The Other Twentieth UltraVan

Lake Cahuilla CA, April 1976

Today's UltraVan is an anomaly that doesn't fit the sequence. It is either an extra coach, unmentioned in any of Dave Peterson's notes, or one of several Oakland-built UltraVans whose identification shifted over the years.

Victor "Jack" and Ethel Darwin of Carlsbad CA were members of the UVMCC from 1972 to 1986, registered as owners of a coach that they identified as UltraVan #209. Ethel rejoined the Club from 1989 to 1993, registering as former owner of #209. During the interim, Jack had passed away (1988) and the coach had been sold. Ethel herself passed away in 1993. Dean Coshow of Valley Center CA is listed in the Registry as the last known owner of the coach, but he never joined the Club and appears to have also passed away in 1993.

Hemet CA, January 1974

Pictures of Darwin's #209 survive in the Ryerson slide collection, showing the coach at the January 1974 rally in Hemet CA and the April 1976 rally at Lake Cahuilla CA. Rally reports also state that the Darwins attended the first ever UVMCC national rally at Henderson AR in October 1973.

The pictures reveal a 2nd generation coach incorporating Econoline headlights with separate turn signals, galley configured with the stove on the left, and taillights in the raised position. By 1974 it featured a unique two tone paint job (cream over chocolate) and bumpers fabricated from welded irrigation pipe. By 1976 a Coleman rooftop air conditioner and an awning rail had been installed. Walt Davison visited the Darwins during his wanderings, and later stated that their coach had the "leading arm" rear suspension (Walt passed away in 2016).

Lake Cahuilla CA, April 1976

The 2nd generation bodystyle and leading arm suspension indicate that Darwin's UltraVan #209 must have been built in Oakland in 1965, but it is definitely not the same coach as Myron Hurd's UltraVan #20 (serial #209); and it also could not be a mis-identified #201, #202, #203, #205, #206, #208, or #211. Records of both #204 and #207 cease at roughly the same time frame as Darwin's #209 appears, and records of #210 are even more sparse - but until one of these coaches reappears it remains impossible to state conclusively how the puzzle fits together.

Lake Cahuilla CA, April 1976

The Twentieth UltraVan

Fetter paint scheme

Although the official registration papers show serial #209, the twentieth UltraVan has always been identified publicly as #20. The coach has been heavily modified over the years, but still retains the hallmarks of an early 2nd generation coach (with the stove on the right and raised taillights).

#20 was built in 1965 for Myron & Lorena Hurd of Bell Gardens CA, who were Club members from 1968-1978. Sonny (V.H.) and Becky Harben of Princeton Fl were the second owners, registering #20 with the Club from 1979 to 1982. They enjoyed several trips in the 15 yr old coach, but parking it in an avocado grove did no favors to the original double-stripe paint scheme, so when they finally sold it on it was in rough shape.

The third owners of #20 were Pat (John) and Margie Fitzgerald of Englewood FL, who joined the Club in January 1983. With help from his brother Chance, Pat restored and modified the coach extensively.

Fitzgerald paint scheme

They replaced the rear window and trunk with a full-length windowless hatch, rebuilt the entry door with an extra large window (and late-model piano-style hinge), constructed a custom screen door, installed a pair of fresh air vents up front, added rain deflectors over the front and rear windows, replaced the driver's side mirror with a 1973-79 Ford pickup mirror, and gave the coach a racy new two-tone paint scheme - cream overall with a chocolate brown window band and tricolor (red-orange-yellow) beltline stripes.

In 1986 Pat and Margie acquired UltraVan #448, and sold #20 to Roy & Geraldine Neal of Ballston Spa NY. The Neals maintained their Club membership from 1986 until 2006, but they sold the coach in 2004 to Chuck Fetter of Galway NY. With a twenty year old paint job on a forty year old coach, and significant body damage in the right rear corner to repair, Chuck set his sights on a complete rebuild.

Chuck completely gutted the coach, stripped the old paint, repaired the crushed rear corner, had the the engine and transmission rebuilt, constructed a new fuel tank, replaced the water & waste tanks with large plastic tanks (adding aluminum bracing to support the floors), and added an outdoor shower.

