LOVE IT! Was up late last night reading through the whole post. Wonderful history here! I have only dealt with three vans, since van ownership in my family averages 15 years per vehicle.
I do not have any pics handy of the first van I ever drove. It was a 1973 Ford Club Wagon 1 ton that had served as a little church's van. It ignited my odd obsession with rolling boxes.
If you've read my posts, you are familiar with the second van I ever drove. Its in my driveway right now. Its a 1993 G20 Chevy Van with a Mark III conversion. We replaced the Club Wagon with it in '93. I've been on trip after trip in it and its now in my care. My niece named it "the Party Van" due to the center beam lights which she called "party lights". I am restoring it now and hope to upgrade the interior soon. The party van will also soon need party paint.
Everybody needs a mule, and here's mine. This is my 1996 Mercury Villager, the first van I ever bought. I picked it out, I drive it, my wife (who I originally bought it for in '99) hates it! It is not perfect, it leaks around the back and rattles, but it has a Nissan Maxima 3.0L V6, and still runs like new money. I would like to customize it (six captains chairs sounds nice) but I still need something to run to Lowe's and haul off garbage.
Honorable mentions go to:
Our Church's 1993 Ram Wagon
My Uncle's 84 G20 conversion hightop, which got me interested in customized vans.
My neighbor's 1985 Ford Econoline conversion.