At first glance this may look like an original Econoline pickup, but its a home-brew imitation. And not a bad job at that, although one does kind of wonder why. Maybe it got damaged back there, or the pickups are hard to come by. Or?
The cab of the factory pickup went back further, to encompass the engine compartment. Here, a heavy-duty fabric curtain divides the cab from the load bed, and part of the engine still sticks out.
Here’s where this one has an advantage: opening side doors. And it looks like they still work pretty well. Shades of the Corvair Rampside.
Wow, that’s different. I’m assuming the roll bar is for structural integrity; it would have lost a LOT with three-quarters of the roof chopped off! I would add bumpers, some dog dish hubcaps and paint it red.
Things like this make me wish I had some metal fabrication skills. I’d want to weld in a rear bulkhead instead of leaving it open, but otherwise I’d do it pretty much exactly the same. Well, set up the “roll bar” higher than the roof so it would also function as a lumber rack.
Did you notice if the rear doors still worked also?
My question is….are these things unitized or full-frame? I agree that the rack would be at least somewhat functional if it were above the roofline. If this thing holds together it sure would be a versatile little truck.
Id definitely put a solid wall between me and the load other than that a nice conversion
Very good point. I think this is a neat idea though — the real Econ-o-lines were terrible rusters. I knew a guy that had one & it was rusted-to-pieces despite being an Alabama vehicle.
I hate to see that.
Sure, an Econoline pickup is kewel. But he didn’t HAVE ONE. What he DID, was butcher an Econoline van…ALSO a nice find…to home-make one that’s simply not successful.
It reminds me of the idiot that cut corners off a $20 bill to paste on a $1 bill…a fake that fooled change machines decades earlier.
EXCEPT…he RUINED $21 in currency to get TWENTY DOLLARS. Smart, huh?
This is much the same.
You’re assuming that the sheet metal that was cut away was salvagable.
BTW, the $20 $1 bill trick is done by cutting one corner off of 4 $20 bills.
True…but the bonehead who got caught at it, used ONE twenty.
The judge basically slapped his forehead at the guy’s hearing…how could someone be so stupid and be able to walk into the courtroom?
Nice craftsmanship. I wonder if the owner ever worked in Indiana at a Conversion joint.
This is nothing. Last month I saw an GM-Isuzu cabover truck cab/chassis, with an early 1990s Chevy extended-cab pickup grafted onto the back, carrying a 1960s Chevy Van in its bed. And the brake lights worked on the van, so I know that it was meant to be that way.
Darnit, I really should have U-turned on my way to work and at least gotten a cell-phone picture of that thing . . . as nobody including myself would ever believe it!
Am I correct in thinking it had the pickup bed on the back? And the complete van was sitting in that?
I have seen a race car trailer setup to use the race cars brake & indicator lights rather than install separate ones…
I know exactly the truck you are talking about when I lived in Renton I used to see it around town occasionally.
Wow, so I’m not crazy! Sure wish I had taken a pic of it though. Would also be interesting to meet the owner.
And to answer your question above, John, yes, the van was permanently mounted in the bed of the pickup that was on the Isuzu truck frame.
Seems like an awful lot of pointless sheetmetal to haul around. Entertaining, but not very efficient.
Thanks for the reply. I agree with Steve – why not just do what I’ve seen a few times out here and bolt a caravan body onto the truck’s flatbed tray (or bare chassis). I don’t expect there is a logical answer though beyond that being the first idea, or using pieces available at hand!
That rack will not add any rigidity. It would need to be triangulated to do so.
At least tie it into the cab structure!
Problem is there isn’t really any cab “structure”. Just the remaining sheetmetal with a small flange welded into place to clean up the cut edge. That’s why I’d want a full rear bulkhead installed. I wonder if it would be feasible to install a bulkhead with a passthrough door…
It looks like the cab is starting to sag, especially on the right side. Notice that the door is slightly ajar and doesn’t seem to fit properly into the doorframe any more.
Those tires are pretty aggressive for that thing…I thought maybe a hunting truck of some sort, but the pink throws me off.
Looks like there’s a couple bungee cords in the back and a tie down, so I’d guess it was built for a specific purpose.