Econoline Van Grows a Hood 

I drunk more beer in a 66 ford van before I was 18 , than I have in the last 40 years .

That long wheel base would make an AWESOME custom 70's style Van

Love these junkyard crawls. Steve has so much knowledge

In 1968 I was in high school, working part time for an appliance store delivering TVs. We got a brand new Econoline, 302 with 3 on the tree. As I recall, this could get very close to 100 mph!

I learned to drive in a 61 Econoline with three on the tree. I think it was about 1968. Smith Bros Construction Company vehicle. Later I bought my first new vehicle. 1979 E-100 with 300” six & four on the floor. Ordered it with AC and 2 captain chairs that swivel and recline. I love that rig. It’s still running and is still in my driveway. NO REGRETS !!

Those longer wheelbase vans were good for the carpet guys.

Cool Ramcharger in the background.

I had a 1970 Econoline 200 6 cylinder 3 speed manual. Had it for years . Then years later I had a 74 Econoline 300 8 cylinder Automatic. Both vans had no side windows only in the rear. I miss these vans . Never ever either vans gave me any problems. They were very reliable & easy to work on.

My first van looked liked this one. A 70 Club Wagon 6 cyl 3 on the tree. It had blue shag carpet everywhere even on the doghouse ☺

Me too....love these crawls. Awesome job brother Steve.

Also the back and side doors were interchangeable, it was common to see a side door with the license plate opening. My dad was a carpenter and had a falcon van and two econolines , before switching to chevy in 1984

Mine was a '72 swb 302 w/traction loc. 3spd on the tree, manual steering and brakes. Mag wheels and side pipes. It lives to this day w/another young owner who works it. Fabulous work truck for electricians (me) and plumbers/painters etc

Man, when you think about it, the switch to the full size van for '75 that thing remined essentially unchanged until the end of the Econoline run when the Transit came out just a couple years ago.

I worked with a guy in the early 80’s, we where truck drivers. Anyway he had one of these that he hauled his firewood in. He shoehorned a 428 into it. We hadn’t gotten around to modifying the floor, and doghouse to enclose the engine, and just wrapped the exposed engine in aluminum foil the day I was in it. Well, let’s just say I haven’t forgotten it till this day. Bare in mind that prior to that time in my life I served my time as an apprentice diesel mechanic at Cummins Diesel, and I was well acquainted with being up close and personal with hot running large engines in the engine dyno room, but when you add the fact your cruising down the road with that bbq right next to the left side of your body, the first thing your thinking is there’s not any “ Holy Shit ! Handles “ in this thing ! My last year in high school I was a roadie in a local rock band, we had a Chevy 60 ? The early model before the snub nose hood. There would be six of us in that thing, one guy had to sit on the dog house, we called that “ The balls handler seat. You used your hands and arms to push up against the roof to hold yourself from falling over on the driver going around corners. The other three guys sat on three chrome dinette chairs lined up behind the front seats, not secured to the floor. Behind them would all the equipment that had to be Tetrised in or it all wouldn’t fit. We’re talking tube ams, cabinets, PA system, and large drum kit in road cases. …… just realized we’re all still alive ! This would have been in 71 ? so we’re all still waiting for our “ big break “ phone call. You can see some of the band members this month at the Port Credit Blues, and Jazz festival. They’ll be the guys still counting they’re rosary beads from some of those early hour drives home from the gigs. Thanks for the memories Steve. Still miss my 64 New Yorker.

These ol' vans were something else back in the day. So many things done with them not possible to do with other vehicles.

I still like vans . I have a 1966 econoline , 240 straight 6 , 3 on the tree , 90 inch wheel base. Thanks Steve.

My 1st automotive mechanical lessons in life were based on an econoline van. Mid 70’s

Great video Steve. Thanks for more info on a vehicle that I have some awesome memories with. My Grandfather had a 70 E-300 SUPERVAN he used for his plumbing business. That thing was a tank, with its heavy-duty suspension and 10 ply tires! It was like driving a beer can, with only the two front seats and no insulation. She had a 6 cyl with an automatic trans and some stiff gears in the rear. My Pop n I drove that beast up to NH from Jersey for a fishing trip in the late 70's. It took about 10 hrs with traffic and a top speed of about 50mph. When we arrived up there, we lost our voices from yelling over the road noise and the 10ply tires screaming inside the interior. Our ears were ringing for 2 days as well ! 🤣 The more weight you put in that thing, the better the ride...otherwise she rode like a bucking Bronco. Sounds crazy, but I miss that green monster and especially all those memories with Pop and Gramps ! Thanks again Steve

As I remember one of the reasons why the big three started lengthening the nose on their vans was lawsuits resulting from drivers that were almost guaranteed broken legs and trapped feet in the event of a frontal collision. Just adding that small extension and moving the engine mass forward created a small crush zone that helped in a front end collision.

