Text by Patrick Bell.
Vans and van life is our subject today, with a good variety of images to view. These were all over the place back in the day, so much so that with my used car dealer career, I have at least some experience with all but one of the featured units. So let’s take a look.
It was photo taking time for this bunch as the dude on the right also had a camera in his hand. It appears they were at a recreational area of some sort in their ’63-’67 Ford Econoline Window Van with a roof rack, spare tire and dual horns on top. It also had a styled steel wheel off of a similar vintage Mustang or Fairlane on the front. The wagon in the background looks like a ’67 Pontiac Catalina.
A working man and his working van, a ’69 or ’70 Chevrolet Chevy-Van long wheelbase from California. The man’s uniform and his work truck were color coordinated, but there was no sign on the van. In the background was the headlamp of a ’64 Cadillac.
Here is a family van with the whole family aboard. A ’64-’67 Dodge A100 Custom Sportsman with all of the windows open, perhaps in the state of Hawaii. Parked to the right was a ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon, and in the carport across the street a ’59 Buick 2 door hardtop with what appears to be a Hawaii license plate used from ’61-’68.
Now we have a fine young buckaroo that was either mounting or dismounting a ’61 or ’62 Ford Econoline Regular Van with aftermarket windows installed, likely as part of a camper conversion. There were brackets on the outer corners of the right side, possibly for an awning. Across the street was an institutional building of some sort, and a black ’54 Buick Super or Roadmaster 4 door Riviera Sedan.
All of the domestic manufacturers produced two versions of their vans, a work van and a passenger van. In Ford’s first generation the Econoline was the work version, usually a panel type but side windows were optional. The Falcon Club Wagon was the passenger version, with windows, finished interior, and one back seat with options for more. The featured one was too far away to determine which version, but it did have the Extended Body Option (or Supervan), which made it a ’66 or ’67 model. In the left background of the campground was a white ’68-’72 Volkswagen Type 2 Westphalia Camper.
This one was a ’64-’67 Volkswagen Type 2 Westfalia Dormobile model, with a different style of roof. I presume it got its name because it was like a big door on top that you could open, instead of the tilt up type. They look like they were camping out in the backyard, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Fun, fun. Digging out a ’64-’67 Dodge A100 Custom Sportsman from Illinois after a heavy snowfall with some more coming down. This looks like a parking lot, with a large building in the left background and another building on the right edge. On the left edge was a ’60 Chevrolet amongst a small crowd of people.
Here is a pair that were working for the Bell System, possibly doing some new connections in this new looking neighborhood. The Econoline was a ’61 or ’62 model with a ladder rack and auxiliary signal lamps on the front.
Another camp scene with a ’67 Chevrolet Sportvan 108 with a pop up top and a small boat trailing behind. This was Chevy’s passenger van that may have had the seats removed and some camping equipment installed. The license plate looks like an edition from Oregon that is too old for this van. They also had a fold up table with an awning for shade. A ’62 Chevrolet was parked to the left.
A ’67 or ’68 Dodge A100 long wheelbase from California towing what looks to be a 16 foot travel trailer. The van was a work version that may have had windows on the right side only. I wonder if it had the optional 318 V8. I also wonder if this was a short term haul, as those mirrors weren’t large enough for a wide trailer.
Everyone was having fun at this van gathering perhaps in Colorado. They were enjoying the view from the top of a ’71-’73 Dodge Tradesman with some customizing, such as a front spoiler and a pop up sunroof. It was registered in El Paso County where the seat is Colorado Springs.
This is the only one from today’s gallery that I have not had any personal experience with. A ’64 or ’65 Chevrolet Chevy-Van that originally came standard with a 153 cubic inch four cylinder that was also available in the Chevy II. According to search information it was modified with a small block V8 and four wheel drive at one time. The featured photo was before the 4WD was added as it has the old I beam on the front with a serious lift. The setting was a van gathering, with a twin van and a VW on the left, and on the right a 2nd and 1st gen Ford with the right rear corner of a white Dodge in the middle.
