<VV> Corvair-powered Military Vehicle For Sale: 1966 Canadair XM-571 Dynatrac

[Kent Sullivan]

Here's your chance to own one of the most unique Corvair-powered vehicles
ever built: A 1966 Canadair XM-571 Dynatrac. It's a tracked, amphibious,
two-unit articulated hauler built by Canadair Limited in Montreal for the US
Army. One of only 63 Dynatracs built, it's powered by a 70hp (net) Corvair
engine with a Dana two-speed transfer case and 4-speed transmission. When
coupled, the two units are steered by hydraulic rams. Uncoupled, the front
unit steers by track brakes. The parking brake is a large disc on the
driveshaft.

The Corvair engine was heavily re-engineered by Chevrolet for this
application and was built on its own assembly line at Chevy's Tonawanda
plant. The engine sits facing forward at the front of the vehicle, with
exhaust exiting forward via unique exhaust manifolds that pass through the
damper doors. A totally different oil filter adapter casting allows a
topside oil filler and huge 24V alternator to be used, though this
Dynatrac's been converted to a 12V system. A Vickers hydraulic pump mounts
on the right side of the engine, driven by the crankshaft pulley. A broken
fan belt warning switch lets you know right now if the belt breaks or flips
off--not too cool in the middle of combat!

Some Dynatracs saw service in Viet Nam, and you might find one over there.
This is one of two known in captivity here (the other is missing the second,
trailing unit, its front sheet metal, and is ROUGH overall).

This Dynatrac is located in Bullhead City, Arizona, just south of Las Vegas.
It drove in to where it's parked about 15 years ago so you'd have to go
through all the systems to get it going, and an original khaki paint job
might be nice. It spent some time in Florida and was modified there for
Everglades use, with a large roll cage on the front unit that replaced the
windshield. The winch has been removed and someone borrowed the carbs &
linkage but never returned them.

If you'd like an ultimate Corvair project vehicle, this is it. The
drivetrain has much GM design heritage--This isn't just a Vair dropped into
a weird vehicle, as is. The links below are to two photos plus a Canadair
pic of the vehicle layout to give you a better idea of how it was designed.

http://www.corvairkid.com/articles/images/Canadair_Travis_01.jpg

http://www.corvairkid.com/articles/images/Canadair_Travis_02.jpg

http://www.corvairkid.com/articles/images/Canadair_Vehicle_Layout.jpg

The owner recently passed away and the Dynatrac's being sold by his son,
Howard Travis. He's looking for $10K to make it yours. You can contact him
at 928-234-2764.

If anyone else has pictures of, or information about other Dynatracs that
may have survived, please contact me (Dave Newell) at chevrobilia at juno.com.
I looked over this one, if you have any questions about it.

Dave Newell (via Kent Sullivan)