SPECIAL DISPLAY AT CORVAIR MUSEUM*** (available for viewing until July 9th, 2018)

[bbodie52]

Ypsilanti Township, MI

***SPECIAL DISPLAY AT CORVAIR MUSEUM*** (available for viewing until July 9th, 2018).

At the grand opening of our new Corvair Museum on May 19th, we had an unveiling of a mystery vehicle. It was revealed to be a 1961 Greenbrier Sport Wagon 8 Door Deluxe that was hand built and modified at the GM Design Center and GM Tech Center in November of 1960 as a GM study design. This van was a personal gift to William Randolph Hearst from Ed Cole.

It may possibly be the oldest 8 door (or the oldest running) van left. It was built with special colors, fabrics, and options that were never offered in a production line Corvair FC (forward control) making it truly a “one of one Corvair vehicle”. The most unique custom feature would be the “Golde” sliding soft sunroof like those installed in the Volkswagen transporters made in Germany. According to the current owner, this van and the Super Monza were the only two GM Corvairs to have factory installed sunroofs. This early production 1961 Greenbrier was built with many factory options along with most of the dealership available accessories including a clock, removable Greenbrier picnic table, fully tinted glass, and the rare and seldom seen Greenbrier cargo net. We have included photos of how this van appeared during one of its early photo sessions at GM along with how it looks today revealed in its “as found” condition for the Corvair world to see at the grand opening. The original color of this unique van was Almond Beige with a Fawn metallic stripe. The current owner of this Greenbrier is Mr. Patrick Skiver of Cleveland, Ohio, who states that there is much more information about this very special van (now known as the “Hearst Van”) waiting to be revealed and this story is far from over. Patrick has been gracious to allow the “Hearst Van” to remain at our Corvair Museum on special display until July 9th to allow those who missed out on attending the grand opening to come see this unique vehicle. If anyone is planning a group visit to the museum during this time (or after), you can contact Mike Hall at (217) 494-7105 or mrhvair@aol.com to make arrangements to have a tour guide present. Information on museum location, hours of operation, and entry fees are located on the Corvair Preservation Foundation Facebook page and tap on "view pinned post" at top of page.

Eva McGuire, CPF Publicist

https://www.facebook.com/eva.mcguire.98 ... nt_mention

[spyderman64]

I don't see how this story is possible. William Randolph Hearst died 10 years before this van was built.

[toms73novass]

It would be WRH Jr.

I saw Patrick's van, back several months ago with the various paperwork he had collected.

I know at the time he was contemplating trying to remove the top layer of paint on the front doors to reveal the Logo that they used on their ranch.