Learned to drive in a '64 Monza 4dr with the higher compression 110 bhp engine that was supposed to get premium fuel. It also had Powerglide so it was quite slow. This transaxle also lacked park, so it was always necessary to use the parking brake.
The '64 had a transverse leaf spring to prevent the jacking that could happen with the swing arm IRS and the result was a car that loved fast sweepers. The car was genuinely fun to drive even if slow and never bit my inexperienced but enthusiastic 16 YO behind. You could also wipe the tread off the rear tires in no time at all at which time you would sneak off to the local Firestone shop and have a new pair of Deluxe Champions put on the rear, around $25.00 a tire at the time. Didn't want dad to figure out exactly how hard I was using the old Corvair.
I later owned a '65 Monza coupe with the same powertrain. Put a set of JC Whitney headers and duals on it and it sounded really sweet, as only a flat six can.
Other than the kind of troublesome fan belt and the guaranteed to make a mess oil filter location, most of the other bits were standard GM, which at the time meant of very good quality and durability.
This was a fairly complex car from an era when GM was willing to exert itself, take risks and build something entirely different. The fact that the Falcon was killing it in sales and was also far cheaper to build meant that there would shortly be the entirely conventional Chevy II AKA Nova.
There seem to be a lot of good original Corvairs out there. We see a surprising number of them at every old car event we attend. They're also pretty cheap, so would be a nice way to get into something interesting.