I appreciate the brevity of your videos. You open, hit the high points quickly and dig up interesting facts about the most ubiquitous and overlooked vehicles. Very well done.

Thanks for the lesson. I own a 77' Chevy G20 shorty.

At 18 years old, I purchased my first new vehicle in my life. A 1974 Ford E-300, 6 cylinder, 3 speed on the tree, 8 lug wheels, 6 ply tires, sliding side door, no windows on doors except on front doors. Chrome grill and bumpers cost me $12 extra. Full analog gauges in dashboard cost me an additional $6. I had to also order a front passenger seat, and rear hot water heater. Total out the door price, that includes extra ordered options, dealer prep & taxes = $3,200. That bad boy took me places that some 4 wheel Pickups could not travel through. I owned it for 22 years before I sold it to a teenage guy for $100. It had just over 110 original miles, and the second owner had it for an additional 5 years before some drunk ran a red traffic signal & t-boned it. Wish I still had it so I could restore it to factory fresh. Those Ford E series vans were built like a brick shit house. Definitely built Ford TOUGH way back then.

Here !.........from land o' lakes,wi....I picked up this very model van on a scrap run....sold it,,,and it's running again today.!!!!!..... 8' bed plus..everyone loves these.......tnx,pat.

Valley Motors was located at 96 West Street in Ware, MA. This is now an auction house and an audio supply shop. Ford MSOs for trucks today still make reference to the wheelbase in the vehicle description and the door jamb certification labels have a "WB" field which is the vehicle's wheelbase in inches.

Sitting over the axle is always cool.

Looks like it even has a set of pacer 310w’s in the back! I have loved junkyards since a small kid

i had two of these babys..69 an a 72..both great loved them..69 was a six an the 72 was a 302..lol now i have a 94..with a 351 windsor..fun fun

This dude knows his stuff

My brother had a 1971 Club Wagon with the 300 inline six - it just wouldn't die.

In the front, that would be the Oil filler not the trans filler.

I had a '65 Dodge A-100. I loved that thing! One of the pluses of those mid mounted engines was that the weight distribution was about 50/50. Even with the beam axles it handled great! You could slide that thing around like an Austin Healy Sprite!. Anyway, I liked it.

Ironsides first vehicle was an old 1940's Paddy Wagon with a flathead V8, it sounded great!

Had a 73 Econoline factory Burnt Orange with chrome grill and bumpers. 302 AT. Power brakes and a dealer installed AC. Only had the windows in the back doors and sliding door. It had the Thrush side pipe mufflers with the square outlet not the round chrome type. 15in Turbine wheels with the fattest tire i could stuff under it. Cut springs in the front to give it a nice rake. Inside it had green shaggy carpet trimmed in black leather (vinyl) a bed in back 2 massive speaker boxes that had mirrored tops for 'recreational uses' and the spinning disco lights tucked away in the back corners over the bed. Had some gypsy beads covering the entrance to the bed area. Don't forget the 8-track and CB radio which went away when CDs and cassettes took over. It was nicknamed "Bastard Maker" by friends. Drove this van up until 1997 when I had finally gotten tired of being profiled by the local police. Not racially LOL...namaste bro

loved that ,history at its best ,a man with a passion

My Dad owned an upholstery shop when I was a child and as result he always had a work van,and it was always one of the early Econolines. He would buy cheap,throw a paint job on it and use it awhile before selling at a profit and starting the process over by purchasing another one.I've traveled many miles in the passenger seat of a Ford Econoline during my youth,this junkyard crawl really brings back fond memories of my Dad and the great times we had !!!

in 1972 I was 5 years old. our family had one of these; Green/Green with white roof. 1973; three week family (of 6) vacation around western USA pulling a pop up camper (during gas crisis) Thank You Steve for the walk around. I wasn't old enough then to know anything other than jumping on the seats.

Ever run into any Ford’s with the Dual-Range C-4/6? I had a 66 Ranchero with a 289 and a Dual Range, thing got tremendous gas mileage and could absolutely smoke the tires.

Love those stub nose vans. Especially with bubble windows

Good old west Brookfield, I use to live in Spencer MA the home of Prouty high school and Ragsdale Chevrolet, great videos

I remember when they came out they were quite the hit. Something different and not long after GM Dodge brought out their version of it. I bought a brand new 74 Dodge van. 👍👍🙂🇨🇦

Thanks for your time every time Steve

Always look forward to these videos. So interesting!!

The custom Vans in the 1970s was like the Firebirds in the 1980s. Good Times! Keep on crawling...

