The Chevy Corvair Greenbrier, AKA the Corvair 95 for its 95-inch wheelbase, debuted for the 1961 model year. Similar to the Volkswagen Transporter in approach, the Greenbrier had a forward control design with the air-cooled 145 cubic-inch horizontally-opposed six cylinder located in the rear of the vehicle underneath the raised floor. The boxer-style engine produced 80 horsepower, and transmitted it to the rear wheels via a standard three-speed manual, four-speed manual, or optional two-speed Corvair Powerglide automatic gearbox.
The Chevy Corvair Greenbrier was the van variant of the platform, with two doors up front, two on the passenger side to access the rear seats, and two in the back to access the cargo area and engine. The Greenbrier could be configured to seat up to nine, and there was an optional camper configuration. The since the heater could not use engine coolant as in traditional water-cooled engines, it operated on gas from the gas tank.
The Chevy Corvair Greenbrier would eventually be phased out as Ford, Chrysler, and eventually GM would introduce compact vans powered by traditional water-cooled engines positioned between the front seats. These vans could be made with lower floors in the back, allowing for easier loading of cargo.
Our feature 1962 Chevy Corvair Greenbrier van is one of the nine passenger models. It is powered by the 145 cubic-inch air-cooled flat-six that moves power to the rear wheels through the four-speed manual transmission. The Greenbrier is finished in Coronna Cream with a brown accent stripe over a light tan vinyl interior. It has triple bench seats, roll-down rear windows, an aftermarket AM-FM radio, aluminum running boards with courtesy lights, and a roof-mounted chrome luggage rack accessible via a rear door-mounted ladder. The whole affair rolls on American Racing wheels shod in new whitewall tires, though the original hub caps are included in the sale.
This 1962 Chevy Corvair Greenbrier van will cross the Mecum Auctions block at their Las Vegas, Nevada event taking place November 9th through the 11th at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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Comments
Cool van. When I was growing up back in the 60’s our neighbor drove a 63 Corvair convertible. It was a cool car.
Like that the middle side windows roll Down. drove one in the 80s it was a blast to drive mine was 1964 had a 4speed and 110 hp it could do 70 all day the 64 had the floor shifter , my dad had the 61 rampside had the shifter that came up under the seat but was harder for 3 people on the front seat
I had a ’62 and a ’61, the first a a PG and the second a 4 speed. All six side windows rolled down. Definitely superior in every way to the similar vintage VW Transporter of the time except for the stale air heating system in the Greenbriers.
Love these. We used a 64 and a 65 for a traveling rock band back in the 60s. Both were three speed sticks. The 65 had a gas heater. The 64 had a hot air heater. One was for equipment and one for passengers. Those were the days.
Very cool van. Had a VW series 3 camper which was slow but time matters less in these old vehicles. Just relaxing to travel in
Give me a VW any day over this under engineered price of crap
Piece
Why are you being so ignorant and attacking someone for their opinion Robert Lee? The vehicle was and still is very impressive. You sound like Ralph Nader.
Get it straight! The VW is the underengineered Hitler piece of crap.
Having owned both brand vans of the same vintage, each had their good and bad points. The Greenbrier could easily cruise all day on interstate highways @ 70mph while the same era Transporter was pedal to the metal @ 62mph. The Transporter interior quality was a cut above the Greenbrier’s and considerably more durable, important for hauling kids and camping supplies.
As far as engineering, both were air cooled boxers and both had swing axles; not much difference there.
Consider that the new 1964 Porsche flat six adopted several of the Corvair’s design features including moving the oil cooler from the top of the #3 cylinder to the rear of the engine, greatly reducing the propensity for the #3 cylinder to drop exhaust valves.
Neither vehicle was perfect. Consumer products are never perfect. My guess is that both vans sold in similar quantities in the US.
Good try ACZ. Just based on world wide production numbers and how many are still on the road …… drum roll please…. And what a 61-67 VW split window is worth compared to you guessed it…The Piece of GM Crap, not even close
Cheers
Robert Lee
What you have said means nothing. Just because some idiot pays a lot of money for something does not mean it has value. It only means that someone likes to piss away money. A VW is still a piece of German crap.
I’m waiting for my 1965 Corvair Corsa turbo convertible to be finished being restored