Let's see some van love!

[cam.man67]

Post 'em up!

[fastwillie 696969]

my cousin work for california conversion custom vans in the early 70s ,when waterbeds and velet interiors with diamond port windows and candy custom paint jobs ,was the thing
he did the wood work in the vans,hand crave redwood headboards ,
that green van looks like a california conversion

[oldblue1968chevy]

wild lol !!

[abebummy26]

Ha ha I had a 96 safari cargo van only thing I would have considered putting in the back, was a gun rack.

[Shane]

i suddenly feel the need to wear a pair of bell bottoms and a wide leather bracelet with my name on it ... and platform shoes.

[fastwillie 696969]

Originally Posted by Shane

i suddenly feel the need to wear a pair of bell bottoms and a wide leather bracelet with my name on it ... and platform shoes.

dont forget the puka shell neckless

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by fastwillie 696969

dont forget the puka shell neckless

I still wear one of those....shaka brah

[cam.man67]

Originally Posted by fastwillie 696969

my cousin work for california conversion custom vans in the early 70s ,when waterbeds and velet interiors with diamond port windows and candy custom paint jobs ,was the thing
he did the wood work in the vans,hand crave redwood headboards ,
that green van looks like a california conversion

That's from Corvette Summer, right?

Here are some more:

YouTube - The Van (1977)

...not to mention a very unique concept from the '60s, GM's Electrovan:

[special-K]

Here are some shortys:

[bruceman1968]

This one MIGHT be a 50th

[hotrodhomi]

FTW

[cam.man67]

Proof of how far the coolness of vans has dropped from the first minivan until now:

then:


now:

[cam.man67]

Some more:

[71gmcburb]

here are my 2 early Econoline supervans the blue one is a 1966 and the red is a rare 67 8-door supervan







this is how I found my 67




After I cleared the brush away



after getting it home

[special-K]

Those '67 Econolines look like altereds. GM always had the sense to stretch the wheelbase:

[leddzepp]

It's a VW bus....but it's close enough

[71gmcburb]

yea they are both Supervans they came from the factory 18" longer then the standard vans but had the same wheelbase and got a larger engine and brakes as well as a heavier duty suspention then the standard vans. their wheelbase lets turn super tight. I can turn around on a 2 lane road without backing up witch makes driving threw Seattle city streets very easy with theirnarrow streets and traffic islands in the intersections kinda like a small roundabout only on a regular intercetion and carry a 30' extention ladder inside with the doors closed I've also had over 3000lbs inside the blue 1966 van and had no problems just setteled the suspention about 3".
only problem I have ever had with useing the van was when I towed a 68 thunderbird on a tow dolly and the short wheelbase and the distance from the rear tires to the bumper made for a fun trip I couldn't exide 45 mph or the van would start swerving back and forth. the motor and brakes were up tp the task tho

[FRENCHBLUE72]

That black one pullin the wheels up is killer..

[special-K]

I like the old Supervans. I just think it's odd that to this day Ford still just adds the length out back. It does help maneuverability but the trade off is poor weight distribution. Like those Nissan trucks with 4' behind the wheels and 2' in front of them.
I had a '66 VW Bus. I always resented they were not considered by most as a van. Kinda funny when you figure that's where the big three got the idea. My dad had a '53 bus,then bought a new Kombi in '63 and converted it into a camper. I wish I had a picture on the 'puter. Mine was a Baja Bus and even went there. It was painted Diamond Reo Meadow Green with big tires on wide white wheels.

Here's an assortment

[71gmcburb]

The 61-67 Econoline short bodys tend to be nose heavy becouse the rear bumper is only about 6" from the rear wheels but they have alot of waight in front of the front axle. Ford had to put a waight above the fual tank and it helped keep the rear down an the ground for the most part exept under real hard braking when they are empty.

Between the extra 18" of body with a lighter waight and fuel tank moved back to the rear bumper really helped balance the van. The Supervans only waigh about 200 lbs more then then the short body. Thats with a larger engine (240 ci I-6 1-bbl carb), brakes larger 9" rear axle, heavy duty suspention and longer body. My 66 has the optional front swaybar aswell. It handles very well can carry alot of waight and gets good gets milage (26mpg) at the same time

Ford left the rear axle in the same place since it was cheaper and maintained the same 37' turning radius since they marketed these vans as city delivery vehicles. You just can't tow a heavy trailer with it. It was built for hualing not towing

here are a couple ads from back then

[Restrorob]

Well heck, This being a bowtie board I figured that's all that would be posted !


Here's my 86 Ram I bought from the original owner which was a friend of mine, So I more or less maintained it for him.










It has 163,000 highway (road trip) miles and is ready to go at a moments notice......

[special-K]

Terra Van

[71gmcburb]

always liked vans on 4x4 chassis That van reminds me alot of the 79 Chevy heavy 1/2 ton short body that I used to have. It was a great van. It had a 250 and 3 pd auto and was an old Ma Bell window van. It was all silver when I bought it someone in the vans past had sanded a large stripe from the windows down to the first body line down to bare steel. I rattle caned it black

About 8 years ago I was driving it down I-5 in it and hit a dence fog bank car in front of me slams on their brakes and stops I landed on mine managed to stop in time look in the rear view mirror and see a fullsize pickup coming fast he didn't stop in time I got hit by 4 or 5 cars in that wreck (over 45 cars total in the wreck) all becuse idiots not paying attention to whats happening around them I also had brand new super bright tail lights on it. Of corse the van was totaled but all I got out of it was cuts and bruses. The van saved my life no doubt in my mind

[bruceman1968]

Love the 4x4 vans

[GmtGmt]

Originally Posted by Restrorob

Well heck, This being a bowtie board I figured that's all that would be posted !


Here's my 86 Ram I bought from the original owner which was a friend of mine, So I more or less maintained it for him.










It has 163,000 highway (road trip) miles and is ready to go at a moments notice......

I want it its awsome