Wagons: either you love them, or you don’t. I am firmly in the former category, as I’ve always found “enthusiast” wagons to be immensely cool. There’s something about a vehicle that allows you to have your cake and eat it, too, which always gets my stamp of approval. When it comes to the Sportwagon conversion of the C3 generation Corvette, John Greenwood did an impressive job of taking a one-trick pony and making it far more utilitarian. Check out this Greenwood wagon conversion listed here on craigslist for $25,000.
When it comes to modifying vehicles, wagon conversions have been attempted multiple times throughout automotive history. Traditional Coach Works created the Cadillac Fleetwood Estate Wagon for wealthy customers; DP Motorsport built the DP44 Cargo out of a Porsche 944; and of course, the most famous of them all is the competition-grade Ferraro 250 GTO Breadvan, a true one-off that actually spent more time on the track than on the road. The Greenwood conversion was far more common than all of those, but even so, a scarce number of actual Greenwood-converted cars are said to be in existence.
That’s why it’s important to understand if this is simply a Greenwood-style kit – like one made by Eckler’s – or a car built in-house by the Greenwood team themselves. Based on the asking price, it seems likely it’s the latter, but you never know. What’s extra appealing about this car is that it has been with the same owner the last 50 years, so he or she clearly had a deep-seated appreciation for the unusual design. The interior features a very period-correct black velour interior, and the paint is likely custom as well.
In 1973, the L48 V8 engine produced 190 b.h.p. and 270 lb-ft of torque. Certainly not a bad number, and even more acceptable in a car that could carry luggage and groceries. The wagon-ized body may not matter to purists, but in terms of modifications and era-correct aftermarket conversions, this Greenwood-style SportWagon is worth every penny, in my opinion. Factor in the long-term ownership and it gets even better. What about you – would you consider a Corvette wagon to be a must-have or is it just too unusual for your tastes? Thanks to Barn Finds reader T.J. for the find.
You gain space and practicallity,but lose the backlite window, light and airiness appeal.,Still overall it’s a nice variant and if done neatly and solidly,it is as acceptable as for purists like me!…it’s a neat concept,I’ve not ever seen one to see the quality of it’s interior,but would have bought one if it would have been available to me when I acquired my true dream car of the 1978 pace car edition,after seeing that in a calendar i found in, at the bottom of an auction
“blind box” I won the bid on.
Yes. Install a back up camera. Mine was the Volvo 1800ES. Yowzaa!
Yes. Install a back up camera. Mine was the Volvo 1800ES. Yowzaa!
Stop, you had me at velour interior
No thanks … i prefer the corvette summer movie nightmare bettter 😗🫠
GLWS!
This would make a great shop truck for me. I’ll make the rear hatch functional and paint my logo on the sides of the wagon. And Oh, I’ll have to open up a shop too but I’ll get to that later. Above is a picture of a sport wagon I took at the 1975 Street Machine Nationals in DeMoines Iowa. This one looks pretty good except for the velour but pricey unless it’s a real Greenwood car.
Here’s a really wild one, it had a red velour interior
You want HOW much for a rear window!? There’s gotta be a cheaper alternative…
Love the wheels and sidepipes.
Oh, this is creepy,,it may not mean much to anyone but me, but that “2002” was my truck number I used for years. I happen to know an old friend who lives in rural Edgerton, south of Madison a piece. A 4 digit number was one of the early ones. Corvette “wagons” are nothing new, in fact, I seem to remember a plastic model by MPC(?) that had a Corvette wagon version, called the “Vette Van”. Personally, I think it’s the car GM should have offered. Almost for XKE types. I guess we’ll never know.
I believe it was MPC, but Monogram released a hatchback model, designed by their in-house customizer Thom Daniels.
The breadvan.
The Ferrari 250 GTO was nearly written off about two years ago but I believe it is now back on the road and racing again! I wouldn’t be surprised if I actually see it racing at the upcoming Goodwood Revival in September!!
Well uh…I like the color. That’s about it. I wonder if we can fit a small camper on it?
https://www.facebook.com/share/193ktpypcu/
This one on FB marketplace makes the one in the article look like a deal!
This car is horrible in every way.
Finally room for a rooftop tent.
