1962 Corvair Greenbrier, We go for a ride!
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- While visiting Pioneer Conversions in Lemont, Illinois it was brought to my attention that one of the principals there owned a 1962 Corvair Greebrier van. Yes,, we went for a ride!
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Oh my family had on same color 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Van we loved that we went camping my dad babythe vanhe keep the engen bay clean to and he kept it running like a dream that was one of the vans us boys would have fought for I would still be driving it today we use to go to A&W once evry other month to get burgers and it was full of bibles in the seats from church the boys always had to sit in back that was moms rule we went to the drive in once in a wile .we lived 15 miles out of town down a dirt road and we never got stuck in the snow . I am glad to see some still our there.
My uncle had one of these. At the time I remember thinking how cool it looked. Still looks pretty damn cool too.
This is a wonderful truck. I had a 62 in the late 70's. The whole engine ran on 1 fan belt. I broke the belt on the freeway in Jacksonville,Fla. once. I always kept a spare and had it changed out in 10 minutes,then back on the road I was! What a ride!
I remember my uncle bought a new one and we went shopping in it. I remember him pointing out all the unique features to my dad, but I was absolutely amazed by where the engine was.
Another Corvair veteran here, a '63 Monza convertible. I still remember the stupid cable (that breaks) that went from the clutch pedal back to the clutch and of course the oil slick on my windshield from oil fumes coming through the defroster because the heater air came off the finned cylinder barrels/oily heads etc. Fun to drive though.
Nice to see one of those running! My grandfather, who was a big Corvair guy, had one that was already junked out that he was using for storage and I was taking some of the car compatible parts for my 62/64 Corvair coupe build(which, sadly, I never got to finish).
I went to a summer camp in New Hampshire that had 3 greenbriers, he said 9 passenger, in kid transport mode it was 4 kids per rear seats and 3 people in the front seat for a total of 11. Bye the way of course no seat belts. Being a summer camp the greenbriers spent the winters on blocks in various buildings. Only draw back to that was mice llked to build nest in the fan shrouds. Being air cooled that would have been fatal for the engine, if the engines were started an run for so each of the greenbriers had to have the top of the fan shrouds removed and the the mouse nest removed yes the tried moth balls and decon.
If I remember correctly the camp got its first 1962, and when I visited the camp with my family i 1978 the frist greenbrier was still in service.
Nice to take a ride in one again, lots of happy memories of those years.
If I had the money, I'll try to find one for me, since I was a kid I just fell in love with this chevrolet corvair greenbrier and the other was a ford 1966 ford econoline. Hope to find one for me some day. Thank you Rides With Chuck!! & Rick For his time.
I also like the Dodge A-100... Just totally Awesome!
I just love corvair vans! My dad had a corvair coupe back in the day as well as many other classics, but there's just something about corvair van body style that kicks ass, I love VW Vans but corvair van body even more... and those head lights and taillights so cool...
Indeed! Something about the front of these vans, and the pickups with the side gates (called Rampsides).
that was spectacular you are so informative really into the details thank you good job
A nice rare and unique van! I like the whine of second gear.
My '61 Greenbrier had knee-deep orange shag carpeting, a huge crushed valour orange couch, a completely mirrored ceiling trimmed in bamboo, an ahh-oogah horn, a pleather front bench seat, and dark tinted windows. The exterior was maroon with a white belt and steel rally rims with chrome trim rings. I had to leave it in Austin when I moved across country in mid 2004ish. I miss my Shaggin' Wagon...
Ataque a las Torres gemelas
@ Jorge What does that have to do with this thread?
Yes, that's cool! You know what else was cool? I was born in mid 1962!!! Thanks for a great showing of a great classic van Chuck! BTW, that is my oldest brother's name(born 1957). Scott
Those seats are cool with all the storage space underneath them. I sure wouldn't mind driving a van if it was this one! Thanks for sharing Chuck and Rich.
This Corvair Greenbrier van truly ahead of it's time. It would be seeing a modern version of this today. Thanks for the ride & understand about it. =)
my 2 older cousins worked for a local drug store and did deliverys and they used one of these in a panel, this was back in the mid 60's, they replaced it with a VW bug and painted it with the name of the store and called it the Medicine Bug
Many thanks for bringing attention to The Greenbriar and Campsite vehicles. They served their purpose well in the city and suburbs. My best friend growing up bought a 1965 Greenbriar. He used it in his rental housing buisness. Designed to be functional. You covered the vehicle front to back. Thank You for that.
