What happens to a dream deferred?
That question, asked by the great poet Langston Hughes, was meant to reflect on the experiences of African Americans in early twentieth century America. But it applies to our featured vehicle today, and the company that created it.
“Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” The last lines of Hughes work speaks to the odd case of the C-350. At least one person involved with this particular conversion company saw the Ford lineup of the late 80′s and yearned for something more. Something much more, in fact.
Well, the employees of Centurion Vehicles were certainly grabbing life by the horns. They cobbled various parts from the F-350 and Bronco, added some magic and poof! They created a truck based SUV that could haul the whole family, a boat, and all the gear you’d need to set up camp for the entire summer. All for the price of $62,122.02 in inflation-adjusted numbers.
When you’re spending the type of money that would make a sizable down payment on a house, you’d better be getting some bang for your buck. It seems like this aftermarket concoction delivered. “A video cassette player inside the truck? Amazing!” - That’s a line that must have been said at least once by a potential C350 customer.
These guys either really loved Ford trucks, or just held a deep seated hatred for Chevy. It was probably both, but you get the point: The Classic 350 was meant to beat the Suburban at its own game.
Four engine choices, including a 7.5-liter gasoline engine and a 7.3-liter turbo-diesel. All Ford engines of course, and they warrant a sentence simply because of their massive size. Of course, GM offered a wide range of engine choices as well, but they didn’t displace as much as their Ford counterparts . Plus, the 350 had nine more inches of length than its competitor from the General. Clearly, the folks at Centurion wanted a Ford Suburban, and they made one.
And here’s why. Notice anything about their lineup? The Classic is the only one being stitched together with two separate Ford trucks. The others just spice up existing ones. A Frankenstein truck fueled by vengeance, through and through.
So what of our featured Centurion product? The rust is a clear indication that its been a resident of the northeast for most of its life. And it definitely featured the diesel – everyone heard this thing rumble by the showroom. Also, check out the gargantuan proportions of this beast! It makes the late-model Acadia look like an Equinox at best, and the Fiesta could probably fit inside the 350 without a problem. Here’s a fun fact: see that Performance White Mustang peeking out from underneath the driver side mirror of the GMC? That was my first ever sale.
So what happens when you create a luxurious truck-based SUV that could run toe-to-toe with the Chevy Suburban? You get noticed. Then you get beaten at your own game by the hand that fed you. Ford discontinued the Bronco in 1996. So what was its replacement?
The Ford Expedition. Introduced in late 1996, it was based on the F-150 platform, and featured many of the same luxury appointments as the 350. But was it a true replacement for the 350? Its wheelbase was some twenty inches shorter, and it didn’t even offer the bigger engines included in the F-Series lineup. Video entertainment system in the rear? Nope. The Expedition didn’t have that either (initially, anyway). So if not the Expedition, then…
…the Ford Excursion. Massive by any way you look at it, even if its wheelbase was three inches shorter than the Classic 350. Still, it was longer than the Suburban, and offered the same powertrain choices as the Super Duty lineup, just like the Centurion product.
Now the Excursion wasn’t exactly well enamored by auto critics. In fact, it was slammed for being a symbol of American excess, at least until the Hummer H2 arrived. Regardless, the run of the Excursion was relatively short-lived, with the truck going out of production in 2005.
So what happened to Centurion Vehicles? They were bought out by Southern Comfort Conversions in 2006. A visit to the merged company’s website shows many spiced up Chevy trucks, but no spliced Suburban fighters. That era ended with the Clinton administration, it seems.
So will there ever be a creation like the Classic 350 in the future? It seems unlikely, as Chevy has a Suburban as good as ever, and Ford has the Expedition in both regular and extended wheelbase forms. Heck, even a Limited or Platinum F-150 in SuperCrew packaging can get the job done these days. And then there’s always the Flex…
But at least the people behind Centurion Vehicles didn’t let their dream dry up, like a raisin in the sun. Instead, they accomplished what they set out to do: make the Suburban fighter that Ford could not, at least initially. I’ll leave you with my opinion of how those employees can most likely sum up their experience building the Classic 350 by referencing the 1998 hit by the band Fastball:
“They wanted the highway, they’re happier there today”
(A quick shout out to fourdoorbronco.com. While I assert that this particular creation could be more accurately called a Proto-Excursion, I tip my hat to them, as the brochures you see above came from their site.)
I remember seeing a few of these 15 or so years ago. They made a lot of sense and I wondered why Ford hadn’t attempted what Centurion had accomplished.