Modified left rear suspension

He relocated the windshield wipers, converted to disk brakes in front, added a trailer hitch in the rear, and modified the leading-arm rear suspension by reversing it and adding side braces (while retaining the lower strut rods and fixed-length driveshafts).

A completely scratch-built interior for #20 was created, with all new wiring, insulation, plumbing, cabinets, flooring, and upholstery. Chuck retained the original loose bench seats but omitted the refrigerator and furnace - choosing instead to use a picnic cooler and a space heater.

Upholstery in shades of brown nicely complements the new cherry paneling, and miniblinds and vinyl flooring are used instead of curtains and carpeting. The floorplan is conventional, but the full-width aluminum dashboard is completely unique, featuring a custom instrument panel with all new gauges and a "Marvin the Martian" ray gun shifter.

Chuck painted the coach a striking metallic silver overall and installed new windshields, new driving mirrors on both sides, and a roof air conditioner. He added identification lights (the triple light clusters above the windshield and above the hatch), a porch light, and underbody lights; and modified the "wedding cake" taillights to use 1959 Buick "stinger" lenses.

To complete the new look, he added reproduction "ULTRAVAN - OAKLAND, CALIF" emblems, whitewall tires, baby-moon hubcaps, and personalized "FRM MARS" license plates.

Chuck joined the Club for 2005-2006, completed the restoration in late 2011, and proceeded to enjoy many regional car shows and tailgate parties with the coach. But all good things come to an end and in early 2019 he sold the coach to Corvair guru Jeff Stonesifer of Gettysburg PA (proprietor of the famous Corvair Ranch).

Jeff had a mission in mind for his new acquisition, so he performed a complete mechanical inspection, repaired the traces of nearly ten years of wear, fabricated a custom towbar, and installed 1980 Z-28 Camaro wheels.

By August 8th the coach was ready for the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MPVA) Convention, afterward joining the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) Centennial Tour commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the First Transcontinental Motor Convoy.

Jeff and his daughter Abigail followed the Centennial Tour west from York PA to Carson City NV, turning back just in time to return to Kearney NV for the 2019 UltraWeek rally. They had some overheating concerns with the 140 hp Corvair engine in NV, and judged it wiser to complete the trip east under tow behind a rented U-Haul box van.

Photos from the 2018 UltraWeek rally in Kearney NE can be seen here:
https://ultravan.org/2019-national-rally-gallery

Dedicated albums of Jeff and Abigail's transcontinental journey can be seen here:

https://www.instagram.com/ultralincolnhighway
And here:
https://www.facebook.com/ultralincolnhighway

Many photos of the LHA 2019 Military Convoy Centennial Tour can be seen here:

https://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/tour/2019/overview

The Nineteenth UltraVan

The nineteenth UltraVan was the longest UltraVan ever, at 27 feet. It was specially built in 1965, purportedly for a man that had a wife and a girlfriend that all wanted to travel together. Their plan doesn't seem to have worked out very well though, because the coach was offered for resale the following summer, with an asking price of $9,950.

Other than the stretch, #208 appears to have all the hallmarks of a typical 2nd generation coach - vertical front corner panels, narrow front windows, squared off rear windows, ethafoam bumpers, wedding cake taillights (in the raised position), and double stripe paint scheme. The entry door is equipped with a small square window, which became standard equipment from here until sometime in 1967. It also had 13 inch wheels and turbine wheelcovers - just like all other 1961-65 coaches (although swing-arm suspensions used 4 bolt wheels and leading arm suspensions used 5 bolt wheels).

The extra five feet of length appears to be added entirely between the wheels, with the entry door, galley window, and picture window moved about a foot to the rear of the usual location. The exterior venting and access panels show that the stove is on the right, the on-demand water heater is in the usual location immediately ahead of the bedroom window, and the furnace is in an intermediate position. No photos survive to help us visualize the undoubtedly unique interior layout.

