Corvanantics - Owner Manual and OPP

Corvair 95s received dedicated owner manuals only for the first two years of production. These guides were comparable in detail and pages (47) to those provided for the Corvair car and other Chevrolet models, and sections are taken essentially verbatim from the car booklets, usually with substitution of pictures. Because the Greenbrier was classified as a passenger vehicle it received the warranty booklet provided with the Corvair and other Chevy cars. The Corvan, Rampside, and Loadside (the "R10" group) received the same booklet as Series 10-30 Chevy pickups and other lightweight commercial vehicles.

Links

Overview of Warranty Booklets

Booklets for Each Year

1961
1962
1963
1964
1965


Overview of the Warranty Booklets
The warranty booklets were initially called "Owner Service Policy" but in later years designated as "Owner Protection Plan". These booklets typically included several components, although their presence or absence evolved over time.
New Vehicle Warranty
		There was, of course, always an actual statement of the warranty. This started relatively brief, a couple hundred words, but growing over time to spanning several pages in the late 1960s.
Owner Service Policy
		Along with the warranty, the OPP booklet included the Service Policy, which explained the owner’s responsibilities, such as having periodic servicing performed. Each booklet was assigned a unique serial number, which together with the owner and vehicle specifics were recorded on the Owner Identification page and on a detachable “New Owners Service File Record”. The File Service Record was supposed to be retained by the dealership, thereby registering the serial number to the purchaser and vehicle. The serial number was also printed on Guardian Maintenance Coupons and Verification Vouchers provided in the booklet
Guardian Maintenance Coupons
		The “Guardian Maintenance coupons “served to remind the owner when servicing was expected and to document that it was done. Each coupon was printed with a scheduled mileage ('61 & ’62), sequential number (1963-’64) or month (1965) indicating when maintenance should be performed. The required maintenance was printed on the back of the coupon or listed in a table at the end of the booklet. In common parlance, the term “coupon” is a misnomer. A maintenance coupon detached, duly signed, and given to the dealer did not discount the cost of the service, which was at the owner’s expense.
Maintenance Verification Vouchers
		Detachable warranty service “Verification Vouchers” were included in the booklets from 1961 - '64. The warranty service policy stated that a voucher was to be “surrendered” to the dealer each time warranty service was provided to document that warranty maintenance had been performed so that the dealer could seek reimbursement from Chevrolet.
Battery Warranty Certificates
		1961 was the only model year for which the battery warranty was delivered as a separate pamphlet with the new vehicle. Beginning in 1962, the battery warranty was incorporated into the Owner Protection Plan booklets. The booklets included the battery warranty stipulations and two certificates. The first certificate allowed replacement of the battery if it failed during the basic car warranty period, and the second certificate allowed prorated replacement after this period.
Owner identification cards and Vehicle Resale cards
		From 1961 until 1965, when the Protect-O-Plate was introduced, the warranty booklets included a page where the owner information was recorded and a detachable card with similar infornmation that was filed with the dealer; the later item is usually missing from used booklets. In 1963, when the warranty became transferable to a second owner, and 1964, the booklets included Owner and Dealer Verification of resale cards for information about the new owner upon vehicle resale. One of these obviously went to the dealer, the other was to be mailed to the Chevrolet center office

Protect-O-Plate
		Although they had been implemented previously by other GM divisions, at Chevrolet the Protect-O-plate first appeared in the 1965 Owner Protection Plan booklets. The POP was an embossed metal or plastic plate attached to the booklet that could be used to transfer owner and vehicle information to service paperwork using an old-fashion click-clack (“knuckle-buster”) imprinter.

