We were up at son Ted’s for an overnight visit a couple of weekends ago. Parked our Promaster van in the driveway, which served as our guest room on wheels. In the morning we headed out for an urban hike, and starting right two houses down from them, where this gen2 Econoline sat, we hit a spate of vintage vans.
These are getting a bit rare, but I do keep finding them.
Looks like this was an early conversion van, with those plush seats and that wood cup holder.
Just a few houses further down was this old Dodge.
Which shares its driveway with a Subaru Baja, no less.
Oops, not exactly a van, but honorable mention to this semi-old Ford with a similar-vintage camper.
A block or two further was this fine old Dodge Maxivan, one of the early versions with the shorter rear extension, and the conventional side doors behind a small side window behind the passenger door.
How did this get in here?
This one is covered, so you can guess what it is. Who knows, it might be a van.
An Aerostar, in the extended body version. Not something I’d normally stop for, but it was van day.
And a vintage Chevy van to round out our coverage of the Big Three.
But the Dodges are winning, just like they were the best selling vans in their time.
Here’s a nice pairing of an early sixties Chevy pickup with a more modern relative in front of a mural. The sun was not cooperating.
And finally a ’65 Ford 4×4 pickup. It’ sporting the previous generation bed; I guess the 4x4s carried that over yet for another year or two after the 2WD pickups got their matching beds in 1964.
I thought this song was appropriate for this article. I bought a new 1980 Dodge van that was a basic model for $6,000 that I needed for my business at the time. I did a mild conversion to it, wood paneling,tiled floor,
wagon wheels, sofa bed, roof vent etc..I still have the original wheels and 2 hub caps in the garage,lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-bMlYlBaUI
That early Dodge Maxi is a blast from my past. My best friend’s family bought a new 73 Royal Sportsman Maxi in that same white and yellow (Top Banana) only the pattern was reversed with yellow as the main body color (above the upper trim and below the lower trim line) with white in the middle (with breaks like in the attached brochure shot).
The Gen2 Econoline is all but extinct here. I am curious – do those get dimpled areas that show the welds around the rear wheel openings? I had always thought those were from stress, but maybe they were from rust, as they don’t appear evident on this example. Another friend’s dad had one of these, a 69 with the six, a 3 speed and a bare steel interior.
And an Aerostar in the wild with no big rust holes – a CC for sure.
Nice pics.
That old-ish Ford with the camper top looks like it has an extended roof, complete with windows and a chimney.
Is the car under the cover a Duster?
Looks like that neighborhood is a treasure-trove of undiscovered CCs, based on what you photographed during your time there.
The car under the tarp looks to be wearing Plymouth hubcaps. I can’t say for sure but I’m guessing that is a Duster.
I saw three Toyota Vans within just a few miles yesterday, all driving.
My grandfather had that same colored Econoline- I can still see him shifting the three on the tree with his underhand grip due to his severe arthritis It’s speedometer had a red zone over 70- maybe due to a short final drive ratio? He was always careful to keep it under 60, frustrating for me on those long road trips. He’d rev the snot out of the six in 2nd to get to 55 or so.
It succumbed to rust from S Fl humidity by the mid 90s. He sent it to the body shop several times, and it would continue to rust around the repaired areas. He disliked the driving position of the newer vans. Oregon never ceases to amaze me, truly the land rust forgot…
He oringinally installed a camper kit in it, I think he said it came from the Sears Catalog. Real nice Westy look with benches, table, matching blue curtains, nautical type barometer/thermometer/clock, and kitchenette.
My brother had an Econoline in that color, and now I’m wondering how popular it was.
In an odd twist, my Dad had a diiferent one, no side windows, and in that I took my first “empty parking lot driving” lessons. After shifting motorcycles I was fine with the idea (well, the motorcycle version) of gas & clutch coordination, but I didn’t have a lot of fun with a column manual three. Turns out that van wasn’t around long enough for me to drive it when I got my licensee anyway.
I see this one parked down the street when the weather is nice
The Aerostar appears to be a Sport model with the factory running boards, and at newest a ’93 as there’s no CHMSL (’94 was the first to come with it). My ’96 XLT had running boards but they were aftermarket; DeeZee brand I think. The bed mat in my 2011 Ranger is from the same brand.
I saw a VW Microbus on I-20 2 days ago traveling in the fast lane! The catch–ALL lanes were in gridlock mode at the time. It had a North Carolina license plate–I live in SC–so the driver must have been well aware of the traffic patterns. 🙂
They were pretty popular, but nothing like their luxurious replacements and GM’s versions. And it seemed that Ford’s civilian versions were usually that pleasant greyish blue. Actually, the one in the Paul’s article seems a tad brighter, its interior is the correct color. A lot of Mustangs were also that color.
My Grandad was a nice, kind man who turned into a furious Cuban tempered maniac when I drove. He made me nervous, and I’d shift even worse lol. It had no synchros on first- either worn out or it came like that. He was adamant about double clutching into first in stop and go Miami traffic. Never ever pleased. Stopping or lugging in 2nd not allowed. All with a vague worn linkage in the selector and a stiff grabby clutch. God help me if I missed or crunched first. Voodoo shifting. There’s nothing I can’t shift like a pro now. When he became elderly, we’d laugh about him almost killing me over that damn van…with no A/C or PS. It was miserable- but it would be priceless now!
We went to Death Valley, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, and he took it all the way down Baja, too- all on the factory clutch. The engine was never opened. But it rusted to smithereens, only from Florida humidity. He loved it and tried to save it, but that metal was determined to rust away under the blue paint.
I was in Portland two or three years ago, did a bit of bicycling around the city while the friend I went to see was at work. On my first day, struggling a bit due to jet lag the morning after a cross-country flight, I rode around slowly, looking for interesting vehicles.
Though I saw quite a few interesting vehicles, the theme for the trip became vans. Most were not too different from ones I have seen around New England, though the average age may have been a bit older, the average condition a little better. The most interesting specimens I spitted were Previas, which are exceptionally rare around here.
The “semi-old” F150 reminded me of one I had many years ago. It was a longer cab, 4WD, long-bed, which served as a work truck for my business at the time, and a great personal vehicle. It was likely the best vehicle I owned until my current Subaru.
The car under the tarp does appear to be wearing Plymouth wheel covers, but I think they’re Ford. Judging by the wheel covers and the “hang” of the tarp, I’m gonna say it’s a ‘66 or ‘67 Ford Fairlane coupe.
Nice trip around town. With spring maybe we’ll see some older vehicles come out of storage here in Toronto. I haven’t seen a second generation Econoline in a long time, but the next generation ones are still around. The Dodge vans are still pretty common here as are the Chevy/GMC vans. The Ford pickups of that vintage are also a regular sight…with and without campers. The Aerostars are pretty much gone – I haven’t seen one in a long time. I wasn’t sure what was lurking under the tarp, but I’m inclined to agree with Frankster – it looks like a ‘66-‘67 Fairlane coupe. I think it’s time for more Saturday bike trips with my camera.