My late friend Howard told me of a musical instruments store in Knoxville, TN. They used a Corvair van for a delivery vehicle. The loading dock was at the rear of the building, facing an alley, with other buildings on the opposite side of the alley. Naturally the Corvair floor was quite low for a delivery vehicle, and they could open the side doors, drive into the alley, and load a piano inside. Great use of its design.
My dad gave me a 61 Corvair Greenbriar when I was 11. (Early 1980s) Had a beautiful metallic electric blue main color with a darker blue in the middle.
Did not have the second row seat.
Someone tried to tell me it wasn't a "van" and that it was a Station wagon.
I called BS,because the Station wagon doesn't look anything like the van.
Was my first engine rebuild (got started early).
Dad didn't know anything about fixing cars, so i was the house mechanic.
Nice video.. brought back some cool memories.
Neat old vehicle, more unique than we would have thought back in the day. Thanks for sharing.
My grandfather, Frank J. Winchell, was GM’s expert witness in the defense of the Corvair. In total there were 294 cases brought against GM, totaling claims of over 100 million dollars. Of these, 10 were tried to jury convictions. Of these, 8 verdicts were in favor of GM. Of the 2 loses; "Chart v GM," where 2 of the 5 occupants testified in court that the driver had a quarrel with his girlfriend and that after a 2 1/2 hour stop at Bronco’s Beer Bar, where the driver was chug-a-luging his beer, and later they warned the him that he was driving recklessly and at an excessive speed, that he failed to make a right hand turn, locked up his brakes and struck a telephone pole. In what is know as a comparative negligence verdict, the jury found the driver 75% responsible, the girlfriend 3%, the state highway 5%, the county highway 5% and GM 12%. The other lose was "Canthos v GM," where the jury found in favor of the plaintiff, however, the judge set the jury’s verdict aside stating “There is not a scintilla of quotient evidence to support the claims against the handling characteristics of the 1960-63 Corvair.(paraphrasing)” He went on to describe the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert witness as “perhaps the most incomprehensible gibberish that this court has ever heard.” A Untied Sates Senate Committee spent 2 1/2 year investigating the safety of the Corvair, the DOT as well as many other institutions, even Nader’s own NHTSA came to the same conclusions as everyone else, that the Corvair was not defectively designed nor a defective product. In fact, it performed as good, or better than all cars on american roads at that time.
Nick F. Gigante
Thanks!
I remember having to read unsafe at any speed in college as I started out as an engineering major. There was so much hogwash in that book Having said that honestly I never liked the rear suspension design of the 1960 to 1964 corvair I like the fully independent double knuckle design of the 1965 and newer models.
Considering the rear suspension design was more or less exactly the same as comparable vintage volkswagens the behavior of them on the road was no different. I believe VW went to fully independent rear suspension he in 1968.
What a great bit of history ! 😀
Thanks for posting this Chuck. I also own a 1962 Corvair Greenbrier and love it. Mine is the 4 speed 110 hp with most options. It has been difficult to find much information on this vehicle which makes this video even better. Aloha
I get a kick out of how truly bare bones some of the old vehicles where. Nice old van
Great video, and very informative! Corvairs are so unique compared to other American cars, and the van and truck models are often forgotten as part of the family. I like how it looks driving into the neighborhood, like it just arrived from a different planet. Thanks Rich!
Gentlemen, as a lifelong car restorer ( 250+ since high school ) I wanted to thank you for your channel. Nice ti see unusual cars and knowledgeable people.
+TheVagolfer You are welcome Sir!
our family of 7 got around in one of these in the 60's
Robert Bowen Cool! I bet they feel lucky to have that trendy van!
Your parents sure were busy
My dad had one of these in mid-60s. It was identical to this one in the video!
These vans carried a lot of stuff. But sitting in the crumple zone made me a little uneasy..
I love the sound of those old transmissions.
When I was a teenager there was a family that lived down our street that had a Chevrolet Greenbrier van. I travelled in it on car pool trips to school with other children. This Greenbrier van had the two speed powerglidge automatic transmission. The transmission selector lever was mounted on the dashboard.
