MOST HARDCORE

I take my van to shows (5-10) during the summer including some cruise nights with ABSOLUTELY no expectation of winning anything. I was at a show recently that had 150 raffle prizes and I didn't even win one of those. lol. Anyway, I really enjoy seeing the other cars and talking to owners about their car, and the travel wagon is always popular. You can walk by your 13th Chevelle of the show but everyone has to stop by to see the van. Around here it is very likely to be the only early at the show and maybe the only van. I can tell you everything about the 5 other early vans I saw the entire summer including one "gasp" Westfalia.

And the kids love it, young ones peek in and when you say "hop in" they get super excited. Their parents have to drag them out. And the teenagers are really interested too. When you tell them they can buy one for less than $2k, they're like "Dude, I have to get one of these..." Spicolis....

Best memory of this summer was talking to a lady who grew up with a father who had an early econoline that he turned into a camper. She, her two siblings, grandma and the parents traveled and camped all over New England. She had such fun seeing the van and telling me the stories, it was a lot of fun.

So that's why I do it. But if you want see some hardcore, I'll send you a couple of links...hah!

I don't have a van but do have a A-100 pickup and look at it as the same things. Sharing the joy of showing off the great vehicles of the past. I had 3 shows that were planned on being in but the shop that was set to do the body work on my truck fell through so did not enter them. Just want to show it off without the rust. I wish I had the ability to do the body work myself but don't have the skills or time to do it right. Hopefully I can find another shop that I can get it into and start hitting the shows next year.

I put 900 miles on the Econoline in four days! We went to Marksville LA for a Peter Frampton concert on Saturday and back home Sunday (400 miles). On Monday I took off for Austin for the bi-weekly car night at the Dog & Duck Pub and back home Tuesday (498 miles). More Smiles Per Gallon than any other vehicle I've ever driven (and only three Scooby comments this trip, which to us adds to the SPG ratio!!!).

I'm new to vans although I owned a 1967 Ford Econoline back in the early 80's that my wife & I camped, scuba, & traveled in through Texas looking for fun. This is the first van I have worked on & tried to "restore?". Might not be a heavy weight yet - but I'm having a hellva time being a "rookie".

slowflapper wrote:Well I cant really compete in this contest, there are some old school vanners here

About the best I can come up with is back in 1991 my brother bought a 66 A100 window van at a garage sale for $50. It had a leaky /6 head gasket, he put a bottle stop-leak in it and we drove (and partied in) that thing for a couple of years at least.

We were in the service (aviation) so he painted it in black primer and put aircraft panel stencils on it in different places. It said "crash dummy" on the door

raceprepared wrote:. . . Might not be a heavy weight yet - but I'm having a hellva time being a "rookie".

slowflapper wrote:Well I cant really compete in this contest, there are some old school vanners here

That's the beauty of this site, it's EVERYONE'S site, please don't be put off by those who may think otherwise.

In my opinion the premise of Baja Charlie's idea here is a good one. Again, my opinion here, it's more of a "what have you done lately" thing that applies to everyone here no matter how long you've been at it.

Even if you haven't been to alot of vannin events or car shows I think just bring one of these vans back to the road is doing your part. I would love to go to all these events and I do make some, but I still have to make a living. Being a vanner has been great over the years.

Man I really hate this stuff. I hate having to reply even more! I really do!

Freedom is a strong word that some people seem to use to their own benefit. Again, IN MY OPINION, this is Baja Charlie's thread and he is free to start it. The award he may or may not pass out is his and he is free to give it to whomever he pleases. He is free to call it whatever he wants. Dissing him because he has the freedom to do this just ain't right! To copy a phrase from a member's signature line, "Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly. Leave the rest to God."

I am truly not trying to start anything with anybody here, I'm just tired of the bickering nonsence. This isn't how we should act here, especially when it comes to scaring off the newer members. Without the newer members the site won't strive. Again, this is all my opinion!

I'm stil a newbie after 8 months, will be for the next 8 months, have no plans of selling my van after two years and could really care less about being a "vanner." Call me an "entusiast." Won't hurt my feelings or make me feel less worthy.


I have no desire to live in my van, camp in my van, be on the cover of a magazine or get a van tatoo on my biceps. When it has my signature on it, I will take it to shows and soak in the atmosphere.

I love the looks of these vans, now own one, and have loved driving with the giant steering wheel the last two weeks. Even my wife is excited about a "van." Yea, I have motives. I need a van to work out of AND I want people to give me thumbs up when I drive down the road or pull into a parking space. I could have purchased a problem free, modern Econoline cargo van, but what fun would that be?

I've enjoyed, just as much as anything, reading Carl's threads about restoring his van, driving around the country and enjoying life with his wife. He isn't trying to be on the cover of any mags. I really enjoyed seeing Scotty jump on stock van and getting excited in the process. That, to me is what it's all about. Passion. And driving.

vanishingbreed wrote:You don't know the real reason he started this thread. . .

