Sep 21

If The Van Is A-Rockin’

I found a couple of old Ford books buried in the archives of my shop basement. One from 1973 and one from 1976. As you can imagine, custom vans were one of the features in them, including a section called “Vanteriors”. Some of these were crazy. Certainly enough to get any teenage boy banned from many a teenage girl’s driveway.

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Sep 21, 2026

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Replies (31)

· Sep 21

The slide out porch is a nice touch.

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· Sep 21

I like the wide assortment of seating and porthole window options. I kind of like the full blown saloon complete with fireplace.

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· Sep 22

My uncle had a Boogie van in the 80s.

It might explain why a couple new cousins that nobody knew about have popped up over the years.

· Sep 23

You made me think of Uncle Rico!!!!

YouTube ↗

· Sep 23

Best character in that movie. He was in White Lotus also as the bad guy. Took me a while to recognize him without hair.

· Sep 23

Napoleon Dynamite is a really good movie that they filmed on shoestring. Shows you nice scenery of what it is like living in rural Idaho. Any Uncle Rico's van is so perfect.

· Sep 21

Who was it that was telling us that the rich kids in HS in the mid 70s all had customized vans? The van craze was just about done by the time I got to HS in 1978. I think we had one in the parking lot.

I can tell you that a van would not be helpful pulling up to a potential girlfriend's house.

· Sep 21

Well, you might get invited inside, but only because her father just so happened to be cleaning his shotgun at the kitchen table. Just to get the point across.

· Sep 21

This was a legitimate problem. Had a friend with a semi customized Econoline. Parents would not let their daughters ride in it.

· Sep 21

Took me a while to figure out both photos are the same van. Love the paint work.

· Sep 22

Total luck. They came from two different sources.

· Sep 22

There were some very very well done vans in the mid 70s. The fad seemed to last until 78 or 79. This was heavily modified and one I really like.

· Sep 22

That one is wild! The hood ornament isn’t bad either.

· Sep 22

This one is actually famous. I snagged this clip from a facebook post about the van: “The Alchemist” is widely celebrated as one of the most eccentric, visionary builds from the golden age of the 1970s American "Custom Van" craze. It perfectly captures the bold, boundary-pushing creativity of an era when gearheads transformed utilitarian commercial cargo vans into highly stylized rolling pieces of art.

· Sep 22

@Hupp31 I see what you did there.

· Sep 22

Don’t tell me you were actually looking for a hood ornament. 🙄

· Sep 22

Once in awhile I'd see one that wasn't tacky. I remember Pickup, Van & 4WD Magazine always having some woman climbing up a chrome ladder to a roof rack on the cover, but never saw one of the vans with luggage up there in real life. I guess they weren't cool if they were loaded down like Grapes of Wrath migrants.

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· Sep 22

I’ve never seen luggage on top of a van in my life

· Sep 22

@Peerless28 you reminded me of a time when there was a specialty magazine for every niche.

· Sep 22

The 1980s and 90s was the pinnacle of the specialty magazine. There was something for literally ever niche of life.

I have a copy of every musclecar related magazine from that era in boxes somewhere.

· Sep 22

The shag carpet muffles the screams.

· Sep 22

😂 Yes, but the style of the van determines the nature of the screams. Nothing good comes out of a plain white/primer windowless van.

· Sep 22

@hupp31 You're just jealous because I got candy and you didn't. 😁

· Sep 22

😂 A windowless van is only acceptable if it’s The Possum Van.

· Sep 22

If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

· Sep 22

You have it backwards Shawn, women find a man handsome because he's handy. Something in shorter and shorter supply these days.

· Oct 4

Thought this belonged here. $30,000.

Very cool shorty custom van. V8 auto with overdrive. Turn the key and go. No rust ever. No window panel van. Custom paint and interior. Cragars and good tires. NO TRADES CASH ONLY. Jackson georgia butts county the pics tell the rest of the story

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1386985769760516/

· Oct 4