A lady named Emily in the store last week casually mentioned that she was selling her 1965 Corvair that she had owned for 25 years. "What color", I asked, which is always my first question when someone tells me about a car. "It's called Evening Orchid", she replied. "It's kind of a lilac".
Evening Orchid- I'm quite familiar with the color. Less than one per cent of 1965 Chevrolets were painted in this color, which is an amazing pale lavender metallic. In this drab era of silver and black transportation appliances, it stands out. I've always wanted an Evening Orchid Chevrolet, whether it be a Chevy II or an Impala.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the color is applied to a sexy second-generation Monza sport coupe with the 110hp engine, four speed manual transmission, and original California black plates. She was the second owner, having purchased it out of Lawndale via a newspaper ad all those years ago. Complete with a file of over twenty years of service records, and a spare set of carburetors. It runs quite happily through the gears. Here are pictures from our first morning, under the Jacaranda trees.
No name yet, anyone care to suggest one?
7 comments:
WOW! She's a beauty. Miss J's not very original... She suggests Lila.
LOVE the Corvair. My grandmother's next door neighbor bought a new '65 Impala in the same color. I drooled over that car for years until they finally traded it in. If I drop in sometime may I have a ride?
Gary (CMLer)
Jeff:
You will always have that knack to find such wonderful cars! How do you do it? Nice...real nice.
Ron
Patsy, naturally.
Cora, of course.
Amazing! We are restoring a 1965 Monza, original color was Evening Orchid and will be again in about 3weeks! Very exciting. We have been working on restoration and are finally ready for paint. I only hope it turns out as beautiful as yours!
And her name can only be "Belle" because she is such a beauty!
eveningorchid@charter.net
My Great Aunt Peg, a spinster who was retired from working as a telephone operator for I don't remember how many years drove a Corvair just like this.
She started working for ATT at 16 as a phone operator. They asked her if she wanted some money taken out of her salary and put in stock. She said yes, cause she thought they would fire her if she said no. Very good move. She had a comfy retirement.
She was a "Pioneer" for the phone company.
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