Zaki Nadiri ~ Corvair Unlimited

Once you feel the bay breeze coming off of Candlestick Point and hear the intoxicating sounds of the jazz music wafting through the air, you know that you have arrived at Corvair Heaven. More aptly, Corvair Unlimited in San Francisco at 1275 Thomas Ave.

Along the line of Corvair parts cars and customer cars either waiting to be picked up or dropped off, you may also be greeted by some of the neighborhood cats that also understand how special this place is.

If you are lucky, you’ll even get to spend some time and chat a bit with the legend himself.

The Corvair Whisperer, The Man With The Golden Hands, The Corvair Maven, The Guardian Angel Of The Corvair. Each name a testament to the man who has been responsible for keeping countless Corvairs on the streets of San Francisco (and beyond!) for over 60 years.

Zaki Nadiri knows jazz. He knows fishing. But his knowledge of Corvairs is legendary. Working for Ellis Brooks Chevrolet in the 60’s, he was trained by GM to be a Corvair specialist. He is a master mechanic and can fix anything that can be fixed, but the love affair with the Corvair remains strong. It has been speculated that Zaki has likely worked on every Corvair in San Francisco at one point or another and cars come in from all over the Bay Area and beyond to be re-born.

Today is also his birthday, so we thought it would be fitting to share this article today and wish the legend a very heartfelt and happy birthday from SFBA!

Here is a great YouTube video from SFBA co-founder Tony Richards interviewing Zaki.

Have a Corvair Unlimited story? Want to wish Zaki a happy birthday or send a shoutout?

Let yourselves be heard in the comments!