Great video Steve. Love that long wheel base.

Thats cool,my first ride was a 61 econoline pick-up.

really cool to see and learn about

My dad had ‘69 Econoline. Wish I had it today.

Loved the video Steve

Great video,,Love the strange different car, trucks, vans, etc...

Awesome info Steve. I've learned alot watching your videos. Thanks

Kind of neat that according into the tags on that van it was on the road up until 1990.

You sir, are a harold of the car Gods. You sweat more car knowledge than I'll ever acquire.

Hey Steve, back in the 60s, 70s, 80s my family had a office supply store and would only use econoline vans for delivery's. I was the driiver!😉

Good stuff, Steve!!

thank you Steve...

awesome stuff steve also in australia there was a bedford van

In 98 I scored a green 77 E150 with a 351 4bbl, headers and glasspacks on a very short exhaust that exited before the back wheels. I bought it from a retired DJ in the town of Windham, Maine but a only had it for a few months before selling it for travel money. It was loud and fun.

My first new vehicle was a 1974 E100 with a 300 cu in six and a three speed on the column manual trans.

Thanks for doing this very informative video on one of my favorite vans! I had a 1974 back in 1979 and went to 14 custom van events in the Northeast with it ranging in size from 500 to 3500 vans. There are still plenty of these vans still on the road at the over 100 custom events every year. The 50th National Truck-In is happening in 2023, the largest custom event on the planet.

My mom and dad had a 74, it had a u shaped rear seating with a removable table and a closet. We took that van everywhere and I remember seeing Star Wars 3 times at the drive in with it. The tin worm liked it, it was pretty rough by 1981 when we got rid of it.

I just nerded out over a van

Over and over daily, weekly: Steve seems to carry on without script with a mastery of a myriad of auto make, model specifics, specifications, historical context, factoids, etc etc The legend continues Mass. and t- shirts in March … 🤘

It’s my understanding that the 302 that’s in the early 70/71’s Econoline Vans came from Mexico , the same plant that made the Boss302 blocks , and that the vans used leftover boss blocks . I’ve read where people have removed the oil pans to find the 4bolt mains . While the Boss302 had screw in freeze plugs the vans had regular plugs .

Yes! Econoline for the win! Now I’m not as fam with this style as I am with the 76-91 but I’m still excited for this one! Thanks Steve!! Now just gotta find an IDI Ford diesel for me to cry over and want to fix (especially if it’s one of the rare (ish) factory turbo IDI 7.3s that came out in 93 right before the direct injection “Powerstroke” in late 94. Lots of great memories with my late father in one of those that he bought brand new in 93. A Bimini Blue F-350 extended cab dually, fully loaded XLT, 5 speed with 4.10 behind that turbo IDI. Custom ordered it too. Thing was an absolute TANK! Ok enough blabbing about the memories)

I miss my 1980 shorty Van. Put a 351 in it with mustang headers. Fun drive

You're right the 302 had plenty of power. My dad had a 73 1 ton van, 12 passenger, with a 302 and automatic. Pulled our camper, hauled dirt bikes, great van.

Great info!

From 61 to 65 Chevy had the forward control Corvair/Greenbrier van.

My very first vehicle I owned was a 1972 Econoline panel van. Bought it in 77 with visions of making a custom van. Got as far as putting in two captains chairs and then a quick paint job to sell it, as I was going off to school. So ended up van life! haha.. Bought a 72 Ford Gran Torino to take it's place and used that for about 3 years as my daily driver.

Hey Steve, Thanks for another great video. I'd like to see you do one on the Corvair Vans and Corvairs in general. Cheers!

God those were EVERYWHERE!!! It's amazing that they all disappeared, in the rust belt at least, mostly by the early to mid 1980s, yet their successor was still being produced! I think those '68-'72s have much more in common with the first generation Falcon vans, than they do with the '75-'92 or whenever. That exposed column shifter linkage-tube... And look at how Ford didn't paint the insides of the doors white to match the rest of the interior! That looks like it was a nice van, with the carpet over the front wheelhouse, and cladding on the walls below the windows. And that must be the last use by Ford of that three spoke steering wheel with its horn ring! It's a shame that van is there, because so few of those survive today. And it looks especially solid for Massachusetts - despite that Bondo I saw at the driver side of the rear 'valance.'

Steve is the best at this.

Got a 61 econoline short window van. Was behind the barn of the house I bought. Some one stole 3/4 of the doghouse the starter there were no radiator seats. Rabbits moved into it. Drug it to the shop made my own dog house out wood top side roofing sheet metal bought starter change fluid got it turning over spark to plugs bought radiator with electrical fan had some low backs seats from Karmin gia in it now and have all new brake parts siting on the shelf. If I can ever get to it. Naming the old girl the rabbit hutch.

