To most (myself included), the name “Plymouth Voyager” instantly conjures thoughts of the Voyager minivans, and their three generations from 1984-2000. What some don’t know, is that the Plymouth Voyager was another unrelated Mopar product, sold from 1974-1983. The original Voyager was a full-size van, based on Dodge’s line of B-Series vans. I recently came across this one on eBay that oozes pure ’70s style.
Introduced in 1971, the Dodge B-Series was the first full-size van offering seating for up to 15 passengers. Like competitors, the B-Series could be ordered in a number of different wheelbase, length, and seating configurations in both windowless cargo and windowed passenger models. Throughout the 1970s, passenger models were badged as the “Dodge Sportsman”.
For one reason or another, Chrysler executives thought it would be a good idea to badge the Sportsman as a Plymouth, broadening the model’s availability to Chrysler-Plymouth dealers. The Plymouth Voyager was the result of this plan, and went on sale as a 1974 model.
I spotted this pristine 1977 Voyager on eBay. It reeks of ultimate shagginess. Starting with the exterior, it sports a bitchin’ pale yellow and bronze two-tone combo, complete with intricate pinstriping that somehow can’t help but remind me of trash barrels in Disney World. In true ’70s fashion, this one wears wire wheel discs.
Enter the backseat through the double doors, and you may need to pinch yourself in case you think you’ve entered the Bradys’ living room. I don’t know if it was officially marketed on the Voyager, but this lovely cloth and vinyl color scheme was called “Boca Raton” on other Chryslers of this era. And of course, no ’70s shaggin-wagon would be complete without orangey-brown shag carpeting. Curtains are provided all around for privacy of course!
Now THAT is a center console! And everyone complains about how big they are on today’s cars. That plasti-wood cup holder tray reminds me of a ’70s-era coffee table from my grandparents’ vacation house.
The Voyager and Sportsman also offered a class-exclusive, one piece swing-open tailgate. Competitors’ doors were spit down the middle.
Truck production figures are harder to come by than car, and I wasn’t around in the ’70s to witness any, so I have no certain info on how popular the full-size Voyager van was. I’ll go out on a limb, and say that these Voyagers weren’t huge sellers. The full-size Voyager was ultimately dropped after the 1983 model year, and the Voyager minivan picked up where this one left off. As they say, the rest is history.
The eBay listing is (here) and a complete photo album from the seller (here).
The ’74-’77 B series vans were the most handsome vans ever in my opinion. I owned two of them. The PLYMOUTH lettering in the grill looked much sleeker than the DODGE in chrome letters on the hood. I’ll pick a nit and say that there were better two tone layouts than this, but in truth I’m drooling over this van.
I’d like to find a Plymouth grille for my ’77 Dodge:
That thing is in amazing condition. These were tough vans that ran for a long time with little maintenance, but they didn’t age well from an appearance standpoint. Someone sure loved this one. Sammy Johns would approve, even if it’s not a Chevy. (And now everyone who gets the reference will be cursing me because they have the song in their head for the rest of the day…)
I actually have that tune on a comp CD, from Rhino Records of all places. I also have his older semi hit, Early Morning Love on a true 45rpm record. 🙂
Chevy Van generally doesn’t stick in my mind like some other tunes, thankfully.
Worse CC effect at full volume today last pour of the day i drive onto the street and whats there,this I know its a Chev but thats about all and Ive just finished reading the post cool van Ive seen something similar in a print ad decades ago its cool in a retro way
Interesting find. Here in the US, a ‘Vandura’ is a GMC, but this obviously has a Chevrolet grille. I wonder if it has been modified, or is it a NZ version.
Its a left hook so imported they weren’t sold new here we got GM vans from Bedford.
Wow, that is in truly amazing condition. Who puts something like this away for future generations to enjoy?
I’d love to see stuff like this at car shows. What a nice van.
