Tim Gippert is partial to rear-engine Corvair - Ocala

Gippert said he was "hooked" on the Corvair during the Helen show and told several of the Corvair buffs he might like to buy one. Soon he had all kinds of Corvairs offered to him for sale and he ended up with a "tomato red" 1962 Monza. The car needed engine and brake repairs which, with the help of fellow Corvair enthusiasts, were completed quickly. Gippert, 65, has had seven Chevrolet Corvairs over the last 18 years, including daily drivers, show cars and his current award-winning 1967 Monza which he drives and enters in local shows regularly. Gippert pointed out the Corvair design was offered in several passenger car styles, a van and pickup truck and even had a motor home built on its running gear. The 22-foot-long frame, aircraft-style-body Ultra Van motor home made by Ultra, Inc, in Hutchinson, Kansas, throughout the 1960s, used a Corvair engine and transaxle for power according to www. The motor home has an aircraft inspired body, cruises at 60 miles per hour and gets about 15 miles per gallon. Gippert claims the simplicity of the Corvair car is a plus for starting car enthusiasts,. You can get an entry level Corvair for around $5,000. ". Gippert said the Corvair design was "the American version of the Volkswagen, good in ice and snow, and used a Porsche influenced engine. Gippert is a member of the Corvair Society of America, an nonprofit group with 4,000 members. Source: www.ocala.com