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