The Third UltraVan

To build the first UltraVan that was actually intended for a customer, Dave Peterson hired a local high school student named Lloyd Cerruti. #103 is 24 feet long and features Ford Econoline headlights, Ford Falcon taillights, Chevy pickup bumpers, and ornamental dually rear wheels. Externally, it very closely matches the Demo Van except for the shape of the front wheel arches and the absence of rocker panel trim strakes and tow hitches.

Dr. Stan J. Watson of Walnut Creek CA took delivery of the coach in the summer of 1962, paying $9,500. Four years later he offered it for sale at $6,950. Photos in the UVMCC Archive show #103 at Death Valley and Donner Pass in 1967 (owner J.W. Wells of Brentwood CA), and at the Lion Country Safari UltraVan rally in January 1971 (owners Charles & Florence Harris of Granada Hills CA).

When the third UltraVan's fourth owner decided to upgrade to a V8 engine in 1972, he didn't copy the V-drive configuration that Ultra, Inc. used in 1969-70, or the RWD Toronado configuration that Dave Peterson used in 1970-1971, or even the offset differential configuration that Peterson developed in 1971-72. Instead he used the Corvair hot-rodders technique of mounting a 283 cu. in. small block Chevy V8 engine directly to the Corvair drivetrain, using one of the bellhousing adapters that were produced by companies like Deco, Kelmark, Kennedy Engineered Products, and MID-Engineering. This also required a reversing kit to make the normally clockwise-turning V8 engine run backwards.

The conversion was publicly unveiled at the January 1973 Tecopa Hot Springs rally by owners Aubrey & Wanda Jackson of Glendale CA. UltraVans #361 and #374 have also been converted to the same configuration, but it is not clear which came first or last.

Don & Marilyn Beattie of Mission Hills CA owned the coach from 1981-1998; eventually selling to Eddie Davidson for $100. Eddie owned the coach only a few months, selling in early 1998 to current owner Nick Riepe of Big Bear CA. Nick lived in the coach for about three years, during which time the coach was used in the filming of the 1999 movie "Five Aces" starring Charlie Sheen. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203503/

In the movie, Chris (Charlie Sheen) returns to his hometown of Big Bear California where his old buddies are throwing him a bachelor party. One of these friends is Ray (David Sherrill), who has become a hermit - living in the UltraVan in a remote area next to Baldwin lake, and driving visitors away with an antique Howitzer artillery gun. Chris' ex-girlfriend Lauren (Elizabeth Morehead) also appears in scenes set inside the UltraVan.

Nick says he could hear the film crew shooting off the Howitzer while he was at work 10 miles away in Big Bear. He also says "At the time of filming, Twinkie was my home and they paid me extra per day for a hotel room. After filming I was able to afford registration and insurance. My friends and I had a blast driving it to Big Bear lake to fish for catfish at night. We would watch our poles through the windshield."

After more than 20 years of ownership, Nick and his wife Shonna are thinking about finding the right ambitious UltraVan fan that has the time and funding to restore their beloved Twinkie. Nick says:

"Top speed about 55 mph. But it gets there quick with 283 on Corvair transaxle. Never had an overheat issue, but I only drove it around town up here. Twinkie needs to go to the right person or I won't let go of her. I think she is special. Although all the UltraVans are special. I think since she is a Cali native she probably should stay in CA except for trips. She has her California black and yellow plate front and rear. She does not have an UltraVan badge, which would be cool, does have a book documenting engine replacement and past owners and manual."

A collection of photos of #103 can be seen here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/albums/72157659720250291

The Second UltraVan

Although Dave Peterson built the first UltraVan for his own personal use, he received so much attention and interest whenever he took it out that very soon he started working towards production. By late August 1961 he was showing renderings of a proposed "Conestoga Motorized Home" to potential investors in "The Ultra Van Manufacturing Company". The new concept was much modified, perhaps addressing lessons learned in the construction and early use of the prototype.

He set up shop in a wooden warehouse at 366 8th Avenue in Oakland (which he would continue to use through 1973), tacked up a full scale profile of the coach on the wall, hired some local high school & tech school students, and started building "the Demo Van" (which would later be known as UltraVan #200).

Surviving records show that on October 3 1962 Peterson demonstrated his "Go-Home" to Ed Cole at the the GM engineering center in Detroit; in mid-November 1962 the Go-Home flyer (featuring a photo of the completed Demo Van) went to press in the 1963 Chevrolet Silver Book; on February 1-10 1963 the coach itself was displayed to the public at the 19th annual San Francisco National Sports and Boat Show (at the Cow Palace); and on March 30-31 1963 it was displayed at Montgomery Chevrolet in North Hollywood. The coach was last registered as a 1963 model.

