Like a lot of my “Gen-Y” peers, the 1970s and early 1980s sound to me like a very cool time, although, but one of the era’s trends which remains far from desirable was the custom van. This ad for Ford’s 1979 van line-up shows just how out of hand the fad had gotten, with three different vans pictured with optional factory port holes and no mention of the 460 engine, still optional in these hulks.
I understand that the choked up, de-smogged engines of the day meant having a van, a machine mostly concerned with torque, seemed like less of a compromise since there were plenty of cubic inches available, but these will never escape the air of lewdness associated with them. If we fast forward from 1976 to 1981, this is what Matthew McConaughey’s character from Dazed and Confused would be driving. Keep your daughters away; actually, keep yourself away.
they were everywhere, then in a few years they all went away. and oddly enough, by the mid 80s the family transport of choice for suburban mommies was the full-size conversion van, basically the same thing with a different vibe.
85 Ford work van looked the same. 300CID six and very extended body. Tough and capable. They should still be making it. Could hit almost 20mpg on a thing that was built like a tank.
I would love to travel in it today. Only thing I would add would be the dual tank option. I started teaching with a 100 mile round trip commute. Needed more mileage. Sad.
All that carpet looks comfy, but only if new, not after a few decades of use. These Vans sure were odd and all that carpet makes it hard to haul cargo.
These days a Van full of unbelted people is still somewhat common, but you just have to look harder. Just last year I saw 5-7 adults and a baby pile out of a late 1990s Dodge Ram Van with 3 windows and wolf murals on each side .
These things were everywhere. Where I lived in northern Indiana, those custom or conversion vans were EVERYWHERE, since most of them were built in and around Elkhart. Actually, all of the vans I rode in in the late 70s seemed to be factory-built passenger versions. I guess I was too young to hang with the owners of the custom vans and our parents were too old to go for such foolishness.
These quickly went from vehicles of the hopelessly hip to vehicles of the hopelessly hip wannabes, but they sure were comfy.
I remember seeing vans like this when I was a little boy. I thought they were the most impressive looking vehicles at the time, with all the fancy colours and shag carpeting. They looked like lounges on wheels.
If there was ever a decade that didn’t take itself too seriously it was the 70s. Nothing was too over the top like these vans from Perry. There was a democratization of style and culture — if you couldn’t afford a Stutz, Excaliber or Mark IV you could slap a RR grille on your Super Beetle and fit in just fine. In school I had an afro just like my African-American friends and wore a leather vest with tassels on the ends. I was 10.
The goal for an 80s yuppie was to have a Porsche 911 and that style didn’t trickle-down very well. It was a cool decade too but took itself more seriously and things became fragmented.
As someone who was also not of driving age (or alive, for that matter) in the ’70s or early ’80s, perhaps it’s odd that I like the vans of that vintage.
In fact, as recently as yesterday I found myself lamenting the fact that I no longer own one – especially since I was considering taking a 2-day trip with a 5000# trailer, and not looking forward to crashing in a regular cab pickup once I’d reached the halfway point.
But, though I may have a stronger appreciation for the underlying machines than most of my peers, I have no attraction whatsoever to the way many of them were furnished. Swinging bachelor pad on wheels? No thanks.
Give me an optioned-up version of your typical panel van. Sporty wheels/tires, bright moldings, visors, deep tinted glass, and a couple of nice seats? I’m all set. You can keep the shag carpeting and porthole windows.
Aside from the yellow paint, this guy’s got the right idea.
These still look pretty much the same as their Euro-counterparts from that era. This was the heavy-duty Transit back then, with the dual rear tires.
Bedfords and Transits abounded here mostly they are gone now the Japanese stole the market though now European vans are making a comeback
Japanese vans have faded away here. The Toyota HiAce for example, not available anymore. Japanese vans come in one size only: small. They also don’t have the same level of comfort, ergonomics, handling and diesel engines anymore as the latest generation of Euro vans and light trucks.
Never seen a Japanese or Korean van here with a long wheelbase, a high roof and dual rear tires. Like this one.
The only real Japanese van we’ve had here in the USA was called the Toyota van. It was a cab-over-engine van, with the engine placed in between the driver and front passenger. It was based on the Lite Ace van, as it was called in most markets. Although it wasn’t Toyota’s first van, it was their first van sold in the USA, perhaps in North America. Although attractive, it wasn’t a very big van, not like the Previa that replaced it. I think the HiAce would’ve made a better choice for North American use.
