Vintage Van: 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier
Chevrolet launched the rear-engined Corvair in 1960, as an economy sedan; a year later, fans had a broader choice of body styles, including the Loadside, the Rampside, and a van. The snub-nosed van, called the Greenbrier Sportswagon, offered six or eight doors, roll-down windows, seating for nine, and an optional camper configuration. The rear-mounted motor originally produced 80 bhp, but swaps to larger, later engines are common. The van’s forward cab/rear engine arrangement put it well above the sedan handling-wise. Its rear-wheel drive was excellent in the snow or sand. Here on eBay is a six-door 1963 Greenbrier van, bid to $4626, reserve not met, located in Lyman, South Carolina. The van is driveable, and the seller has improved it substantially over his five-year ownership.
These vans came with a flat-six air-cooled motor, starting with a 140 cu. in. Turbo-Air. A later 145 cu. in. engine made 95 bhp. It’s a misnomer to call these engines “air-cooled” – it’s really the oil that does the lion’s share of the work. Too, the engine bay needs the right sheet metal shrouds and seals to keep it from overheating (ask me how I know). The seller’s listing indicates his van has a “110 truck engine”, which would likely be the 164 cu. in. Super Turbo-Air from a 1964 or later Corvair generating 110 hp, but we can’t tell since there isn’t a photo. The engine is said to run great after it’s been resealed and treated to new rings. The Greenbrier came with either a three-speed or four-speed manual or a Powerglide automatic. This van has one of the manuals, and the clutch, pressure plate, and cable are new. There’s plenty of scope for power improvement thanks to an abundant supply of performance parts. This guy went much bigger with a 3.8-liter fuel-injected Monte Carlo swap. The rear doors are barn-type. The motor would be back there, under a lift-up lid.
The reupholstered front seats are snazzy, though the interior could still bear improvement. The seller notes that the windshield is new, and the vehicle has new weather seals throughout – not a small job. All the lights work.
Seating was in three rows with two sets facing each other, but the third row was optional. The seller notes that the wheels on the van do not come with it; instead, he will replace them with original wheels and hubcaps. Noted are small dents and minor surface rust on exterior panels. Fewer than 12,000 Greenbriers were made in 1963, as they proved unpopular. Roll-down windows, a handy door configuration, decent handling, and more powerful engines couldn’t get the attention of customers for some reason. The “van with nine lives” deserved a better fate, but the market spoke. That helps us now, as these vans are much cheaper than VW buses; good ones sell for around $12,000.
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Comments
Nice! You know, the Corvair van got the least respect, when ironically, it was the best,,,in the “cab over” types. Not sure why, by ’63 Corvair had proved itself, and had a following, but for the van group, it was never considered. I think part of the problem, many clubs had outings and adventures, and the poor little Corvair couldn’t keep up, or puked. Similar to the VW, in that regard. Never saw those either, it was Ford and Dodge for most. Outstanding find, and I wouldn’t mess with the Corvair motor one bit. Properly maintained,( and modern gaskets) they did a great job.
Price so far, tells me, a), people don’t want a stick in a family vehicle like this, and b), the Corvair is so far back there, many simply just don’t know much about it today. I guess that’s the secret to a good deal today, but something nobody wants or can operate.
It does seem crazy to me that even when Chevrolet built a better mouse trap than the VW bus the public wasn’t buying. Maybe it was the look of this van over the happy face of the VW? My friend has a restored ramp side which was a very practical solution in the compact truck series. These have serious payload capabilities and were the better option over the Econoline and the Dodge A100. I think this Greenbrier would be fun to own. Finish out the interior and have a fun people hauler on nice days for a fraction of the VW admission.
You know, I never thought of the Corvair van as a better VW, but it’s true, and don’t have a clue as to why? To be clear, VW vans didn’t have that big a following either, if I remember. I suppose just the Corvair itself was just gaining popularity, the van was really pushing it. I too thought the Rampside, or the even lesser seen Loadside, with no ramp, was a novel idea. Shows to go, Americans didn’t take well to change. Of course, no Corvair van post would be complete without the propaganda film GM put out. The Fords had 500 pounds ballast in the front. There was merit with the traction issue, however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-THAAaJQS0
In that clip, I wanted to mention, “stoppie” aside, I thought the Ford stopped straight and true for drum brakes.
