Super Van To The Rescue!



To achieve its 10-foot load floor length, Ford added an 18-inch extension to the rear of the Econoline van body and Super Van was born. But was this 1972 version Ford’s first use of the Super Van nameplate? And what does legendary “Kalifornia Kustomizer” George Barris have to do with things? Watch and see!

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37 thoughts on “Super Van To The Rescue!”

  1. Man Steve not only do you have tons off Magazines and brochures, but all look too be in great shape. Enjoy your Videos I watch them every day on my break. 👍

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  2. Crazy i watched your 3rd gen econoline video yesterday and heard you mention the club van caboose, today i see a 1980 club van in the junkyard today. It had a v8 and some homemade framework and rear ramp

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  3. It's so interesting seeing how the van crazes is coming back around! Stacey David is also doing something big with a Chevy van and they definitely are super cool!! Idk much about vans but gosh, I'd love to have a Dodge van and do it all up 70s style

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  4. I like the 'high output' heater being pointed out at 4:02 . My dad in the 70's and early 80's bought Ford F250's for his work trucks and the heat in all of those truck sucked ! When I used to go to work with him on a cold winter morning the heater NEVER seemed to get the cab up to temp. I was always cold; I wish those trucks came with a high output heater ! As a matter of fact I owned a few Ford cars from the 70's and 80's also and their heater were not that good as well……

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  5. my stepdad had a early 1970s ford club wagon with windows all around. then he had brown mid 1970s ford van extended length had 3 front windows and tinted sliding door window and 2 tinted windows on back barn doors.

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  6. Been watching Steve for a while… blows my mind how Steve rolls off so much detailed info so quickly… then breaks out a pristine condition brochure or magazine… and then a hand build hobby model! How? What?! Mind blown 🤯 🤣

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  7. 1991 was the last year of third gen Econolines, the aero-nosed model new for 1992 shares a lot of skeletal components but is considered the fourth generation which lasted up until 2013 & even later in cab/chassis combos. They were facelifted a few times but only significantly in 2008 with bulky Super Duty headlights & grille. The dash was also upgraded at that time & may have changed somewhat even prior.

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  8. i saw that air cleaner in the Super Snoot later Econoline…a 4 bbl Mopar air cleaner? there's probably a restorer someplace wanting that…i'm thinking it might be a 340, 383 or 440?
    if someone wonders why a high output heater is needed, its due to all that airspace to warm up–those of us living up north with cathedral ceilings are entering that season again when we get reminded about large living spaces.

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  9. Thanks Steve! I never knew how useful a van could be until a buddy was selling an Econoline cheap and I picked it up. You have to hand it to Ford (I’m not even a Ford guy), too, as all the varieties of the E’s made the even more useful.

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  10. All that interior volume requires a high-output heater to warm on a winter's day. I went on a "Cold Trip" to Thompson, Manitoba , to evaluate minivan heater performance, among other things, on those -25 F mornings they are so fond of up there. "The Company Formerly Known as Chrysler" built vans with diesel engines for the overseas markets and they really needed the auxilliary diesel-fueled heater that was part of the testing.

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  11. I've got quite a history with vans and before them, panel trucks, being a flooring installer from 1969 to 1979, then a flooring retailer/contractor from 1980-2000. I liked the Falcon based first gen as they would fit inside the garages of the tract houses we were doing in the 70's, which was nice to be out of the weather. The second and third gen's were too tall to fit, so we were always in the street or the driveway. Most of the second gen's never had the optional passenger seat, because carpet and vinyl flooring comes 12 feet wide, and with no seat you could get a 12 ft. roll in far enough to shut the back doors. Of course the helper(s) had to cram in the back on top of the carpet and pad, which caused some bellyaching (nobody cared LOL). The big 3rd gen Super Vans you could get a 12 ft. behind the doghouse and shut the back doors and have a passenger seat, so that was the preferred van later on. Last one I had was an 89 with a 460. Fully loaded it would still pass everything….except a gas pump of course!

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  12. Another great video Steve!!! The information you talk about is so well articulated that it is like a classroom as you say!! Thank you for all the work and research it takes to make these instructional, and entertaining videos!!!!!!

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  13. Hi Steve, if the Ford Super Van had windows and factory extra row seats they where labeled as Super Wagons. High Output heater was an option on Ford vans and pickups, however factory air conditioning was not available, because the heater core took up too much space. Extra coolant was needed to fill the cooling system. Please reply. Dave…

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  14. A high output heater is a good idea, I can imagine how cold that cavernous interior would be with no insulation. As it is, the front half would be cooking hot and ice cubes at the rear.

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  15. Man I remember the super van craze of the 70s! They where everywhere! Customized with graphics’s, shaggy carpets, beds, captains chairs with a table. Chrome cragar wheels with big tires on the rear port hole windows and curtains! and so on!👌😂👍I guess it all started with Ford! Great stuff Steve! By the way! Remember the movie “chevy van”?👌😂👍

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