1960s Ford Econoline vans are pretty awesome. Those bread boxes on wheels were based on the Falcon and sold like hot cakes for Ford. This is a kind of ratty looking Econoline van and Ford people will hate it because there is a big block Chevy engine perched between the seats. The Weld wheels seem like sacrilege at first blush but with the bored 454 making the power, they make more sense. Also, the fact that the engine is 100% uncovered and just sitting there between the seats is freaking awesome. If this rat motor lean popped it may set your hair on fire but hey, you can reach back with your right hand and work the throttle arm on the carb so it is kind of a trade off. There may be a scary amount of coolant flowing in the passenger area but overall we kind of approve of the fact that there is a big block just sitting there.
The $8,500 asking price is kind of tough to swallow only because the van is in ratty shape and just because you decided to build a weird van and spent a lot of time doing so, the next guy doesn’t automatically need to cover your costs. It seems like $5,000 would be a pretty decent price for this machine given the engine and other work into it. We’re not saying that people’s time is worthless and we have certainly invested a bunch of effort in automotive weirdos but at the end of the day, this is not some cherry fastback Mustang, big block Chevelle, or first generation Camaro. It is a freak of an Econline van that we love but isn’t worth all the money…in our opinion.
Thanks to Jason Bilderback for the tip!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LISTING FOR THIS KILLER VAN
Obv a lot of thought went into the rad & battery placement, but at least the custom armrests will protect you when things go sideways
How to ruin a classic econoline van in 1 easy step – install anything chevy.
Another way to look at it is:
How to rescue a clapped out 60s Econoline- drop a big block in it. What ever you have lying around. Preferably a stroked 460, but if all you have is a 454, well, that’s better than the dead 6er that was there.
First modification after buying it: Build a doghouse for it! No way in hell I would be driving that around like that.
Back in the late 70’s there was a aqua & primer Econoline van working the Woodward Avenue circuit that was pretty strong. Darn thing sat a mile high in the rear with some giganormous looking snow tires on back.
We knew something was “up” when he was trying to pick up on a buddy’s cherry red LS6 Chevelle that had an idle like a coffee can full of rocks & a new tunnel ram with a pair of 660s stickin’ up in the breeze. I mean heck, we were rolling in a certified bad azz street sweeper and a guy in a ratty van wanted some? We assumed there was trouble hiding in that box and let him go.
Eventually saw the Econoline sitting in a trailer park and peeped through the dirty side glass – there was a 440 Mopar six pack dealio parked between the chairs. Don’t know if he would have had enough for that Chevelle – it was a legit 11 second game in the era when that meant something – but it was sure a bunch stronger than the externals were showing and I wager it brought some cash in.