Well, we’ve made it to the end of another one. Happy Friday to you all! Today we’re talking trucks, but not in the traditional sense. But first we need to find out which manual sedan you chose yesterday:
Yeah, I think I agree. The Caddy is cool, especially inside, but the repairs sound like a lot of hassle. Besides, I’m a sucker for British cars.
By now, the pickup truck formula has been pretty well established: body-on-frame construction, a separate cab and bed, front engine, rear wheel drive. And for better or worse, for the past decade or so, the most common version has been a four door crew cab with a short bed. But before the market settled into that configuration, automakers tried all sorts of ideas for hauling small amounts of cargo around. Today we’re going to look at two old trucks from General Motors that definitely don’t fit the typical truck mold.
1963 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 145 cubic inch overhead valve flat 6, three-speed manual, RWD
Location: Martinez, CA
Odometer reading: 68,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep!
The Chevy Corvair, as you may have noticed, is something of a favorite around here. All of us are fans of GM’s rear-engine marvel, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. But as cool as the typical Corvair sedans, coupes, and convertibles are, the Greenbrier vans and trucks are even cooler. And my personal favorite is the version that leans hardest into the rear-engine layout’s advantages: the Rampside pickup.
The Rampside, as its name implies, has a fold-down ramp on the right-hand side of the bed in addition to the typical tailgate in the back. This ramp leads directly to a lower section of the bed floor right in the middle of the truck, about a foot lower than the rear section over the engine. Rampsides were favored by the telephone company, because the design made loading huge spools of wire easy compared to a traditional truck. I always figured it would make hauling beer kegs a cinch, too.
This ’63 Rampside “runs and drives” and has “many new parts,” but that’s literally all the information we get. I guess an inspection and a test drive would be in order if you want to know more. Corvair trucks used the same engine and transmission as the cars, and there are enough Corvair specialists around that mechanical parts shouldn’t be a problem. Trim might be harder to come by, but this truck looks pretty complete.
I have to say, I really dig this truck: the two-tone paint, the go-fast stickers on the glovebox door, the white ball shift knob, even the dings and scrapes – it all just works. I have absolutely no idea what I’d do with it, but it’s cool as hell, and I want it.
1985 GMC Caballero – $4,200
Engine/drivetrain: 305 cubic inch overhead valve V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Petaluma, CA
Odometer reading: 100,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does!
The ute – essentially a coupe with a truck bed – never really caught on in the US, but Australians (as we know) love them. Ford and GM sold utes in America for quite a long time, but they were always outsold by traditional pickup trucks. This ute, the GMC Caballero, is the same thing as a Chevrolet El Camino, and is the closest thing to a passenger car ever sold at GMC dealerships.
[Editor’s Note: Well, that’s not exactly true; in Argentina, GMC dealers sold the South American version of the Chevette as a GMC! Look (photo via Wikimedia Commons):
So, GMC did sell an actual non-truck passenger car. Just in the other America. – JT]
Based on the G-body intermediates, the Caballero is basically a Chevy Malibu coupe from the doors forward, and rides on the same chassis. This means the interior is a little nicer place to be than the typical GMC pickup trucks of the time. This one is in really nice condition inside, too, with a comfy-looking velour bench seat, power windows and locks, and air conditioning, though the seller says it doesn’t work.
This late model Caballero is powered by a 305 cubic inch V8, backed by an overdrive automatic. It’s not the hottest setup, but a car that already has a Chevy small-block in it can be as powerful as your budget and local emissions laws will allow. The seller says this one runs and drives well, and has current registration, so it’s a good starting point mechanically.
The body isn’t in quite as nice condition. The paint is faded, there are some dings and scrapes, and a bit of rust along the leading edge of the hood. It’s fixable, of course, or you could just live with a little patina. It is a truck, after all.
Pickup trucks don’t have to be huge hulking beasts with four doors and the ability to tow a mountain. We know that. Sometimes they can be low-slung car-based runabouts, or weirdly practical rear-engine side-loaders. Either one of these could make weekend lumber yard runs in style, and be a whole lot easier to park. Which one is more your speed?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
GMC. My grandfather handed down a LeMans wagon I remember bouncing around in as a kid. This would be a nostalgia purchase pure and simple.
I really thought the Rampside would run away with this in a 90 percent landslide. Personally, I think both are worthy and fun but it’s Rampside all the way if I have to choose. However, patchy clear coat aside, the Caballero looks to be in decent enough shape.
My heart really wants the Corvair but my mind really wants the ute. Screw it, I’d get both. Corvair for work and ute for daily driving.
I want both
I have nothing against the Caballero, but the coolness factor of that ramp side Corvair is off the chart. I’ll risk the wrath of Nader and go with GM’s lovable death trap.
Fun fact: very very few people died in accidents in Rampside Corvairs…. statistically they were/are much less likely to be in an accident….