The original owner was Eleanor Younger of Oakland CA, followed by Vernon & Ilabelle Sandel of Glendale CA. The Sandels were a family of five that wanted a coach to use for traveling in Mexico. They were founding members of the UVMCC in 1967, identifying their coach as #108 until 1970, and as #208 thereafter. They dropped out of the Club in 1973 when Vernon passed away. No later owners are known to the Club.

In 1967-68, Sandel's van had a motorscooter on a rack below the windshield, a TV antenna dome on the roof, and a spare tire mounted on the roof above the rear window. By 1971 an extra pair of turn signals had been added to the front, and the motor scooter rack removed, but the spare tire was still on the rear roof. Later the spare was moved to the front of the coach.

Surviving photos show the stretch coach outside the factory in Oakland CA (1965), at the Knotts Berry Farm rally in Buena Park CA (1967), at the Santa Cruz county fairgrounds rally in Watsonville CA (1968), at a service visit to the factory in Hutchinson KS (1968), at the Lion Country Safari rally in Irvine CA (1971), and at an RV park near the Salton Sea in CA (2007).

The Eighteenth UltraVan

September 1968, Lake Elsinore CA

Another lost coach, almost everything that we know about #207 is what is found in the customer records:
#18 was built for Lee C. McDonald of Vallejo CA.
#18 was registered with the Club by George & Effie Seay of Arleta CA from 1968-1971.*
#207 was registered with the Club by William J. & Ida L. Miller of Stockton CA in 1969.
#207 was owned by C. J. Olsen of Escondido CA sometime prior to 6/19/73.

September 1968, Lake Elsinore CA

*Notice the ownership overlap between Seay and Miller. One possible explanation is that the Seays sold the coach after 1968 but maintained their membership in the Club until 1971.

Because of an article in the March 1969 Trailer Life, we also know that George & Effie Seay attended the Lake Elsinore Military Academy rally in September 1968. Slides from this rally were previously shown here.

The Seventeenth UltraVan

In August 1965, Dave Peterson reached an agreement to license UltraVan production to Jack Tillotson of Kansas City. Tillotson was a magazine publishing magnate, so one of the first things he started planning was the printed promotional material. And the first thing he needed for that was a model for his color brochure.

The seventeenth UltraVan had recently rolled out of Peterson's Oakland shop, featuring all the latest upgrades - including the distinctive new double stripe trim scheme and the relocated taillights (in a higher position than on previous coaches). The proud new owners were amenable to lending their acquisition to the proceedings, and the resulting images would be used in magazine articles, advertisements, and four different versions of the color brochure (1965-36 pgs, 1966-36 pgs, 1968-24 pgs, and 1970-24 pgs).

Ironically, these iconic photos depict a coach with several prominent features that were never found on any coach produced by Tillotson's operation: Ford Econoline headlight bezels, 13" wheels with turbine wheelcovers, a windowless entry door, and no coffee bar below the windshield. The leading-arm rear suspension was of course less prominent, but no less incongruous.

There are also a few features worth pointing out in the interior: In the bedroom, the cabinet above the rear hatch was omitted - giving the area a uniquely sleek and roomy appearance.

In the galley, the upper cabinet has sliding, not hinged doors (common in early factory coaches); and the smaller refrigerator and deeper drawer above it become more obvious with the stove on the right.

In the cockpit, notice the three binnacle instruments mounted above the windshield, the pictures mounted to the upper cabinet doors, and how the windshield drapery rod extends well beyond the upper canopy.

This coach was built for Irving C. (Pete) & Edna Dodge of Temple City CA. Pete & Edna were founding members  in 1967 of the UltraVan Motor Coach Clubs, Inc., registering their coach as #65. They were active in the club until 1972. Eventually #65 passed into the hands of Scott & Eva Johnson of Boulevard CA, who joined the Club from 1976-1977.

 
Noel & Elaine Koller of Bonita CA attended their first Club Rally in January 1979, at Frontier Town in El Cajon CA. They registered with the Club as owners of UltraVan #206 in 1979, offered it for sale in several 1984 newsletters, switched to #210 in 1985-1987, and remained associate members of the Club from 1988-1996.

