We had been comfortably cruising around in the coolest car Dad ever owned – a 1974 AMC Matador Oleg Cassini coupe – when he decided to go into business for himself as a cabinetmaker. He needed to haul lumber and finished pieces, so he traded the Matador for the uncoolest car he ever bought: a 1978 Chevy van.
This great white whale was meant for hauling and had only two seats. That wouldn’t do for a family of four, so Dad, safety always uppermost on his mind, got a back seat from another van and leaned it against the side wall. My brother and I had a great view out the sliding-door window, but the first time Dad made a hard left turn, the untethered seat slid straight across the van. We were lucky to have only banged our knees.
It was 1980, and a simpler and deadlier time. Integrated front-seat shoulder belts were still a fairly new invention, and rear seats still had only lap belts. Most people didn’t bother with either of them; at the time, compulsory seat-belt laws were still years away. Mothers carried babies in their laps in the front seat, and kids rode loose in the back of station wagons and in pickup beds.
Remarkably, we had only one other close call. It happened one icy day when Dad tried to change lanes and instead put the van sideways down the busiest street in town. Somehow the loose seat slid forward only a foot or two and didn’t topple; what’s more, we even managed not to hit anything as Dad wrestled furiously with the steering to put the van right again.
When I said that Dad wrestled with the steering, I wasn’t kidding; this was, after all, a stripper with Armstrong steering and “two-sixty air” – no air conditioning, but cool enough on a hot day if you drove 60 miles an hour with the two windows down. The van’s only amenities were its automatic transmission, power brakes and AM radio.
Dad’s furniture business never took off, so back he went to an eight-to-five job. Soon after, he bought another car, this time a dull Escort hatch, which banished the van from the driveway onto the side street. One night, a young heavy-metal fan with a can of green spray paint stopped to paint the name of his favorite band on the van’s flank. Dad drove it that way for a year before finally having it painted, and that’s how we all came to call the van “The Iron Maiden”.
I had my first driving lessons in the Iron Maiden with its super-stiff manual steering. Although most other manual-steering cars I’ve driven steered easily after they got rolling, the Iron Maiden’s steering was difficult at any speed; I needed to use both hands just to change lanes. Once time a tire blew while I was driving it, and I needed every bit of my strength to steer the van straight!
After using the Iron Maiden less and less, Dad finally sold it. None of us was particularly sad to see it go.
On the other hand, we all still speak fondly of the Matador.
(Photos are of the Iron Maiden itself, that I took as a teenager.)
Great story. This generation of Chevy van is one of my least favorite (if not most hated) vehicle. Maybe I just never drove a nice-enough one, but the ones I did drive were rusting, leaking, pieces of crap that made rattles from of any place two metal surfaces came together.
I never drove one with manual steering – the only van I ever drove equipped that way was a 69 Ford Econoline (that also had a 3 speed). It wasn’t really that bad to steer, as I recall.
Isn’t it amazing that any of us over 40 are still alive? My best friend’s family that had the 73 Dodge van would periodically have more people than seats, so some of us would sit in aluminum lawn chairs in the back.
The stuff we used to do back when. I have a photo somewhere of my mom and my grandparents leaning on the hood of my dad’s ’66 Galaxie. Mom’s very, very pregnant with me — and had a lit cigarette in her hand. It was 1967. If you were alive back then, you know that sentence explains it all.
My aunt owned a courier service in South Bend and I drove for her one summer. I drove an old Ford Pinto mostly, the subject of an upcoming COAL. But I also drove several of her fleet of early-80s Ford vans. They were simply superior to this Chevy in nearly every way.
In 1985, when I was 14 years old, I rode from Millbury, MA to Greenville, ME and back sitting in a lawn chair in the rear of a ’76 Ford Club Wagon. It was a three-row model with the third-row seat removed, so at least I had some room back there and wasn’t just crammed into the space between the third seat and the back doors (although I think there was some luggage back there with me). Being that it was a Club Wagon, I also had windows all around.