A Finicky Fish dealer with a California license plate that says “LUCKYS’. His van was a ’78-’80 Chevrolet Chevy Van with a trailer hitch. His residence may have been in the background.
Our final image for today was a ’74-’77 Dodge Sportsman long wheelbase with an aftermarket four wheel drive conversion. The brand or company name may be on the driver’s door. It was from California, and it looks like a typical modern day promotional shot; driving on terrain any two wheel drive could handle.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Great photo anthology Rich. Great history, good to see the old vehicles.
Great shots of a variety of life’s situations.
That last one of the 4X4 Dodge conversion, the late great Kevin Martin could have used that one on his Mexico/Guatemala/Mud work trip in 1979
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/cars-of-a-lifetime-1977-dodge-200-tradesman-van/
Lovely images .
I remember the Van Craze, many of my peers bought and fixed up old work vans and had endless parties out in the Mojave Desert .
-Nate
I see that I have saved few pictures of vans to add to the collection. However, here is a 1956 Goggmobil
Westphalia Dormobile model:
Note the modification to draw more air to the engine while moving forward. My brother in law made a similar modification to his Type 3 Squareback to overcome the heat of the Deep South. IIRC, he got the air scoops from a JCWhitney catalog.
The Dormobile name is derived from the French Dormir (to sleep) and in addition to VW they also converted Land Rovers, Bedford vans, and just about anything else they could mount their side hinged roof to.
The Chevy with the pop top may be an early Sportsmobile.
Finally this is missing a picture of Paul Neidermeyer and his A100
Yes, they converted so many Bedford CAs that back then in the UK virtually all camper vans were referred to as Bedford Dormobiles even if they were Austin, Commer, Morris, etc. or converted by someone else.
AFAIK Westfalia and Dormobile were/are two completely separate companies?
They were (and still are) separate companies, Westfalia in Germany and Dormobile in England. For a brief period of time in the 1960s Westfalia bought elevating roofs from Dormobile before developing their own front hinged roof.
Previously Westies had a ‘sub hatch’ or ‘turret top’ but the larger Dormobile roof allowed for bunks in the top.
That poor fellow stuck in the snow! When unladen, vans of that era had very little weight over the drive axle and were positively miserable in snow. You had to have a really light foot to accelerate from a dead stop, lest you wind up sideways.
Amazing. As a pre-schooler, I grew up with these but they didn’t start registering with me for another decade, as used rust-wormy wrecks. I distinctly remember how they smelled. Like oil, gas, exhaust – like a lawnmower, but without the grass smell. So, it’s cool to see them new.
Since the VW didn’t change much, I remember them best. Painfully slow. About as fun as a school bus if you weren’t sitting in front. VW did their drivers a favor by putting that engine as far away from the driver as possible. So they didn’t smell. If you were riding in the back however, you got all the engine noises as that bread loaf tried when it tried climbing any hills it didn’t have forward momentum to get over.
Great photos!
I love the images. I’m a fan of the van lifestyle. During my childhood, I used to see families enjoying them during the summers.
I like the shot of the trio sitting on the Dodge Tradesman with Colorado tags. Reminds me of a similar shot of some friends watching the hydros in eastern Washington in the ’70s. Maybe these people were watching the Pikes Peak Intl. Hill Climb near Colorado Springs?
Experienced van drivers would hang a tarp behind the front seats in winter to keep the heat where it was needed. No sense in heating that big box.
Wow! Lots of A-100’s pictured! Paul and his van are missing; picture #7 is what my 69 A-100 Sportsman originally looked like before I “modified” it. Petty Blue/Corvette Classic White w/ red pinstripes, ’70 Charger side marker lights and gas cap, Magnum wheels, and 340 c.i./727 auto engine combo! However, no photo of me, as I was the photographer, LOL!!:-)