Because of the registration number switch, when Jim & Marlene Craig of San Diego CA (already owners of #232) bought the coach with no engine in November 1984, they were unaware that they were buying Pete Dodge's old #65 - until they recognized the pictures on the upper cockpit cabinet doors and the binnacle instruments. In December 1986 they sold #232 to focus on restoring #206. Jim installed a new engine and test drove the coach, but in February 1987 they acquired #202, and in May 1988 they moved to Joshua Tree CA - leaving #206 behind in the care of Jack Martin of Chula Vista.

Jack doesn't seem to have ever finished the restoration, because as late as 1992 it was still inoperative, parked beside his house. Royce Hildreth of the San Diego Corvair Club remembers seeing it there in 2001-2002. Jack moved to Texas around 2003-2004, again leaving #206 behind. We don't know the names of the last owners, but Jim Craig reports that he heard it was stolen from them and never recovered.

The Sixteenth UltraVan

January 1979, Frontier Town, El Cajon CA

Chevrolet made rapid and extensive upgrades to the Corvair platform between 1960 and 1965, and Dave Peterson eagerly incorporated these developments into his UltraVans.

For example, starting with the original engines of 1960 (140 cubic inch displacement), Chevrolet increased cylinder/piston diameter in 1961 (to 144.7 c.i.d.), and piston/crankshaft stroke in 1964 (to 163.7 c.i.d.). The initial 80 hp engines evolved into a dozen different configurations, and in particular the 102 hp (1962), 110 hp (1964), and 140 hp (1965) engines found their way into UltraVans as soon as they became available.

Improvements to the Corvair rear suspension were likewise quickly adopted into the vans. The initial "swing arm" configuration had been a simple, robust, and relatively inexpensive arrangement, commonly used in many small rear engine vehicles (Corvair, Volkswagen, Renault) - but it had drawbacks. And although the addition of a transverse leaf spring "camber compensator" in 1964 effectively nullified Ralph Nader's criticisms, Chevrolet wasn't resting on its laurels.

For 1965, Chevrolet introduced a sophisticated new rear suspension featuring trailing link control arms stabilized by lower strut rods and by the driveshafts themselves. Peterson found that the new arrangement allowed him to move the drive wheels outboard for the coaches by simply relocating the control arms and lengthening the driveshafts and strut rods - thereby eliminating the need for the ornamental dually wheels.

According to Christy Barden's 1992 newsletter article "The First 24 UltraVans", Peterson told him that coach #11/109 (we don't know what this refers to, possibly one of the Travalons being used as a testbed) received a "leading arm (links) suspension later upgraded to trailing arm," and that #204 received a "modified late model suspension." But since neither of these coaches has been identified in the last 40 years it is hard to say how closely they resemble the arrangement installed on #205, #206, #209, #20, and #211. For these coaches, Peterson decided to install Chevrolet's new suspension backwards - creating a "leading arm" suspension. Nobody knows why.

UltraVan #205 is a fairly typical example of the early 2nd generation UltraVan. The turn signals are installed between the Econoline headlights and the surface mounted bumpers, the rear windows are squared off, there is no tow hitch. The wedding cake taillights are still mounted in the lower position, but the galley has now been rearranged with the stove on the right. An engine cooling air vent has been installed on the right side, and a large rectangular hatch installed underneath the windshield (possibly a generator compartment to support the roof air conditioner), but we don't know if these are original equipment or owner modifications.

Up front, the UltraVan emblem is long gone, replaced by a club-sponsored "UltraCoach" emblem - the legacy of a time when a club dominated by older and mostly retired couples wanted desperately to disassociate themselves from the "let it all hang out" custom vanning craze of the 1970s.

UltraVan #205 was initially delivered in 1965 to J. A. Wales Jr. of Wolfeboro NH, who paid over $9,200 for the coach. He didn't have it long though, advertising it for sale at $6,995 in the May 1966 Family Motor Coaching magazine. By May of 1967 the coach had 14,000 miles on it and the second owner Larry Selig of Albany NY was advertising it for sale in the same magazine (he wanted something bigger). Richard E. Warman of Danvers MA is the next owner listed in the customer records, followed by Mort Bryant of Atlanta GA. Mort sold the coach to Grant and Meta Brown in December 1972, who registered the coach with the UVMCC in 1973.

