corvair rv sighting.... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 10-11-2009, 08:52 PM

Yesterday the lovely Mrs. W and I went camping (friday actually) but yesterday evening as we came back into the campground after a busy day I pulled up to the camp office behind a bussy looking thing.

I noticed a finned oil pan under the back and my ears perked up....this was no ordinary motor home, it was shaped like a 1947 road bus, the kind with the aluminum bodies which slope down in the back in a mild fast back with the pusher jimmy in back....this one though was half scale though, it had an aluminum body with visible rivits.

The back said something like "trailmaster" (that's not right but it sounded vaguely like a bus mfgr, it had a diecast name plate)....I got out and walked around the front, it had a front which also looked similar to an old bus but had a three or four piece windshield which wrapped around to the side of the vehicle. It had a side entry door like a motor home.

The wheels were pretty small and next to the door was a corvair club sticker, I figured it had to be corvair powered. As it pulled away I was disappointed to hear nothing as it had a comprehensivly quiet muffler system.

The track indicated a widened drivetrain as compared to a corvair so I was wondering how that was done....today I drove around the campground hoping for another look at it but it was gone.

A very interesting oddball and neat looking vehicle.

One of a kind?

Anybody have a clue?

kerry · #2 10-11-2009, 08:58 PM

Not one of a kind. A very famous Corvair engined RV--the Ultravan. There's an internet club I've run across. I used to drive Corvairs so I've always been tempted.

http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/uvmcc/

strelnik · #3 10-12-2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerry

Not one of a kind. A very famous Corvair engined RV--the Ultravan. There's an internet club I've run across. I used to drive Corvairs so I've always been tempted.

http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/uvmcc/

My friend Ken Nelson owns one and stashes it near Palo Alto. he goes out to the Burning man festival every year in it

SwampYankee · #4 10-12-2009, 09:14 AM

What a cool, funky camper!

t walgamuth · #5 10-12-2009, 11:05 AM

I showed this picture to the Lovely Mrs. and chuckled as to how it looked like the wienermobile and she said it looked cool to her.

Gotta love that gal!

SwampYankee · #6 10-12-2009, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I showed this picture to the Lovely Mrs. and chuckled as to how it looked like the wienermobile and she said it looked cool to her.

Gotta love that gal!

You're a lucky guy, Tom! Mine often goes along with what I'm saying, but I think she's just humoring me most of the time.

TheDon · #7 10-12-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I showed this picture to the Lovely Mrs. and chuckled as to how it looked like the wienermobile and she said it looked cool to her.

Gotta love that gal!

You really need to carry a digital camera with you.

I actually saw the Weinermobile somewhere in Utah on my recent roadtrip.. I didn't have my camera out at the moment(it was going west, we were going east)... It was the funniest thing I have ever seen

pawoSD · #8 10-11-2009, 09:04 PM

Wow! Those are neat! 15mpg is way better than most of the people with their 2500Series Gasaholic pickups + massive trailers get. My inlaws get about 7 pulling theirs...

t walgamuth · #9 10-11-2009, 09:29 PM

Wooohooo! I knew the builder had to be an aircraft engineer! I love the concept...too bad the corvair engines were so poorly developed by GM.

If I could find one with a diesel engine I would bite!

I got over fifteen mpg today on the way home from northern Indiana with my dodge diesel and the 30' award trailer.....I drove all secondary roads with a maximum speed of 65 because I had a low tire on my truck.

It was assisted by a tail wind though....

I would expect to get 14 usually driving that speed.

I bet you would have a tough time going 65 at all with a corvair motor.

(This is just three weeks after seeing seven corvairs at the autocross in Indy at the sixteenth street speedway!)

kerry · #10 10-11-2009, 09:37 PM

Hadn't thought about it until just now, but that UltraVan could have been the model for the Vixen RV which had a rear BMW diesel.

My Corvair's were one of my favorite cars to drive. I noticed that some of those UltraVan owners are fuel injecting the engines. Didn't GM turbocharge that engine in the Corsa?
The heaters were terrible once the o-rings on the pushrod tubes started leaking oil.

kerry · #11 10-11-2009, 09:43 PM

I owned one of these in the mid-70's.

tonkovich · #12 10-12-2009, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerry

I owned one of these in the mid-70's.

a ragtop corvair? did it ever flex a little (early unibody)?

(for the record, i still think corvairs got a bad break. and rear engine cars are actually a great educational tool - you learn fast about correcting that fishtailing... or you don't live too long.

)

t walgamuth · #13 10-11-2009, 09:45 PM

Yeah, I thought about the Vixen connection. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same fellow who designed the Vixen. I have seriously considered a Vixen too. I'd probably have to have a 617 turbo in mine though.

Yeah they made turbocharged versions of the early body style, called the Spyder I believe, and in the later body style they were called Monza's. I had a buddy in Arch school who had a Spyder which he let me drive when we went out on a double date and he wanted to do things in the back seat with his date.....

It had wonderful accelleration when the turbo came on. It was pretty scary though with the swing axles out back and the very light front end.

kerry · #14 10-11-2009, 09:56 PM

More than once, I drove mine at speed into deep snow. The flat bottom of the front trunk would pick up the light front end and the only control would be from the front wheels pushing against the snow as the steering wheel spun freely.
The convertible IIRC, had large weights in all 4 corners of the fenders.

cmac2012 · #15 10-12-2009, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Wooohooo! I knew the builder had to be an aircraft engineer! I love the concept...too bad the corvair engines were so poorly developed by GM.

If I could find one with a diesel engine I would bite!

I got over fifteen mpg today on the way home from northern Indiana with my dodge diesel and the 30' award trailer.....I drove all secondary roads with a maximum speed of 65 because I had a low tire on my truck.

It was assisted by a tail wind though....

I would expect to get 14 usually driving that speed.

I bet you would have a tough time going 65 at all with a corvair motor.

(This is just three weeks after seeing seven corvairs at the autocross in Indy at the sixteenth street speedway!)

It only weighs 4500 lbs empty but that's a lot of air to push out of the way. Very cool though, one hopes these people don't have major dramas with the engines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvair_engine

A diesel flat six. THAT would be a nifty engine. I wonder why flat engines have not been that big of an item?

An why didn't the H design engine ever catch on?

I mean the BRM H16 seemed like such a practical engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRM_British_Racing_Motors_V16