Pick of the Day: 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

It seems that every The three major manufacturers of compact cars in the early 1960s also produced a forward-controlled truck based on the same platform. Of the bunch, only Chevrolet offers two, and our pick of the day is the most interesting: the 1961 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Hopedale, MA. (Click the link to view the list)

Chevrolet and Ford both introduced forward control trucks in 1961. Aside from being based on their respective compact cars, they’re not similar. Ford’s Falcon-based Econoline is completely conventional, while the Chevrolet Corvair Greenbriar van and Corvair 95 truck are the complete opposite. The latter includes the Corvan and two pickup trucks: Loadside and Rampside. “The driver is in the front . . . the engine is in the rear. . . . and the rest is load space!” reads a brochure that touts cubic feet of load space aided by a flat floor and the elimination of the hood.

The Corvan is the Corvair, a commercial van (while the Greenbriar is a civilian van), while the Loadside and Rampside are pickup truck versions of the same vehicle. The Loadside is a typical pickup truck with a door in the rear. Compared with the ramp, the ramp has a rear door and a side door, and the side door drops down to form a ramp for easy loading and unloading. Chevrolet claims 1,900 cargo is a piece of cake, with a gross vehicle weight of up to 4,600 pounds—impressive for a 145ci flat-six.

The 1961 Corvair was powered by either an air-cooled 80-horsepower Turbo-Air 6 (available with three-speed, four-speed, or Powerglide) or a 98-horsepower Super Turbo Air 6 (same as above), but the Corvair Greenbriar and ’95s made do with the former.

Chevrolet claims advantages that can only be found in its rear-engine trucks, such as low and easy loading height and driver comfort since the engine is located in the rear (rather than between the two front seats, like the Econoline). Of course, another notable feature is the four-wheel independent suspension with transaxle. The suspension, a first for an American truck, adds “stability to the truck’s performance and smooths out road roughness.”

Each Corvair truck had a different production life: the Greenbriar was produced from 1961-65, while the Corvan was produced in 1964. As for pickup trucks, the Loadside was only produced in 1961-62, while the Rampside was produced in 1964.

This 1961 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside stands out from the rest with its 80-horsepower six-cylinder engine backed by a four-speed manual transmission. The two-tone paint looks the part and is complemented by a chrome grille and optional chrome bumpers (white is standard). Other features include “West Coast” mirrors, rhino-lined beds and magnetic wheel covers that were added after 1965. “The interior is spotless, with optional heater, AM/FM radio and flashing lights,” the seller says. Goggles? Still, “the bottom is pretty clean.”

In 1964, Chevrolet introduced a more traditional Chevrolet van based on the Chevrolet II (the family-oriented Sportvan was introduced the following year), but never offered a pickup truck. This makes this 1961 Rampside very unique. While the 10,787 units built (the peak during its existence) may sound generous, the Rampside was a one-off workhorse, so numbers were few and far between. Priced at $27,500 (not including Corvair Monza GT Kart), it’s a great talking point at car shows and landscaping jobs alike.

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