The next owners were Elbert & Margaret Carpenter of Camp Pendleton CA, who registered with the club in 1976; followed by Milo & Viola Webber of San Fernando CA in 1977. Sid & Bunny Chilcott of Carlsbad CA joined the Club in April 1980, then Ernest & Rose Perlich of Tarzana CA in August 1981, then Paul & Rose Schoenfeld of Marathon FL in July 1983. Finally, a CHP officer named Gary Ligget (or Legget) sold the coach to Gary S. Stern of Topanga CA, who joined the Club in February 1987. Gary has owned the coach ever since - making him by far the longest owner of record for the coach.

Gary is a musician and music producer who (among his other credits) once ran The Silvery Moon Studios in West Hollywood. Gary's UltraVan currently serves as his home base and practice studio.

The coach shows up in the background at :21 and 2:46 in this Honda Z600 recovery video from 2013: https://youtu.be/X0De7ruhTXM

The Fifteenth UltraVan

September 1968, Lake Elsinore CA

Records of the 1965 Oakland UltraVans (serial #203-210) are even more jumbled than the Travalon records:
-Dave Peterson's customer records show three owners of #15 and one of #204 (which should be the same coach).
-When Jim Craig bought #206 he found out it was the same coach that Pete Dodge had listed as #65 (similar to when Jim bought William Lane's #13 and found out it was actually serial #202).
-Customer records show one owner of #18 and two of #207 (and both numbers were listed with different owners in the 1969 roster).
-Vernon Sandel listed his 27 foot long coach as #108 for 4 years and then 208, 108, 208 for the next three (it does not have a 1st generation front end so it can't be #108).
-Hurd's #20 (serial #209) is not the same vehicle as Darwin's #209 (though both had leading-arm rear suspension).

September 1968, Lake Elsinore CA

In addition, almost all of these coaches have disappeared with hardly a trace.
#15/204 hasn't been identified since 1973.
#17/65/206 was stolen sometime between 2001 and 2011, and never recovered.
#18/207 hasn't been identified since 1973.
#19/208 (the 27 footer) was last seen in 2007 near the Salton Sea.
#209 hasn't been identified since around 2000 (but #20 was at the 2019 Ultra Week in Kearney).
#210 was last seen in a Santa Ana CA used car lot in the mid-1980s.

As a result, the only confirmed information we have for #15/204 is the names of five owners:
#15 was delivered to Judge Charles Bruce of Atlanta GA.
#15 was owned by C. M. "Mel" Winter of Winter Welding and Machine Corp in York PA.
#15 was owned in 1969 by John H. Jr. & Carmen F. Morris of Palm Springs CA (who joined the UVMCC for one year).
#15 was bought from Morris by Leon G. Paquett of Seattle WA.
#204 was owned by Frank Cheney of Waldorf MD sometime prior to 6/19/73.

September 1968, Lake Elsinore CA

When Mel Winter met Norm Helmkay at the famous Hershey swapmeet, Mel said he had owned the only 26 foot long UltraVan, but we don't know if he meant #15/204 was stretched, or if he also owned #19/208 (the 27 footer) at some point, or if there is some other explanation. For whatever it is worth, Dave Peterson never mentioned building any other stretched Ultravan besides #208, so it seems unlikely that #204 was 26 feet long.

In Christy Barden's 1992 "First 24 UltraVans" article, he states that #204 was a 22 foot coach with a modified late model Corvair suspension. The source of that information is not recorded.

Another possibility to consider is whether Victor "Jack" & Ethel Darwin of Carlsbad CA could have misidentified their coach #209 when they joined the Club in 1972. It isn't hard to imagine the DMV transposing the serial number 204 into 209...

