Corvair collector lands in hot water, angers neighbors

GASTON, Ind. — A Gaston man's collection of Chevrolet Corvairs manufactured in the 1960s has landed him before the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals.

County zoning officials, who learned of the compact classic cars after receiving a complaint, are calling the collection an illegal auto salvage yard.

"It's a guy's hobby that's gotten way too big," Fred Daniel, a city-county planner, told The Star Press. "He's got a lot of Corvairs and a few other cars."

Aerial photographs indicate dozens of cars at the rural residence of Michael and Sheryl McKeel, 6600 W. Delaware County Road 850-N.

Manufacured in the 1960s, Corvairs have rear engines, like the Volkswagen Beetle. 

In 1965, consumer advocate Ralph Nader spent the first chapter of his best-selling, pioneering book, "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of the American Automobile," on the handling hazards of Corvairs. 

After zoning officials found the cars, the McKeels were forced to file an application for a "special use" for an auto salvage yard in hopes of keeping them on site.

Several dozen neighbors have signed a petition opposing the application on grounds that the cars are stored behind a house that is not in livable condition "and now they want to turn it into a salvage yard"; it's an eyesore; it's a "junk yard" harboring rats and wild animals; the McKeels don't reside on the property; it is reducing the values of surrounding properties; and it's a source of pollution.

Automobile fluids can include gasoline, fuel, motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, battery acid, power steering fluid, crank case oil, solvents and paints.

Michael McKeel told The Star Press in a telephone interview the house is not vacant. "I live on that property," he said. 

How many Corvairs are stored there? All he would say is "a lot." Why does he collect Corvairs? "That was my first car." Is collecting Corvairs a hobby? "I would call it a hobby. I'm in car clubs and stuff." 

He then hung up after saying, "Why is it a news story? I don't want to be in the news."

According to Daniel, an auto salvage yard cannot be within 350 feet of a road. McKeel's salvage yard is 100 feet from the road. In addition, a salvage yard cannot be within 500 feet of a dwelling. McKeel's cars are closer than that to six houses, including one only 50 feet away.

In the application, McKeel wrote that he has been restoring and working on old cars on the property for 40 years. He's asserting grandfather rights.

However, Daniel says the 1973 zoning ordinance pre-dates the McKeels' ownership and use of the property by five years. In addition, aerial photographs raise questions of whether any cars were being stored on the property in the 1980s.

The city-county plan commission has scheduled a hearing on the application for July 6. The commission's responsibility is to make a recommendation to the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals, which meets later in July and has final jurisdiction.

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.