(because they didn’t sell very many, but that doesn’t change the statistic)
Growing up my mom had a string of Caprice Classics, starting in 77 and finishing with a 89. All of them had the 305 (I think, I was a kid…) and that steering wheel in the “GMC”. It brings back fond memories. That being said, voted Rampside. It’s just too cool.
There is no wrong answer today. I love them both, but the ramp side is 100% good as-is, so it got my vote. I couldn’t leave the GMC alone if I bought it. Sorry, it’s not just a truck. I can’t leave it looking scruffy. So much potential, though. Dammit, I’m talking myself into it. Oh well, vote has been cast!
I went with the Corsair, because; “…it’s cool as hell, and I want it.“
I was expecting to vote for the Caballero, but between the 87% lack of clear coat and Mark mentioning hauling kegs in the Rampside, I now want the Greenbriar to start a keg delivery service.
Can I pick both this time? These are both great deals. The Caballero will be a way better actual truck. A running driving not rusted out rampside for mid-5 figures is hard to turn down though!
Strong finish to the week! I voted Rampside after a great deal of toggling back and forth between both CL ads. It’s weird how the exterior imperfections that give the Rampside “character” make the GMC look “tired.” No matter, they’re both peaches.
As others have mentioned, both are good. Rampside is less common and offers pretty darn good utility. Caballero will be a comfortable ride and maybe you can fix the AC.
Rampside got my vote, but I’d definitely look at both of them if they were near me.
Caballero for condition, rarity, and completely interesting design. My friend had a same year el Camino “Conquista” he leg me borrow while he was traveling for work and I blew the transmission in my car. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed driving it and they’re rare now, so there seems to be an ironic fun to having one, but this one is too rough. Don’t care about GMC vs Chevy.
100% emotional choice: gotta be the Rumpled Rampside!
Don’t really need a pick-up, and would much rather have a Greenbrier, but I’m all for any Corvair.
Rampside design is timeless. Caballero design is…mullety.
Two vehicles I’d like to have. It’s like a SBSD Mirror-Universe.
I picked the GMC, because I love me the Camino’s. But I want the Both option.
I’ll take both. If I have to choose one I’m going with the Caballero. I’m terrible at fixing cars so my vehicles go to a mechanic for all but the simplest repairs. My logic might be flawed, but I would think a car that can pass a CA emissions test must be in decent mechanical condition (I think that is a CA license plate on the back?). Based only on what we know from the ads, I think the Caballero probably is the better choice for a mechanically incompetent oaf life myself.
Mid-80’s cars are not the best choice if you want a DIY vehicle
With my mechanical ability, no car is a good choice for a DIY vehicle.
Although, I have found vehicles that are closest to stock are the easiest. If the Caballero is stock (which it probably is given it passes CA emissions), it might be easier than the Corvair if that is modified. I can do simple repairs if I don’t have to deviate from step by step instructions.
Eh, I had a mid ’80s Town Car, the engine bay was full of vacuum lines and heat-brittled plastic, everytime you went to fix something, something else would crumble in your hand, and it’s a weird era for parts support – too old for the OEMs to bother with, not really desirable enough for collectors to get the aftermarket interested, and junkyards mostly just crush them right away instead of trying to sell parts
The Caballero is the easy choice, it just needs a healthy small block, transmission and some suspension work and it would be a great runabout.
I’m pretty fond of 5th Gen El Caminos already. 🙂 Gotta take the Caballero. Predisposition aside, parts are a heck of a lot easier to find for the El Camino / Caballero, and fairly cheap. The Rampside is still pretty cool, too.
El Camino every time. I have an irrational love for them. The Corsair is cool and somehow even weirder but I just can’t resist the charm of a ute. Also I can’t even imagine what a front end collision in the Corsair would be like. Say goodbye to your lower body…
Need another cup of coffee this morning?
No, too much caffeine sends my already high anxiety into overdrive and it does the same to my bowels. I prefer not to nuke a work bathroom unless I absolutely have to.
The Corvair is perfectly safe. Your legs function as the crumple zone. You are far less likely to die from head injuries in a vehicle like this.
I love that rampside. It looks like it should be in a Richard Scarry cartoon.
Three cheers for the Richard Scarry reference. The rampside would be driven by the sly fox, wearing some kind of cap with a brim!
Tough choice. Normally I’d go with the ute as they’ve always been a fave, but the Rampside is just too cool to pass up.
For the first time, I really can’t decide!
It doesn’t look terrible in the distance shots, but the price and (lack of) description make me a bit nervous about what lies under the paint on that Rampside. May be a California car right now, but who knows if that was always the case
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. At that age, if rust were going to be a serious issue in the near future, it already would be, and noticeably so. I would love an older ute, but smog issues mean I don’t want anything at all from the 1980s. Anyway, I really do like that rampside.