We had one of these when I was growing up in San Francisco. My dad bought it used when it was only a year old. It was an automatic. Later he took that back seats out and used it as a paint wagon. He was a house painter.
Love you Chuck, keep them videos coming.
That is pretty cool
I Love it... Thanks for Sharing
This gent provided a first class narration. None of the in your face screamers you see now. Well done,sir
Thank you, Sir.
Thanks for the great review.
I grew up next to a fire station and they ALL smoked so a lighter was needed. Gorgeous old survivor here! Always loved this van over the Ford econoline. I loved all corvairs back in the day. The USA wasn't ready for them sadly, and Nader threw in a time bomb.
awesome van ..WITH ONLY THREE OWNERS.. Now that's something special ..
Hi Chuck, the first car I had title to, was a 1962 Corvair 95. It was a window van like this Greenbrier, but only had the front seat. The rest was open in the back. It had the rear tailgate doors like this one, and also had side clamshell style clamshell doors. Mine looked the same from a distance but the similarity ended there. This one is obviously very nice, mine was a worn out piece of junk, but it was the first car that was truly mine.
Neat truck and I used to love them.
Mike
Nice, well-presented story of an American oldie.
Cool little van, I had an uncle that had the pickup version, I always thought it looked like something from the future. Of course I was about 4 at the time.
My Pop loved that vehicle!
I had this same van - Pete Kohler now drives in MI.
I was hired to be a part-time driver for a mercantile market that used a Corvan (probably around 1963 or 64) cargo van for their home deliveries. I was hired to drive because their regular driver had his license suspended because of a DUI (who was still a good friend -- his family was a previous neighbor to ours in a small town -- which happened to have Coors Beer factory located there).
Anyway, me being 18 y.o. and my buddy (who still did the "on foot" deliveries to each house) who was 17 y.o., we weren't exactly the best employees of this mercantile -- we did everything we were hired to do ... and a bit more. We were both car guys. He owned (but temporarily couldn't drive) a '56 Blue & White Chevy 150 2-door wagon with a 283 V8 and 3-speed transmission with shifter on the floor. I owned a '59 Blue/Blue Chevy Impala convertible with "everything" -- 283 V8, PowerGlide Trans, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Power Windows and Power Seats. Along with a buddy of ours, who had a repainted "Forest Green Metallic" w/Black interior '64 Valiant Signet Convertible, we would "tear up" this small town's streets for fun.
So, back to me driving for this Mercantile. They had a '63-4(?) Corvair cargo van which, of course, had its 6-Cyl engine way in the back which displaced most of the weight of this van. So, one day after driving for them for at least 1 month, I asked my buddy if this Corvair van could do any wheelies since most of the weight was in the rear. If anyone would have done a wheelie in this, it would have been my DUI buddy. But he said he didn't know since he never tried it because the engine was just the stock engine it came with. So, I asked him, if he thought we could do a wheelie in this with both of us and a load of grocery deliveries (usually enough for 5-7 house deliveries (including a few times to the rear of Coors Brewery private house). He said he didn't think so because the 6-cyl engine didn't have enough torque to spin the tires and lift up the front axle, especially with the weight of both of us and the groceries in it. I then asked him, if he thought that from doing a standing stop or a running go at it? He told me, probably both.
I thought, Hmmmmm, I wonder. So, in a fairly quiet area of town on a couple of small streets after delivering to a couple of homes, I decided to try for a wheelie from a standing stop. After revving up as high as I could do it and released the clutch a few times, it didn't really do anything of a wheelie -- I don't think I could get the van to rise up any more than just a couple of inches, if that. I think we felt it rise, but not enough to call it a "wheelie."
I wasn't totally satisfied with this. So, after delivering to another couple of homes, I realized that many of the intersections of this area had dips in the crossings of several streets. So, I wondered, if we got a bit of a "running start" and then if I could pop the clutch just as we were crossing one of those dips, maybe I could get a bit higher jump to classify it as an actual "wheelie." So, I tried this for 3-4 of the dips that were on our route to deliver the groceries. With each dip, I tried to pop the clutch and spin the rear tires enough to attempt to propel the front of this light-weight van upward even just a few more inches than what I could do from a standing start.
After about the 5th or 6th crossing of the dips, I was finally able to rise the front of this van enough to recognize that it did, indeed, do a wheelie of at least about 6 inches, if not a bit more. I know I did, because the steering went crazy and I could turn the wheels like butter for an instant, then we felt the van drop back down after passing that last cross-dip in the road with a noticeable "thud" from the front wheels and tires.