Right around the corner from me in Lakeland FL, this was probably elderly owned and loved, not used much apparently. And my wife and I were just talking about acquiring a good tow and road trip vehicle… I bet she’d love this! LOL
I recognize that interior; it’s the same color and upholstery as my ’77 Dodge Chinook!
My father in law had that interior also in his ’77 Dodge RV.
A small maintenance company i worked for in the 70’s leased their vehicles ,and had one of this vintage. As a self proclaimed dyed in the wool Mopar guy I am embarrassed to say I don’t remember if it was a Dodge, or Plymouth . I do remember it was a very nice two tone green with the same bucket seats up front, and two rows of seats behind. I was allowed to borrow it to use for a personal move ,and also remember that it rode nice and that its 360 (I think) was quite thirsty…
Not quite a shaggin’ wagon but certainly a contender for the Most ’70s Van Ever (Rhythm-Method Division).
wow, thats a beautiful van! My dad has a 76 dodge sportsman osage conversion with red button-tuck leather and tri colored shag. It dont look nearly this nice, nor does it run right now 🙁
Know these vans, not intimately, but do know them. An older one, I think a ’72 two tone green extended van, I think the Maxi that a church campground owned, don’t know if they bought it new, or used, anyway, it was used to haul campers and counselors to the hiking areas where the hikes began, and would pick them up again, and do the occasional day trip to a lake with the canoes and such.
The campground was in the north Cascade foothills, just east of Everett, and all the lakes and hikes were in the mountains around there.
I became familiar with it around 1978, and rode in it at least once during the 3 years attended camp there (campground owned by the Diocese of Olympia, the Episcopal church diocese of Western Washington).
Then in the spring of 1983, I, and other kids were picked up in it, I think in Tacoma on a Friday, if not in Seattle and then it whisked us to Anacortes Washington where we hopped on the ferry to the great San Juan Island for a church conference that was being held mostly at the HS since no church up there was large enough for everyone.
I can’t remember Bruce the campground director at the time came on the ferry with it, or not but he also drove us back that Sunday. On the way back, I think it rained as we drove down I-5, and I recall noticing the amp gauge flittering back and forth, and the lights of the dash doing the same, the alternator was slowly going!
By that point, it WAS a decade old or so and who knows how many miles it had by then, I’m guessing a fair amount, probably well over 100K.
I don’t know how long they kept it, but for several years in any case.
I also drove a newer version of that van, a restyled variant from 1981, or 82 and it had the round headlights, was white w/ blue upholstery and it drove decently, for a van while a student in a TV Broadcast program at a local tech college, now a community college, and this was in 1989-90 time frame.
I love how this one is a complete time capsule of an era, right down to being completely unmolested and oh-riginal. Simply Groovy. That dash has soldiered on, more or less the same up through the last iteration of the full sized vans in the mid 1990’s, so it must’ve been a good design to have lasted that long, with some modifications to update it some.
Amazing how many people don’t know Plymouth dabbled with trucks in the ’70s. I would love a Trail Duster…..
I had a 72 Tradesman years back. Had a 400 instead of the stock 318. My GOD that thing was fast. Total chi-mo van. No back windows, gritty yellow paint, satanic looking roof rack. It was great for hauling drums to venues. Driving it up Prairie Road taught me why the curve signs indicated 35, 40, etc. I didn’t dare take them at speed.
I love, love, love this van. As a kid, I spent many happy hours in a yellow and white 73 Dodge version. My car-mentor (and best friend’s dad) Howard owned it and kept it for a long time, at least by his standards. I got some wheel time in it, eventually. With the 360, it was plenty fast. The unibody construction also made these things extremely rigid, something that neither Ford or Chevy vans could claim. However, they were certainly rusters, a trait that the B van kept intact to the end of its life.
This 70s version with the little side windows behind the front doors were the best vans of all, with super easy entry into the back seats due to the side doors being set farther back. I never liked the newer versions as much as these.
I will agree with some on the 2 tone treatment. The Plymouth offered that narrow strip around the car, while the Dodge had a much larger area for the “middle” color and looked more balanced. I will go on record here as saying that those are not original wheel covers. I think that somebody’s grandpa put those wires on in the 80s. This thing just screams out or a set of Mopar Road Wheels.