The new design carried over the prototype's 24 foot length, Corvair drivetrain & swing-arm rear suspension, stepvan windshields, Chevy pickup bumpers, front and rear tow hitches, ornamental dually wheels, and Spartan trailer rear body shape; however the reverse-tumblehome side profile was abandoned in favor of a more conventional shape.

The new coach sported Ford Econoline headlights, Ford Falcon taillights, and a new full-width front suspension incorporating very large control arms. Unique features of #200 include the shape of the front wheel arches and the wedge-shaped rocker panel trim. The left side molding was actually used as an external wiring harness gangway. Peterson reported that the completed Demo Van weighed 1,815 lbs empty and 2,710 lbs with all furnishings.

Pictures show #200 parked alongside the Oakland shop as late as 1965 (partially hidden behind #203), and it is most likely that Peterson personally operated it until he acquired #302 in 1967. The next three owners listed in the Club archives are: Harold N. Zastrow of Linthicum Heights MD (the date 3/23/67 is noted but not explained), Oren E. Hines of White Marsh MD, and Henry & Pauline Wills of Savage MD (who were UltraVan Club members from 1973-74).

In 1975 Mel Dinesen of Bakersfield California retrieved the coach from Florida, then completely gutted and rebuilt the interior, swapped in a 110 hp engine, converted the rear suspension to the later Ultra, Inc. trailing arm design, changed out the large galley window, and added a window to the door and a solar panel to the roof. Mel and his wife Millie showed the coach at Corvair shows and UltraVan rallies on the west coast for over twenty years.

#200 was acquired by a prominent performance artist in 1998. Rirkrit Tiravanija intended to drive the coach across the USA with five Thai art students as an art project sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum: "Untitled 1998 (on the road with Jiew Jeaw Jieb Sri and Moo)":
http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/1998/7.html
A book/CD-ROM/Exhibition Catalog was published in conjunction with the project.

Unfortunately the coach was wrecked early in the project, but after its completion Tiravanija retrieved the coach from Arizona and displayed part of it in his exhibition "Untitled 1999 (reading from right to left)" at the Wexner Center For The Arts in Columbus Ohio (Jan-Apr 1999). It is not known what became of the remains of the coach after the show.

A collection of photos of the Demo Van can be seen here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/sets/72157650166747825

The First UltraVan

On September 1 1960, Dave Peterson started construction of the first UltraVan in a rented garage in Alameda California. Four months later on January 2 1961, Peterson drove his creation to the Department of Motor Vehicles and received a license for his "1960 housecar".

The 24 foot long coach was designed around the remains of a wrecked 1960 Corvair sedan; incorporating the 80 horsepower engine, two speed Powerglide automatic transmission, front and rear suspension, headlights, tail lights, and instrument panel. The windshields were sourced from a Chevrolet stepvan, the bumpers from a '47-55 Chevy pickup, and most everything else was hand built from riveted aluminum and fiberglass by Peterson himself.

For maximum living space, the coach was a full 8 feet (96 inches) wide at the top. To work with the suspension from the 67 inch wide car Peterson developed a unique reverse-tumblehome body shape that narrowed the body to just 86 inches inches at the bottom. Then he cut out the car's front suspension crossmember, moved the two remaining assemblies apart, and riveted them to the coach structure. In the rear he added ornamental dually rear wheels to fill out the wheel wells. To insure the dually wheels wouldn't overload the car's suspension he kept them at a very low air pressure.

The rear body was shaped to resemble Peterson's beloved Spartan travel trailer. Remarkably, both fiberglass rear corner panels were created using the same mold, but one of the panels was flipped inside out when the resin was partially cured. Two tow hitches were installed - one on the rear to tow his 1958 Dorsett Catalina, and a second on the front to launch and recover the boat.

Without any interior furnishings the revolutionary coach weighed less than 1,800 lbs empty - "Five times the cube of the VW Van and 400 lbs lighter", or "one-half the weight of a Greenbrier and over twice the space." Even after the finished interior was installed it still weighed under 3,000 lbs.

Peterson (David G.) and his son (David L.) operated the coach until at least 1973, at some point modifying the side windows to more closely resemble the production UltraVans. Then for one and a half dozen years the coach passed out of all knowledge into history and legend. Eventually rumors of an unusual UltraVan came to Jim Craig via his friend Mory Snyder, and together they tracked down the prototype rotting away in a grape field near Oroville, California.

Recovery was accomplished by April 1990, and a Club restoration project was organized with many donations of time, labor, parts, and even cash. By 2001 interest had waned; only one couple showed up to the final Restoration Rally. In 2003 the coach found a new home at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville Tennessee (profits from the sale were returned to the Club). Lane displayed the coach until early 2014, when it was purchased by Craig & Lea Lamond and driven to Portland Oregon. The Lamonds plan to return the prototype UltraVan to its original configuration.