I realize that it wasn't all that much to raise up the front of a Corvair cargo van, but it did raise up enough to call it a legitimate "wheelie." Fortunately, no one complained to our boss about the squealing tires and other noises we made trying to do this wheelie. And there wasn't any damage to the front tires and axles either. But we had fun trying to do this and later that night after work, the 3 of us celebrated with a few Coors beers each for doing a wheelie in a Corvair cargo van.
I owned one in Michigan and lived on 30 mile above Detroit. The only heat was from the air off the air colled engine running through a bare mettle tube from the engine to the front along the bottom under the floor exposed to snow or what ever.. You had to wear full winter gear in the winter to ride iin it. It rode very smooth on a very bumppy road. A cylinder replacement for blown head gasket was $16.00, piston and all.
My father had one sitting for years in the driveway ,it was a 3rd car for the family, I remember the heater ,you would freeze your butt off in winter.
Nice Corvair!
The first American family minivan, 12 years before the Chrysler Caravan and Voyager. The Greenbrier was designed for family use with 4 wheel independent suspension, full 9 passenger interior with roll up windows, and it was low enough to park in a regular suburban garage. Rivals from Ford and Dodge were commercial vehicles with beam axles, leaf springs, too tall to fit a normal garage, and generally designed for use by plumbers and carpenters not families.
22 years earlier, but who's counting?
Ahead of its time. Nice truck Thanks.
OOooooh nice sound!
Hey Rich, Your drivers side headlight is discolored but very nice van!
I have a '61 Monza 900 Sedan as my first car (i'm 16), it is a blast to drive!
My first car was a Corvair. My parents picked it out for me. There was little likelihood of getting killed in that car regardless of what some people say.
Nice Greenbrier!, I have a 62 Greenbrier now. One minor correction, The pushbutton radio was not and option on the Greenbrier or the other Corvair F/C trucks. Thanks for posting!
way excellent video.
These had a lot of advantages over their competition from Ford as there was no driveline tunnel or engine protruding Into the cab and cargo area. The pickup truck version had a hugely long bed well over 8 feet.
Looks to be a better van than a VW Kombi.
Hi Jerry, thanks for commenting.
Fun video. Thanks.
The engine gave it traction and stability. Ralph was totally wrong saying these were death traps. The Corvair car was not a death trap, if it was driven wrong, it could be tipped over easily. The problem with the vans was frontal collisions gave very minimal protection to the driver.
I'll keep my eye opened.
These were too far ahead of their time. Envious. I want one..thanks for sharing.
Truly innovative design - especially for the time. It is a shame that a politician used early design problems to kill some really great American ingenuity. Imagine where this design could have evolved to over 50 years... Thanks for sharing Rich - great video Chuck!
Nice van . I'm getting one
May parents had a '62 when I was a little kid. It was gray with a white band. I remember at 26,000 miles it needed a valve job. There's one curious difference between this one and my parents. This one has front amber turn signal light lenses which were found on '63 and later cars. My parents had clear front signal lights. I remember the radio had tubes and was really sensitive. I wish I had kept that radio when my father junked the vehicle in 1973.
The Corvair was really not a bad little car. It had handling quirks that the American public wasn't used to, that Ralph Nader took unfair advantage of in my humble opinion. The Volkswagen Beetle of the same era had the same handling issues because of the independent rear suspension and the wheels that tucked under, just like the Corvair, and was dangerously underpowered and underbraked to boot, but Nader had nothing to say about the Beetle.
Cool Van, I've only ever seen pictures of them, real treat to see it in motion. I'm curious if the vans had some of the handling issues that the cars did.
I love it!
Nice to ride along with you! And the super low miles is??? I have a '62 Rampside from the Charlie Dye collection in Arizona. Mine has Patina! I'll never paint it!
My Uncle, Who's Older than me, always told me that the Chevrolet Corvair series line-up was an incredibly engineered vehicle with the engine in the back to act as a counter weight for the rest of the vehicle! I don't know, what do you think???? But, I will say, the Corvair Line-up was the Most attractive vehicles for it's time! Love the Sixties Muscle Cars......
A rear-mounted flat six cargo van built in America? I wish GM was still that adventurous.
