1961 Chevrolet Corvair

Rampside Pickup truck

6 - Cyl.

Automatic

1R124S121025

Clear

Gasoline

Hi there, thanks for taking a look at this auction listing! For sale is a 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside pickup truck. It's not a show car, but a regular driver that's so clean that people are always coming up to ask questions about it. * Owned since March 2009 by me, an auto enthusiast with 20+ cars, in Oakland, CA. I'm in the process of downsizing (but not too much).* Between 2002-2009, it was owned by a real estate agent (and a former attorney) who used the truck in the San Jose, CA area, for transporting "Open House" signs.* Prior to 2002 the car lived in Washington State. I have service and registration documents placing the car in Aberdeen, and Ocean Shores, WA During the previous owner's tenure, the car was under the care of Mel's Vairmart, a well-regarded specialist in San Jose. In addition to the regular maintenance and the smaller fix-it items, Mel upgraded the drivetrain with: * 110hp engine -- Offers plenty of torque, will easily have you pulling away from stop signs while VW Transporters fall behind* Automatic transmission, 2-speed Powerglide -- Swap done for the practicality of driving around with "For Sale" signs regularly, as a husband-and-wife team An instrument panel from an automatic car was installed at this time; for this reason I believe the odometer reading is not the car's true mileage. Most but not all of Mel's work is documented in the receipt stack. If you ask him nicely, though, he will remember the car and let you access his (paper) files in the cabinet. During this tenure the car was also refreshed cosmetically, with new upholstery and paint. I've included the pre-refresh photos. (I don't think the work was so thorough that you'd call it a restoration.) Under my care the car was looked after by Zaki at Corvair Unlimited, another amazing specialist in San Francisco. (Profiled in this SF Weekly article.) The car is in a turn-key, everyday use condition. Here's the full good / bad observation: + Drives very, vey, very well, all the way through freeway speeds. Really quite joyful and spectacular. (See video)+ Very clean car, recently refinished upholstery+ Truck bed is coated with protective surface+ Parked indoors. I've never driven the car in rain. It does not snow where I live.+ Incredible amount of adoration and positive vibes wherever you go!+ Extra tailgate and grille+ Door locks, windows, lights work+ (March 8: I need to go see if the heater works.) - It's not 100% rust-free, as some bubbles are evident beneath the paint (see pics)- Surface rust on (non-original) outside mirrors- Quarter-sized windshield chip, low down at center- Left turn signal is temperamental- Speedometer cable turns, but may need to have the connection to gauge tightened- Fuel has been reading "F" for a few weeks now. Maybe a bad sender?- The "generator" dashboard warning light is non-op- Older tires showing cracks. Slow leak in 1 tire. You'll want a new set.- Real estate sticker residue still visible on rear tailgate (see pics)- Did the doors ever come with a door check strap? It opens all the way past the right angle. Maybe a plus, maybe a minus: The seat cushion is quite thick. As a 5'7" driver I get a great visibility out front, but taller drivers may want to remove some internal foam for head clearance. Any unanswered questions, please send them to me before you bid and I'll address here. I've shared everything I know about the truck here, but do keep in mind this is an as-is sale with the outcome of the auction being a binding contract. Thanks! Looking forward to seeing this truck go to a good new home. Full photo set (click here for the album view) Video: Starting for the first time after 2 weeks of rest (click on tool icon below for HD) Video: Quick drive after taking photos. Just another nice Bay Area morning. (click on tool icon below for HD) On Mar-10-12 at 13:46:14 PST, seller added the following information: Notes added 3/10/2012: * Sadly the heater fan was inoperative. Flow-through air only, but it does feel warm. O loathsome place, California.* Found another windshield chip, smaller than a dime. Hadn't noticed since it was completely out of the way, but I'll take & upload pics if there's interest.On Mar-14-12 at 21:02:25 PDT, seller added the following information: ===Notes added 3/14/2012: Hi Everyone - Been fielding a lot of emails (thanks for the interest!) and a few requests for more photographs. eBay only lets me host 24 photos on their site, but I have 70+ pictures over on Picasa. Do be sure to take a look there, and let me know if there are any more I can take for you -- I'll keep adding them as requests come in. (Although it's raining here in the Bay Area this week... possibly continuously through the end of auction!) More photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/102060784065029072375/ForSale1961ChevroletCorvairRampsideTruck On Mar-15-12 at 16:11:20 PDT, seller added the following information: Notes added 3/15/2012: Phew, a break in the rains. By popular demand I've added 20+ photos of the underside. Enjoy! (See them at the full album link here.)