WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?
While attending the first car event in my new hometown, I heard several spectators remarking on this particular truck asking some variation of the same question, “What the hell is that?” As I car guy, I knew exactly what it was, a Corvair pickup truck! What caught my eye and made me want to know more were the added IROC-era Camaro wheels that were painted to match the light blue exterior.
I spoke with the owner, Paul Campbell of Darlington, PA, who explained that this 1961 Corvair 95 Rampside Pickup had been in his possession for 17 years. He bought it shortly after selling his 1963 Rampside. “I had a ’63 that a guy from Florida called me about out of the blue. I told him it wasn’t for sale, but he kept hounding me. Finally, I threw out a price to scare him off. He said, ‘okay, I’ll come get it.’ So, I started looking for another as soon as it was gone.”
Paul found this in Canton, OH. He traced its origin as far back as he could to Apache Junction, AZ, so he was confident that it was a rust-free, southwest vehicle. The previous owner had installed these third generation Camaro wheels. “I had a set of Olds rally wheels from my ’63 that I wanted to put on it, but friends told me to leave the Camaro wheels on it. They kinda grew on me.” To make them better fit the aesthetic of the Corvair, Paul painted the spokes to compliment the Brigade Blue/ Ermine White exterior of this odd, rear-engine, side loading pickup.
One thing I learned about the truck is that the ‘95’ in Corvair 95 refers to the wheelbase and not engine displacement. We’re always learning while living the car show life!
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