van - Jalopnik

posts about #van more →
Ford Transits Down On The Paris Street
Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up
Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
Dublin's Nominee For Worst Driver, Luckiest Pedestrian
1978 Chevrolet Chevy Van 20
Now That's An Air-Conditioned Van
The Worst— Or Maybe The Best— Custom Van Theme Ever: Kidnapper Van!
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier
PCH, Not Your Usual Custom Van Edition: Thames Freighter or Tempo Matador Diesel?
ROUSH Propane-Powered Ford E-250: Econoline Gets Gassy

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

UDMan
11/15/09

In reply to Ford Transits Down On The Paris Street

1st, to Franzouse; Thanks for the images of a very European Ford(s).

Now onto another topic, and that has to do with European Vans that are in the US, or about to be in the US. I did a road test of the Sprinter Van for another blog. It was fantastic, and I wonder why the hell Ford and GM are still making their ancient vans in the US.

Dodge is loosing their ability to sell Sprinters after January 1st, 2010, leaving the 45 Freightliner Dealers to sell them, along with about 120 Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

Dodge is exploring the possibility of bringing in the Iveco Vans to replace the Sprinters, along with a smaller van to augment the offering.

And Ford is exploring the possibility of bringing in their full sized Transit vans to replace the ancient Econolines. There is talk of bringing them on-line by 2013. This is due to the tremendous acceptance of the Transit Connect model so far. #van
Reply

UDMan was starred UDMan was unstarred

Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
11/15/09

@UDMan: Zeroing out the Econoline? Unpossible. But the Transit Connect is very cool. And the Sprinter would be my choice, except for its pricing.

IVECO is a natural for FIAT and Chrysler, and they have plenty of Eurovan experience, as well as a developed US truck dealer network to leverage.

Of course, Citroen also makes a work van... #van
Reply

snowlock
11/16/09

@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: unpossible it is
i'm hoping they stick with the old style.

i drove a couple of company sprinters at a job for a few years. they got rid of their 15+ years old econolines and bought them from a dodge dealer.

they were great at first, but we missed the old fords within six months since the sprinters seemed to fall apart at the seams. the doors seemed to be a real p0roblem, and a co-worker was even stopped by police once when the previously latched but brtoken back door had opened and dumped some cargo on the road. next the turbocharger stopped spinning on one and service didn't seem to be able to fix it.

they seemed to be highly fuel-efficient and had some nice features, but there were no major problems with the old econolines like there were with the new sprinters. #van
Reply

Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet promoted this comment snowlock was starred snowlock was unstarred

Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/15/09

In reply to Ford Transits Down On The Paris Street
I could totally rock one of those. Its like the British Econoline. Only instead of being synonymous with Creedence, its more in tune with the Rolling Stones. #van
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

citroën67
10/03/09

In reply to Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up

Holy crap! When I saw the first pic on this post...it brought back memories of a similar scene that I witnessed that involved a Chevy Van with its guts barfed out the front.

Bear in mind that this particular event happened at a service plaza in the middle of nowhere Ohio, on the turnpike.
Reply

discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment citroën67 was starred citroën67 was unstarred

mazdaspeed3
10/03/09

In reply to Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up
Having the engine out will surely hurt the front/rear weight ratio on the track.

Oh, wait a minute...
Reply

dwegmull promoted this comment mazdaspeed3 was starred mazdaspeed3 was unstarred

ValborgDuck
10/03/09

In reply to Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up
Actuallly, there is one Fiero still in it. I just talked to one of the drivers from Ponticrap We are Driving Excrement- #102- and they are still running good!
Reply

something_unique_and_descriptive approved this comment ValborgDuck was starred ValborgDuck was unstarred

Paul Y. don't drive too fast.
10/03/09

In reply to Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up
I really like that they went to the trouble to mount a real tailgate. It's a shame this had to happen to it -- I hope they get running soon!
Reply

Mad_Science
10/03/09

@Paul Y. don't drive too fast.: I was surprised about that, too.
Reply

Mad_Science was starred Mad_Science was unstarred

CptSevere
10/03/09

In reply to Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up
Anybody care to bet a six pack of PBR that at least one of those Fieros is dead due to the Iron Duke munching its fiber timing gear? Happened to my Iron Duke motivated Jeep twice. Shitty little engine.
Reply

Mike the Dog promoted this comment CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred

Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/03/09

@CptSevere: Well, at least one of the Fieros is a V6, and I detest PBR, so no bet.
Reply

Flathead Smith
10/03/09

@CptSevere: Never really understood the Fiber timing gear, I always guessed it was for noise abatement that needed because of excessive gear lash that resulted from poor manufacturing tolerances; or that just some smart ass wanted to see if it was possible to make a vital engine part from compressed resin injected cardboard.
Reply

Flathead Smith was starred Flathead Smith was unstarred

kleinlowe
10/03/09

@Flathead Smith: It's the work of GM's Department of Planned Obtuseness, which is charged with making sure that the cars have as many dumb design and engineering flaws as possible.
Reply

coupeZ600 promoted this comment kleinlowe was starred kleinlowe was unstarred

mechimike
10/04/09

@Flathead Smith: Volvo used a fibre timing gear, to. It was for noise reduction, though frankly the B18 sounds like a sewing machine on crack anyway, seems irrelevant. The fibre gears would last for about 80,000 miles- the one in our lemons car worked fine for 3 races. A steel set will set you back about 2 bills, WAAAY out of our budget.
Reply

mechimike was starred mechimike was unstarred

smalleyxb122
10/04/09

@CptSevere: I've got an '87 with an iron duke that I may try to run in next year's race. I paid $400 for the car, and I've got $110 into a re-main kit, so I'll have to sell off at least $10 worth of parts to get it under budget.

