(first posted 1/8/2018) If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I’ve got a big thing for the Ultra Van. It’s my ultimate motorhome, combining Corvair underpinnings (front suspension, rear drive train and suspension) with an air-craft type lightweight aluminum body (total dry weight: 3400lbs). I’ve written its full story here, but seeing one in the wild is always an occasion that needs to to be documented. I saw this green one zipping down the highway on the opposite side before we went hiking, and then here it was parked at Pioneer Town afterwards. Ultra cool and ultra desirable, especially with dual rear wheels, a custom modification I’ve not seen before on an UV. Just the thing for driving in the desert.
I should have gotten down on the sandy parking lot to shoot a picture of the dual rear wheels, which was possible due to a custom fabricated arrangement. Or a shot of the Corvair engine from below, with its custom headers and exhaust. The owner, who came out of the restaurant just as we were going to leave, told me it has a 140hp four-carb 164 inch version, pushing through the obligatory Powerglide. He said it rolls along nicely at 60-65, and has had it up to 75 or so, thanks to its aerodynamic shape and light body.
The 140 hp was not stock, as most of these were built with the early 140 and 145 cu.in. lo-po (80-85 hp) originally, but not surprisingly, most have been upgraded.
The last batch of the Ultra Vans had a 307 or 327 V8 in place of the Corvair engine, still driving through a PG and then a shaft forward to a marine vee drive, and then back to a Corvette IRS. Those are the hot rod Ultra Vans. Beyond ultra.
The Ford Econoline headlights on this one identify it as one of the first 15 or so built, by UV creator David Peterson and a bunch of California high-school shop students on the side. He built the first one for himself, in 1959, and other folks wanted one too. But after these first 15 or so, he licensed the UV to a Wichita, KS outfit, which put it into production, albeit on a fairly low volume. Its airplane-type monocoque construction was intrinsically expensive, and once Winnebago started cranking out its big cheap boxy motor homes at huge volumes, the UV’s future became dim.
Despite the non-original paint, this UV is in very nice original condition, not exactly a common thing anymore. The two front benches swivel to make a dinette, and fold down to make a bed. There are two beds in the aft bedroom too. The spartan driver’s compartment is a bit unusual, compared to most RVs. No need for power steering either. And the brakes are the Corvair’s manual drums.
Behind the front benches is a good sized room with a galley to the left, and a large sofa on the right, that makes another bed. Later versions often had a dinette instead.
The cabinetry and appliances are original, and there was a fine vintage pattern on the Formica wall behind the sofa. I should have asked the owner to let me inside. He’s had for some 15 years, but doesn’t use it much. it does make an annual appearance at Palm Spring’s Modernism Week.
I’ve fantasized way too much about having an UV, but it just isn’t in the cards for us. No cab a/c, no heat to speak of, and of course the endless care and feeding of such an unusual vintage machine. I prefer to using my camper, not having it be an endless project. But every time I see one, my mind starts spinning…
CC: Ultra Van – Cross An Airplane With a Corvair For the Most Radical RV Ever
Very nice! I just love the `Vair’ style headlights, the yacht like interior, and the Tatra-esque rear.I hope it has air conditioning.
It’s Corvair.
These really are fascinating. The lack of decent heat (and lack of any a/c at all) while driving would be a deal breaker at my house. Can you imagine the horrors of trying to mount an a/c compressor and gas heater on that poor overtaxed Corvair engine? You can have barely adequate performance or barely adequate fuel mileage, but not both. 🙂
As elegant as the design is, the poor thing is just ill-suited for those extended times when the vehicle is being driven in hot or cold weather (which we have a lot of in the US). Even before the Winnebago, the Mopar V8 of the Dodge Travco did a much better job in the “Vehicle” half of RV.
Fantastic find. The wheels and tires always look so tiny on these.
The green paint rather suits it even if it isn’t the original paint.
The very first UV had the Corvair’s 13″ wheels, but later ones got the big 14″ inchers. 🙂
And the V8s got 15s!
It looks like giant watermelon in green.
No AC, no problem. (I’ve never had working AC in any of the 100 plus vehicles I’ve owned).
Getting comfortable behind that steering wheel might be a problem, tho.
I would have thought there would be too much camber-change for dual wheels to work as well as a single up-rated wheel.
Keep in mind that the rear track is substantially wider than the Corvair’s, which has the effect of reducing camber change. I was rather surprised to see the duals. I’m not exactly sure how the Corvair swing axles were widened for the UV, and I would have liked to see how these worked. A quick peek showed a drum-like thing between the two wheels. It was a custom fabricated unit, according to the owner. He bought it that way, and he was not at all technically-minded.
They didn’t widen the track on the swing arm suspension – they just added the outer wheels to fill out the wheel wells. But in order to keep from overloading the bearings the outer tires had to be at significantly lower pressure.
But some of them don’t have dual wheels, like the undersides of this one I shot :
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-ultra-van-cross-an-airplane-with-a-corvair-for-the-most-radical-rv-ever/
The headlights are ford econoline from same vintage.
Yes, only the first 15 pre-production UVs have them. Later ones have a JC Whitney single chromed headlight surround.
“You got Corvair in my Airstream!”
“You got Airstream in my Corvair!”
(Both) “Hmmmm….”
Hahaha, love it!
What a great find indeed and I like the vanity plates. Thank you for sharing.
In reference to Hardboiled’s comment above, my vanity plate would be a sentimental “WTR MLN”.
Had I seen this in the wild myself, I would likely have thought it to be some kind of radio station promo specialty vehicle, and would have passed on it. Thanks for sharing!
First I was going to say I have to admit this thing is way cooler than the Clark Cortez, tho I’d prefer the Cortez’s Slant-6/4-speed powertrain.
But then came this:
Eek! Eek, I say. Much eeking!
It’s possible that the front drums are somewhat bigger/wider Chevy units, but I’m not sure right now. I’d have to take a UV dive. Keep in mind the light weight.
Aren’t these the same brakes found on the 64 GTO?
It appears that a front disc brake conversion is fairly common.
It has never been clear to me, but perhaps the Corvair pieces underneath the Ultravan came from the 95 series pickups or vans rather than from the passenger cars. The front suspensions of the 95s were sourced from full sized Chevrolets or the C-10 pickups, depending on year. So, in addition to being fairly stout components, disc brake conversions should be relatively easy.
This thing looks awesome, inside and out. “FRM MARS”? With that color and frontal styling, it does kind of look like Marvin The Martian should be behind the wheel.
“Where’s the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!”
*Excellent.*
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I think this find shows that Paul has a special knack for tracking down the unusual; we can’t give all the credit to Eugene, Oregon’s curbsides and driveways. Last time I was in PioneerTown, there were a few generic pickups and maybe a Camry or a 4Runner. He goes there; boom,
a rare RV that he knows all about.
I think the classics know of and find him.
There’s about 100 UVs still road-worthy. I’ve seen three and shot two of them in the past few years.
Neat to find one at all, especially with such an original interior. Is the instrument cluster from the Corvair as well? I like the shelf behind the steering wheel.
I’m not really an RV guy, but if I did get one it would probably be the GMC from the ’70s, which seems like a more mainstream answer to the same question.
Yes.
Nothing beats the GMC Motorhome shape for me, but this is a great find. Nice shape, nice hat.
I had no idea. I saw something like this somewhere recently. I thought it was one of those Dodges, but maybe not.
That’s a Travco, also sold as the Dodge Motorhome.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-travco-motorhome-the-granddaddy-of-the-motorhome-name-and-genre/
Beautiful looking Dodge Travco.
My wife and I saw this one at a swap meet last spring. I think it’s a later version.
Here’s another view
Bunkerman, that one is a 1967 coach with a 1970 (V8) nose and bumpers grafted on.
At a dry weight of 3400 lbs, it would be like an airplane in that you would have to be aware of how much camping equipment and food and fuel, and water to put in it. I do believe I would prefer the Chevy V8 version. The V8 could carry the load better and have heat and a/c for traveling. And as far as far as camping, a propane furnace and a roof top a/c unit to plug in at the campsite would work fine. A propane furnace would heat the interior while traveling as well. On the down side in the event of a frontal crash, your legs are your first line of defense
I’ve seen pics of these with a button nose and a smile panted on the front! Cute as a bugs butt!
Sweet looking vehicle. I’ve heard of the Corvair Ultra Van, but I’d never seen one in person. While I like the idea of a boxer six engine powering the Ultra Van, I would’ve preferred a water cooled engine, similar to the Subaru Outback over the air-cooled engine of either a Corvair or VW Vanagon.
The Green Machine is the earliest roadworthy UltraVan, and is one of the most unmodified original ones in existence. It was built in 1963 in a small wooden warehouse in Alameda CA by the short-lived “Motor Coach Division” of Prescolite (a manufacturer of light fixtures). Prescolite built about seven coaches, and actually called them Travalons instead of UltraVans.
The “duallie” rear wheels are not custom, they were found only on the first fourteen coaches, which were built using the 1960-1964 Corvair swing-arm rear suspension. The outside wheels are not load bearing, they are just there to fill out the wheel wells for appearance. In fact, you are supposed to use extremely low pressure on them to ensure they don’t take any load.
Later UltraVans used a modified version of the 1965-1969 Corvair trailing-arm rear suspension, with extended driveshafts for a full width wheel track.
The Econoline headlights were used only on the first 22 Ultravans; the chromed bumpers (from a ’47-55 Chevy 3100 pickup) were used on only eleven; and only twelve were 24 feet long (most are 22 feet long).
The front control arms (and steering) were custom made for the UltraVan. I am not sure what the earlies used for spindles & brakes, but later production used Chevy II parts so we can use Nova disk brake kits.
FWIW, UltraVans have very effective engine heat using the standard Corvair arrangement. Air conditioning in an Ultravan requires an auxiliary generator, which is how most motorhomes work.
Thanks for the additional details. I did not know about the rear suspension and dual wheels on these. It seems a bit odd to have reduced pressure in them, and just “along for the ride”, but I’ll take your word for it.
Saw this bad boy over Thanksgiving at Jalama. It is super weird and awesome!
Beautiful looking Ultra-Van!
Great find ! Don’t think we’ll ever get an RV, but this would be intriguing with a modern engine and HVAC.
Those front benches also made a convenient spot for dinner
How often does someone try the otherwise-familiar in an entirely new way? Very rarely indeed, and for sure, it’s understandable: economically speaking, the risk involved is beyond the capacity of even a risk-taking inventor. But on those rare occasions where it all comes together, you get the occasional Ultravan – “occasional” because some steppings-out are just too wild to ever be more than one or two-offs – and it’s impossible not to love such a clever result.
Meanwhile, RV’s are still built to the crude but big n’ cheap Winnebago formula to this day. What a yawn.
In a crosswind, they’ll need a much bigger dog to stay on the road.
With all wheel disk brakes, fully independent suspension, a common rail turbo diesel and a 5-6 speed manual, this could be a happening vehicle. Adding an insulated hot water tank that could be heated by the engine coolant and HVAC. An engine driven ginormous alternator and battery pack with 120V inverters and some solar panels would bring it into the 21st century. For all wheel drive, an electric front wheel drive differential/motor would be good for slow speed traction and regenerative braking. Maybe some airbags???