1966 Canadian Corvair production statistics

This article was published in the June, 2000 CORSA Communique.

Several years ago, Dave Newell obtained copies of GM of Canada's end-of-model-year production report for 1966. Dave shared this information with Bob Gilbert, who shared it with me. The report is chock full of interesting production statistics. The original document features one page of summary statistics plus 11 pages of details, organized by option and model.

Below are the summary statistics, followed by the details.

Summary statistics

The production figures Dave and Bob provided (hereafter referred to as "GM Canada's figures") are on a one-page report titled "1966 Corvair Manufacturing Schedule". The report is dated August 8, 1966. In the report, production is broken into three groups:

Production summary

As a side note, the production figures on the summary sheet that GM Canada's archives provides for interested owners is the "number produced for sale in Canada". So, for example, the summary sheet for my Corsa convertible shows it to be 1 of 192, not 211, built.

A few facts about SUPs and CKDs

From the article "Foreign Intrigue" in Dave's The (in)Compleat Corvair Story, I learned that Corvairs were actively sold in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, and many other countries over the years. A total of 34,875 Corvairs were exported (approximately 23,000 SUPs and 11,500 CKDs).

When thinking about SUPs vs. CKDs, you might ask yourself, "Why would GM go to all the trouble of shipping a bunch of parts overseas for final assembly?" Some of the countries listed above placed prohibitive import duties on fully-assembled vehicles. Dave commented to me recently: "After 1962, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico, in particular, had such high tariffs that only the very rich could import complete cars. Another reason was shipping costs: shipping rates for automobile parts are less than for complete cars. Parts can be shipped much more compactly than complete cars, which take up more valuable floor space on ships. Their crates are stackable too. Most SUP cars were shipped uncrated."

To get around these problems, GM produced CKD cars in the U.S. and Canada and shipped them overseas, where they were assembled then sold.

From Dave's article and conversations with him, I learned that:

The story of SUP Corvairs is a little different. Unlike CKDs, they were produced in quantity both in the U.S. and in Canada during 1965 & 1966. Before 1965, fewer than ten SUPs left Oshawa each year. All the other SUPs came from U.S. plants.

When choosing from where to source a SUP for export, GM considered both:

For example, read about a 1966 Willow Run Monza coupe SUP that was very likely ordered by an American soldier stationed in Germany who had the car shipped back to the States after his service ended.

Dave added, "SUPs were exported for the 1967-69 model years from the U.S. because they were only built in the U.S., not Canada. However, you could consider a Swiss-built 1967 Corvair a SUP if it were exported to Italy, for example; or a Belgian-built 1967 Corvair a SUP if it were exported to Germany, for example. After 1967, production ceased in Belgium and in Switzerland although a very few SUPs were imported by both countries."

Swiss CKD notes

Dave's article notes that 144 CKD units were produced for Switzerland during model year 1966 and that 96 of them were sedans with manual transmission while 48 were sedans with automatic transmission.

Additional information on the 144 Swiss CKD sedans can be found in the detailed statistics below. For example, option AA4, since it is specific to Switzerland, tells us that all 144 of the sedans were Monzas. Looking at the other option details with the number "144" in mind, a picture of how these sedans were equipped emerges:

It sure would be fun to find one of these cars for confirmation!

Belgian CKD notes

Dave's article gives figures for the number of CKD and SUP Corvairs imported into Belgium for calendar year 1966, which means some of the cars were of the 1967 model year. Fortunately, after several rounds of deduction from the summary and detailed statistics, I was able to determine how many Belgian CKDs of each model were produced:

Concerning equipment for these CKDs, the following can be said:

The '66 Antwerp-assembled Corsa coupe owned by Sam Christ of Leslie, MI confirms most of these items. (Check out the information provided by Sam.)

Last car built each month

When Dave had complete access to GM Canada's archives he was able to find out the serial number and model of the last car built each month during the 1966 model year (except September). Here's the breakdown:

Dave also found that the very first car (serial 0001) was a 500 coupe built on September 8, 1965. The build date of the very last car (serial 6137) was June 16, 1966.

You can derive the full VIN of the last car built each month (except September) from the information above. The first digit is always 6, indicating the build year. The next five digits are the often-seen model number. The last six digits are the serial number. For example, the VIN of the last car built in February is 610537004432. 

