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Abandoned 1972 Winnebago Brave Camper Flexes LS V8, Takes First Drive in 10 Years

Back in January 2022, we showed you a 1972 Winnebago Brave that was saved from the junkyard. It was in pretty good shape and had an LS V8 swap under the hood, but the Chevy mill wasn't running. One month later and this Winnie took its first drive in about a decade.
1972 Winnebago Brave with LS V8 6 photos
Photo: Life of Lind/YouTube
1972 Winnebago Brave with LS V81972 Winnebago Brave with LS V81972 Winnebago Brave with LS V81972 Winnebago Brave with LS V81972 Winnebago Brave with LS V8
Saved by YouTube's "Life of Lind" from a junkyard, the shorty camper spent about 10 years off the road. But despite sitting for so long out in the open, the Brave was in pretty good condition. The exterior showed no signs of abuse and the roof was still in one piece.

Amazingly enough, the two-tone livery also survived the test of time. The camper didn't look bad on the inside either, even though it needed a new headliner and rear window.

What's more, the camper came with a rather big surprise between the front seats, in the form of a 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) Chevrolet V8. Yup, that's not an original Brave mill because Winnebago fitted these campers with Dodge-sourced 318-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) engines. An interesting swap to say the least, but the LS refused to fire up so the truck was hauled on a trailer to the shop.

A few weeks later and Lind concluded that the Chevy V8 "has had a massive failure" and fixing it for daily use wasn't the idea. However, he did manage to get it going for a few minutes, enough to take the Brave on its first drive in 10 years.

He kept his promise to put the Winnie back on the road and it sure is great to see it running again. Of course, the ole 350 V8 will have to come out, but it remains to be seen when this vintage camper will get a solid engine.

Winnebago originally introduced the Brave in 1970. Designed as an affordable and more compact motorhome, the Brave became a popular camper and it's now among the most sought-after classic RVs.

Some 50 years later and Winnebago revived the "eyebrow" camper design with two modern iterations, the Brave and the Itasca Tribute. Introduced in 2014, the modern Brave rides on a Ford F53 chassis and draws juice from a 6.8-liter Triton V10 engine.

Now hit play to see this 1972 Brave come back to life and drive under its own power.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
Ciprian Florea profile photo

Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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