Holy smokes, is that a lifted four-wheel-drive third-generation Ford Econoline Club Wagon? Sometimes when I’m out walking the dog I find myself face to face with a truly never-before-seen specimen of automotive awesomeness. This time it was Ford’s incredible box van turned adventure machine. Out here in the American West there are all kinds of off-roady machines like this, but I’ve never seen one so magnificently done from this generation of van. But why not? The Econoline was named the 1978 MotorTrend Truck of the Year, after all.
This big blue behemoth caught my eye from across the street and I had to cajole my elderly basset hound into jaywalking so I could get a closer look at this glorious piece of automotive art. With a pop-top roof, I’m going to assume this machine is outfitted for camping. Having a cool old van with a bed in it is infinitely better than some modern SUV with a cold and uncomfortable roof top tent. This van doesn’t need a roof rack either, because it can hold damn near everything you’d ever need inside it. There’s a bit of extra cargo on the swing-out back bumper, and a front hitch in case you needed to strap a dirtbike to the front bumper. Hell, this might be the perfect van.
I’m sure it doesn’t get very good fuel economy, but if you’re in the position to be able to build something like this and escape the rat race of modern civilization, you’re probably not much concerned about that anyway. It’s a damn cool van, and I hope the person who owns it is using it the way it was meant to be. It’s far too clean right now, I hope they go get it dirty somewhere in the vast wilds of the Nevada BLM land. Go forth, good van, and explore.