Great write up and the author knew what I already knew from experience also, that the oil was just as important for cooling as the air. As I mentioned so many times a clogged oil cooler caused the leaks All air cooled engines rely on the lifeblood to operate at temperature. These were faster and drive so much nicer than the VW, owned both and the 164 ci moves them along nicely.
Looks like it has Rhode Island plates on it.
A lot less underpowered than a VW bus. I was a card carrying member of the Corvair club as a teenager (early 70’s) and knew all the quirks of the cars, yet the “exchangerless” heater and swing axle handling nearly killed me a couple of times. Guess that’s why I’m driving other classics today.
I drove one for a year or so that was standard, which was a bit problematic. My boss also had air conditioning installed. We ended up with a box that was a few degrees below warm..
We had one of these as family car when I was a kid. With 4 kids, then 5 it was a good way to haul us all around. The center seat,(the one missing in the photo) could be installed either facing forward, or rearward. My mom grew up on a farm, she had no trouble shifting the 4 speed manual trans. Before I was old enough to drive it went away, to be replaced by a ’64 Impala 4dr hardtop.
One of the most often misunderstood vehicles. So many are quick to criticize but yet know nothing about them.
This is fantastic and I’m not very fond of GM in general. It’s a shame that vehicles like this that appear to be great finds aren’t presented well enough to confirm that. Listings like this always confuse me; why not take the time as a seller to show the entire vehicle and write as much as possible? And then who are the potential buyers willing to take such a risk by spending thousands based upon such little info?
Perhaps they’ve looked in person or the buyer sent more photos upon request, but we see ads like this a lot and I always wonder. Hope the buyer gets what “appears” to be a great survivor and there aren’t any surprises. I’d put buying a set of torq thrusts towards the top of the to do list since they aren’t included and look awesome imo.
I had one when I was young and single. Ran like a top until I got a lady in the jump seat. Then the belt would come off EVERY time. Even after I got married,even with my wife. Other than that, I loved it…
I know the Corvair car has been made a mid engine V-8. They look great and perform extremely well. My question it, would a Corvair van work with a mid engine V-8? I know there is a lot of fabricating to be done in the car.
Not as much as you would think depending on drivetrain choices. Search the internet and you’ll find many of all kind. Also go to http://www.corvair.org
Especially the V8 Registry.
You could probably do it but you would lose any ability to carry passengers or cargo. Here’s a couple of mid engine conversions https://dailyturismo.com/mid-engine-crown-conversion-1965-chevrolet-corvair-v8/ https://www.autoevolution.com/news/meet-rampy-the-mid-engine-v8-corvair-rampside-that-s-stealing-our-hearts-190704.html
Friend of mine took a 62 , 2dr. Corvair and stuck a 394 Olds in it. Ran fine,never took it to the street.Straight trans to rear set-up. A lot of fun and experience for a 15 to
as per WC above, yeah, the space taken (ramp side, load side, p/u or this) by the motor wuz the issue for sales #s. The co tried to say “No issues in sno on hills, in slippery like ford, cheb.” But still no real sales. Imagine an 8dor, ‘no window’ model of one of these?
Top co for these’n the lakewood, other ‘Vairs is local – Clark’s
https://maps.apple.com/place?q=Clark%27s%20Corvair%20Parts&ll=42.591762%2C-72.719379&auid=16912589633116813675&lsp=9902&address=400%20Mohawk%20Trail%2C%20Shelburne%20Falls%2C%20MA%20%2001370%2C%20United%20States
must have been here/the best for 50 yrs.
What I like about them is they were being built/sold for 2 yrs when the chevy van (64/5) was also. That 1st gen (’64/6) is sweet. Mine was a 108 WB.The models w/hi roof (may B not a greenbriar production model but ‘test’. Kinda looked like a thames or other Brit van) were eye catching too.
Friend of mine took a 62 , 2dr. Corvair and stuck a 394 Olds in it. Ran fine,never took it to the street.Straight trans to rear set-up. A lot of fun and experience for a 15 to