Old timers, what was your first van?

[Johnnomads]

<em>Do you remember your 1st van? Mine was a 1967 Ford Falcon passenger van. With a straight 6, an</em>d a 3 on the tree manual transmission, would have normally given great fuel mileage. But with 3 carbs, high lift cam, and headers, it was a rocketship.

 

[psytechguy]

1974 Dodge B-100 with a 225 slant six and 3 speed on the column. Bought it in 1976 and drove the wheels off it for the next 10 years! I should have rebuilt the engine instead of selling it.&nbsp; :-(

 

[owl]

&nbsp; 1972 Ford Econoline 150. 6 cyl. 3 spd. Bought it new at Lake Tahoe and drove it for years all over the Sierra and the southwest. Hiking, climbing and enjoying life. Love those days. I paid $1600 for that rig, brand new.

 

[Lostinspace]

Mine was&nbsp;a 60's era Post Office 1/2 ton van, 1962 I believe.&nbsp; It was a Studebaker with right hand drive.&nbsp; It had a small 6 cylinder engine, smooth as silk. &nbsp;I paneled it with insulation and indoor/outdoor carpet.&nbsp; My wife named it Vance.&nbsp; We traveled all up and down the eastern seaboard, Florida to Montreal.&nbsp; In a government Bid I&nbsp;paid $255 for it along with 2 others @ $255 that I sold.&nbsp; It ended up costing me $155.&nbsp; Only thing I ever did to it was have the starter rebuilt.&nbsp;It had a limited slip rear end and buzzed along at maybe 60.&nbsp; Got about 10 miles to the gallon, back when gas was 35 cents or so.&nbsp; This was about 1971-72 or so right before the gas embargo.&nbsp; It used a whole case of oil to run up to Montreal and back to Montgomery, AL.&nbsp;&nbsp;I sold it for $150 when I moved to Florida from Huntsville.<br><br>It tended to run hot, probably a crudded up radiator. I mounted an airconditioner condensor on the front and ran the heater through it to keep it cool. Worked great.<br><br>The other two vans that I sold were Jeep products, some kind of 4 cylinder that vibrated so bad the body panels were cracking.<br><br>Loved that Studebaker van.&nbsp; Wish i still had it.&nbsp; I would have to do something about the gas mileage though.<br><br>My new to me Wanderlodge is going to be named&nbsp;Vance II in honor of my deceased wife.<br><br>Here's a pic of a van like the one I had.&nbsp; Mine didn't look this good though.<br><br>

 

[Zil]

1952 chevy station wagon, fake woody.<br>1958 chevy sedan delivery, "Meat Wagon"<br>1959 chevy cargo van.<br>196? VW home-built camper van.<br>1978 dodge 300 cargo van.<br>1990 dodge lost by theft.<br><br>I put over 10,000 miles on each of these around and across North America. except the last

 

[MrNoodly]

Not technically a van, and not the one in the photo, but just like it.<br><br> <br><br>It was my first vehicle after college, in 1976. The engine crapped out. I abandoned it in a vacant lot in Los Angeles.

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;'68 VW van with more rust 'n rivets than anything else. ..Willy.

 

[highdesertranger]

a vega, omg a vega.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

Thinking back on that Vega panel wagon -- obviously, it was tiny compared to a full size van, yet I managed to pack all my college possessions into it. Clothes, books, records, stereo, some dishes and pots &amp; pans...&nbsp;<br><br>I didn't have much in those days, <em>but it was enough</em>. I had forgotten that.<br><br>The reason for going with a full size van instead of something as small as that Vega is <em>not</em> so I'd have more room for cool stuff. It's to make it function as a rolling dorm room. Functionality, not indulgence.

 

[user 423]

A red and white '66 Econoline with the tiny 170" six that was way under-powered. Temporarily co-owned with 2 buddies (took all 3 of us to come up with the $425 price in '71).&nbsp; During a trip from DC to SF to deliver a&nbsp; returning vets Sportster, it blew the engine in CO. It was loaded with 3 stoners, a 100lb. German shepherd and the 475lb. bike. I traded my share for a backpack and hitched home.<br><br>My first wholly owned van was a '67 VW bus that was my home for a while in the late '70s as I worked as a travelling carpenter. Nowhere near as nice as this one but same colors:<br><br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BYLjh4FLU...0/1966+Blue+%26+White+VW+Bus+Front+Side+2.jpg" class="bbc_img">

 

[wrcsixeight]

Don't know if I qualify for old timer status at 42.<br><br>My &nbsp;first van was a '73 VW WestFalia I bought in Capetown, RSA. &nbsp;After two weeks travelling around south Africa in it I was hooked. &nbsp;Later in NZ, I had a Nissan van. &nbsp;When I returned to the states, I bought this Dodge, and it has been home since June '01

 

[user 423]

<span id="post_message_1278128821">

Don't know if I qualify for old timer status at 42.

<br><br>Most of us want to delay that status as long as we can but then it's all relative I guess.<br><br>A friend's 25yo son moved to NZ last year and now says he'll never leave.<br></span>

 

[stude53]

<img class="rg_hi uh_hi bbc_img" id="rg_hi" style="width: 272px; height: 185px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnaLy-v4cZv-BI-c3J_vKdkqcTfooLjhXgbz19AjVUnRhrDb1RyQ" rel="lightbox" data-width="272" data-height="185">1965 Chevy Van, Like this one. I added a homebuilt extended top for walk around room, to use as a camper.<br>Bob<br><br>

 

[Simran]

<p>My first van was a Vanagon but a Chevy Celebrity <br>van like the one below was the first van I actually <br>camped out of. My wife hated at first ten fell in love<br>with the room and drives nothing but an mini today.<br><img class="rg_i bbc_img" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/...K4uaaXtFG7E3BLk_q4UjcUG3XPQrWUmudpLqOn4q_7CCU" rel="lightbox" data-sz="f"></p>

 

[wagoneer]

1957 chevy panel truck painted turquoise.

 

[Ballenxj]

I had one very similar to the one posted by Bob, (stude53) except mine was a 67 I think, and a GMC. <br>Mine was a short wheelbase model with a straight six, and three on the tree. I put a "lot" of miles on that van, and I had it fixed up like a rolling condo. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/cool.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"><br>-Bruce

 

[user 423]

It wasn't my van but I travelled a lot working construction in a '66 Chevy with 283 and 3-spd on the column. The engine cover could be used as a middle seat plus it made it nice if you needed to work on the motor when it was raining.

 

[Seraphim]

A '77 extended base Dodge cargo van. Absolutely no add-one's, not even a passenger seat lol.