If you frequented the weird-car corners of the Internet in the 2000s, there’s a very good chance your discoveries included a bizarre custom camper that was as mysterious as it was audacious. Often found in low-resolution on the pages of various forums was an Airstream with the front end of an Oldsmobile Toronado tacked onto its face. Nobody knew what it was, who owned it, or why it was built. Now, nearly 20 years later, we finally know the story of the so-called Aironado – and this Internet legend is up for grabs.
Back in September 2022, I wrote an article titled ‘The Story Behind The Mysterious Oldsmobile Toronado Airstream The Internet Is Obsessed With.‘ That’s right, I first wrote about this thing nearly four years ago when this lovely publication was just a little fledgling camping on someone’s Ford F-250. But I had known about the existence of the Aironado for far longer than that. The first time I saw it online was back in 2010, when I was a 16-year-old browsing a much earlier version of social media.
Back then, the legend of the Aironado was already years old. The Tin Can Tourists vintage camper club had been trying to find the builder since at least 2005. Car and Driver wrote a single sentence about it in 2007, and featured a single image on its website with all of 219 pixels for you to gaze at. Several sites had unconfirmed stories about how the camper was built, who did it, and why.
In 2022, people started asking questions again, and I decided to see if I could solve this nearly two-decade-old mystery once and for all. I would end up speaking with the Power of Attorney for the motorhome’s owner, and he got me closer to what happened. Then, in a wonderful stroke of luck, the son of the actual builder reached out to me, and he spilled the details of how the camper was actually built.
The coach has since ended up in the hands of a YouTuber. Now, this Internet sensation is ready to find yet another new home.
The Story Of The Aironado
Let’s start with how this icon came to be. Back when I first saw the Aironado on various forums, there were all sorts of stories about its origin. Some people said that an engineer at General Motors built it. Some others said that it was just a Photoshop and not actually real. Ah, remember when you only had to be concerned about Photoshop and not AI? Anyway, here’s a bit of what I wrote in 2022:
In the documents sent to me, the previous owners called it the Aironado, which is a fitting name. As the story goes, an unnamed General Motors fabricator was upset about the GMC Motorhome. First produced in 1972 for the 1973 model year, the GMC Motorhome marked an innovative moment in RV history. The typical motorhome of the day rode high on a truck chassis, and an engine mounted up front drove the rear wheels. The design worked, but it made for large, ungainly vehicles with crude designs.
The alleged General Motors engineer is said to have felt that since the Oldsmobile UPP was so central to the Motorhome, it should have been branded an Oldsmobile. As any mad scientist would, the engineer then decided to make their own Oldsmobile-branded camper.
When I wrote my original story, my source material was a story that had been passed down through several owners like a game of Telephone. I also had some documents to read from. However, none of these were primary sources. None of these people actually knew the man who built the Aironado. As a result, my story had some inaccuracies. The biggest was that, despite what I was told, the builder of the Aironado was not an engineer at Oldsmobile.
Anyway, Tim Atkins, the son of the builder, Wendell Atkins, gave me the true story after I wrote my article about the camper. The real story is even cooler than everyone thought:
To answer your question,”Who Built this,” His name was Wendell Atkins, and he was my Dad. He was an incredible engineer but did not have a college degree. He was a journeyman tool maker for GM at the Grand Blanc stamping plant affectionately known as the Tank Plant by locals. Just outside of Flint, Michigan.
A couple of corrections:, both the car and the trailer are 1969s. The windshield is actually two Chevy pickup windshields (brand new at the time) about 3/4 of each, left/right sides. Sorry, no window shock absorbers. When making the housing for the windshield he made a wooden mock-up of the front curve of the trailer in our basement, placed the glass on the mold and put to much pressure on one spot that left a tiny crack in the bottom corner, probably still there. The seam between the two halves is just a piece of rubber window seal sandwiched between two pieces of aluminum strips. He got the car cheap because the engine had been damaged by fire. He had to re-wire the whole thing along with all of the vacuum hoses (that drove him nuts). My mom hated traveling in it because, well it rode like crap.
He never got around to improving the suspension on the trailer and when ever they stopped it always drew a crowd, dad ate it up. I was still in high school and for a couple of months I had the baddest go-cart on the planet. Before the car and trailer were attached the car consisted of the front end, dashboard about 3 feet of floor board and the frame back to an axle he made to move it around. He had the gas can for the lawnmower sitting on the floor board with a rubber hose going the fuel pump and milk carton to sit on. No windshield. Let me tell you, a 455 is a monster with only half a car to move. I’m guessing he knew what I was doing but never said anything.
