Many people have claimed to reinvent the wheel, but has anyone thought about how they would actually do such a thing? Something as simple and ingrained in society as a wheel surely can’t be reinvented, right? What about reinventing a pickup truck? Bed in back, engine in front, body on frame. Except when it isn’t. Enter this 1961 Corvair Rampside. Like its passenger car sibling, the Rampside had a rear-mounted engine making rear bed access difficult, hence the ramp side. You can find this red and white example here on eBay, ready to show the world its bizarre loading technique and un-safety-at-any-speed at any and every car show near you!
The truck is powered by a Corvair-sourced air-cooled, horizontally-opposed, 80 horsepower six-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels through a manual gearbox. Chevrolet offered a three-speed manual, four-speed manual, and two-speed automatic as options. I see a clutch pedal, but there is no indication of how many gears it has. The seller states that it lost spark and can’t run as a result, but the engine turns over and the condition of everything else on the truck looks decent. At any rate, you’re going to be looking at some electrical work to get it running again. Who knows, it might just need new spark plugs or a distributor, though the seller also says that they replaced the coil and distributor…so the skeptic in me says that it’s probably a little more complicated than that.
Admittedly, they don’t include many images of the interior, but what can be seen looks decently well-kept. There don’t appear to be any rips or stains on the seats, all of the trim looks to be present and in good condition, and it even comes with “new window fuzzies.” I don’t know what they mean specifically by that, but if they mean a pair of fuzzy dice you hang on the mirror are thrown in with the sale, then I’d say it’s worth the price of admission.
Included with the sale are two new carburetors with rebuild kits, manuals, factory drawings, and a bunch of miscellaneous parts, which will undoubtedly come in handy when trying to track down those electrical gremlins. Bonus: you don’t need to worry about where you’re going to put all of that junk when you buy it because it’s a pickup truck and you can just put it in the bed. Its relatively small size, large cargo area, ease of use, and novel loading method would make this your perfect vintage Home Depot runner.
Where I come from window fuzzies are the two felt pieces on either side of the door that help guide the window up and down and keep it from rattling. Not as cool as fuzzy dice, but just as important!
That’s really nice.
Eleven thousand fewer miles than my van, and 38 years older.
Could be as simple as a bad condenser. Hard to get quality in that area today. About all there is imported junk. Points too!
Ebay auctions of NOS parts!
Doubt it needs much more than clean the points in most cases…seems to be all there which is the important part. What most people do not know is that these were 3/4 ton trucks with a 1950 lb. payload. Not sure of the authors “un-safety-at-any-speed” comment. Apparently he never heard of the NHTSA, why it was formed,or it’s findings and exoneration of the Corvair. Always amazed at what these ‘in the know’ people have to say showing no actual investigation of facts, rather just running with a myth.
Decided to go to electronic ignition on my Hudson. Not a perfect solution but better than dealing with the junk I could find.
Like this truck a lot. Have no idea what these go for now but am guessing you would get a lot of enjoyment out of each dollar spent.
It’s a quirky truck to be sure, but one I’d like to have since I like all things Corvair!
Yes – it’s weird enough to be cool :)
Had one of these in the early 90’s when I was doing landscaping. Slow, especially with a load, but I was able to haul more with the huge bed than the other worker’s could with their full size trucks. The ramp made everything easy, no lifting or climbing into the bed
I was joking with my son the other day about things that have been basically unchanged for the last 100 years, like toilet paper. Pickup trucks might fall into that category. They’ve gotten fancier and stronger but no one has radically changed the format.
I’d love a ramp side, or even a curbside tailgate on my truck.
I have a Honda Ridgeline, and they all have a tailgate that opens either way – conventional flip-down or swinging like a door. I use the door-swing method of opening it probably 90% of the time – so convenient.
Okay this deserves a blown big block something in the bed.
Funny you should mention that Frank…
Last night, my best buddy who is the shop foreman at a local GM dealership was over for a beer and football game on tv. Pulled out his smartphone, and showed me photos and video of a 62 Corvair pickup (non rampside) that someone brought in for some diagnostic engine readngs. The guy bought a wrecked late 1990’s Corvette, and put the LS motor in the bed, and installed the IRS rear suspension underneath where the original engine was. Has electric cutouts on the exhaust system. Showed me a video of it running on the wheel alignment rack.
Utterly sweet insanity.
And no seat in the interior, just has a 5 gallon plastic pail to sit on, when he pulled it off the ramp trailer to pull it into the shop.
Think most of us have at one time or another thought of doing such a thing. My hat goes off to the wacko who actually pulls it off. Dropping that motor in and having it work is impressive
There is one being built and it is awesome. Sectioned, chopped, tube chassis, I believe a big block. Look it up, the thing rocks
My Dad bought the twin to this in about 1970, except it didn’t have the optional Rampside. The forward part of the box would fill with water and upon launch would douse the engine with water. It smoked like a pile of burning tires, and if you opened the vents on the heater box to adjust the temp the cab would fill with smoke. It was an unmitigated disaster. Finally sold for half the purchase price-gladly. Don’t think I’ll be bidding.
These are very cool, i hope it sells.
Corvair guys know how to make these work; VERY cool! A little sorting of the engine and perhaps (not likely necessary) the electrics, which are ’60s simple. If I had the time I’d be bidding on it.
Located in:
Carrollton, Texas
Owned two. One 4 speed, one auto and a camper that fit on either when you took the ramp door off. Still had one ramp door until 3 years ago.
If I didn’t just buy another Corvair last month I’d be very interested…
Have a Structo toy version cool looking model of a cool looking vintage truck
Sold Yesterday, with the High Bid being $12,851
Ended: Oct 03, 2021 , 2:05PM
Winning bid:US $12,851.00
[ 51 bids ]