They were a product of their time, mid-1970’s, they are even more of an oddity today. For $25,000 you should be able to buy a really nice 1973 Corvette, that makes this a difficult sell.
It will draw a crowd at a coffee and cars, but how much is that worth?
Steve R
Considering you can’t get more than a days groceries in a Vette, I like the design. Just not fond of the price, but, it could be worth it.
So what the hell is in the back? Is there any cargo space back there?
hookers and blow?
Nothing like a teal green “shooting brake”. If it’s a true Greenwood it’s probably a fair price if everything checks out.
Digging those Keystones!
It certainly is “rare”, and thankfully so.
While the 1975 peak malaise Corvette was the weakest produced at 165 bhp, the ’73 L48 automatic was no slouch at only 190 bhp. For comparison, a current base model Budget rental Mazda3 is 191 hp and weighs at least 100 pounds less than a ’73 L48 (before the shooting brake conversion). Base Toyota Corolla? 170 hp, 300 pounds less than the ’73 L48. The base model non-hybrid non-turbo Honda Civic might even be able to give the ’73 L48 a run for its money- sure it’s ‘only’ 150 hp but it’s also at least 500 POUNDS lighter than the L48 and that’s with a CVT. 0-60 times for the Civic are 8.5 seconds. So are some of the times published for the ’73 L48. But hey- nobody wants to do key bumps in your Civic, so there’s that.
All it’s lacking is a Greenwood widebody kit. Well, that and another 300 or so horsepower.
I owned one 30 years ago. I put a L-88 hood and a 80s style nose with a extended spoiler on it. It had L-88 wheel flairs for the 14 wide wheels on the rear. It had a 350 from a Camaro with double hump heads in it. I put a aluminum intake with a 750 Holley on it. It had a fuel injection cam and that engine would scream. I put chrome sidepipes on it also. Painted it gold with colored stripes on the hood. It was a 4 speed car with a 3.31 rear from a 427 car. Sold when I moved 21 years ago.
So, is it a Greenwood wagon, or a Chuck Miller wagon? A search for “Greenwood Corvette Wagon” returns both names. Chuck Miller gets credit for the early design like this one, while Greenwood gets credit for the updated design with a rear hatch and wrap-over side windows. Anybody out there know for certain when Greenwood got involved?
Shooting Brake Vette…
Wait, the back glass doesn’t open? What’s up with that? I’d make the back glass open, to make it a little easier to use and swap out the black velour seat covers for something a little more to my taste, but I like it! There, I’ve said it! The T-Tops are a nice touch! I think of this more as a hatchback than a wagon, but, hey, whatever! Maybe make the usual go-faster mods to the engine (intake, exhaust, heads), but nothing that couldn’t be unbolted if a future owner wanted to go back to stock, then drive it! The hardware from a Pinto with an all-glass hatch might work for making the back glass open. GLWTS!
I think the back glass opens. You can see a key lock top center above the glass with a metal tang showing through the glass, it works like your keyed mail box.
It also looks like the glass is down by about one inch already.
I think there is no back glass, the question is it broken of removed.
Steve R
I think it is removable, kind of like a t-top glass. Because of the angle, it can’t slide down like a station wagon and the rubber seal looks to be to the inside of where the glass would sit.
The weathered rubber seal at the bottom would give a slot for the bottom of the glass to sit in and then the latch at the top would keep it in place.
Some people get an idea in their head and they’re like a dog with a bone, there’s no stopping them. Did they make any concept drawings before they started hacking? Did his friends try to talk him out of it? This thing is hideous. Run it through a shredder and put it out of its misery. People did some real weird things to cars back in the 70’s.
The wheels, the sidepipes, the velour, this thing just screams 1970’s!
Ewwwww…
I guess I’m one of those who does not like station wagon conversions; especially this one. Why a Corvette!?
Maybe because there are so many of them it was one way to save a Mustang from the same fate?
I think GM actually did a show car like this back in the fifties. It looked like the love child offspring from a one-night stand between a Corvette and a Nomad, LOL!
“I am Nomad, I am perfect!” – Star Trek, TOS, “The Changeling” Season 2, Episode 3.
I don’t know about you guys….I can actually feel the fleas crawling on my arm that live in the bathroom mat covered console. Yummy!!