He loved to build things. I wish I could up load pictures of one of the pontoon boats he made (he made two). The pontoons were on arm’s that swung up for on the road (with a hand crank) and down for the water. Adding 5 feet of width. The permanently attached wheels had a hydraulic hand pump that made them operate like airplane landing gear. No trailer needed. This also drew a crowd when we went to the lake. Took about 45 minutes to prepare for the water.
YouTuber Mavrik Joos purchased the rig at the end of 2022 and has held onto it until now. He’s made a few quality-of-life upgrades and enjoyed it as a present to himself. Now, the Aironado is ready for a new caretaker.
The Aironado Today
As Tim noted above, his dad specifically sought out a 1969 Oldsmobile Toronado and a 1969 Airstream trailer.
It’s been believed that the trailer on the back is a 1969 Airstream Land Yacht Globetrotter. However, the 1969 model of that trailer had a different shape than the one used in the build of the Aironado. It has since been confirmed that the trailer on the back isn’t from 1969, but is a 1967 Globetrotter. It’s possible that when Wendell Atkins purchased the donor trailer, he was told it was a 1969 when it was really a little older.
Anyway, Wendell built the Aironado by gutting everything behind the Oldsmobile Toronado’s front clip. Then, he fixed frame rails to the Oldsmobile before bolting the Airstream on top.
Power comes from a 455 cubic inch Rocket V8, which produced 375 HP and 510 lb-ft of torque when new. These are gross power numbers, so far fewer ponies are actually reaching the road. The thoroughbreds that do get to gallop down the blacktop get to do so through a three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic 425 transmission that’s driven from the torque converter using a two-inch-wide Morse Hy-Vo chain. If you’re interested in reading more about the Oldsmobile Unitized Power Package, click here.
As for Mavrik’s part, he would renovate the interior of the Aironado. From Bring a Trailer:
Roof-mounted solar panels were installed under current ownership along with a Renogy 2kW Pure Sine Wave inverter and two Dakota Lithium 100Ah batteries. A diesel furnace, a freshwater tank, ventilation fans, and utility hookups are provided for occupants. The seller notes that the door needs to be secured with a deadbolt while driving. Steel 15” wheels have Oldsmobile hubcaps and Mastercraft Stratus HT tires mounted. The rear beam axle uses parallel leaf springs, and braking is handled by front discs and rear drums.
Portions of the living quarters’ wood sub-floor were replaced during the refurbishment before checkerboard flooring was installed. The cabinets were repainted in teal, and the seat cushions were re-trimmed in red cloth. A flatscreen television is mounted near the dinette, and the table was refinished. RGB LED lighting was installed above the storage cabinets. A stainless-steel backsplash and a wood countertop were added to the kitchenette along with an electric refrigerator/freezer. The faucet was replaced, and a propane four-burner range is also provided. A bathroom at the back of the vehicle offers a toilet, sink, and storage compartments.
A sleeping berth is located above the front seats.
The walk-through forward cabin features two captain’s chairs trimmed in blue cloth. A Midland CB radio is mounted to the left of the driver, and fans are mounted by both A-pillars. A cassette head unit is provided. The seller notes that the air conditioning does not work, and the windshield wipers remain in the automatic setting while driving. The steering wheel sits ahead of a barrel-style 135-mph speedometer and a fuel level gauge. A compass and a Suntune tachometer are mounted atop the dash, and supplementary gauges are located in the center stack. The five-digit odometer shows 79k miles, approximately 9k of which were added under current ownership.
An Awesome Piece Of History
While the interior design is definitely an acquired taste, it looks like Mavrik successfully updated the Aironado for modern camping use. He actually camped in it, too, so the renovations weren’t just for YouTube. Sadly, Mavrik failed to mention the unit’s length, its holding tank sizes, or its length.
I’m not sure I care. This thing is just incredible. It might also be one of the more affordable Bring a Trailer auctions out there. Sure, the auction might have 215 comments on it right now, but bidding is at only $6,000 with three days to go. I think whoever gets it will have one heck of a camper.
What I love most about the Aironado is that it is the physical manifestation of a man’s dream. Wendell could have bought any motorhome and not built this. But he saw his dream through to completion, and he did it without any fancy credentials or experience. He was a regular person, just like you and I. In a weird way, that makes this weirdo motorhome inspirational. If someone can mate an Oldsmobile with an Airstream, you can do anything!
Top graphic image: Bring a Trailer
The post This Airstream Camper With An Oldsmobile Toronado Stuck To Its Face Is An Internet Legend That You Can Actually Own appeared first on The Autopian.