1961
1961 Corvair 95 Owners Guide The '61 guide was issued in three editions and a couple of errors are common to all. The table on pg 23 states that a front door nameplate is found only on the Greenbrier (all models have a door nameplate). The description of radio options on pg 16 includes the car pushbutton model (#988468) even though a manual radio was the only option for the Corvair 95.
Edition 1 (#3783761)		On page 21 is another error which states “second seat is factory installed in the back of the rear compartment in the optional third seat position.” This would have required separate packaging of the rear support bracket used only when the seat was in the forward position, which was not the case.
Edition 2 (#3783761)		The second and third editions had the same cover and part number. There were several content changes. The “Octane requirements” section (pg 24) was amended to include Canada and the U.S. in the discussion of low octane fuels. In the third edition, the recommended maximum towing speed (pg 7) was increased from 30 MPH to 50 MPH. Strangely, in the 2nd and 3rd editions the picture on pg 32 showing the powerglide fluid level dipstick is of a car engine (note the top-mounted engine oil level dipstick) instead of the FC engine of the first edition.
Edition 3 (#3783761)
Export Version (#3784753)		According to the Miscellaneous Shipping List, two export versions of the Owners Guide were produced, one in English for the overseas English-speaking markets and another in Spanish for global markets speaking Español. The version shown here is in English; it lacks an edition number and is thus presumably the first edition, and possibly the only edition. However, it shows the car engine on pg 32 like the latter two editions of the domestic Owner Guide. There are some obvious differences from the domestic version. The references to the Conerad Civil Defense radio frequencies, vehicle operation in foreign countries, and Owner Service Policy are removed. It might seem surprising that images of the speedometer and all references to distance are in miles rather than kilometers, but Canada did not adopt the metric system until 1975.
German Version Corvair 95 pages		These are pages from a German version of the Corvair Owners Guide. In the 1960s Chevrolet had production facilities in Denmark, Poland, Belgium and Switzerland. According to Dave Newell's research, Belgian production went principally to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany while the Swiss vehicles were marketed in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. This booklet was most likely printed at the the Swiss facility that operated as General Motors Suisse S.A. and assembled cars imported from the US as complete knocked-down kits (CDK), vehicles delivered as unassembled parts. I'm assuming it dates to 1961 since there is an image of a Lakewood station wagon and Chevrolet may still have been optimistic enough to anticipate Corvair 95 direct European sales, which never materialized. For more information about European Corvair production see Kent Sullivan's Corvairs in Switzerland web page.
1961 Greenbrier Owner Protection Plan Going into 1961, collusion among the 'Big Four' auto makers (Ford, GM, Chrysler, and American Motors) had constrained new car warranty coverage to 9 months / 4000 miles, as it had for the previous 30 years. But this was the year the 'Big Four' Warranty War began . . .
Version 1 (#3783761)		Chevrolet had initially released the Warranty Booklet with the blue cover with the standard 4000 mile/90 day warranty. On September 28, 1960, Ford announced that the warranty period for its new 1961 models would be extended to 12 months / 12,000 miles. Discomforted by this news, but with little recourse, GM, Chrysler, and American Motors announced similar warranties for their vehicles within a week. Chevrolet quickly issued an updated car-OPP (#3783761; turquoise cover) with the new warranty and retitled “Owner Protection Plan”.
Version 2 (#3783761)
1961 R10 Owner Service Policy
#3781610		Commercial Owner Service Policy booklets had fewer pages than the passenger car booklets. An owner service policy was included and there were only five "Verification Vouchers" and no Guardian Maintenance Coupons. I do not know if the truck booklet was first published with the older, 90 day/4000 mile warranty. This one has the new 12 month/12,000 warranty with with no indication of being a second edition.