When my dad bought the van used in 1983, the third row seat was missing, and he simply used it as a two-row van with a large cargo area. I remember that there were two or three small holes in the floor where the seat would have bolted in, through which you could see the ground beneath the vehicle if you looked closely. We also later learned that the van had undergone an engine swap at some point before he bought it. It had a 300 cubic inch straight six when he got it, but had originally left the factory with a 302 V8.
The Club Wagon was always my dad’s vehicle. My mom would not drive it because it was too big for her. I got my driver’s license while he had it, but they wouldn’t let me drive it, either. (When I had my learner’s permit, all of my driving practice with my parents was in my mom’s 1987 Plymouth Sundance; once I got my license, my parents gave me my own car — a 1978 Buick Century that they had taken off the road and replaced with the Sundance, due to numerous problems with it — and for insurance reasons did not let me drive their vehicles.)
The Club Wagon was replaced in the summer of 1989 by a GMC S-15 Jimmy, bought as a leftover at the end of the ’89 model year. The Club Wagon had at least 250,000 miles on it at that point. My father sold it to a teenager whose family we knew because they had once lived across the street from us. The last time I saw it, circa 1990, its front bumper had been replaced by a piece of lumber.
The problem my company had with GM stuff was not so much powertrain but everything else. Door hinges breaking, latches that crack, broken seat frames, electrical problems, constant little niggles that have never been an issue with our Dodge and Ford stuff. This stuff might not sound like a big deal but it is usually a two day job to fix anything. First you have to find out the issue, then order the parts, then wait, then install. That took up shop space for two days, out a driver idle and totally screwed up our schedule.
Dodge or Ford, please.
Our Chevy van was reliable and tight. We must have been lucky!
I would wager it wasn’t on a daily route of pick-ups and drop offs, as well as runs into the hinterland that often are 1000 km + round trip.
That is where you see real durability, or lack thereof. We have not had any success with GM products, although we have tried many.
Ah yes, you’re quite right. Dad hauled lumber in his all the time but it wasn’t the same as route work. My aunt who owned the courier service had a fleet of Fords and one unloved Chevy that nobody ever wanted to drive.
I had a similar experience, but the other way around with the courier service I drove for. They had a selection of all of the big three’s vans, mostly Fords and Dodges, because their fleet managers were more aggressive than the Chevy guys apparently.
The Chevys seemed to hold up well for the most part. Of course, I was a part time and low on the totem pole driver, so I rarely got the ‘good’ vans, I was usually stuck with the lower echelon Fords and Dodges. Of course, the conditions in North East Ohio are very similar to Southern Ontario and the copious amounts of road salt used usually trashed any daily route service vehicle (that wasn’t aluminum) in about three years. Add in the fact that the rough roads literally pound the vehicles to pieces, too.
The high seniority guys got the Chevys and the vans (for some reason I could never ascertain) had V8’s in them, but also were the hardest on fuel. They rusted and rattled somewhat less than the Fords and the Dodges. The Fords I was stuck driving did not hold up well; I’ve had folks argue with me that they were the best vans. It’s hard for me to un-experience my times with those trucks, but for my money, they didn’t hold up well at all. When the truck that has stranded you (again!) has a blue oval on it, you tend to remember that more than anything else.
Eventually, the Dodge fleet sales guy got really aggressive and underbid both the Ford and Chevy fleet guys and replaced the majority of the fleet with Slant Six D series vans. I got out of that racket not too long after, so I really don’t know *exactly* how well they held up, though.
“Isn’t it amazing that any of us over 40 are still alive?”
Actually, the proper question is, “Isn’t it amazing what a bunch of pathetic, cringing, wimps the majority of us have turned into?”
We have one just like it but it is baby blue. We are fixing to sale it and I was wondering how much you thought I should ask for it.
