Station wagon conversions on vintage American cars are not unheard of, but they aren’t always easy to come by. Thanks to reader John B. for sending this one in! I have seen a ’65 Mustang wagon in person, and heard of various other conversions including ‘Cudas and Cadillacs. This C3 Corvette wagon is just as cool, and very ’70s. This 1971 Corvette would be right at home next to an old Chevy van with a mural on the side! While the wagon conversion has certainly given this car the gift of trunk space, it has also given it the gift of infinite criticism. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like find it in Texas here on AuctionZip with bidding at $10,550.
The passenger compartment appears to have been left alone with the exception of the additional trunk space. Having covered only 84,000 miles, it isn’t surprising that the seats and console are in nice original condition. Although the interior is somewhat utilitarian, at least for a sports car, this could be a cool driver with minimal work. A good cleaning would go a long way on this interior! For as extravagant as the exterior is, you would think the creator of this vehicle would’ve added a little more pizzazz to the interior. If the conversion was done when the car was relatively new, it is plausible that the nice factory interior was more appealing.
The wagon part of the car isn’t the only modification this Corvette received! This car has had the front end modified as well to give it a bit of a Speed Racer vibe, as well as some kind of weird van vibe. Although it’s completely different, Corvette Summer comes to mind! It would be cool to know what company made or did these conversions, if any. There are a few other Corvette wagons of this vintage out there with the same style headlights and grille, as well as side windows on the wagon portion. On top of the hood is a unicorn, and under the hood is a Chevrolet 350 hooked up to the slick ’70s side-pipes!
Chuck Miller and John Greenwood are the two big names associated with Corvette Sportwagon conversions, but this particular 1971 Corvette does not appear to be in the style of either of them. It is possible this car spawned from a kit done by someone on their own. Regardless of its origin, this Corvette looks to have been done well and held up well over the years. The ad does not state how long ago it was done, but it does say “original custom paint from 71” which makes me think it was probably done when the car was near new. Although it needs some electrical work, this is certainly a unique vehicle that is bound to bring years of driving pleasure to the right person. If you have more information on the origins of this car, please let us know in the comments!
When my daughter was four she had a shirt with that same rainbow and unicorn on it that is on the car’s hood mural. WTF were they thinking!
Who’s thinking when they’re smoking?
Love it. I’m a sucker for the weird mods… but that front end needs to go. Too much starting money for this one.
Both the custom nose, and the wagon roof were made by Eckler’s Industries, in Titusville FL. Eckler’s brought the wagon kit out in the mid 70’s and has sold thousands of them. I haven’t checked, but they may still offer it.
I’ve seen some well done wagon conversions that I liked, but this particular one doesn’t do anything for me. I never understood putting big flares on a car, and then not using wheels and tires large enough to fill out the flares.
The Greenwood wagon kit was similar, but used a higher roof (which I think blended better with the Corvette’s design), and also had opening windows. Greenwood’s fiberglass was made for him by Eckler’s, not just his wagon conversion, but also his flares, wide body kits, hoods, etc.
The wheels on it now were probably not on it when the flares were installed. I’d be surprised if it didn’t have either a 15×8, 15×10 slot mag or Tru Spoke combination when it was fresh.
Steve R
At least they did not ruin a 4 speed car. Yuk
Brings back memories of a Corvette Station Wagon model I had in the 1980’s…without the unicorn and rainbow.
Yup – that was the first thing I thought of, the model I had.
same here
I dont care about the back side but the front looks better than the greenwood datsun headlight conversion, might be quite functional with this (camaro?) Grill as the airflow thru the stock front is not the highest …
I have to admit it looks like it was done well, but it’s not my cup of tea.
Nice to see an interior shot of the rear. Looks like the grill is back there also.
Interesting… Not my thing, but if I did have it, the very first thing, even before it hit my driveway, would be a repaint! That unicorn has to disappear along with the frosted silver on the flares. Second would be to design a glass hatch that can be opened in the rear. The space is not particularly useful if you can’t use it. The great condition of the carpeted rear (which is really well done), points to that lack of use.
John B. here. I saw this on the auction site and had to share. The mushrooms they were on must have really been something!
What a waste of a pre 72 vette
Of course there’s a unicorn.
Man that’s ugly. The automotive equivalent of drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa.
How do you put gas in this thing? Not that I’d want to.
Just missing the bubble tail lights.
Saying this may make me unpopular here, but I kinda love it. And at under $11k, it’s still a few thousand cheaper than the Calloway Aerowagon conversion (just for the conversion kit by itself) that I’d love to do to a 2016/2017 ‘Vette, if budget allowed. No complaints about having both side-by-side in the garage.
I do like the Calloway Wagon, it’s overpriced though
love it as is. id totally drive this, and im not really a vette fan. only thing it needs is some deep dish slot or turbine wheels to fill out those flares. and an opening rear hatch would be nice.
Wow that is so cool , other then the hood I would not change anything. My wife and Kids would disown me but they would get over it.
As a former C3 owner the whole car leaves me nearly speechless.I can only hope it was built from a totaled wreck and good car wasn’t sacrificed for this. Drugs can account for a lot but even the paint sniffing acid dropping weirdo body men I worked around in the 70’s wouldn’t have done this. The unicorn makes me think it was either a girl’s car or a bad attempt at being a chick magnet.
With the whole rear deck cut out restoration would be costly not to mention the nose job needed. Too bad the front is butchered too, removing that awful wagon top could allow building a Corvette pickup.
For what is now about an equal price, I would much rather roll this one….
https://roanoke.craigslist.org/cto/d/1974-corvette-stingray/6267554336.html
My favorite upholstery guy here in Melbourne, FL has had one of these for years, done in red metalflake. It is so much his signature that he has it on his business cards and had it on the sign at his place of business. It is currently unregistered and sitting in a carport at his shop. The front of his is stock. Since we’re just 40 or so miles down the road from Eckler’s in T-ville, it is probably one of theirs.