OWNING A MONZA SPYDER

‘‘I found it for sale in Pennsylvania seven years ago,’ says the Corvair Monza Spyder’s owner, American car repair and restoration specialist Bill Smith. ‘It’s incredible how undervalued they still are for such a groundbreaking car – you can still find good Monza Spyders for less than $10,000 in the US. They’re something of a cult car out there - so far as the mass market’s concerned they’ve never quite shaken off their reputation for being a bit of a lemon thanks to Nader’s book. But there are enthusiasts out there that appreciate them, who’ll restore them and ensure they’re worth something, and dry-state cars are often well-preserved. I had to do a partial respray and address some rust here and there, but it’s been reliable, and all the mechanical parts are available. Refreshing the interior will be trickier though - the dashboard needs re-covering. ‘When you look at the specification of the car, and how futuristic it was, it’s clear it was the right car at the wrong time. People just weren’t ready for it. One of the main problems with it was tyre pressures – the correct ones for the car were 15psi front, 26psi rear. Back in the days of forecourt service, attendants used to inflate all the tyres they saw to 24psi regardless as part of their vehicle checks, accidentally biasing the grip towards the front and making the steering overly light and ineffective. Most accidents happened just after their owners had stopped for fuel.’