vintage Vans

vintage Vans

Dodge A-series 1964-1970
Fargo A-series 1964-1970
Chevy Van 1964-1970
GMC Vandura 1964-1970
Ford E-Series 1961-1967
Ford E-Series 1968-1974

Dodge A-series 1964-1970



The A100 (or Forward Control) line was a family of compact vans and trucks produced by Chrysler and sold under the Dodge and Fargo brands from 1964 through 1970, competing with the Ford Econoline and Chevy Van, all inspired by the Volkswagen Type 2. It included a pickup truck and van, both with a "cab forward" design unusual in passenger vehicles. The nose was flat, with the engine placed between the driver and passenger, who sat above the front axle. These unibody vehicles used a short, 90-inch (2,286 mm) wheelbase. An A108 was also available from 1967 to 1970, with a longer 108 inch wheelbase. The A108 was very popular with camper conversion companies.


A Canadian Fargo camper conversionA substantially modified, Hemi-powered A100 pickup called the "Little Red Wagon" driven by Bill "Maverick" Golden was a popular drag strip attraction in the 1960s through the early 2000s.

Another substantially modified A100 pickup, designed by Harry Bentley Bradley, was the basis for the Deora show car, also one of the 16 original 1968 Hot Wheels cars. In the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the 5 teens are traveling in a passenger van, with the second row removed. In the animated film Cars, the minor character "Rusty Rust-Eze" is a heavily rusted A100. A 1967 A100 was also featured in a one-hour 2006 episode of the TLC network reality television series, Overhaulin'.

Production 1964–1970
Successor Dodge B-series
Class Compact pickup truck
Compact van
Body style(s) 2-door pickup truck
2-door van
Platform MR
Engine(s) 170 in³ Slant-6 I6
225 in³ Slant-6 I6
273 in³ LA V8
318 in³ LA V8

Engines
1964-1966 170 in³ (2.8 L) Slant-6, 101 hp (75 kW)
1970 198 in³ (3.2 L) Slant-6, 125 hp (93 kW)
1964-1970 225 in³ (3.7 L) Slant-6, 145 hp (108 kW)
1965-1966 273 in³ (4.5 L) LA V8
1967-1970 318 in³ (5.2 L) LA V8


Chevy Van 1964-1970



The first General Motors van was the Chevrolet Corvair-based Greenbrier van, introduced for 1961, which used a flat-6 opposed rear engine with air cooling, inspired by the Volkswagen bus.

The ChevyVan (1964-1970) was, like the competing Ford Econoline and Dodge A100, a compact van based on a modified passenger car platform. The engine was placed between and behind the front seats with a flat nose. Both engines and brakes were sourced from the Chevy II, a more conventional compact car than Corvair. This model was also sold as the GMC HANDI-VAN.

The second generation ChevyVan/Vandura introduced for 1971 followed the engine-forward design of the 1968 Ford Econoline. The engine was placed forward of the driver with a short nose and hood. Suspension parts and engines came from the Chevrolet/GMC C-series pickup trucks.

The third generation Express and Savana of the 1990s adopted aerodynamic styling, without exposed hinges on the rear doors. Taillights were placed high on the rear pillars. The extended 15 passenger version rode on a longer wheelbase, rather than just an extended body, and a left-side door was made available, for the declining passenger van market.

Ford E-Series 1961-1967
First generation



The Ford E-Series, formerly known as the "Econoline" or "Club Wagon", is a line of full-size vans (both cargo and passenger) and truck chassis from the Ford Motor Company. The E-Series is related to the Ford F-Series line of pickup trucks. The line was introduced in 1961 as a compact van and its descendants are still produced today. The Econoline is produced solely at Ford's Avon Lake, Ohio plant after the closure of the Lorain, Ohio plant in December 2005 and the consolidation of all production at Avon Lake.

As of 2008, the E-Series is the only van in the Ford lineup in North America since the demise of the Freestar minivan in 2007. For the 2010 model year, Ford will return to having two vans as it gets the Ford Transit Connect compact MPV, which debuts at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show.

The Ford E-Series currently hold 50.6% of the full-size van market in the United States with 168,722 sales in the United States in 2007. [1] It has been the best selling American full-sized van for 28 years, since 1980.

The first E-Series was based on the compact Ford Falcon, sized roughly to compete with the 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Sportvan and Volkswagen Type 2, which was 172.3 in (4376 mm) long. The first E-Series had a flat nose with the engine between and behind the front seats, later adopted by the Chevrolet Van and Dodge A100. Early models had a 144 cid 6-cylinder engine with a manual 3 speed transmission. Later models had a 170 cid or 240 cid engines with an automatic transmission. It was an immediate success with utilities like the Bell Telephone System. In the first 1961 model year, 29,932 standard vans, 6,571 custom Econoline buses, 11,893 standard pickups and 3,000 custom pickups were made. It was originally offered as a cargo van, an 8-passenger van with 3 rows of seats (which carried the Ford Falcon name) and as a pickup truck. A 165 lb (75 kg) weight was fitted over the rear wheels to balance the front-heavy vehicle, sometimes removed by current owners.

Production 1961-1967
Body style(s) 3-door van
Layout MR layout
Engine(s) 144 cid I6
170 cid I6
240 cid I6
Transmission(s) 3-speed manual

1968-1974 Ford E-Series
Second generation




The 1968 Ford E-Series revolutionized van design by moving the engine all the way to the front under a short hood. These would be the first vans used as the basis for the now popular Class C van cab motorhomes, a class still dominated by Ford. The 1968 E-Series also used Ford's "Twin I-Beam" front suspension design, and was now available with a V8 engine. Over the next six years, the "Big Three" (GM, Chrysler and Ford) would all redesign their vans, with hoods gradually evolving to a short conventional truck-like hood, and evolving from being based on compact cars to using components from full-sized pickup trucks.

The grille was redesigned in 1971, and a year later E-Series offered a new feature, and a new model. Sliding rear doors were an option for 1972, as well as the Hi-Cube van, the first van with a stripped chassis used for something other than recreational vehicles.


Fargo Camper Van