Eight-Door Rescue

Bill Jabs of Eagle Creek, OR is the newest owner of this '65 Greenbrier. Bill bought it from Bob Slusher in August, 2005. Bob had the following to say about this rare 8-door van:

"In 1996 a gent from Nampa, ID sent out a video of his FC Corvair collection to most of the Corvair clubs in the Pacific Northwest, this being his way of advertising the sale of his entire collection of 14 FCs. The vide said "first bid of $1,000 takes them all". That was the catch, the buyer had to take them all... And a couple of barns full of parts.

My interest was only on the last FC on this video parade, an 8-door Greenbrier with those tell-tale `65 door badges and even FC buckets seats. This rig was mine. I grabbed a quick flight over to Boise and found him at his ranch in Nampa. I found that it even had a correct roof rack and correct running gear with matching numbers.

We had a few hours of negotiating and then he said I could have six of them for $500. Deal. A club member was traveling near there just a month later with an empty flatbed trailer and collected the '65 8-door and an extra set of doors, running gear, etc. I told the club member could keep the other five. I have always wondered what he did with the other FCs!

The rig has been stripped of every possible part in preparation for media blasting and fresh paint. The motor has been rebuilt and is performing well in my '63 Rampside until the Greenbrier is ready for the road."

Shortly after purchasing the van, Bill began a total restoration of it. In the summer of 2006, Duanne Luckow shared the following photos of the metal repair he and Duane Wentlandt did on the van during December 2005 and January 2006.

The first five photos show the large section of floor between and behind the front seats that was replaced:

The next three pictures show the lower section of the left quarter panel that was replaced:

The next two photos show one of many patches made for rust repair or to remove previous owner modifications. The photos show a fix to the dash. Patches were also made to the left door jamb, front passenger door sill, battery box area, and right quarter panel.

The following five photos are from early June, 2006:

In late August 2006, Bill sent a few more photos. The first two show some of the many doors being painted. Bill described the third photo:

"Duanne Luckow is looking at the fit between the fender and the front passenger door. Ultimately, Duanne and Duane drilled out the spot welds on the fender, let the fender move out about 3/16”, then plug-welded the holes. This was a case of a guy on the assembly line being asleep when the spot welding was done and sucking the fender in too far. Of course, for these two guys, nothing short of great is good enough."

As of late August 2006, the upholstery, suspension, wheels &  tires, transmission, and differential are all done. The engine is also nearly done.

Bill sent the following photos during the first week of September, 2006. They show Duane Wentlandt finishing the roof and also some door hinges:

Bill sent the following photos during the fourth week of October, 2006. They show Duane Wentlandt preparing to unmask the van after it was painted and the beautiful paint finally revealed!

Bill sent the following photos, during the second week of December, of the assembly getting underway:

Bill sent the following four photos in mid-January:

The man pictured above is Jim Arnold, a.k.a. "the old car glass guy" in the Portland area.

The following three photos are from early April when the van was headed to the alignment shop:

The following photos are of the finished van. I took them at the 2008 CORSA Convention in Ventura, CA. The van received the William A. Mitchell award for Best of Show, with a score of 98.40 points. Congratulations to Bill!

Information from the data plate

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Copyright © 1998-2006 CorvairKid Enterprises. All rights reserved.
Last updated: March 20, 2006.