A collection of photos of the Prototype can be seen here::
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/sets/72157644794709346/

April 1990 discovery and recovery:
http://imgur.com/a/dUqUt

April 1994 Restoration Rally:
http://imgur.com/a/87mvG

November 1994 Restoration Rally:
http://imgur.com/a/UQRyc

May 1995 Restoration Rally:
http://imgur.com/a/A3jtX

More restoration photos:
http://imgur.com/a/zJ2pX

UltraVan Production: A Brief Overview

David G. Peterson hand-built a Corvair-engined house car in Oakland CA during the last three months of 1960. People who saw it liked it so much that he formed the UltraVan Mfg. Co. in August 1961 to begin construction of a production prototype, a motorhome, and a commercial/utility van.

Prescolite Manufacturing Corporation took delivery of the commercial van in Spring 1963, at which point they took over production. Prescolite's Motor Coach Division constructed 7 coaches and shut down again in February 1964. At least four of these coaches were originally called Travalons.

Peterson re-started production (still in Oakland), completing 10 more coaches before licensing the rights to Jack Tillotson in August 1965. Three additional drivable but incomplete coaches were transferred to Tillotson for finishing.

Tillotson's Ultra, Inc. produced 346 UltraVans in Hutchinson KS from January 1966 to June 1970. The last of these were V8 UltraVans, as developed by head engineer Chuck Burgess. Burgess also developed the front wheel drive Tiara motorhome. Ultra, Inc. produced 14 Tiaras, and 28 more were produced by BELCO after Ultra, Inc. closed.

Tillotson transferred the last three incomplete V8 coaches to Peterson in 1970. Peterson also developed the rear wheel drive Toronado conversion and installed it on 17 existing coaches in 1970 and 1971.

In 1972 Peterson built a prototype for an all-new design, serial #601. #602 was sold as parts or a kit and never completed, although it is still owned by original owner. #603 & 604 were commissioned builds that were eventually finished by Roger Dillan's short-lived UltraVan Corporation in 1973. #605 was left unfinished when the Sonoma factory closed in 1974.

Peterson tinkered with another design in his back yard from 1982-1998. UltraVan #700 was also never completed.

Serial Numbers

The first two coaches didn't originally have sequential serial numbers; they are now known as #001 and #200. The third is serial #103 and the fourth is serial #4.

Prescolite serial numbers are odd; five of the seven have been identified: S63 104, S163006, S-163102, S-163103(?), and S-264105. Actual sequence is ambiguous.

When Peterson restarted production in 1964 he skipped ahead to serial #201, and at this point serial numbers continued sequentially (with a few unexplained oddities) until Ultra, Inc. delivered #556.

The last three uncompleted Hutchinson coaches currently show serial numbers TU-100, #558, and #559.

#601-605 and #700 were identified above.

Tiaras generally have a 20xx identification number (though the earliest production seems to have had separate seven-digit serial numbers). 28 of the 42 coaches have been identified to date including Seattle's Medic One mobile intensive/coronary care unit.

UltraVan Statistics

There are currently believed to have been 376 UltraVans built:

320 were equipped with Corvair engines (1-11, 201-509)
49 were equipped with 307 cid Chevy V8 engines (510-556, 558-559)
1 was equipped with a 455 cid Olds V8 engine (TU-100)
3 were equipped with 350 cid Olds V8 engines (601, 603, 604)
1 was equipped with a 1.6 liter Chevette inline-4 engine (700)
2 were unpowered (602, 605)

357 were 22' long (163006, 202-207, 209-411, 413-559)
3 were 23' long (601, 602, 605)
9 were 24' long (001, 200, 103, 4, 63104, 163102, 163103, 201, 412)
3 were 25’ long (264105, 603, 604)
2 were 27' long (208, 700)
Note, #700 has alternately been reported at 20’ long. #221, 267, 430, 445, and 559 have since been stretched to 23'; #602 has since been stretched to 26'. #605 is currently being stretched to 26'.

16 used the teardrop-shaped Ford Econoline headlight trims (200, 103, 4, 63104, 163006, 163102, 163103, 201, 202, 203, 205, 206, 208, 209, 20, 211)

Four have never yet been completed (559, 602, 605, 700). One was owner-finished (558).

All except #700 used windshields from the Union City Chevy/GMC round front stepvan.

Helpful Links

This webpage shows an overview of the 1960-1965 Oakland-built UltraVans:
http://www.corvair.org/chapters/ultravan/OaklandUVs.html

This gallery shows 271 different UltraVans (every one that I have ever found a picture of):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/albums/72157648650666687