Chair City Corvair Center

06/12/2026

Just installed new wiper arms/blades. Had test spring pressure and it was spit on

06/12/2026

If anyone going to the convention this month has a rebuilt powerglide for sale, please message me.

05/28/2026

SOLD

05/26/2026

Today I was honored to transport a couple of Vietnam vets in the Memorial Day parade driving Phil Schneider’s Corvair.
My uncle (deceased) served in Vietnam, my dad served in the Army and my grandfather (deceased) served in WWll.
Hopefully next year I can drive the tribute Corvair trike we worked on.
I wholeheartedly honor our military any chance I get

05/26/2026

Honored to carry 2 Vietnam vets in the Corvair.

05/13/2026

05/12/2026

Power, economy, drivability, we just can't get enough of it at Chair City Corvair Center.

We are the east coast dealer and installer of Duane Cartwright's intake system. All headwork, wiring, and tuning done in house, with dyno proven results.

05/05/2026

Once Deemed Unsafe, He Still Drives His grandfather's ’65 Corvair and Owns Dozens More
Christian Mejia didn’t choose the Chevrolet Corvair.

It chose him.

His earliest memories of the car go back to preschool, riding in the passenger seat while his grandfather drove him to school. To a child, it didn’t matter that the Corvair was different or controversial. It just felt special.

When his grandfather passed away, the car stayed in the family. Years later, when Christian reached high school, his mother handed him the keys.

It was his first car.

And the beginning of everything.

The Corvair had always stood apart. When Chevrolet introduced it in 1959, it broke from convention, an American car with its engine mounted in the rear, more like a European design than anything else on U.S. roads. It was an attempt to compete with cars like the Volkswagen Beetle, offering something affordable but unconventional.

At first, it worked.

The Corvair became popular, expanding into multiple body styles from coupes and sedans to wagons and even pickups. But its rise didn’t last. By the mid-1960s, competition from the Ford Mustang shifted the market, and something else cast a longer shadow.

In 1965, Ralph Nader published Unsafe at Any Speed, a book that sharply criticized American cars, singling out the Corvair as particularly dangerous. The damage to its reputation was lasting.

For many, that was the end of the story.

For Christian, it was the opposite.

He never believed the criticism told the full truth. To him, the Corvair handled beautifully, balanced, responsive, unlike anything else. And he wasn’t alone. Over time, he found a community of enthusiasts who shared the same conviction, keeping the cars alive through restoration, racing, and preservation.

What began with one car grew into something much larger.

Christian has now owned more than two dozen Corvairs. Today, he keeps a collection of 12, including rare race versions, and runs his own restoration shop dedicated to them. His search for cars has taken him across multiple states, sometimes leading to unexpected discoveries, like the time a simple stop at a gas station turned into the purchase of five Corvairs from a stranger’s home.

Still, one car matters more than the rest.

The original.

The one his grandfather drove.

He’s modified it over the years, improving the engine, refining the body, and converting it to a manual transmission, but its core remains the same. It’s still the car that carried him to school, the car that started it all.

And every time he drives it, there’s a quiet connection to the past.

A sense that something has endured.

Because for Christian, the Corvair isn’t just a misunderstood car.

It’s a legacy one that never left the road.

04/27/2026

😎