This is the van that started it all for me. I had to borrow my brother KC's 1978 Econoline when my
1976 Mustang II's engine... sort of... broke. I had loved riding around with him in the van, but driving
it myself made me an addict. With it's 351 V8, sliding side windows, ladder & dual batteries, it was wild.
My group of High School friends (Ed with Blue pants, Steve in Dark Grey, Anthony in Light Gray and me in Black)
would take this beast everywhere, even if it embarrased the hell out of them in front of girls.

My current van, a 1988 Clubwagon, on a Video Game collecting mission. We drove to Virginia to buy/sell/swap/visit and wound up packing 3
games into the van, along with all the seats. Cassidy (whose house we were at, just outside of DC) couldn't believe his eyes when he watched me fit
Centipede & Space Encounters in the back with the bench seat upside down between them, and Donkey Kong in the side door along with our
travelling goodies and several boxes of video game parts from "MR TRON" in Roanoke.

 
 

Mermaid & Immortalis Strike Back.. or something like that.
Yep, "Jersey Trillogy" fans, that's the Marina Diner down on Rt35 in Middletown Twp where Jay & Silent Bob
ate in one of their movies. Jim (Mermaid), Luke (Immortalis) and I went "down the shore" looking for scenes from the movies
CLERKS, Chasing Amy, Mallrats (not really all in NJ), Dogma & Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. After hitting the Quick Stop
and RST Video, we vanned on over to the Marina Diner for lunch (Movie fans, Guess what Jim ordered?) before continuing
our journey to other movie places. A second trip was made with Liz (Spot) & Jesse (Hoagie) and a third is planned.

So, when the van needs the transmission rebuilt and you don't have the bread; what do you do?
(Deafening Silence)
Make an incredibly long journey to deliver a more incredibly large "6 player Xmen" video game to
and even more incredibly rich man with a unbelievably large vacation home near Bar Harbor Maine.
This guy was so happy to have someone so stupid (or desperate) to drive over 9 hours each way
to deliver his game. He paid for the delivery in advance which gave me ample time to get the tranny
rebuilt by the wizards up at ALLSTAR TRANSMISSION in Haledon NJ.
Here's my charming wife Allyson, along with the van on a road that runs right along the water, past the
house we delivered to, and on to Bar Harbor (behind the van). We were now on our way home and
after a stop at a local restaurant for some local scallops (WOW, were they good!) we hopped back
on to Rt. 95 for the 9 hour+ trip back home. I was NEVER so happy to see the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Yes, I did it all in one day, just me driving, Ally riding shotgun just in case.
Yes, I almost fell asleep about 12 times before the TZ bridge.
AND, I nearly cleaned out a 24 pack of Mt. Dew trying to stay awake.

I FOUND IT!

Yes, The Holy Grail of the Square Ford Vans! A 4x4 Econoline with a Carb'ed 351w and front push bar!
Sadly, the Brown & White '88 was leaking water and rotted giant holes in the floor all around the rear body mounts. By the time I found the damage, it was too late to save it. To make the best of a crummy situation, I'm picking up this 4x4 with mild rust spots and shot interior, and moving all the goodies from the '88 Club Wagon into it. I'll be stripping them both out and making one heck of a nice ride out of them both. With gas currently at $3 a gallon for regular here in NJ, I have no reason to rush the project, except maybe to run to Pocono Raceway for the NASCAR Nextel Cup race or Massachusetts for the model train show early next year. With comfortable seating for 7, I have missed having a servicable van on several trips where we needed 2-4 cars to bring everyone.

Look at the size of those tires! This thing has larger rubber body mounts to lift it higher, nerf bars on the sides, a push bar and sun shade on the front, and really cool etched glass on the back 2 side glass panels. It was love at first sight!

Let the madness begin!

More to come...