And Sammy Jonns did a song titled “Chevy Van”, as a tribute to the Chevy Van? 😉
My parents bought a 76 Chev G20 campervan in 1986 with only 37000 miles on it…they got the rust taken out and re-painted and drove it all over, camping in BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. The van was powered by the 350 4 bbl and turbo 350 and also had factory air…pretty rare up here in Canada! In 1993 after they stopped going camping my wife and I started using it. We camped all over BC and Alberta, up and down the steep mountain passes in blazing summer heat with no problems at all. Eventually I had the carb rebuilt and a new rad installed but that was it. We used it from April to late October usually and then park it in Mom’s back yard for the winter…starting it up and letting it run for an hour or so every 2 weeks all winter. I always took it easy driving as she was getting old but it still would get 17 mpg on the flatter streches of highway and the A/C still blows ice cold! We gave it to my nephew a couple of years ago so it’s still in the family and still running good at about 90000 miles now. Great truck!!
I particularly like the leaned seat approach. Until I was 9, my dad drove a Mazda B2200 with a camper shell, carpeted floor, and two boys getting tossed around the bed. As a kid it was the greatest thing ever. I remember one multiday trip to Disney World where we’d spread our legos all over the back, sleep in our sleeping bags, and wait for mom to open the sliding window to the cab and pass some snacks back. It was worlds better than trips taken from the back seat of mom’s Accord.
My mom finally put her foot down for our safety, and in 1992 dad bought his first extended cab pickup.
Your pre-extended-cab travels sounded like fun. Junk food, Lego blocks & no pesky parents would have made the travelling more fun than the destination itself.
I worked at a liquor store that made deliveries and I believe it was a ’78 Chevy van! I remember it being weird to drive because it had no “hood”. Going from a ’70 Ponitac LeMans that had a long hood to this took some getting use to. It felt like I was going to fall over the front end all the time. It’s funny, now that I own a conversion van, I don’t have the feeling.
My son wants to get a hold of one and make a camper out of it. Without the shag carpeting.
Of course, now the song “Chevy Van” is stuck in my head for the rest of the day. THANKS JIM!
Imagine one of the older vans where you sit right over the wheels! At least these vans have the more conventional layout, if still a short hood. The contemporary Fords had slightly longer hoods, if it makes you feel any better.
In ’69 and ’70, I drove a mid-60’s Econoline for the local hardware store. Lots of fun to drive with the cab-over position, even with the auto tranny. (Loved to get it on glare ice and do “handbrake turns” without the handbrake. Weight distribution problems? Naah.)
My folks had a full-window mid-70s van (GMC or Chevy) that I drove once in ’77 on a trip back home. The suspension was soft enough that I felt pretty nervous about taking the cloverleafs at close to the recommended speed. (At the time, I owned a ’75 Celica–nimble enough for my driving.) As I recall, the next several trips when I flew back to visit, I rented a car. Even the Mercury Bobcat was less spooky than that van.
Don’t forget that the first Japanese minivans we saw in the US shared that driving position of sitting over the front wheel. Having owned a 62 Econoline and the parents owning an early 80’s Toyota I can say it doesn’t do much for the driving comfort getting bobbed up and down very similar to the effect of riding in the back of the school bus that had so much length behind the rear wheels.
My aunt and uncle owned a late 70s white Chevy Van in Lithonia, GA. When I was in middle school they let me drive it from time to time. I got it stuck in their front yard in wet grass. My uncle was not happy.
Great story, great band, mediocre van.
The ORIGINAL Chevy van, the flat-front Nova-chassis one…now that was a keeper. Chintzy in build, yes…but so MUCH space built into such a small platform. I loved the flat-front…yeah, I know about safety issues. But…to a greater or lesser extent, everything one does has a risk/reward aspect.
That was then. The flat-front van’s long-lived replacement…I drove a few at various times. I OWNED several beater Econolines. The Chevies, then or now, didn’t and don’t cut it in my eye.
I had the experience of driving one of these delivering furniture for Import Bazar (Pier One) in the early eighties.It seemed to be fairly bulletproof. The only amusing thing that ever happened to me while driving it was once, while travelling down a downtown Toronto street, a Semi squeezed me to the curb ( having not noticed that there was a vehicle to his right). I got so close to the curb that the hoardings for a new building cleaned off the right side rear view mirror. While stopped for the next light, I heard someone tapping on the passenger door window. I leaned over, wound down the window and a kindly man handed me the mirror. It’s glass was intact.
Owned a 78 chev G30 with a cube on the back. Eventually sprung something in the front end by carrying firewood. Never got more than 8-9 mpg. Very low geared and with a 350 4bbl. It could pull buildings down.