Anyway, I can say with certainty that '87s had iron timing gears. I'm sure it was one of the changes made for the '87 model year, along with serpentine belt, roller lifters, and distributorless ignition.
Reply

smalleyxb122 was starred smalleyxb122 was unstarred

CptSevere
10/04/09

@smalleyxb122: I wish I knew that when I gutted my Iron Duke like a trout replacing that first timing gear. I'd have gotten the iron one, most definitely.
Reply

CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred

Novaload
10/03/09

In reply to Chevy Vanamino Spins Bearing, Not Giving Up
Talk about puking up an engine! Talk yes, but this is an actual photo capture of same.

I never liked Snoopy. I think he's bad luck.
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

Joe_Bloe
10/03/09

@Novaload: Reminds me of this:
Reply

Edited by Joe_Bloe at 10/03/09 8:00 PM Joe_Bloe was starred Joe_Bloe was unstarred

Joe_Bloe
10/03/09

@Joe_Bloe: Let's try that again:
Reply

MushyHeirloom promoted this comment Joe_Bloe was starred Joe_Bloe was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
10/03/09

@Joe_Bloe: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

mytdawg
09/28/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
I love me some beater vans. I've had 5 full size vans from a 77 with a straight 6, mags and shag up to the 94 conversion van I have now.

Rust took most of them and is working pretty hard on this one. I never drove them in the winter but lots of people did before I got them.

Occasionally on the 77 you'd go to slide the side door open and it would keep going right off the side of the van and fall on the ground.

As if that wasn't enough there were good sized rust holes everywhere and going down the highway things would accumulate in the foot well of the sliding door and blow around like balloons in a Sears fan display. Beer cans mostly but once a full bag of potato chips fell over in there and the entire van was filled with airborne potato chips.

Salt in the eyes kinda stings.
Reply

mytdawg was starred mytdawg was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
09/28/09

@mytdawg: I'm glad we still have you around. This post is the Jalopnik I know and love.
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

Dedend
09/27/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
My buddy had a 302, 3 on the tree, in high school, Metallic brown and was a Ford by the way...Same slotted mags and ovesize tires and Scare the SHIT out of you goodness... I love my vans like I love my childrens...Wait, What?

RIP Mikey, Thanks for the Corvair, the V8 Vega, the High School drags, and that Goddam V8, 4bbl, headers and sixtys on the the rear van,... w/ 3 on the tree van. I miss you buddy...Ded
Reply

FlakJack promoted this comment Dedend was starred Dedend was unstarred

souldoubt88
09/27/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
Just got me a three on tree '81 Ford econoline 100 with the 300 I6. I can only pray that I can get Chong to sign it some day soon...
Reply

P161911 promoted this comment souldoubt88 was starred souldoubt88 was unstarred

Old Grimey
09/27/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
This is pretty cool, although it would certainly make the police take notice, especially when parked where children congregate, or directly in front of a tall building, such as a federal building, jail, courthouse, embassy, or other government-related building.
Reply

discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment Old Grimey was starred Old Grimey was unstarred

discontinuuity has left the Jalop until further notice
09/27/09

@Old Grimey: That's just the Man trying to keep you down.
Reply

UDMan
09/27/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
Nothing makes it more complete than a Chinese made Haier Air Conditioner. I can't say much, as one of these is normally hanging outside of my bedroom window during July/Aug/early Sept.
Reply

UDMan was starred UDMan was unstarred

underwear-ninja
09/27/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
I was so hoping my late 70's Cutlass Cruiser with the old 70's slot car kits in the back would make DOTS today, but man... that thing is just really hard to beat.

You win this round, amazing van.
Reply

discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment underwear-ninja was starred underwear-ninja was unstarred

wkiernan
09/27/09

In reply to Primered, Chong-Autographed, 3-On-The-Tree Chevy Van May Be Best Motor Vehicle Ever!
I'm wondering how much that generator weighs. You can't actually run it inside the van, can you? And if you set it out on the ground then some crack-head will steal it in the middle of the night while you're sleeping it off inside. Roof rack, maybe? Big dog?
Reply

wkiernan was starred wkiernan was unstarred

CptSevere
09/27/09

@wkiernan: Rig it so the frame is hot, and set on a sheet of galvanized connected to the ground lug. When the tweakers try to steal the generator, you'll hear the engine come under load.
Reply

discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Jalopnik

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment