Somebody noticed this similarly patinated (sp?) Econoline pickup across the street from the ’47 Studebaker. Now we can’t just leave it in mystery, eh? Here it is, in its full glory.
I’ve always had a soft spot for these and the Dodge version; who needs a giant hood out front when an engine can be squeezed into a little dog house between the front seats?
I feel a cool breeze blowing down this street; must have something to do with both of these trucks sitting on it.
I’ve wanted one of these ever since I was a kid back in the 1970s (when a few were still in use). I don’t think I’ve seen one for 20 years or longer. It reminds me of the Tootsie Toy cars I used to play with in the sandbox.
There is a jeep similar to this that I see every now and then. I do like them but have a feeling the traction is nil without a bunch of ballast. Even my 4runner doesn’t like the wet clay at my house right now. This would probably turn into yard art. Reality doesn’t keep me from liking it.
The snub nose Jeep is a FC series. Those are rare, and very cool. The FC 170 was a longer wheelbased model and some crewcabs were built for military use. The FC 150 was on the stubby CJ-5 chassis…I can imagine its handling is like a nightmare wrapped in a deathwish. That said…I want one!
My first father in law had one of these that he used in his logging business back in the ’70’s. It rode worse than the M37 army truck I had been assigned to. It was real nimble and really different to drive. In those days before child restraint laws, he used to take my 2 year old daughter for rides around the property while she sat on the engine cover right behind the windshield. That would probably be called child abuse and neglect today. Oh, well, she had fun with her grandpa, anyway.
I do like them but have a feeling the traction is nil
A roomie of mine in college had the van version. The back was completely empty and it didn’t take much urging of that little six to have the back end hopping as there was no weight to hold the rear wheels on the ground.
The pickup verson? From the looks of it, I would figure if I climbed in, the whole thing would tip onto it’s front bumper.
I got curious where these beauties were found, and discovered a CC Cornucopia when Street View came through there. First another nice old Stude in front of Oil Filter Service.
Right across the street, a sweet Alfa.
And finally a couple of sixties GM classics were here at SE Sixth and Clay. Portland’s Inner Southeast has always been home to many good old businesses and their CCs.
Those Van/Pickups were used for some great wheel stand exhibition drag racers. I remember The Back Up Pickup the most. Saw it a couple times in the late 60s in the PNW. There was another that had the cab in the front whose name I can’t remember.http://drag.racersreunion.com/photo/back-up-pick-up-wheelstander
edit: The Little Red Wagon
My employer had one of these in the 1970’s, a 1965 with those neat hubcaps, and I drove it on rare occasion. For me it was fun to drive, and liking the way it looked didn’t hurt, either. I still like these now.
I worked one summer in college for a Gulf Oil jobber . One of these was the boss’ truck. I got to drive it a lot making deliveries and really enjoyed it. The first thing he told me about it was to drive a little past a corner before turning since you were sitting in front of the wheels. He said he took out a stop sign with it the first time he drove it. Later I broke the passenger side mirror doing the same thing. Another time I stopped too close behind a truck carrying unflagged pipe and almost put one through the windshield. For a six it was pretty fast. Once the boss came into the office in his usual hurry and had me change the plugs because it cut out when driven over 80 MPH.
I had a lot of fun with that little truck.
Neat little truck. I really like the three windows in the back of the cab, looks cool and would gteat visibility. I mostly remember seeing the Econoline van. I guess it wouldn’t be too hard working on a six. Access would be bad with a v8. I recall that as vans were redesigned the motor kept moving forward until it was under the hood again.
300six, a 4speed and a flatbed for me. This featured vehicle was likely only offered with a 240, a 3speed and no chassis cab option. No worries…easy to upgrade.
The boss at Gulf told me that the one I drove had a 300 six in it. It also had three on the tree. He had replaced the 13″ wheels and tires with 15″s. It made the truck look a lot better. It could still burn ’em too. The compact size was very nice for making deliveries.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the pictured one has had a power upgrade to a 302. I have seen some of these and the vans with that upgrade. I would assume that they would be a real fun ride.
Those photos even look cold, brrr…
I have a weird memory of an Econoline pickup. In about 1978 we had a family vacation where we drove all the way from SW Ontario to Alberta and back. In Owen Sound we stopped at a little motel in an industrial area and there was an Econoline pickup there.
It had been coated with stucco, or some other textured substance. It was peeling off, and being a kid I poked at it for a while before my Mom called me in for supper (which was sandwiches, we’ve joked since that we ate sandwiches breakfast lunch and dinner on that trip)
So to sum up. Econoline – Stucco – Sandwich..
One of my teachers in high school commandeered a a school district (and ex-military motor pool) Econoline pick-up for his personal use. Still painted green, we nicknamed it the “Pregnant Cucumber”….
I love these…and all snubnosed pickups/vans. These make cool hotrods for sure.
I just noticed this and the Stude were in Portland…these look more like something youd see out in eastern OR.
Partial CC Effect: A similarly patinated and quite loud 1st gen Falcon Ranchero drove by my house minutes before I saw this Econoline posting. I don’t know the relative sales figures, but I see far more early Rancheros on the road today than early Econolines, whether vans or pickups.
Very nice!!
Don’t crash it, because “YOU are the crush zone!”
I’ve always loved this generation of Econoline, both van and pickup. Something about the lights and the grillework around them–looks sort of like eyes. But not in a creepy way.
The associations we make as kids…
One of my favorate footnotes in the history of motor vehicles, I just love the look of it, even though I’m neither a big van fan or truck guy for the most part. These are possibly the most efficient truck designs ever conceived if you ignore pesky reality’s need for safety and conformation to the laws of physics.
Two of the earliest car toys I had as a kid in the ’60s were a silver ’61 Econoline van and a U-Haul Econoline pick up. Both were steel and and I think they were made by Ny-Lint.
When I was in college in the ’80s in Tampa, Florida there was a Texaco station on Dale Mabry Highway that had an Econoline Pick-up as their service truck.
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