<VV> Our new Ultravan #299 made it home (long)

Dan & Synde dsjkling at sbcglobal.net
Mon Mar 21 01:42:25 EST 2005


Hi all,

As I mentioned in a previous post, we went up to Oregon this past weekend on
Friday to pick up our newest addition to our Corvair herd, Ultravan #299.
The Ultravan more than lived up to our expectations.  The previous owner
Steve Farrell had taken great care of it in the 10+ years that he owned it.
The engine ran great on our trip home over the Cascade Range on our way
toward the S.F. Bay area (320 mile one way).  The engine has only has 20,000
miles on it and has apparently been fed only synthetic oil since it's
rebuild.  No smoke or excessive blowby.  The brake system was just rebuilt
and he rans only silicone fluid in it.  That's all I run in my corvairs and
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that was what he was using too.
There appears to be a slight oil leak possibly from the tranny/engine or
both.  More like seepage.  I plan on doing a little resealing on the trouble
areas, hopefully just oil pans and valve cover areas.  The transmission
shifted smooth, positively and at the correct speed.  I noticed a sound
coming from the engine at a certain rpm, especially when at the point
between coast and drive.  All sorts of things went through my head including
piston slap or wristpin problems.  Turned out that the fanbelt was just a
little too loose, the fan shroud make a terrific sound box for amplifying
the sound of a loose belt especially when it has the belt guides installed.
Tightened it up a little and the sound went away much to my relief :).

The coach is very original which I like and in excellent original condition
for it's age IMHO.  I didn't realize all the things inside that are
constructed almost entirely of Wilson Art laminate.   I was surprised to
find things like the bathroom walls simply a thin sheet of laminate with a
frame around the edge!  The overhead cabinets in the kitchen and bedroom
area are the same, a simple frame with lightweight laminate over the top.
It works though and is strong.  It has the original pole lamp and other
lighting throughout in excellent conditon.

A few things have been changed or added but they were things that I probably
would have done eventually.  The original instrument cluster was replaced
with a Spyder unit (he gave me the stock dash in good condition) and extra
gauges added on an auxillary panel below it to monitor oil/tranmission
temperatures, oil pressure, head temperature on both sides through
under-the-sparkplug sensors.  There is also a single turbo style thermister
screwed into one of the heads that operates the stock Spyder gauge.  It has
a Pertronix electronic ignition system, the tach appears to be connected
wrong or malfunctioning because it displays about 2X the engine's actual
RPM.  Not sure why that is.  It has a dash mounted compass, outside
temperature gauge and a factory altimeter!   It has cruise control which was
very handy for the trip home.  It has a new (1 year old) high-efficiency
Dometic air conditioner unit mounted to the roof where the original vent
used to be.  It has an awning on the passenger side that I think must have
come off an Airstream trailer since it curves to fit the side when stowed
and looks very stock.  I'm not sure if such a thing was offered as an option
from Ultra Inc. when it was manufactured, maybe it is stock.  All the
appliances work and are in excellent condition for their age. The stove
looks almost new.  The refrigerator appears to be newer style Dometic since
it has a piezo igniter but looks very stock with the door closed.
Upholstery throughout appears to be the stock style, probably has been
redone but appears to be period style fabric.

If you've never driven an Ultravan, as I hadn't, it's something that puts a
smile on your face almost immediately.  Steve Farrell the owner took us for
a spin initially.  I was surprised at how much get up and go it had for a
vehicle so large.  First gear was actually fairly snappy.  What I noticed
driving it home over the Cascade Range was that I never dropped below 35 mph
even on 6 percent grades.  I barely had to push on the gas to make it go
that speed in first gear.  No pinging.  I would imagine loaded it wouldn't
be much different.  Mileage was impressive at 17 mpg.  It was quite windy
and rainy as we went over the Cascade Range and it pushed the Ultravan
around a little bit but wasn't as bad as I expected.  I'd say that it
handles as well as my 61 Greenbrier even in wind, probably due to it's low
center of gravity and rounded form.  The underside of the body is completely
enclosed except for the wheel wells and drivetrain area.

Basically, I'd have to rate Ultravan #299 as very good!!  There are some
things I'd like to work on but it is very usable and dependable just the way
it is, heck, it took us over the mountains and a total of 320 miles with no
problems at all.  I feel like a celebrity driving it.  Peoples heads seemed
like they were going to unscrew as we passed.  Everyone seems to have a
smile on their face especially the kids.  Hats off the designer David
Peterson.


Dan Kling

1961 Greenbrier Deluxe, 4spd, 3.89  On the Road Again,  yeehaw :)
1963 Spyder, restored   4spd Saginaw
1967 Ultravan #299  Newest of the herd!!

http://photos.yahoo.com/duchesskyra
A few pictures of the Greenbrier, more to come!




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