Steve, Steve, Steve... Why do you always forget to mention, if not outright ignore, the Chevy Corvair 95 series of light trucks? They also hit the market for the 1961 model year and, as I recall, the Corvair 95 left the gate before the flat-nose Falcon. The 95 "Corvan" had more cargo room than the Econoline panel truck, the Corvair Greenbrier Sport Wagon was a true 9-passenger van whereas the Econoline Club Wagon maxed out at 8, and notonly was the Corvair 95 Rampside pickup vastly more practical than the Econoline pickup, due to the ingenious ramp built into the curb side of the bed that made loading and unloading easy, but it also kept all four wheels on the ground in panic stop situations. One panic stop in an Econoline pickup and it's off to the chrome shop to get your front bumper rechromed because of the truck's reverse wheelie! The Rampside/Loadside's weight distribution, along with its 4-wheel independent suspension kept all four wheels on the ground at all times. I'm not sure about this, maybe you could clear this up for me: In the 62 years since the Corvair 95 hit the market, has Ford EVER offered a pickup or van with 4-wheel independent suspension???

Wait. Wait. Wait. Chevrolet also had a cab forward van in the Corvair Greenbrier and Corvan in ‘61 as well as a cab forward pickup. They were awesome.

123? That's a normal size van too me and not a shorty, extended to me is the 148" wheelbase van that was known as the carpet installer's van because it would hold a roll of carpet and still be able to get the back door's closed. I owned an extended van for a few year's and a carpet layer bought it from me and enlightened me on that.

😂🤣 not only a hood, but apparently it grew a pair too! 😳😝🤷‍♂️ ✌️🤙

Had an extended Ford van office just like that with the dog house on the inside... In the winter it warmed up twice as fast because you was sitting right next to the engine...

Chevy had a forward control van and truck in 61 too but with a rear engine of course.

The engines in those vans were offset to the right, which could be seen by looking t the rear axle which had the pumpkin moved to the right.

That's a cool van, don't see many 68-74 Ford Econoline vans anymore! Thanks for sharing! 302 2V 210 horsepower, make a good engine for parts or rebuild with C6 automatic and Dana 60 rearend!

123 LOVE It! Great story, Mags!

i liked the van cabs with the pickup beds. they were a hoot to drive you could nose stand them if the bed was empty. they were a pain to work on though

Hi Steve Love your channel! If you ever want to make a video about the newer style Ford Econoline vans that were restyled starting in mid 1975 I have a 1978 Ford Econoline 150 Supervan with the extra Scalloped rear side panels. I special ordered it in 1978 and it is still in showroom shape. Pretty much keep it in the garage. It has the 351 Windsor motor matched to 4 speed manual overdrive transmission. Pretty rare van now.

We cruised all summer in the 80’s in one of those Ford vans. We didn’t even have our drivers license.

I learned to drive on one of these Ford vans and it was a bear to drive. No power steering and that school bus rake to the steering wheel was a lot to handle specially in tight situations! I was just glad it was a an automatic.

Cool video 📹

I had the 1970 MPC model of this. Chateau Club Wagon. Could be built stock, as a race support vehicle, or as an ambulance. Pretty cool kit. I think I got bored with it and made it into a shorty van, but that might have been my '75 Econoline kit.

Steve, you want some great content? Head to Oxford, ME and go to Ayotte's yard. They have cars from the 20's to the 70's. There are some newer items there but mostly old stuff. Really cool place and the guys that own it are good people.

You could get the vans as 1/2 ton thru 1 ton. E100 E200 or E300

Check out the New England Van Council, they have a couple shows a year at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield MA... I was out there in 2019 for the Van Nationals, but that's in Old Washington OH this July...

Man - who could forget the whole “van craze” of the mid 1970’s! Believe it or not, having a “decked out” full-size van in 1977 was akin to having a luxury SUV today! Shag carpet, captains chairs, a funky graphic on the side, plus the obligatory bubble window - Keep On Vannin’……..😂

Definitely my favorite model van. So wide !

In college I spent a lot of time in the parking lot in the back of one of these.

All the glass is good + the driver door closed perfectly = bring it back to life !! -(8[)

Steve, how about doing a video on the Dodge B-van? I have a '77 Sportsman Royal SE camper conversion that I've owned since new, and I sure do like it. It is probably my main driver.

That was cool.

Steve please do a bit on the ramcharger in the background

Everyone's favorite car nerd

My first van a 76 Chevy my second a 87 Ford my third a 84 Chevy got to rebuild my motor and get to van life again!