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.