1962
1962 Corvair 95 Owners Guide The '62 guide was issued in two editions, which along with the Corvair Car Owner Guides are the only booklets I’ve found to have the part number printed in two different locations: on the back cover and on page one.
Edition 1 (#3798326)		Errors of the ’61 manual were corrected - the push button radio was deleted and the engine used to show the powerglide dipstick is once again an FC engine. The manual was also updated to reflect vehicle design changes. Owners no longer needed to know how to operate a manual choke but are given guidance on driving with the new optional positraction differential. Instructions were also added for operating the redesigned side door latches - gone was the flipper-type handle between the intermediate doors. Updated images no longer showed a lock on the outside of the forward side door nor the words “ASH TRAY” on the ash tray handle. There were other subtle changes as well, many of which seem trivial, such as changing the font of the section titles from all capitals to title case, and instructions for removing the ash that no longer involved “cleaning”. The promo sheet for other Chevrolet literature often found inserted at the end of the 1961 booklet, became the last page of the ’62 manual. The only revisions in the second edition were the tire specifications on page 26 and engine lubrication instructions on page 28.
Edition 2 (#3798326)
Export Version (#3798342)		In the 1962 export Owner Guide (2) the text on pages 26 and 28 is the same as the first edition of the domestic market Owner Guide and errors have been corrected as noted above. This export booklet does not have the literature sales promo pages at the end.
1962 Greenbrier Owner Protection Plan The covers of the first two editions of the 1962 OPP were identical and the third edition had different colored text. All carried the same part number but the two mid-year revisions were the first to be labeled with distinct edition numbers.
Edition 1 (#3817687)		GM was in a warranty coverage holding pattern for the 1962 models, although court rulings were driving changes to the accompanying text. The passenger car booklet did have some significant revisions. The battery warranty and service policy, previously printed as a separate brochure, was moved to the OPP booklet and supplemented with a couple of battery replacement Warranty Certificates. The 2nd edition had revisions to recommended maintenance lists and in the 3rd edition these lists were amended to include the statement “Services and material to be paid for by the owner” – not that this was’t already stated elsewhere.
Edition 2 (#3817687)
Edition 3 (#3817687)
1962 R10 Owner Service Policy
#3817688		This year's Owner Service Policy booklet is similar overall to the 1961 version except for the inclusion of the battery warranty and certificates.

1963
1963 Corvair Owners Guide GM’s faith in the Corvair 95 paralleled the precipitous decline in sales during 1961 and its failure to rebound in 1962. Discontinuation of the Corvair-95 owners guide was one of the various cost-saving measures implemented in 1963. Henceforth, purchasers of a new FC would receive a booklet shared with the Corvair car. The combined booklet placed most information about the Corvair 95 in a section on pages 24-29, with a few other FC figures and paragraphs, such as on jacking, toward the rear of the book.
Edition 1 (#3821483)		The ’63 Guide was published in 3 editions, but the Corvair 95 section changed very little. Revisions to Owners Guides were always implemented without altering the pagination of the booklet or allowing the Corvair 95’s section to expand beyond its relegated 6 pages. New features barely received any coverage, and sometimes only after an extended delay. The second and third editions of the ’63 owners guide had only modest revisions, such as adding fan belt inspection guidelines and consolidation of the bore and stroke specifications. The oil change guidelines on pg 33 were revised in the 2nd edition from every 6000 miles (as for the car), to every 4000 miles for the Corvair 95 – but this distinction was removed in the 1964 Guide.
Edition 2 (#3821483)
Edition 3 (#3821483)
1963 Greenbrier Owner Protection Plan 1963 was the first year in which revised OPP booklets were issued with different part numbers. The first version of the 1963 trk-OPP has the same diminutive size as the 1961 and ’62 booklets, but all of the other 1963-’64 OPPs were larger (7 in x 4.5 in). Guardian Maintenance coupons now were simply numbered 1-12. The mileage schedule and required maintenance were listed in a table at the end of the booklet.
Early issue Edition 1 (#3821481)		The warranty of the early '63 booklets is little changed from the 1962 model year (12 months/12,000 miles). The second edition differs only in additional parts (spark plugs, ignition parts, etc.) that were excluded from the warranty coverage. These booklets are less common then the later version and were only provided to early (August, 1962) builds
Early issue Edition 2 (#3821481)
Later issue Edition 1 (#3838412)		A new warranty became necessary when Chrysler fired the next volley of the warranty war in August by adding a new 5 year/50,000 mile powertrain warranty to their basic 12 month/12,000 mile vehicle warranty. GM, along with Ford and American Motors, fired back by extending their basic vehicle warranties to 2-years/24,000-miles, whcu now came directly from the manufacturer instead of the Dealer, as in previous years. The new Chevrolet warranty appears in reissued OPPs that received a new part number. The warranty was also now transferable upon resale and the booklet included detachable “Owner Acknowledgment of Receipt of Warranty” and “Verification of Resale” cards that were to be mailed to Chevrolet.
Later issue Edition 2 (#3838412)
1963 R10 Truck Owner Service Policy
Edition 1 (#3821490)		The first edition of the '63 Truck-OPP (#3821490) is similar in content, warranty and size to the previous year's booklet. The order of some sections has been rearranged with minor text revision (e.g., "The Owner Service Policy" is now called the "Policy on Owner Service"), but both present the same 12 mo/12,000 mile basic warranty, battery warranty and certificates, and 8 Verification Vouchers.
Edition 2 (#3838413)		The second edition presents the new 24 month/24,000 mile warranty and detachable "Verification of Resale" cards. The booklet was increased in size to that of the car OPP booklet, while the number of Verification Vouchers was reduced to 6.