That said, back in April I snagged a few pictures of similar treatment on a late model F-250/350 chassis (or Excursion). It was stretched to three or four doors on each side and was as long as a wagon track. It had Texas plates on it and had a sticker from either a Dallas or Houston dealer on the tailgate.
Note to self: Better organize your pictures so you can actually present evidence after making an assertion.
My immediate thought was, “this makes sense for Texas and perhaps nowhere else,” so your having spotted one of these with a Dallas or Houston dealer sticker is right in line with that.
That dealer sticker says Wayne Ford, Wayne, NJ – which is where I’m from. The dealership is still there.
I never even knew that these existed. When you think about it, I wonder why Ford never did the same thing. It is amazing to me that just like it took fifteen years for somebody to duplicate Chrysler’s minivan success, nobody has ever beat the Suburban at its own game. I had never thought about mating a crew cab pickup and a Bronco, but it should have been fairly easy for Ford to do.
Back in the late 90s, I found myself travelling beside a 94-ish Dodge Ram built into a Suburban-type vehicle. I pulled next to it at a stoplight and chatted with the owner for a second. He had it custom-built and was preparing to sell it. It was really quite good looking, in a red and black two-tone. I have read that Dodge was planning such a vehicle, but that they cancelled it at the eleventh hour. Too bad – they could have sold a lot of them in the 90s.
jpcavanaugh,
I also had no idea these existed. But working at a Ford dealer has its advantages. I’m guessing it was the first and last time I’ll encounter one.
It must be the focus groups and auto execs that nix alot of these vehicles. I mean, people did want some sort of Ford Suburban, as evidenced by the 350. Then again, the suits at Ford had all the market testing they needed: Centurion Vehicles. Then we got the Expedition and Excursion.
But if there is any one vehicle that Dearborn needs to make available here, it’s the Fusion wagon. I refuse to believe that it would be a sales flop.
Supposedly Dodge had the idea to do an SUV on the Dakota platform in the late 1980s or early 1990s (ala Ford Explorer) but Lee Iacocca nixed it. It would have sold like hotcakes rather than been deferred until the late 1990s Durango version.
I have also seen a late 1990s Dodge Ram built with three doors per side- the standard front and then two rear (possibly Chevy? crew cab door) plus regular long 8′ bed. This was in Iowa region.
> Chevy has a Suburban as good as ever
Except there is no diesel option for the Suburban any more.
I only found out about the Centurion a couple of years ago…Stumbled across one on ebay and was fascinated (and hooked!). I loved this era of Ford truck, despite their shortcomings and think that these are the penultimate expression of that design.
If not for the rust issues these Fords are known for and the fact that it would suck gas like a coke fiend does blow, I’d hunt one of these down and buy it in a minute…Don’t know what the hell I’d DO with it, mind you.
Perhaps park it in the back yard and stare at it from different angles…while sipping beer out of a can.
The Centurion seemed like a natural reaction to the Suburban in the late 80′s/early 90′s. I’m surprised Ford didn’t make it themselves. I feel like I have seen these before, but it was probably more likely a quad cab F-series pickup with a cap over the bed. Maybe because of the sheetmetal, they don’t seem quite as big and bloated as the Excursion.
I remember these from the mid-1990s and even worked with a couple of guys who had the brochures in 1995 (pre-internet) but the coworkers would never been able to have afforded the cost of the C-350.
I always wondered if Centurian bought a complete Bronco to salvage the back end for the C-350 or purchased just the required parts- sheetmetal, glass, interior, seat, tailgate etc.- and upfitted the parts to the 350 pickup.
Regarding the brochure pictures of the other work that Centurion did, living in ranch/rodeo country I’ve seen a few Cimarron, Laredo, and Austin package trucks pulling horse trailers around.
From the outside they just look like a tape job, I honestly thought a Ford dealer had gotten into an excess vinyl tape supply.
My aunts sisters husband had a 84 gmc 2500 that was built by centuron. It was a four door five passenger truck with a back seat that folded flat. it was a powder blue with gold tape strip kit. He used it as a flag truck for is trucking company and his daily dri er when he wasnt at work. IIRC the seats had that broughammy double tufted cushion. I wish I was in a CC frame of mind back then as I would have snapped a few pics.
Centurion also made a crew-cab towing rig based on the Econoline. I remember seeing quite a few of them at horse shows throughout Iowa and Nebraska in the mid-1980s.
http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=43016
Wow those are some tall stacks on that thing!
