Christopher Mejia used to dream of Chevy Corvairs when he was a little kid — literally, he used to talk in his sleep about them every night, according to what his brother told him. He now owns a very special 1965 Chevy Corvair Monza. This car has quite a bit of heritage and background to it, and it’s also deeply rooted in Chris’ life.
Chris was about 4 or 5 years old when he first starting obsessing over the Corvair cars. His grandfather, the original owner of the Corvair he has now, would take him to school in the car, and he thought it was the most amazing thing he’d ever been in. When his grandfather was dropping him off, or picking him up from school, those were the days Chris was looking forward to the most.
When his grandfather passed away, the car went to Chris’ mom, who drove it for a little while and didn’t really like it. Chris begged his mom for the car, and she gave him the keys. He drove the car through high school, and had a very unfortunate crash one day when he passed through a construction zone on the road where a manhole cover was sticking out of the ground, and it ripped the bottom of the powertrain apart.
After the Corvair sat for a few years, Chris decided it was time to get his dream car back on the road, and sold his daily driver to fund the rebuild. Another accident not too long after would take the car down for much longer. When Chris finally had the money and knowledge to fix the car, he decided to go all in and make it something even more amazing.
The custom touches Chris added beyond the restoration include custom Dayton Wire Wheels, the use of an air ride suspension, a downsized steering wheel, and the addition of AutoMeter gauges. Otherwise, the car is still very close to being all original, which is exactly what Chris always wanted.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