1964
1964 Corvair Owners Guide The 1964 Owners Guide saw some minor text “tweaking” and more substantive changes from the 1963 guide, most dealing with the car.
Edition 1 (#3841543)		The first edition Corvair 95 section finally included instructions for the gasoline heater, discontinued in the car but not FC. Gone was the image on page 24 showing the 80 MPH speedometer dial with the shift points, since these were no longer labeled in the speedometer of Corvans and Rampsides.
Edition 2 (#3841543)		Two long overdue changes in the second edition were deletion of the erroneous statement found in all previous owner guides that the “second seat is factory installed in the back of the rear compartment in the optional third seat position” and the reference to the early style shifter linkage. Also deleted was the requirement that engine oil for a Corvair 95 should be changed “every 4000 miles or 60 days” (restored to every 6000 or 60 days for cars and FCs), as well as removal on the radio dial of the Conelrad civil defense markings at 640 and 1240, which was no longer Federally required.
1964 Greenbrier Owner Protection Plan There were a number of changes to the OPP, but the warranty was the same in the car-OPP (#3841541) and trk-OPP (#3841545) booklets.
First Printing (#3841541)		In this year's issues, the detachable “Owner Acknowledgment of Receipt of Warranty” was deleted and the “Verification of Resale” card was reformatted. Chevrolet also added a page before the warranty declaring “Customer Service [...] is our prime objective” and explaining the need for periodic maintenance. The second version of the 1964 car-OPP is uniquely labeled as the “Second printing”, and has only trivial differences from the first issue – changes to two words on the resale cards.
Second Printing (#3841541)
1964 R10 Owner Protection Plan
#3841545		The '64 truck OPP booklet is similar in most ways to the '63 booklet, but like the car OPP, a page is added that describes the warranty and itemizes the owner's maintenance responsibilities.

1965
1965 Corvair Owners Guide In the 1965 Owners Guide the FC section is now labeled “Corvair Greenbrier” rather than “Corvair 95”, reflecting the demise of all other models. This also explains why the section about the Rampside was deleted.
Edition 1 (#3859590)		Added in the first edition, at last, were instructions for operating the front air vent door, a feature first introduced in the 1964 model. One might wonder if any Greenbriers actually received the second edition since the publication date of Jan, 1965 would have been after Corvair 95 production had ceased. Little does it matter since it differs only with the added statement to not add antifreeze to the windshield washer bag.
Edition 2 (#3859590)
1965 Greenbrier Owner Protection Plan The booklet was more narrow than in '64 and slightly wider to display maintenance coupon months along the right edge, and the protect-O-plate was attached to the inside of back cover.
#3859595		The warranty war détente continued through 1965 (and would extend until 1967). The Protect-O-Plate made serial-numbered Verification Vouchers unnecessary, so these were discontinued. Consequently, the size and number of pages of the Owner Protection Plan booklet were much reduced. The Guardian Maintenance Coupons which previously were simply numbered were now labeled with specific months (2,4,6...24) when specific maintenance was to be performed (which would require taking the car to the dealership every two months during the 24 month warranty period). There was an alternative maintenance schedule for vehicles driven 6000 miles or more a year.
1965 R10 Owner Protection Plan
#3859596		Although the same size as the car OPP, the truck booklet was much reduced in pages (only 14), now lacking both the Guardian Maintenance Coupons and Verification Vouchers. There were now also two pages identifying maintenance (e,g., lubrication, wheel alignment, etc.) and replacement items (e.g., brake linings and wiper blades) not covered by the warranty.

Thanks to Dave Newell for providing export owner guides and to Jean Allen for donating various booklets from her collection