I recall when the Voyager came out. Our local ChryPly dealer got a whole batch of them in, all in solid baby blue. Must have been or some small fleet. As a rule, you hardly ever saw these in a ChryPly dealer’s lot.
Never been much of a fan of these types of vans, but I look at these pictures and I’m seven years old again. What a fantastic time capsule.
One of the first cars I ever “drove.” My father let me sit in his lap and steer one of these around the trailer park when I wasn’t yet four years old. We did that regularly (it was a very different time), but the size of this one sticks in my mind. Quite a challenge to squeeze it around all the parked cars.
Unibody………….. That’s why they were a total bitch to pick up with a single post floor mounted lift!
I had to maintain a early 90s Dodge van that was maroon and silver and cursed it every time I had to pick it up to change oil and general repairs. It had the rear mounted air conditioning to make it even more fun.
Any of you guys remember a 1979 CBS TV movie titled “Death Car On The Freeway”?
Shelly Hack ( of Charlie’s Angels fame ) plays an ambitious news reporter covering the story of a wacko dubbed The Freeway Fiddler. The Fiddler is a psychopath loner who spends his days stalking the L.A. freeways in his souped up Dodge Tradesman cargo van, and uses it as a weapon.
His targets are lone female drivers. When one either gets his attention or pisses him off, his M.O. is to pull her into a high-speed game of cat and mouse, eventually causing her to get into a fatal accident. Every time he goes on the attack, he shoves in an 8-track tape blaring wild, frantic bluegrass fiddle music.
The whole time that Hack is hunting him, he’s stalking her. Once she discovers his identity and reveals it to the police and public, he knows his goose is cooked. With nothing left to lose, he ambushes Hack on a freeway still under construction, and challenges her to a four-wheeled fight to the death.
The ending is completely predictable and totally cliche’.
I totally love this van but to be fair, its no ‘shaggin wagon’ with all those seats.
+1. A true “shaggin’ wagon” needs full shag carpeting up the walls (and appropriate upholstery and sound system) inside, a Frazetta mural outside,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5yU5HThYbU
and only a dark tint porthole window in the top quarter.
So the link in this post is why so many people are looking at the photo of the trashcans outside the American Adventure pavilion at Epcot, very cool! feel free to link to my photos any time!
It sold for $10k
Until recently I didn’t know that you could get anything from a 225 slant 6 to a 440 engine on these vans (Dodge too) from 1971 to 1978. I have no experience with Mopar vans but I did have a SWB 1978 Chevy Sport Van with a 400 small block which was a lot fun.
This is my 1975 Plymouth Voyager. Could be considered a shagging wagon. Still has original Paint. Hopefully the pictures will come thru.
One more picture of the 1975 Plymouth Voyager. This was taken in the summer of 2013. My son likes to take it to car shows. Only Plymouth Voyager anyone has seen in the area. Manitowoc Wisconsin.
Does anyone know where I can buy a tubular grill or a square one. Please can act me
Just found this beauty on Craigs, all orig, no rust, bought with the intention of customizing with flairs,paint,shag,cragers but don’t know if I should after trying to find another one online for sale or even images for that matter are scarce, I would love to see more pics and stories of other people’s customizations of these old mopar vans. this one is a 74
Love my shaggin waggon! I’m 24 and my friends just don’t see the joy I do in this beast… With the 360 engine it’s super thirsty! Is the passenger van and I wanted to move the seats around so I bolted them down more like a wrap around couch, more fun that way and don’t ruin much with that small customization… Has 72,000 miles and near perfect interior
Just picked this 1976 Voyager sport 3/4 ton (pb200) up on on craigslist. Been really excited to do a little body work and repaint it after I reseal the valve gaskets and whatever else needs mechanical attention. It sat in a barn for 15 years but it made the 2 hr drive home from that barn like a champ.