I liked the 85 ford stretch job with the 300 six much better but have no doubt about which one was loaded with testosterone.
What is it about cargo vans being the perfect canvas for graffiti? I had an ’82 G20 when I lived in a seedy industrial part of Brooklyn ten years ago. Being light blue it wasn’t the perfect canvas that your dad’s white van was, but it still got hit constantly. I would have loved it if someone with some talent had put a nice piece on it, but all I got was unintelligible tags. A band name would have been welcome.
The side door was hard to lock so I generally didn’t. I figured out after a while that a homeless guy had been spending nights in it, which didn’t bother me so I let him continue to do it. One day I was walking past the van and he had left the door wide open! Since he couldn’t be bothered to keep up his end of our non-verbal bargain, I decided to start locking the door. The next day the handle was ripped off.
My first experience of a Chevy van was somewhere in the mid 80’s: I was on the tennis team in high school & needed a ride home after practice (or meet: can’t remember). One of my teammate’s father offered to ride me home & he had a fairly new fully decked-out Chevrolet conversion van. The man himself was well-dressed, clean cut & appeared to be pretty well-off.
However, on our way home, we were on a 30-35mph two lane road & were coming up on a small bridge that came to a pretty sharp crest. He totally left character & said, “watch this!” while flooring the accelerator. We were doing about 55mph as we literally flew over the bridge. The contour of the road allowed a smooth landing despite the fact that all four wheels completely left the road.
His son was laughing like crazy & I asked him how come we didn’t bottom out or break anything? He laughed & said, “it’s because this thing is UNIT BODY!” I’ll never forget that..
I still own a shorty version G10 van & can’t disagree with the negative comments surrounding these vehicles, especially the lack of power steering. As much as I like my van, it’s an absolute bear to drive. 305 V8, manual steering, transmission, & brakes make for a real workout, especially at slow speeds.
My van was bought from a Birmingham impound auction for $120 and its dirty mattress, stinky garbage & needles were evidence of previous homeless inhabitants. The only reason the local junkyards didn’t outbid me was the lack of THM350 transmission which happened to be a big seller at the time.
Pretty much everything was worn out but even now, some 10-15 years later, it’s still limping along on its original drivetrain. Pretty much everything attached to the engine & transmission is worn out though.
I can’t help but love the thing though and have since found solid rear doors & side door, keeping the
childrencargo hidden from prying eyes. Tuning the engine is super easy from inside the cab & hearing & watching the Quadrajet moan is a real treat.Manual everything? Wow, that’ll sure put hair on your chest.
I rented a Budget Chevy van in San Francisco in 1980. It was fast-must have had a 350. At the end of the day my assistant and I would buy a bunch of beers and have fun seeing how much rubber we could lay running about 20 mph in reverse, then dropping the bitch into drive. Smoke city. Good times.
Two-sixty air? Dude, you’ve got vent windows AND floor vents! I really wish the modern Express/Savana vans had them – vent windows especially. I miss them… even though I don’t miss their latches breaking. I also don’t miss pulling/installing engines through that tiny front end. Around here, when even *considering* such a job, there’s the obligatory catchphrase to be uttered: “Vans Suck.”
As far as looks? Slap on a set of wide Chevy steel rally wheels (the “slotted” ones) with trim and caps, some decent white letters, and perhaps a visor. That’s about as cool as a van is ever gonna look. I’ve had several over the years, configured just like that. Add a 350 and a decent set of options, and they’re unstoppable. (Grew up with a white one set up as such, factory swivel seats and a small-block 400 – we called it the POLAR BEAR.)
‘Smatterafact, I’m in the process of building another now… the ultimate second/backup vehicle. Haul anything that fits through the doors, tow anything (as long as you don’t need a gooseneck) – whatever happens, turn the key and go!
No love here for the conversions, though. They were land yachts, the domain of retirees and people who think couches on wheels are a good thing. Yeesh. Only good thing about them is that your typical gramps and gram tend to baby their van, leaving me lots of nice parts once it ends up in the local junkyard.