Having appeared the in my neighbor’s driveway the same evening I posted the Canadian Mercury Econoline pickup, this 1967 (?) Ford Econoline replaced the 2002-ish Honda Odyssey which had been sitting idle for the past several months. Given the obvious CC-effect, I began snapping pictures and in the process, started a conversation with its owner. Her husband, she said, had passed away ten months ago, leading her to pursue her dream of opening a mobile massage therapy practice (based out of this van, of course). Seems like Bloomington really is the Eugene of the midwest.
I would’ve painted this van differently, but it took an honest effort to make it look this way. It doesn’t say “mobile massage” so much as “mobile party,” but the combination of the two could be quite pleasing to potential clients. If nothing else, it works well enough for the new owner who has no plans to change it. Who knows–massage therapy-plus-pop art in one van might make for a smart way to attract business in this famously free-spirited locale.
This van began life in somewhat of a seafoam color, but a nice navy blue or army green would be my color of choice. Then again, white or bright crimson would show off the Econoline’s pleasingly blunt shape more effectively. Simple they may have been, these vans looked much more attractive than their Greenbrier counterparts (though not as cute as the Dodge A-series).
Three on the tree, no a/c, power assists or a radio; the kids who rode in that loaded Odyssey will have a lot to get used to when riding in the Ford. But the Honda is indeed gone, along with the man who owned it, so this van’s cold vinyl seats, loud six-cylinder, fogged-up windows and bouncy ride motions will all form a constant reminders of life’s precarity. That certainly will make this a vehicle which tells a story.
That said, the kindergarten-age kids of said owner/entrepreneur will have a blast riding around in this romper room on wheels (at least until the planned massage table goes in). I myself dreamt many times of my parents replacing their suave imported sedans on something a bit more rustic and worthy of impromptu camp outs. As I was tiny, anything from a Colt Vista, to a Grand Caravan to a Tercel wagon would’ve fit the bill. Free as this Ford is of carpet, and looking quite tidy, it is a perfect clean slate for most any plans its new owner may have for it. It’s much easier start over in life if you’re not left to clean up someone else’s mess.
Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1961-1967 Ford Econoline – The Leader Of The Pack
Wow. That is a genuinely fascinating paint job. An Econoline woody?
As beautiful of a choice as this may look on a lovely early autumn day, the choice may be less inspired in the dead of winter. That thing is a gonna be COLD inside. Also, I have never looked up the legality of unrestrained juvenile passengers on the floor of an old cargo van. I wonder if there is a way to bolt some child safety seats to the floor or something.
Cool Van, but I sure hope there is a rear seat with A LATCH system in the works so the kids can be safe while inside.
1960s Vans from Detroit are not very common in Portland, OR and are non-existent in Central New York so getting to see one looking so cool is a treat.
That’s a great paint job. Definitely not my taste, but very well done.
I like how she decided to play on the idea of the traditional surfer’s woody but with weathered planks. The cool green of the flames contrasts nicely with the warm tone of the wood too. Also, the pattern over the faux wood appears to be a play on a 70s era custom van paint job. Pretty cool.
A romp-wagon named “Woody”? Is she serious with that massage parlor, or is it “massage parlor” within air quotes? I’m sorry, but I don’t think I could ever take a van-based massage-anything seriously. It just can not be done. And even if she did go through with that, anyone passing outside the van would take that rocking back and forth as something completely different.
No, she’s serious :/ .
I don’t know, perhaps I shouldn’t be so crass? What the hell do I know about people following their dreams? Perhaps a mobile massage joint is exactly what the world needs?
The van being called “WOODY” is pretty suggestive… that seems like a little too much of a coincidence, but then again I wasn’t there, so it could be!
The inside looks awesome and not at all like a brothel. I wish my parents were hardcore enough to have had a van like this when I was a kid, too.
So even if this van isn’t really a rolling happy ending, let me bring some filth back into this article by mentioning a Hot Dog Handjob Truck that is locally famous. I used to work near the lot they’d park in and I’m verrrryy glad I never had a hankering for a dirty water ‘dog at the time:
http://nypost.com/2012/05/08/truck-yourself/
While an interesting vehicle, I’d seriously have a bad first impression is this showed up at my house for an appointment. I guess I’m just a stick in the mud, but trying to do a business out of anything other than a stock painted van with some reasonably professional graphics on the side leaves the potential customer with a first impression that has to be gotten over, not worked with.
Yes, “Syke the Shirtmaker” (my re-enactment costuming business) is traveling in a bone stock Kia Sedona LX with the seats out “SHRTMKR” for license plates, and will have professionally made magnetic signs on the doors sometimes in the near future. I have a long-standing reputation to keep.
Oh yeah, I have no problem with the concept of a professional traveling masseuse. I’ve got an old friend who did that sort of thing, although in her case, she used a car, and her massage table (chair? – it was sort of a combination of both) was carried into the client’s place of residence/business.
🙂
Hommina hommina huh, wha? Do I have this right?. A woman of not advanced years loses her husband (and, presumably the father of her “kindergarten aged” children), moves on with her life by buying a mid 60’s Ford Econoline van, has a groovy (and very nice) paint job put on it and starts her life over by following her life-long dream starting a mobile massage therapy business. If successful she’ll have her own show in no time. And we’re talking about the van?
It sounds like the plot of a Lifetime movie.
Then it would have to be a Mercury Econoline since nearly all of those movies are made in Canada.
I don’t think she had the paint job done, based on the “Bucyrus 2007” that is painted on the back…
Well, the kids would still get to romp around inside the Odyssey, once it became solidly stationary with a blown transmission.
A neat paint job indeed ! .
Cool old truck , too bad there’s so few left , they were _everywhere_ in the 1960’s & 1970’s .
-Nate
Ditto. It’s beautiful Banksy-ish painting. But serious massage therapists are always swimming against the current of “massage” that means something else. When the truck loudly proclaims the latter meaning, the current may be too strong to fight.
On a more practical basis, people with back pain who need serious massage are going to have trouble getting in and out of a low-ceilinged van. Bringing the table into the house from a plain car would work better.
Unlike the northern commenters above, the first thing that comes to my mind is how awfully HOT it would be in that van here in FL… for 9 months a year!
I like it! Im pretty partial to these snub nose vans anyway, but the wacky paint job and the slot mags set the hook. Hope she does a good business and keeps that van up.