What happened after 1966?

1966 was the last year GM produced Corvairs in Canada. In 1965, the U.S. and Canada signed the Automotive Products Agreement (Auto Pact). From Canada's point of view, Auto Pact removed tariffs for cars and parts imported by U.S. auto manufacturers, provided that the U.S. manufacturers made certain commitments to jobs and investments in Canada.

GM Canada began importing Corvairs in 1967, which was certainly more cost-effective due to the very low production volume, while maintaining production of other models in Oshawa. (The pact only specified that a certain proportion of the total number of cars manufactured in North America be made in Canadian factories, not specific models.)

Detailed statistics

The detailed information exists in two reports: the "1966 Corvair Equipment" report (11 pages) and the "1966 Corvair CSL" report (2 pages). (CSL stands for Canadian Special Listing, the Canadian equivalent of COPO [Central Office Production Option]. Thanks to Dave Newell for this bit of info.) Check out this sample of how the original 1966 Corvair Equipment report looks. Note that both reports were produced on September 12, 1966, more than a month after the summary report discussed above.

Keep in mind the following when reading the data below:

1. The information is mostly complete now, but there are still some holes. Dave Newell helped decode many of the unfamiliar options but there were even a few that he did not have record of.
2. The original reports do not consistently break down the data. For example, for option A01 (tinted glass, all), the Corvair Equipment report only provides numbers on coupes vs. sedans vs. convertibles while for option C48 (heater delete), the report breaks down the data by each individual model and body style.
3. All of the data and notes below come directly from the reports except where enclosed by brackets: "[ ]". I did reword most things to be more clear than the extreme shorthand used on the original reports.
4. The reports often have normal entries then entries followed by the letter "L". After puzzling over this for several days, I found some summary information in the 1966 Corvair Equipment report which equates "L" with CKD units. Therefore, any line of the original reports that had an "L" suffix is represented below as CKD. Dave Newell confirmed that the the presence of either "L" or "R" indicates CKD. "L" indicates CKD cars with left-hand drive. Some models of GM cars (Impala and Chevelle, for example) could be built with right-hand drive ("R").

Corvair Equipment report

AA1: Side window glass, clear (for CKD units only)

AA2: Side window glass, tinted (for CKD units only)

AA3: Foam rubber seat cushions, delete (for CKD units only)

AA4: Door panels, delete (for Switzerland CKD units only)

1. All 144 CKD Monza sedans equipped with this option are also equipped with option X02 (upholstery delete). 24 of these units have #702 Fawn trim, 48 have #722 Blue trim, and 72 have #740 Red trim.

AA5: Molded carpet, rubber mats, and trunk mat delete (for CKD units only)

1. 24 of these units have #702 Fawn trim, 48 have #722 Blue trim, and 72 have #740 Red trim.

A01: Tinted glass (all)

1. Of the 103 coupes with tinted glass, only 1 500 coupe was so equipped.

A02: Tinted windshield (only)

1. Option A01 must not be specified when A02 is specified.

A15: Rear window glass, clear (for CKD units only)

A16: Windshield, clear (for CKD units only)

A39: Deluxe seat belts

A67: Folding rear seat

1. Of the 74 500 coupes with this option, there are 27 with #701 Fawn trim, 29 with #721 Blue trim, and 18 with #739 Red trim.
2. Of the 49 500 sedans with this option, there are 23 with #701 Fawn trim,17 with #721 Blue trim, and 9 with #739 Red trim.
3. This option is standard on Monza coupe, Monza sedan, and Corsa coupe.
4. This option is not available for CKD units. [Also not available on convertibles.]

A82: Front seat headrests

1. This option is not available for CKD units.

C06: Power convertible top

1. 248 of the 396 tops were black (code 002), 122 were white (code 010), and 26 were beige (code 016).

C48: Heater delete

1. No turbocharged cars were equipped with this option.
2. All 12 of the Monzas equipped with this option were also equipped with M35 (Powerglide transmissions option).

D10: Rear door armrests

1. This option is standard on Monza sedans.

D31: Day/night inside rear view mirror

D33: Remote-control outside rear view mirror

D99: Body belt-line molding for two-tone paint

F41: Heavy-duty suspension

1. 85 of the coupes and sedans equipped with this option were also equipped with N44 (quick steering option).
2. 11 of the convertibles equipped with this option were also equipped with N44.

