s horsepower obsessed world that ain’t gonna cut the mustard.
This car has a 443hp Blueprint 383 stroker engine and it is fitted clearly and beautifully into the back of the car. The kit uses a neat “box” to close the engine off and there has been some ducting routed to the rear cowl area that allows the engine to suck cool fresh air into itself.
Here’s the list of modifications per the seller:
• Rare Crown Mid-Engine Conversion
• 443 HP Blueprint 383 Stroker V8 w/aluminum heads & roller rockers
• MSD Atomic Fuel Injection
• Ultra-close ratio 4 speed manual with posi 3.27 rear differential
• Custom Headers w/electric cut-outs & Flowmaster mufflers
• Koni Adjustable Shocks front and rear
• Upgraded front and rear sway bars
• Corvette vented and cross-drilled disc brakes
• Front forced air cooling for brakes
• 16″ Torque Thrust II Aluminum Alloy Wheels
• BF Goodrich g-Force Comp 2 tires 225/50R16 Front 245/50/R16 Rear
• 3A Racing Seats with G-Force Camlock Pro Series Harnesses
• Forced air blowers for cool air intake
• 4 point roll cage
• Independent suspension front and rear
• Inferno Red with Pearl Metallic Paint
• Custom fabricated heat & sound insulated engine cover
• Custom cool air ducting for radiator
• Custom designed and insulated rear trunk floor
• Extra wheels, tires, axles, differentials, gears, trim, bumpers, etc.
• Too much to list everything and over $40k invested
383 stroker small block powered, Crown Conversion Corvair mid-engined Corvair
Friend had one with a DZ302 that was fast–this must be a monster
Beautiful…love them Corvairs!
I recall Dave Deal did the illustrations for Crown ads. Eight pipes out under the back bumper.
One guy used a bunch of old suitcases bolted together to cover the engine…”nothing to see here, just going on vacation…”
These were cool cars but as I recall they had an inherent weakness in that they used the stock Corvair transaxle with an undersized input shaft that could not handle the V8 torque. That was many years ago, so hopefully the aftermarket has come up with parts to address this?