When Chevrolet cooked up the Corvair in 1960 with the rear-mounted, air-cooled engine, they didn’t stop with just making sedans and convertibles. They also offered truck and van versions broadly referred to as the Corvair 95 (for its 95-inch wheelbase). The Greenbrier was the passenger van edition, much like Volkswagen had done with its Type 2 transport. This nice example from 1963 has a lot of new parts, giving it an extended lease on life. Located in Campobello, South Carolina, this rarely-seen form of Corvair is available here on eBay where the no-reserve bidding stands at just $1,600.
The Greenbrier was a cab-over design even though its powerplant was the same 145 cubic-inch flat-6 that the rest of the Corvairs used in the back. It resides under a slightly raised cargo floor above which all sorts of packages could be stored. The base version of the van (i.e., Corvan) was absent of windows on the sides or in the rear. The fancier, people-oriented version was the Greenbrier. You could get one with enough seating capacity to hold up to nine people. It joined the line-up in 1961 with sales of 18,500 but trickled off to just 1,500 in 1965 before being discontinued.
This ’63 Greenbrier wears white paint with Autumn Gold stripes all along the sides, front and back. The body looks solid enough and the upholstery may be newer. Recent repairs or upgrades include new rubber around the windows, a new windshield, the clutch pressure plate, and a new gas tank. As a result, the van runs and drives but no adjectives are used to fill in the blanks.
With only 13,000 or so copies built in 1963, examples like this Corvair aren’t seen very often today. Back in the day, many of them may have been converted into hippie vans much like was done with so many VW Type 2s. Given the lack of a reserve and low bidding so far, this may end up being a good catch for someone.
A nice rig right there. I should have never sold my 64 Greenbrier. I still look for it to this day.
I’ve never seen one of these. But I love it. So retro!!!
The geometry and physics are so much better with the van longer wheel base and it’s actually fairly low for a van. I could see some minor suspension and fuel system updates making this quite a nice and useful classic ride. This should be a modern van being made today with hybrid drivetrain (plug-in hybrid technology is #1 fastest way to sustainable energy use).
Thought this looked familiar, Michelle ran this back in February.
A decent example that likely didn’t meet reserve back then.
That’s neat, a guy up the hill towards salmon arm has an orange and white one it’s in really nice shape too for being up here in b.c. 1500 u.s that’s kinda sad corvairs my brother had two one was a monza go like crazy cornered kinda freaky but they are becoming rare would think it would go for 7500 but I’d pay 2g if nobody else bids lol .
Cab over what?
Engine 😉
It’s rear engine.
Cab over the front axle. More specifically these vehicles are called forward control. Basically any vehicle where you arrive first at the scene of the crash before the vehicle. These were much better suited for our roads than the VW microbus. The ultimate Corvan is the one that has bard doors on the driver side as well as the passenger side. The whole Corvair lineup was brilliant.
You’re guaranteed to be first at the scene of the front ender.
As a former owner of one of these @alphasud is right, the Corvair literati refer to these as FC, for Forward Control. That covers the Greenbrier, the Corvan, Rampside and Loadside “variants”…see how I did that?
We had the early 60s double doors both sides late 60s – early 70s. Great for long couches, snowmobiles, plywood, etc. Survived several winters in Prince Rupert/Kitimat.
I know some will say I’m a liar ( I am, but not in this instance), but we had the engine/transaxle in and out 33 times, without a hoist! 2x4s and tire-iron pyramid all the way! We proposed a turbo install, until finding out about the fire issue when a cohort’s late-model Monza went all ‘towering inferno’. Dad solved the whole axle issue w/wider tires.Another one of us weirdos had an early 60s sedan he found at the dump, shortened it…instant dune buggy. Power glide auto went everywhere, The geometry of the frame wasn’t the greatest, so a slight tendency to swap ends. No biggie.
Sorry, I’ll stop now.
The correct term is Cab Forward.
Good question. Can-over refers to a cab over the engine but this van has the engine in the rear. That said, the term still perfectly describes the front cab layout. My dad had one of these and aside from the many oil leaks it was an incredibly fun family van that was ahead of its time in engineering. Modern seal material would transform this onto a carefree born again hippy mobile.
I wonder if these ever came stock with a turbo? I can see that might cause over heating problems.
No they didn’t, however, we did set our 1964 up for towing. We put in a 1966 Corsa 140/4/4 speed with the 3:89 Posi axle. It towed our 1961 Coupe to and from the Syracuse Nationals on a double axle trailer without issue. Ok, we didn’t break any speed contests, but it never overheated or acted like it was lagging. Did I mention I wish I never sold that 64? :)
The the gm parts book called it ____fc t
The Corvair brings back one of my high school memories. I hung around with a person who’s father own an oil business. The Greenbrier was their Service truck. One night my high school buddy, Bob with no drivers license decided to take a spin in the truck. He picks me we end up on a two lane highway with a traffic light. The light turns Green Bob floors it starts shifting through the gears and bang, blows the clutch. He shifts into second gear and we limp our way back to his house. We quietly push it back into the same spot in the yard. The next day in school Bob told me his older brother and dad were in the driveway puzzled. Bob’s brother knew what happened later on in life. Dad never knew.
Cool old van. Something different. There should be enough Corvair fans to get advice/ parts from too. Can’t beat the price either.
It’s a live auction with 4 days to go.
As mentioned, this was featured before, with unfortunately the same horrible presentation. Would sellers like this buy a car based on their own presentation?
I contacted the seller when it was listed before, asking for more photos and to confirm the custom rear wheel arches. He confirmed the custom work, but I didn’t get more photos or any further with it and thought it sold.
If you’re not sure what I mean by the rear wheel arches, google image these and compare. It must’ve been done some time ago as the paint looks original or very old. I would want to see those arches close up and the back side of them.
Great van, the torq thrusts totally work and the custom work really makes it look better in my opinion, but I’d never buy a vehicle with a “presentation” like this, sight unseen.
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This brings back memories, and elicits those that might have been.
In 1972, just after I got back in country, I lived in a beautiful Corvair.
I painted it with a fine brush from a 55-gallon drum of paint that I found in the back of a hangar in Dalton, Georgia.
The hangar belonged to the Dalton Rock Company. When Jim(?) started his airplane to taxi out, I had a very nice crinkle finish paint job. With the back seat removed, and orange shag carpeting, it was luxury living compared to the hootch that I had lived in previously.
But no one threatened me in Dalton, Georgia.
If I had known that the Greenbrier existed, I could easily have spent another $100 for something so luxurious.
I loved the engine and the ease of maintenance, as they say.