I do know and I don't care! The other thread got closed and, let's see how I can put this without calling anyone out . . . well, I really can't, but all but one person reading this knows what I mean . . . this thread will probably get shut down too and that's really a shame. I think Baja Charlie's idea of rewarding a "what have you done lately" van enthusiast is a great idea. I for one don't want any awards, I just enjoy driving my van! I could say much more, but what's the point!

What Plato said.

Its fine to support and praise others within a certain group, but dont put down/shun people outside of the group looking in. Not everyone is 'to the bones' passionate about something, so what. As long as they enjoy what they are doing, and share the same pleasure as the rest of the group they should be welcomed with open arms with no hidden laws implying you must live a code or face expulsion.

I am a veteran, like many others on this site. I was deployed to a combat zone and managed to return without injury. Does that make me better than a Veteran that served his time without having deployed? No. Does that make a Veteran that deployed and got injured better than me? No. The only ones that deserve the label of being "better" are the ones who gave everything they ever could.
You may be thinking this is an apples to oranges comparison, but in reality, it isnt. Being a soldier in the US means you did so on a voluntary basis (with some exceptions for Nam draftees, etc.), exactly the same way you become a "van owner". You can take it to whatever degree you want from there, but each and every member that served his/her country deserves equal respect. The same should be true of anyone whom enjoys their van, whether you want to call them simply a "van owner" or a "vanner" or a "van enthusiast". All it boils down to is the fact that the members of this site share one basic fundamental quality that brings us together, the pleasure they get from owning a van (or van derived pickup such as what I own). Anything else simply doesnt matter.
You can call me whatever you like, I dont care, just do so with the respect that each and every member of this site deserves.

sat here for an hour trying to compose a response to some of the bickering. so long that moparfreak beat me to it. the problem is ANY response will incite more bickering! i erased it all and started over. i found this site before i bought my van,i was welcomed like family and given good advice within minutes of my first post. in return, i try to advise the best i can when i can. i evan went out of my way to 'calm the fire' on another thread and didnt evan care about the issue. i am thankful for all that others have done and still do and i relise that most newbies will be gone in a year. thats ok. as long as they had fun while they was here. we all share a common interest, not just vans but early vans. lets focus on that. i will not change my lifestyle to fit someone elses needs and i certainly wont discredit anyone elses either. i plan on sticking around and hope ALL the others do too.

I would just like to point out that Mike is simply,well emphatically,stating the definition of a vanner as perceived by those that have been living the lifestyle most of their life. He didnt disrespect van owners or van enthusiasts,he just differentiated between the 3. He did this after Charlie's post which stated the award was for "HARDCOREST EARLY VANNER". I'm sure the intent of Charlie's award was good even if the title of it was controversial.
No matter what anyone thinks,there's no reason to belittle anyone or be rude to another member,ESPECIALLY if you are new here and haven't been around long enough to know the members and their various contributions. A little respect goes a long way. Showing NO respect and being flat out rude will get you a quick exit off of many sites including this one.
Lastly I agree with Carl, if Charlie wants to give an award, regardless of my or others opinion,it's his to give.
Theres a lot of controversy here that I'm sure wont get resolved but I hope we can respectfully move forward from here.

Falcon feathers might I suggest you educate yourself on the histiory of the 2% van movement before you pass judgement. It's best to know what you are talking about if you are planning to debate it. Might I also suggest if you want to continue your personal argument with Mike you take it to private messaging. Nobody here wants to read that kind of stuff.

Both of them need to cut that crap out. I dont care who is right/wrong/pink or blue! Someone has to be the bigger man and look over/ignore certain posts for the better of the community (read; those of us who AREN'T in the 'arguement'). Keep your beef in private or dont have it!
Please?!

MoparFreak69 wrote:Both of them need to cut that crap out. I dont care who is right/wrong/pink or blue! Someone has to be the bigger man and look over/ignore certain posts for the better of the community (read; those of us who AREN'T in the 'arguement'). Keep your beef in private or dont have it!
Please?!

I wish this was facebook so I could hit the "like" button.

Here ya' go Tim:



Just don't break your screen hitting it!

Let it go man, let it go! This thread is ruined anyway, so for the sake of the rest of us PLEASE let it go.

Wow, there seems to be alot more to owing a "vintage van" than I thought.

[i]Really!! I just think most of us are Happy to have one & do enjoy fixing them us and driving them. Like to have the friends of others no matter what type van they have & like.=Happy Vannin

here we go again

another thread locked

one newbie down

bickering, belittling and bullheadedness spoiled it for everyone else


although there were some good posts, trying to keep things positive, the bickering did this thread in...


Keep this in mind, you don't even have to own an early van to be welcome here, you just have to like them, and if you didn't you wouldn't be here anyway... Van owners, van enthusiasts, vanners, wannabes, are ALL the same here! Let's not waste our time and energy on the PC-ness of vanning, but get back to the vans themselves as it should be.



BajaCharlie, if you would like to open a new thread on the same premise, that would be great... just don't "call anyone out" please when you do so (I'm tired of babysitting)... You had a great idea, I liked hearing about other's vanning experiences etc.


I'm leaving all the posts up for now, as an example of what NOT to do, but I have a good mind to delete the bickering in the future from here or any other thread that starts going south... you have been warned!