This is the current Toyota van here, the ProAce.
It’s a rebadged Peugeot Expert aka Citroën Jumpy aka Fiat Scudo.
Personally I would never buy the Citroën Jumpy. Because of its wimpy model name.
Im firmly in the camp that LOVES these ridiculous things. I wasn’t anywhere near of driving age in the 70s, or even 80s but I saw just enough of these leftovers from the ’70s to dig them. Give me an orange Dodge shortie just like that one in the 3rd pic. I think the airbrushing in the panels like that one has is a good part of the appeal for me. Looks great against the orange. I can just imagine that it has huge chrome side pipes, and either cragar SS or slot mag wheels. 15×7 up front and big fat steamrollers out back of course!
I’ve always been more of a GM fan, but in the full size van department I always favored the clean design of the 70’s and up Dodge van for leisure. The Ford and Chevy offerings of the time looked more like work vehicles.
Ugh. Vans are to me what broughams are to our friend Syke.
However it is a good reminder of simpler times.
“and no mention of the 460 engine, still optional in these hulks.”
“Still?” The 460 was available in Econoline until 1997 😉
Yes, “still,” because it was discontinued in most cars by this point.
I couldn’t resist to mention that early 2000s Diet-Pepsi ad featuring a custom van.
The Dodge Street Van is worthy of its own CC if one turns up out in the wild. I didn’t realize the Chrysler made them right up through the 1980 model, by which time the custom van craze was pretty much dead and the more upscale “conversion” vans were becoming popular. This ad is from the Street Van’s intro in ’76…
I really miss my 66 VW Van with the rare Sundial camper conversion and fold up windshields. It was in perfect condition and I’m blown away by the prices these things can fetch these days. Of course when traded it in for my 73 Sport Bug around 76 it was just another old Bus.
I remember the VW Buses of the 1970s with the large windscreen. Some friends of mine had one when I was a boy. Although not the best engine by today’s standards, I liked the fact that it was at the rear of the vehicle, where the noise wasn’t as bothersome as it would’ve had it been under the driver and passenger.
In the late 70s, our ‘rock’ radio station 3XY would have a competition to win a Freedom Machine.
Custom Bedfords and a Valiant rare now.Still some of these ex ambulance Bedfords about mostly as campers
God, you just know that that shag carpet would smell like bong water, spilled Jim Beam and smoke from Winnie Blues…
These old conversion vans were not without their own appeal. I dig the 70’s and early 80’s models aesthetically more than the newer ones. The Venetian blinds and running boards always looked foolish to me. What BA drove in the A-Team seemed pretty stellar at the time.
While vacationing in New Zealand I saw a lot of theToyota Hiace and thought it looked great.
What the Japanese have done with Dodge Ram vans is beyond cool.
Why were these kind of vans so popular and cool? Easy. What you are not understanding is the van was just a “vehicle” for four things that the kids couldn’t do at home (since most were still living with their parents): 1) Get drunk, 2) Do drugs, 3) Listen to loud rock music and 4) Have sex. Without having to spend any money on a motel. This is why the vans were equally popular with the chics and guys. Try doing those 4 things at once in a sedan or sports car without worrying about being seen by Uncle Joe and Aunt Jane or the Neighbors OR the cops pulling up!!!
Oh, I understand the appeal, there’s a reason for the title of this article.
Haha it was a good title I got it. When I saw the shag interior I immediately thought of bong water and hotel bedspreads.
A very, very popular license plate frame at the time was “if the van is a rockin’ don’t come a knockin'”. Another popular one was “gas, grass or ass nobody rides for free”.
For bumper stickers there was “save a tree, eat a beaver”. I remember my parents muttering to themselves once about that one, on a family road trip. I couldn’t understand what the issue was since it seemed like a clever environmental joke to me. The environment was a big deal back then. Remember the TV commercial with the Indian rowing through trash in NY harbor, with the tear in his eye?
Cruising vans, lewd slogans and what was the most popular form of transportation for the 70s California teenager? Hitchhiking.
Nothing will ever top the 70s.
I never cared for custom or conversion vans. To me they’re trucks and the only thing to do with a truck is work it to death.
I agree. Unless there’s a functional purpose to the custom, like make a camper out of it, then why do it?
I’m also too young to remember these disco vans as anything but a few raggedy survivors still rolling in the 80’s. But I do remember the 80’s being the golden age for the full-size conversion van–an entirely different animal, but still an evolution of these shag-paneled rooms on wheels.