Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Corvair "gasser"

Since the introduction of my blogging career, I have let my reader-base know what my favorite cars are; the obvious British cars, and German cars, but I do like a select few American vehicles as well, particular from the 1950s and 1960s. I've always liked the later Corvairs, but the early ones need some getting used to--for me anyway.
Equipped with a rear-engine,rear-wheel-drive setup coupled with an iffy suspension, handling was compromised at best. So, this owner tried another type of compromised suspension setup--the "gasser" look. Gassers are throwbacks to a era when drag cars relied on straight angles, and ridiculous stance to deal with weight transfer to prevent "squatting" and bad launches. On the street, the idea of driving a gasser is all but pointless. So, rather than making his Corvair handle better, he probably made it handle worse.








Aside from the iffy build quality of the thing, (it has manual steering, no front brakes, and rear drums) it appears to be..well.. not quite hacked together.. but almost. The paint has what little patina a half-assed barn find can have, and the chrome is in fair shape. I'd almost say if it wasn't for the stupendously dumb gasser setup--no, I will say that if not for the way it was set up, I'd like it more.
Inside, it remains mostly stock, with the exception of rather uncomfy looking seats. At least the factory steering wheel and trim was left untouched.
I hate gassers with a fiery passion, and given my new-found interest in Corvairs.. this one just pisses me off. I had to refrain from bitching at the owner. At least he seemed to be a nice guy, and cared enough to park and let me get a full shoot. Sorry, man, a nice owner does not a sweet car make.