(Photos from the September 1968 rally on the parade grounds of Lake Elsinore Military Academy, Lake Elsinore CA)

The Fourteenth UltraVan

UltraVan #203 is the last of the first generation of UltraVans - with the extended A-pillar member that defines the front corner of the coach, the chrome Chevy pickup bumpers, the swing-arm rear suspension, and the ornamental dually wheels. It is also the last coach with the stove installed on the left side of the galley.

At 22 or 23 feet long, #203 first appears to be a dead ringer for #6, until you start to notice the details: the squared-off rear window corners, the wedding-cake taillights, the lack of tow hitches and cooling air intakes, and the distinctive front wheel arches.

Also, the front overhang is a little bit shorter on #203. The front edge of the wheel well lines up with the top corner of the windshield on #6, but with the lower corner of the windshield on #203 - which is consistent with the later 22 foot UltraVans. Although the front window still appears to be a bit wider than the later ones, it is visibly narrower than #6's front window.

This is the first UltraVan where the Ford Econoline headlight bezels were not modified to incorporate the turn signals - instead the turn signals are mounted in the body just below the headlights. This is also the only coach (other than the prototype) where the fiberglass front roof corners are separated by an aluminum section with support ribs underneath.

Even though #203 was built in Oakland, it has anachronistic "UltraVan - Hutchinson, Kans" emblems installed front and back. It is currently registered as a 1965 model.

Dave Peterson's notes tell us that the fourteenth UltraVan was initially delivered to Robert V. McAninch of Jupiter Auto Sales (Jupiter FL). Huston & Maida Hurt of Redding CA registered coach #203 with the UVMCC from 1968 to 1973, and Richard & Retta Kossow of Ojai CA registered it with the Club from 1985-2002. Retta served as juror on the trial of the four policemen accused of using excessive force against Rodney King in 1992. Richard passed away in 2001.

Michael LaRoche of Ventura CA bought the coach in 2005, and found that it had not had a valid registration "since the early eighties". In 2008, he sold the coach for $200 to the current owner Aaron Landy of Los Angeles CA. Aaron joined the Club from 2009-2012. 

Aaron had to replace the blown/warped 140 hp engine with a rebuilt 110 hp engine to get the coach back on the road. Over the years he has also made structural repairs, replaced the windshields, fixed several issues with the steering, and thoroughly insulated the coach with polyisocyanurate board (secured with expanding foam gap filler and reflectix tape).

The coach lives on the street in west Los Angeles, and random strangers wandering past frequently post pictures of it on Instagram. 

The Thirteenth UltraVan

The thirteenth UltraVan was built in late 1964 for William & Grace Lane of Pico Rivera CA. Assigned serial #202, this coach is both transitional and utterly unique.

Previous coaches had a diagonal side frame that followed the windshield shape and established the rear edge of the front corner panel. With #202 Peterson shortened the forward body, truncated the diagonal frame, and developed a new fiberglass corner panel that wrapped back to the vertical frame at the front of the wheel well. This resulted in the first 22 foot long coach, with its distinctive narrow slider window shape.

#202 was also the first to use ethafoam bumpers cemented directly to the body, with the now-standard Bargman "wedding cake" taillights installed above the rear bumper and small backup lights installed below. Like #201, the taillights were mounted lower than what would eventually become standard with coaches after #206. This was the last coach with the front turn signals mounted inside the Ford Econoline headlight bezels.

Removable holding tanks were installed beneath the floor, made of riveted aluminum and lined with sealant to prevent leaks. The 1964 "camber compensator" rear suspension was used, with the new 110 hp engine and 13" ornamental dually wheels. Weighing in at 2,875 lbs (with 5 gallons of gas), #202 was also an exceptionally light weight coach and acceleration with the stroked-out engine was brisk.

A unique new configuration was developed at the Lanes' request, with the galley installed directly behind the passenger seat and the entry door moved rearward. A slightly taller refrigerator was used, with the usual drawer above it reduced to a sliding counter extension.

The galley was arranged with the stove on the left (next to the passenger seat) and the refrigerator on the right (next to the entry door). Note that the stove had also been installed to the left in #101, #200, #103, #63104, and #201, but was on the right in #104, #163102 and #264105.

