In the heady days after the United States landed a man on the moon, General Motor engineers set out to design the ultimate traveling machine. Drawing on the excitement of the times, this vehicle had to exemplify the cutting edge of vehicle design and construction. This was not to be just another recreational vehicle. The common design of the times for RV’s was a boxy, ungainly, top-heavy vehicle on a truck chassis. The GM vehicle was to be innovative in every way. Design work began in 1970, with release planned for the 1973 model year.
The design would draw heavily on General Motors expertise in several areas. First, it was to be front wheel drive. A still rare concept in car design, much less motorhomes. The drive train and front suspension would be the same design that had been used successfully in the Oldsmobile Toronado since 1966; the 455 cubic inch Oldsmobile engine mated to a Turbohydramatic 425 transmission with torsion bar suspension. The rear suspension would draw on GM’s leadership in bus design, using dual swing arms(one leading and one trailing) with a single air spring on each side. Automatic controls would be integrated into the suspension to allow the vehicle to compensate for changes in loading and maintaining a level driving condition at all times. The chassis was to be a steel ladder design. The body framing was to be aluminum and the body exterior was to be a combination of heavy gauge aluminum and molded glass fiber reinforced plastic as had been used in the Chevrolet Corvette.
The use of front wheel drive and the independent swing arm rear suspension brought many advantages to this design. The lack of drive shafts and axles passing under the coach allowed a very low floor height compared to other motorhomes. The low floor height also allowed a low overall height and low center of gravity for the coach. This gave the vehicle almost car-like driving qualities.
we have a 1973 GNC motorhome located in anderson California, heeds hydrochlorics and rebuilding, needs to be towed, any buyers in n cal?
frank 530-941-1006
heeds hydrochlorics, 😆 or bleeds hydraulics, or needs hydraulic 🤔