The Greenbiers were also available with automatic transmission. Those so equipped had a selector lever on the dash just to the right of the instrument cluster. I don't believe there was a park position on these selectors.
That's the way my Corvair shifted.
No, there was no park position. But the handbrake was very easy to operate. I had a coupe with automatic and accidentally shifted it from drive to reverse at about 40 mph. Locked up the rear tires. I quickly realized my mistake and shifted back to drive. DIdn't hurt the transmission or anything else at all.
A lot of torque, I guess. This van remembers me of the VW transporter which was converted by Porsche to have a servicing van speedy enough to accompany their test drives of Porsche prototypes in Scandinavia.
To me it seems like GM was taking a look at VW with their rear-flat engine concept and making something similar but "more american", with a bigger engine and overall design. Well done !
awesome!!!
cool van
9 passengers? Hmm no wonder we were crowded with 9 kids and a set of parents. Dad bought the greenbrier because the 54 vw samba could barely tow the 15 ft Shasta trailer with its massive 30 hp engine
Great old car! Crank er UP!!!
I rolled over in one of those Greenbrier vans. No it wasn't the van's fault, we were screwing around, not watching the road, and we got into a gravel shoulder. Must have been around 1965. I was with Bill Porter in Knob Noster Missouri. It was his dad's van, same color as the one above. We both survived without a scratch.
+Stan Jefferson That was a close one!
I found one in a lake in boonville missouri it had 3 bodys in it
One was Ralph Nader I hope
hyzercreek the death of the Corvair was all Nader's fault. good riddance that asswipe is dead
A.J. Swierzbinski He is still alive..
My first car was a salmon pink Greenbrier. It belonged to our family dentist, Dick Minear, who sold it to my father for the princely sum of $200. Cleaned the squirrel's nest out of the air filter and it ran much better. Drove it back and forth to Wabash College for years until the floor rotted out. It constantly popped out of third so I rigged up a belt to ship over the shift leverr. I surrendered my virginity to Theresa Jones while parked in my Greenbrier at the Northcrest Drive-In Theater.
I know where there is one but it has serious rust issues so I passed on it. Its not a van but a pickup model. Beautiful van--glad someone didn't butcher it with a small block V8 or something like that.
If you're still looking for a van I've got 10 of them 4 complete they are not pristine by any means but not rusted out. Let me know if you're interested.
The "front impact energy-absorbing crush material" on these is the driver.
Mike Roberti. Stop with your. LIBERAL Bullshit!!.take your WHITE TEETH.. LIBTARD...Anti American Propaganda someplace else..We are ALL sick of it its why your. Friend Crooked Hillary LOST. WE need to use Libtards for energy absorption
Mike Roberti try riding passenger in a Vee Dub van.....Scary !! then try driving one in a hard side wind......there is no word for that kind of terror.
Bruce Manly your last name doesn’t exactly fit.
It has what looks like an Engine compartment in the Front but the engine is in the _back_
craigslist man! craigslist! :D
very unique.....
I'm looking for a 64 El Camino w patina, to put in a 6.2 diesel/5 speed
Not a corvair lover but that is a nice piece-- does that have a gas heater like the corvair or forced fan air like VW?
i've been looking for a corvair camper none in colorado
The outer drivers side head light looks burned out.
congratulations! also do you know the citroën DS or the volvo Duett i am a huge fan of those i would love to see a ride :D
I don't recall ever seeing a Corvair van based off of one of the newer models from 65 on
Sadly, they didn't make them in the van form after 1964. For some reason I really like this body style...always have.
those were nice vans
Does it leak oil like mosr of them?
yes
Why the front grille? Ventilation?
Yes, I've been a UA-cam Partner for a few years.
Two tone isn't enough luxury?
@2:30- Nice feature to impale someone's head during an accident.
Then go look @ a new car.
These our memories,and I get sick of buttholes like you running our cars and political views.We didn't have car jackings,kids came out of school
LiTERATE!.You idiots can't read the constitution or spell,can't even tell time on a clock,I saw 2 boys 17 or so in a restaurant in panic mode my order was 2.77
After I gave 5$ bill I threw 2 cents on counter they ended up getting yet another boy..."Well I think he gets back 2.25"...one of them,"I hope your right"..
Such a sad generation!.
PS do u like my plymouth? (just curious)
Some how the first version got me laughing.