The usual molded fiberglass canopy above the front seats was omitted, but upper cabinets were built into both sides of the cockpit. The front wheel well on the driver side received an extension to support the bench seat, but the passenger side did not. A wall furnace was installed on the front bathroom wall next to the entry door.

William and Grace became charter members of the UVMCC in 1967, having moved to Baldwin Park. They registered their coach with the Club as #13, moved to Pacoima in 1970, and let their membership expire after 1971. The sealant lining the inside of the fuel tank started crumbling and clogging the carburetors, and William wasn't able to resolve the issue.

He parked the coach with about 37,500 miles on the odometer, then in February 1987 Jim Craig bypassed the fuel tank with a 5 gallon gas can and drove it home to San Diego with no further problems. Jim and Marlene put another 12,500 miles on the coach in under 2 years, and after moving to Joshua Tree in 1988 they offered the coach for sale at $6,995, later reduced to $5,495.

Donald Gilbert of Midland TX bought the coach in December 1988, offering it for sale again at $5,250 in 1990, although by mid-1991 the asking price had been reduced to $3,500. Richard K. Morrison of La Luz NM owned the coach next, and although he let his Club membership expire in 1996, the coach remained in his family until Ken Morrison of Fort Collins CO sold it in 2011.

By this time the driver side seat pedestal extension appears to have been removed, the unique dual bullet-style front turn signals replaced, and a steel tube front bumper and towbar arrangement installed. The coach was damaged during the delivery to the San Antonio TX buyer, and its current condition, location, and owner is unknown.

The Twelfth UltraVan

On that day, 3 weeks after my birth, when Ray Page laid off the Motor Coach Division employees, told them to pick up their final paychecks at Prescolite headquarters in San Leandro, and locked up the old wooden warehouse at 366 8th Avenue for the last time, there was one partially constructed coach left derelict on the shop floor.

But Dave Peterson retained the rights to his design, and his tooling, and his lease; and this remnant of the first failed attempt at production would soon become a springboard for Dave's new vision. He wasted little time rebooting his dream, placing a new advertisement in the June 1964 issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine, and restarting production.

The twelfth UltraVan was the last 24 foot long coach built in Oakland. In most ways it was a throwback to the coaches that preceded Prescolite's innovations, with built-up front body corners, split Chevy Pickup bumpers, Ford Econoline headlights, 13 inch ornamental dually wheels, and a 1963 Corvair drivetrain with 102 horsepower engine.

The front slider window profile was returned to the original position below the beltline, but the sheet metal camouflaging the the upper corners of the bedroom windows was gone for good. The kitchen window was lowered back down to the beltline as well, although this would change once again a few years later.

Two major innovations were introduced that would set the standard for the next seven years. A new taillight configuration was developed with large round fixtures faired vertically into the rear corners, using Trail-Lite/Bargman no. 98 "wedding cake" lenses. And a new serial numbering scheme was introduced, starting with #201.

UltraVan #201 passed through its first three owners rather quickly. It was originally sold in 1964 to Courtney Q. Nelson of Chattanooga TN. He sold to Lloyd L. Hamilton of Miami Springs FL, who bought #456 new in February 1969 and subsequently listed #201 in the 4/21/69 Miami Herald at $5,900. James I. Minix of Homestead FL was the third owner, selling to Albert Austin of Brookville FL for $2,500.

Albert & his wife Elinor owned the coach for at least twenty years, 1973-1993 - though it wasn't until 1977 that they joined the UVMCC. Eventually Albert passed away and Elinor listed the coach in the 9/19/92 Tampa Bay Times for $3,000. Bob & Rachelle Ennis of Soddy-Daisy TN became the fifth owners in 1994, selling to the current owners Jim & Ann Guider of Chattanooga TN in 1996.

Jim & Ann have since moved to Rossville GA, replaced the tired 102 hp engine with a refreshed 110 hp engine, and gradually stripped the faded and chalky paint from the coach. They often use the coach in parades and as a support vehicle for their local Corvair club. 

Note: Top photo from 1967 courtesy of John and Kathy Acosta.

A small collection of photos of #201 can be seen here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/albums/72157716509475133