The Ninth UltraVan

There are no clues in the historical record relating any known coach to build #7 or build #8. We are left to draw the tenuous conclusion that these are the two missing Travalons that have never been identified.

For coach #9 however, we find a single clue in The Historical Record - the nascent coach registry published in January 1987 by Ultra Historian Louis Griggs. Louis lists the owners of coach #009 as: Venable of CA, Farnsworth of Boise ID, and Barr Musser of Salt Lake City UT.

William R. Venable of San Carlos CA is listed in Dave Peterson's notes. Farnsworth is not mentioned in any other available records; presumably he was identified as the previous owner by Barr Musser. Barr and Thelma Musser were UVMCC members from 1975 to 1992. They initially registered as owners of coach #163, then 10 years later switched to #102. But they only ever owned one coach: serial #163102 - usually known as UltraVan #163, or rarely as Travalon #102, or more simply as The Green Machine.

The Green Machine is 24 feet long (162 inch wheelbase) with stepvan windshields, Chevy pickup bumpers, Econoline headlights, Prescolite taillight pods, and ornamental dually wheels. And although it currently operates with 14-inch wheels, the earliest photos show the same turbine 13-inch wheelcovers used on all Oakland-built UltraVans.

Prescolite omitted the tow hitches on #163, and introduced a number of significant upgrades.

This 1963 Travalon uses the upgraded 1964 model year Corvair rear suspension, with its transverse leaf spring "camber compensator". The newly stroked 1964 engine was also used (110 HP), along with a 3:89 geared axle.

The coach features a large air vent behind the passenger rear wheel and a smaller vent on the driver side, to duct cooling air directly into the engine compartment. Although this arrangement seems familiar to most UltraVanners, it was actually not incorporated into production until after #235. For those early coaches, cooling air is drawn from below the coach around the unsealed perimeter of the engine.

Alert readers may have noticed that #6 also was equipped with external cooling air vents, though they are located further aft. #101, #200, #103, #4, & #63104 were not.

Out front, Prescolite integrated the headlight fairings, the bumper brackets, and the previously separate aluminum and fiberglass body sections into two large molded sections - one for each corner. They also altered the front slider windows, raising the bottom edge to align with the rear windows along the beltline.

Inside, Custom Trim installed their usual upholstered walls and ceiling, and added a Pullman-style folding sink to the bathroom for more comfortable showering.

Perhaps most significantly, Prescolite installed three removable fiberglass holding tanks under the floor of the coach (fuel, water, & waste). Earlier coaches created tankage by simply sealing up portions of the riveted aluminum floor structure, which eventually resulted in extremely difficult to repair corrosion problems and leaks.

To create space for the removable tanks, Prescolite used extruded rocker beams with cast aluminum fittings connecting to front and rear cross beams. The cast corner fittings cleverly incorporate sockets for removable jacking points.

With its two-tone lime & forest green paint scheme and elaborate white striping, the Green Machine definitely stands out in a crowd. Barr & Thelma attended UltraRallies throughout 1975-1979, including Robert's Creek British Columbia, Lake Cahuilla CA, Russian River (Guerneville) CA, and Walla Walla WA. In 1988 Barr listed the coach for sale in the Whales on Wheels newsletter, but he wasn't able to find a buyer. Finally in 1992 he donated the coach to Jim Craig, even paying to fly him to Salt Lake so he could fetch it back to Joshua Tree.

Jim soon realized why the coach hadn't sold, but with the help of local Corvairist Rudy Schmidt he was able to replace 4 bad lifters, 6 bent pushrods, the #3 rod & piston, both heads, gaskets, fuel pump, generator, and U-joint seals. They installed two rebuilt carburetors, performed a major tune-up, and bypassed the fuel feed into two five-gallon jerry cans. The 650 mile drive home to Joshua Tree was uneventful.

Jim and his wife Marlene had owned at least seven other UltraVans prior to the Green Machine, but they were quickly smitten and decided it would become their "final" UltraVan. Back in Barr's day #163 had an UltraVan emblem on the front, and a front mounted spare tire emblazoned "Barr-Thel's Happy Daze". Jim removed these and today the Green Machine has a single Travalon emblem on the trunk lid. Jim also replaced the damaged body panel under the driver's window (note the slightly darker paint), rebuilt the entire aluminum rear support structure, installed a rebuilt 140 HP engine and Corvair engine seals, changed to a 3:55 geared axle, upgraded the house and engine wiring, installed a retractible awning, and added a third roof vent in the bedroom area.

Jim & Marlene greatly enjoyed their time with the Green Machine; to this day Jim calls it the best handling UltraVan he ever drove (except for the brakes). However in 1999 the last UltraVan ever completed became available and well, Jim couldn't resist. He sold #163 to his son Robert to finance the purchase of #604. Robert Craig sold his previous coach #285 and moved the personalized "FRMMARS" plates to #163, but then he sold #163 on to Todd Koons of Sausalito CA for use in a nationwide advertising campaign. That didn't materialize and and Robert (now in San Rafael CA) bought the coach back in 2001. In April 2003 Robert used the coach to attend the Western Spring UltraVan rally at the Corvair/Camaro meet in Rancho Cordova CA, and in August 2003 the Burning Man event near Black Rock City NV. Then in July 2004, Robert sold the coach to its present owner, Brian Goldin of Redlands CA.

Because of modern fuel formulations containing ethanol, Brian eventually had to swap out the fiberglass fuel tank with a stainless steel unit he purchased from Eric Kirven (UV 345, 383, & 504). With the help of Michael Moreno (UV 257) he replaced the immense headliner, and he also removed the awning, rebuilt the engine, and upgraded to a modern on-demand water heater and a 12 volt compressor refrigerator.

Brian uses the coach regularly for relaxing getaways all over the Southern California region. He recently started considering whether it might be time to refresh the 57 year old paint.

The Green Machine has its own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FrmMars

And its own dedicated Instagram hashtag: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/frmmars

A small collection of photos of #163102 can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/albums/72157716131052663