Almost the Last: Hand‑Built 1969 Chevrolet Corvair 500 with Just 6,626 Miles

No, this isn’t the very last Corvair built—that car’s fate remains a mystery—but it is one of the final examples from 1969, preserved since new and showing only 6,626 miles. It embodies the bittersweet end of Chevrolet’s most unconventional compact.

By the Corvair’s final year, production at Willow Run had been moved off the main line and into a 50-by-50-foot enclave informally called “The Corvair Room.” With the Nova dominating the line, the few Corvairs scheduled were causing headaches; hand assembly was the pragmatic solution. Management had little appetite for building many more, anticipating that unsold cars would be tough to move.

This Corvair 500 coupe was ordered by Evanston, Illinois resident Clarence A. Mohr, who placed a $500 deposit on May 14, 1969—the very day production ceased. Finished in Garnet Red over black vinyl, it was modestly optioned: two-speed Powerglide automatic, whitewall tires, and an AM pushbutton radio, with a dealer-installed dash clock likely added. Under the rear deck sits the 164-cu.in. air-cooled flat-six with twin carburetors and 8.25:1 compression, rated at 85 hp. The window sticker totaled $2,534.15, roughly a little over $22,000 in today’s money.

The Mohrs drove the car just 4,655 miles before storing it in 1971. Their son inherited it in 2003; following his passing in 2012, a local Chevrolet dealer helped return it to running condition. It has since passed through the hands of dedicated Corvair enthusiasts—one a dealer from 2015 to 2017—who kept it original and gently exercised.

In today’s market, low-mileage ’69s have real pull. Recent sales include a 31-mile Glacier Blue 500 coupe at $27,700 and a 23-mile Glacier Blue Monza at $41,800. Priced at $18,900, this survivor arrives with compelling paperwork: window sticker, deposit receipt, invoice, Protect-O-Plate, and GM’s $150 coupon offered to all 1969 Corvair buyers toward a new Chevrolet through 1973—both a thank-you and a nod to expected depreciation.

Recent service makes it road-ready, with fresh pushrod-tube oil seals, new tires, and a tune-up. A new fuel tank and sender went in during 2013, and the wheel cylinders were replaced in 2017. For collectors seeking a time-capsule Corvair with a story that mirrors the model’s final chapter, this 500 coupe is an alluring, well-documented opportunity.

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