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The eternal question... why a van?
#244700 November 30th 2008 9:24 pm
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What sparked your interest in vans? There are so many other more heavily supported and publicized types of vehicles out, hot rods, muscle cars, imports, the list goes on and on. What sparked your interest in vans in the first place, and what kept you stuck?

For me it started early. When I was born and for a few years after my father drove a 69 econoline cargo van. It was faded blue, had a 240 6 and a three speed column shift. It never had heat, my father used to keep a blanket under the seat that my grandmother knitted for me for trips to daycare in the winter. It had a couch in the back if I recall correctly, though I'm not exactly positive about that detail. I also want to say that it had a round porthole, though once again my memory is rather foggy. My father got rid of the van when I was 5 or 6, but the guy that he sold the side doors to still drives that van around town. My mother had more than one caravan when I was younger, but the only one that stands out in my mind was a brown cargo that was purchased from a local coffee company. My father bolted 2 bench seats in the back for the family, and that van refused to die for long, long time. It had almost a million miles on it when it was scrapped. I remember hanging around when my father was working on a friend of his' tool van and having him send me on my bicycle to his friends house to get a grease fitting. His friend was Frank Costa, and he was working on "Never Enough" when I got there. The van was still in primer, but I want to say that it was in running condition. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. When I was in high school I hung around with Franks son, where I found out how much fun a van could be, piling a bunch of us into his astro and driving around with no real destination.

During high school I got a job at a transportation company, working on vans and taxi cabs. Here I learned how wonderfully durable vans seemed to be. I still work there, we have a fleet of some dozens of econoline vans, a single dodge 15 passenger, a single chevy 15 passenger, and a handful of dodge, ford, chevy and kia minivans. These things get beaten on unmercifully by people who don't care, and they just keep coming back for more. It's damn remarkable. I actually bought my astro from there, were it served duty as a school bus for the last 50,000 miles.

I apologize for dragging on for so long, but it seems like I have been destined to be a vanner since birth. The durability, versatility, and plain awesomeness of vans keeps me stuck. From the rediculous(in a good way) like my encounter with "never engough", to being in them forever as family movers, to my respect for them in regard to their engineering and durability every single day at work, vans are for me. I've only had my own van for a few months, but I anticipate being around them for a good time longer and being a meber of the vannin world for a long time to come. Whats your story?

AdSense long
Re: The eternal question... why a van?
acreativename #244702 November 30th 2008 9:49 pm
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I don't really have that much of a back story as it relates to vans, but my grandfather did have a '77 Dodge shorty Sportsman that he towed his trailer with. Took him forever to figure out what the "trans" light was on radio bezel (mid-Dodge owners know what I'm talking about):)

I almost received my first van when I was 18..a '62 VW bus, but the deal never materialized. I didn't get my first van until 1997...a '70 Dodge A-100 Sportsman. Since then that's all I've really ever owned (had a Monte Carlo, Cutlass, and Dart in between vans).

For me it's simple. Vans are cool, but vanners are the best.


Nate Breece
Re: The eternal question... why a van?
NateB #244718 November 30th 2008 10:33 pm
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hi aCreativeName... u do need to work on a better name i think LOL

anyways welcome to the forums of vanning.com and please post some pics of your Stro!

Vans are the coolest vehicle ever created, need I say more? and Vanners are better then people! grin


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Re: The eternal question... why a van?
Snotty #244729 November 30th 2008 11:05 pm
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Welcome and to answer your question, Why a van? The only answer. Why not?


Phil
'78 Dodge Van Nautique
Susquehanna Valley Vans, Inc.
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Nautique

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Re: The eternal question... why a van?
nautic1 #244730 November 30th 2008 11:07 pm
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Because no self respecting band tours in a pickup truck!



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"Southern Gentleman " 1978 Ford E150 Custom

Matt

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Re: The eternal question... why a van?
Bandvan #244734 November 30th 2008 11:30 pm
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Why a van? Well, in 78 when I started, I purchased the van after building many street racers and doing that action for awhile, the last was a Buick Skyhawk with the v6 and first 5speed trany, highly modified, would run like a raped ape and yet got outragious gas mileage (for it's time). But living at Leonard Wood at the time and taking all those back Ozark roads at speed, the left front tire started rubbing the fender strut a little, so, I decided I wanted something that had a frame under it. And besides, building a van couldn't be any where near a costly as building a street racer.....yeh, right.....


2005 E350 Turbo Diesel
Why is it that when I press 1 for English, I still can not understand the person on the other end????
Re: The eternal question... why a van?
Snotty #244735 November 30th 2008 11:38 pm
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I was born in 1970. So about the time the Vannin had become mainstream is also the time I really started paying attention to cars and trucks. Remember those Scholastic Book Club flyer's that got sent home with you every couple months? Well it always had a van book and I always got Mom to get it for me. (Sadly I can't find any of them!!!) There were some classics in those books. My parents best friends at the time owned the local Chevrolet Dealership. They got one of those custom Chevy GM Vans in. It had a Nautical theme. Their daughters and I would play in that van for hours. (Eh-Hem we were under 10 not that kind of playing). My family still has old drawings I did of van's as a pre-teen. After that life happened. After the A-team ended vans took a seat to Firebirds and 69 Chargers. It wasn't that I didn't still love them but they just weren't "common" anymore. Went to college, flew airplanes, then ended up in the cleaning business. For 14 years I had plain Jane work vans. Last year I bought an old Chevy conversion. Liked it but didn't love it. It wasn't a Vanner Van IMHO it was too "done". Now finally 38 years into my life I have a Van for me. Naked and raw. Mine to make as I wish to succeed or fail with. That's my journey.

Aaron


I scored from the DARE officer.
87 Dodge B150 DARE Van
97 Plymouth Voyager
96 Dodge B350 Maxivan(RIP), 93 Dodge B350 Maxivan,
97 Chevy Express, 88 Ford E350 Cube, 2003 Chevy 3500 Express.
My other passion is scooters see my forum www.scootdawg.proboards59.com
Re: The eternal question... why a van?
ACD #244740 November 30th 2008 11:54 pm
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You had me at "When I'm was born"

*Tear*


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9D8 Ford "ScarletN'Gray" E-150
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Re: The eternal question... why a van?
ACD #244742 December 01st 2008 12:01 am
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My oldest brother was a vanner (he is a 1953 baby).
He taught me how to do a lot of car-van stuff in my younger days.
I remember day dreaming of a girl in high school named Rhondas back side...Oh wait I meant day dreaming of vans. I had all the van magazines in my freshman year (76) in High School.

My brothers friends had vans and everybody was carpeting them.

Its the best all around vehicle .

One of my grade school friends bought a new Chevy van in 79.
I think he knocked up his GF a few months later.


84 E-150
91 Club Wagon
70 Torino convertible
70 Cobra Torino

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