Our Daydreaming Designer Takes The Chevy Corvair Into The Eighties But In Van And Pickup Truck Form

To paraphrase the song, there ain’t no revival like a Corvair revival because (apparently) the Corvair revival don’t stop. It’s exhausting. This series in which I “revive” a car whose life was cut far too short just keeps expanding, and Jason is not helping much in terms of editing it down [Editor’s Note: I have zero interest in cutting this down because that means getting less of this, which is counter to my fundamental belief system. – JT] so you’re certainly getting the Director’s Cut here. My apologies. [Editor’s Note: Stop apologizing. – JT]

We’re pretty deep in already. You might remember that so far we’ve developed Generations III and IV of a rear-engined compact car that in reality never made it past a second generation but seemed to have enough redeeming qualities that maybe it should have. In our last installment, we were able to create the proposed Generation V 1981-1987 car in the form of plastic fantastic Fiero-style series of sedans, coupes, and wagons. However, we ran out of space to continue the next generation of body styles that seemed to resonate with our readers: the Corvair vans and pickups.

In real life, the Greenbrier van (and pickup) models of the Corvair only survived the first generation, and just barely:

I never thought they got a fair shake, so for the imaginary Generation IV of 1975-1980 I brought them back as the RTS-bus/GMC Motorhome inspired Chevann and Truxter:

source: The Autopian

This would have been a breakthrough design at the time — modern enough that we likely wouldn’t want to start from scratch on these in 1981 like we did with the sedans and coupes. We’ll keep the same flat six engine in back and most of the original vehicle, but we’ll add a few special updates. Also, we’ll present some new body styles, some of which will be a bit unhinged but all about extra utility and family fun in the fresh air of the outdoors.

The first reborn version of the Corvair trucks that I created last seemed to be pretty well received, so we’ll keep the changes rather minimal. Why mess with success? As a 1980s car, we’ll have to add plastic lower cladding which everything of this era had, either body color or a contrasting hue. Admittedly, it would visually break up the breadbox shape a bit. I’ve added a new nose cone that extends the ‘Dustbuster’ wedge shape down from the windshield, along with a perimeter frame that ‘chin straps’ the headlights and license plate. We’ve gone from the front end looking like an RTS bus to now taking on the appearance of a high speed rail train that got off of the tracks. Is that really a bad thing?

Ah, but there are functional changes up front as well. Recently I became aware that a British built bus from almost a century ago featured a horizontal windshield wiper operated by a chain mechanism on the side that moved it vertically to clear the whole window. This is brilliant, and we must replicate this mechanism on our van, though I’m sure there’s a reason nobody else attempted it. We would use cables or something other than chain in the perimeter frame of the windshield, but the glass on the front of the van is only curved in one direction so it would be a crime not to at least try it.

With the earlier van, we offered cargo and passenger van versions, as well as a pickup, but now we’ll expand the line into uncharted territory where others have feared to tread (likely with good reason).

Truxter Pickup Grows A Pair

There’s no way that we can have just one pickup body, right? What about the Truxter Cabby Mini-Dually? Dual rear wheels? Can it really carry that much? I know that Toyota offered dual rear wheels as an option on the Hilux that featured a far less powerful motor than our Corvair, so why not? I mean, at the very least it is a cool look.

On the “Cabby” the passenger compartment is expanded behind the driver to create space for protected cargo or jump seats for two more people. Need more cargo bed length? There’s a fold down “mid gate” under the back window to expand the bed up all the way up to the front seatbacks. The rear glass stays in place, but that’s because with a cargo bed cover in place this whole expanded area would be indoors.

A few readers had lamented that I didn’t explore the Rampside variant of the original Corvair pickup. Tired of lifting things into the bed of your truck? With the Rampside a door on the passenger’s side folds down to create a ramp for easily loading cargo. Great idea, but the raised area in back for the engine created a rather odd shape to the bed that likely turned off some buyers.

One option I have to solve this is the FlexBed. You can have the Rampside feature, but the floor in the center of the bed can raise up to meet the height of the engine cover part in back to give you a fully level floor (plus space below for storage). Best of both worlds now (but only available on standard cab models).

The Chevann Expands

By the early eighties, the Chevann passenger van would be a common sight on American roads, to the point that it could start to be considered no more than dull family transportation. We certainly can’t have that, can we? How about a ‘halo’ vehicle to add some excitement back into the line? I might have just the vehicle: the GMC Vanna Safari Sunrunner.

As the more luxurious version of the Chevann, there is the near-twin GMC Vanna (likely a tie-in for Wheel of Fortune later?). The Safari version of this leather-lined machine adds a driveshaft to the front of the transaxle, plus big tires, raised suspension, and grey lower body cladding to create a Vanagon Syncro-like four wheel drive proto-off-roader. It gets even sillier since you can order a front push bar with an electric winch for times you might get a bit too ambitious in the rough.

Still not enough to get the thrill back? You’re a tough crowd. Fine- let’s ship some of these Safari models off to convertible conversion experts American Specialty Corporation (who also gave us the Buick GNX and Chevy SSR) to put a Sawzall and welding torch to them.

Up front, lightweight removable T-tops and now frameless door glass let the driver and passenger experience open air motoring, while a flick of a switch makes the fabric roof over the center row of seats retract; the mechanism involves telescopic rods mounted one the sides of a plastic roof box that features an area for cargo. The folks at ASC also replace the sliding rear door with a hinged one, and the middle side glass on both sides in back can retract fully.

Sure, there’s Triumph Stag-like framework still left, but how many seven passenger family cars can you give you wind in what’s left of your hair? A family cruise on the beach? An open air run through the forest until the mosquitos get too bad and you just button it up again in minutes? Have your teenager kid chauffer you and the spouse like a carriage ride (t tops on place, rear roof open)? You want to take up falconry? Ralph Nader will try to ban it just because it’s so much damn fun. The possibilities are endless with a Vanna Safari Sunrunner.

Cheventure On The Road

Well, not completely endless, because the Sunrunner would not be ideal for camping. For a home away from home, you’ll need the Cheventure Camper conversion by Winnebago. Here the roof in its entirety goes bye-bye and we add a fiberglass cap on top.

The middle of the van features a working kitchen and possibly even a pull-out toilet, while there is a dinette on the raised area above the engine in back. This dining space can be converted to a sleeper, but the primary bed is over the roof at the front, accessible by a fold down ladder. One person could theoretically sleep sideways up here, but the idea is that this slide-out section telescopes over the windshield when the van is stationary to create a double bed and allow the Cheventure to sleep four comfortably. Front seats rotate around and become sort of the “living room” of the camper. Not bad for a little van, and easily one of the best driving campers you’d be able to buy.

Finally, the full lineup for Reagan era of Corvair. Maybe a car- or a van- can’t be all things to all people, but the Corvair certainly tries particularly hard to do just that. That is, of course, if they actually existed.

Now the late eighties are approaching, and General Motors was working on plenty of new technologies that they never seemed to fully explore. Could the Corvair Generation VI change that?

all illustrations by The Bishop

A Daydreaming Designer Imagines The Corvair Surviving Into Days Of Disco – The Autopian

The Daydreaming Designer Imagines A World Where The Corvair Never Went Away – The Autopian

There’s A Gorgeous Corvair Pickup For Sale And It Comes With A Sweet Camper – The Autopian

This Amazing Old Delivery Van Was A VW Bus 10 Years Early And Proves The Corvair Was Not America’s First Rear-Engined Air-Cooled Vehicle – The Autopian