G81: Limited-slip differential (Positraction)

1. 1 500 or Monza with G95 (3.55:1 ratio differential option) was equipped with this option.
2. 113 500s and Monzas with L63 (140 HP engine option) were equipped with this option. 144 CKD Monzas with L63 were equipped with this option.
3. 98 500s and Monzas with M35 (Powerglide transmission option) were equipped with this option. 48 CKD Monzas with M35 were equipped with this option.
4. 1 500 or Monza with M35 and G95 was equipped with this option.
5. 50 500s and Monzas with M35 and L62 (110 HP engine option) were equipped with this option.
6. 5 500s with M35 and L63 were equipped with this option. 32 Monzas with M35 and L63 were equipped with this option. 48 CKD Monzas with M35 and L63 were equipped with this option.
7. No 500s with G93 were equipped with this option. 28 Monzas with G93 (3.27:1 ratio differential option) were equipped with this option. 144 CKD Monzas with G93 were equipped with this option.
8. No 500s with M35 & G93 were equipped with this option. 5 Monzas with M35 and G93 were equipped with this option. No CKD 500s with M35 & G93 were equipped with this option. 48 CKD Monzas with M35 and G93 were equipped with this option.
9. 15 Corsas with G93 were equipped with this option.

G93: 3.27:1 ratio differential

1. 5 Monzas with M35 (Powerglide transmission option) were equipped with this option.
2. 48 CKD Monzas with M35 were equipped with this option.
3. To specify G93 on Monzas, option L63 (140 HP engine) must also be specified.
4. For Switzerland only, to specify G93 with L87 (180 HP engine) and M20 (four-speed transmission), option G81 (limited-slip differential) must also be specified.

G95: 3.55:1 ratio differential

1. 2 500s and Monzas with M35 (Powerglide transmission option) were equipped with this option.
2. This option is standard on Corsas.
3. When L62 (110 HP engine option) and M35 are both specified, this option is standard and must not be specified.
4. When L63 (140 HP engine option) is specified, this option is standard and must not be specified.

K47: Oil-bath air cleaner

1. 113 500s and Monzas with L62 (110 HP engine option) were equipped with this option.
2. 68 500s and Monzas with L63 (140 HP engine option) were equipped with this option.
3. 16 Corsas with L87 (180 HP engine option) were equipped with this option.

K84: Heavy-duty (47 Amp) alternator

L62: 110 HP engine

1. 3417 500s and Monzas with M35 (Powerglide transmission option) were equipped with this option.
2. 48 CKD 500s and CKD Monzas with M35 were equipped with this option.

L63: 140 HP engine

1. 285 500s and Monzas with M35 (Powerglide transmission option) were equipped with this option.
2. 48 CKD 500s and CKD Monzas with M35 were equipped with this option.

L87: 180 HP engine

1. 235 Corsas with M20 (four-speed transmission option) were equipped with this option. [This implies that 2 Corsas with three-speed transmission were equipped with this option, since M35 (Powerglide transmission option) was not available on Corsas.]

L90: "Low compression" engine (for export only)

1. 10 500s and Monzas with M35 (Powerglide transmission option) were equipped with this option.
2. When specifying this option, L62 (110 HP engine option) and L63 (140 HP engine option) must not be specified.

M20: Four-speed transmission

M35: Powerglide transmission

1. [There are a whole bunch of notes about trim colors which are not broken down at this time.]

N34: Sport steering wheel

1. [The counts are legible but the model car to which they apply is partially obliterated due to poor copy quality. Other code numbers on the same lines are the same as for option M20, so I extrapolated.]
2. [There are a whole bunch of notes about trim colors which are not broken down at this time.]

N36: Telescopic steering column

1. [The counts are legible but the model car to which they apply is partially obliterated due to poor copy quality. Other code numbers on the same lines are the same as for option M20, so I extrapolated.]
2. 34 of the cars equipped with this option were also equipped with option N34 (sport steering wheel). 1 of those cars was a 500.
3. [There are a whole bunch of notes about trim colors which are not broken down at this time.]

N44: Quick steering

1. This option is not available on CKD units.

P01: Wheel covers (standard)

1. This option is standard equipment on Monzas and Corsas.

P02: Wire wheel covers