The lesson here?
Suburban buyers buy Suburbans because they’re Suburbans.
The Expedition made a good run at Chevy but didn’t quite hit the nail straight on.
I was still cruising around in a loaded 86 K10 Sub when these hit the streets and even I thought they were a bit ridiculous.
The original Expedition was just too small, with the rear seat too cramped and not enough stowage space behind it. It was also ridiculously tall. The Excursion was too big, although in my part of the midwest, they remain crazy-expensive, particularly with the diesel. It was not until the 2007 (?) Expedition that Ford finally nailed it, just in time for gas to skyrocket and the economy to go into a freefall. I have read some road tests that say that the Chevy is a stouter structure than the Ford.
The district owns one V10 Excursion with maximum 9 passenger seating. The thing is like driving a school bus, I’ve always found the Suburban to be more car like and easier to drive. I once went on a 10 hr drive to a conference with a carpool of those two vehicles, the Excursion drunk fuel in a way that would have made WC Fields blush if it had been alcohol.
I’ve seen a handful of these … and a neighbor had one when I lived in Silicon Valley until 2011, along with a late-model Mercedes and a ’56 (?) Ford, all in various shades of red.
Why not just get a Suburban? Are there actually people out there who are successful enough to afford this, yet harbor juvenile high school level Ford vs Chevy sentiments?
Especially when it means paying a 35 to 50 percent price premium simply to justify the pissing Calvin sticker on the back window?
Compared to the Suburban this was larger, had better capability (1 ton vs 3/4), a removable top, and nicer options. Dealer loyalty/experience could also play a part in that decision.
Not saying it was a good value, but it wasn’t just about fanboys. It’s not much different than somebody buying a BMW. Except some people probably did need the larger size of this thing. Nobody really needs a BMW.
A dark Blue one has lived in my neighborhood for years and I just saw it driving down the street over the weekend. Since I live in Beaverton where we don’t salt the roads, this one is rust-free, but occasionally has a patch of moss. I think South Beaverton attracts this sort of thing since I also occasionally see an 80′s Toyota pickup with an extended chassis and a fiberglass cab extension plus one of the Nissan pickup conversions with a full length fiberglass roof like a first generation 4 Runner.
Given Centurion’s history of building Econoline based tow rigs, they saw a niche and filled it as ong as it lasted.
I used to see one of these lumbering around Waltham, MA. Maybe it still is, I haven’t been back in a while.
I suppose something like this could be done again… perhaps a diehard Mopar man wants something Suburban-esque. A huge Ram wagon (MegaCharger?) would look pretty awesome.
http://www.customautosbytim.com/2012FordExcursion.html
I saw one of these, also white but looking like brand new, in Maine last summer. Florida plates though…
They are built in Oklahoma these days.
Have a look at the link here: http://www.customautosbytim.com/index.html
I remember all throughout the 80s and early 90′s was a chorus is ‘When is Ford going to make a Suburban fighter?!’ in car mags. Pre-internet.
I had come across these just once…in 1989 I was stranded in Grand Junction, Colorado, with my blown-up Yugo. While walking to the shop that was trying to raise the dead for me, I’d pass the local Ford dealer.
Which had about eight of these on the lot. It being a busy lot, and me not wanting to attract attention, I didn’t go read the fine point on the window stickers. But, I thought, Hmmm, there’s a new Ford truck…a late answer to the Suburban.
I got home to Ohio – WITHOUT the Yugo, which was shot and buried on the edge of town – and that was the last I heard of the Centurion-Bronco for a long, LONG time. It was to where I was starting to wonder if I’d really seen it…but by then I had Google. I caught the bare essence; an aftermarket conversion.
I didn’t know how spendy they were, although I should have figured it out. Now, I gotta wonder, why were they so popular in hardscrabble Grand Junction?
I owned a 1984 (?) Centurion, bought at Fred Jones Ford in OKC, I traded a crew cab 30 Chevrolet with a 6.2 liter diesel and $10,000 for it.
My wife pulled our 1978 40′ Kountry Aire fifth wheel trailer with it.
I loved that truck. It had a 460 motor and a four-speed transmission. The workmanship on the electrical connections was pretty shoddy, the clearance lights would blink everytime you hit a bump it seems.
I sold it and hte trailer to a guy in Ozark MO for $25,000 in 1989 I think. He sold ice cream mixes.
Those are our kids in the photo which was taken at a truck stop in Joplin MO