While coachbuilding for luxury cars slowly died off in the immediate prewar period, the commercial vehicle side of things managed to live on for another few decades. The Boyertown Auto Body Works of Boyertown, Pennsylvania was the most prolific of these craft houses. While the company has been out of business since 1990, an occasional survivor shows up on the market ready to be repurposed. If you want a good start to a slow but roomy camper project, this 1966 Boyertown crew bus for sale on eBay in Cle Elum, Washington deserves your attention. This well-kept relic from the Pacific Northwest’s logging days is in good shape for its age and can be purchased for a reasonable $8,500. Is this the kind of seldom-seen project that appeals to you? Thanks to John E. for the tip!
Like many automakers and custom houses, the operation that eventually became Boyertown Auto Body Works started in 1872 with building wagons and horse-drawn carriages. The kind of large metal stampings we associate with automobile body production were years off, so nearly all the work done to create a body for a vehicle was done by hand. Craftspersons started with a frame, built a wooden framework, and then attached metal panels where appropriate. This way of building would end up being the same for automobiles as horse-powered transportation receded into history.
This Boyertown product managed to make it all the way across the United States. According to the seller, this van was initially purchased by Boise Cascade. The timber company, which is one of the largest in the United States even today, used this van to transport cutting crews to their work and back. It will hold 15 passengers and the interior measurement from floor to roof is an ample 6’2.” Believe it or not, this vehicle has just 62,000 miles on the odometer.
The seller tells us that they have owned this vehicle for 20 years. It appears to be remarkably free of rust for this type of vehicle and it still wears its Boyertown hood plate after all these years. Inside, we see that the wood floor is in good condition along with the seating. We are told that it is in excellent condition overall and runs great. Sadly, the seller does not disclose which Ford engine is under the hood. Also curious is that it is equipped with dual rear wheels despite being a bus from the beginning. One would think a standard axle and set of wheels would be sufficient for the load it carried.
It is highly unusual to find a Boyertown product in this condition with low mileage, especially where it is. Trucks like this were used hard by their original owners, sold off to the secondary market, and then worked into the ground or returned to the Earth thanks to corrosion. It would make a great base camper van conversion if you were patient about getting where you wanted to go. Hopefully, this neat old van will find a place to spend its retirement where it will be well taken care of. Boyertown-built vehicles played a big part in the building of 20th-century America. The contributions of that little Pennsylvania factory town need to be remembered.
Have you ever driven or owned a Boyertown-built vehicle? Do you remember one in your past? Please share your memories in the comments.
These were used as ice cream trucks
where I grew up in the early 1960s. I
can tell you that many a hot Summer
night was made more bearable by the
siren song of a Mr. Softy ice cream truck as it cruised your neighborhood.
It’s driver just waiting to dispense icy
cold treats to young and old alike. And yes, it would be safe to say that
these trucks were the original food
trucks when used by your local Civil
Defense or fire department as canteen vehicles during the cold war.
I’ll hazard a guess and say that this one has at least a 200 cube 6 mated to a 3 or 4 speed gearbox. And I wanna think that if equipped with a 3
speed, it was column shifted. Would
make a great taco 🌮 truck for someone willing to start a small business in today’s absolutely dismal
economy. Especially here in Florida
where companies close down in the
middle of the night, lock their doors,
and leave their former employees with nothing– not even the chance to
collect unemployment. I’ve seen this
a lot since 2016, and to me, it just makes sense to leave corporate America behind before the roof caves
in. And with a rig like this, you certainly could do just that. It would
be more than ideal as a delivery van
for Amazon Flex or an auto parts store. The possibilities are endless–
provided you’re motivated enough to
by this van, and go out and get it.
The Mr Softee trucks were built from 1958 to 1980 by Boyertown Auto Body Works. The were designed specifically as food trucks – they were not really converted Merchandisers.
I think most will admit, most of these vans were bread trucks or dairy. I don’t ever recall a seeing them as a bus, but looks to be original. Generally, I believe these used a Ford inline 6, so patience required there. Say gramps, what’s the “C” knob for?
I have seen photos of similar Boyertown vans set up with seats and windows for transporting air crews to airliners back before jetway boarding (prop planes). A soaking wet crew probably didn’t make a great first impression on the passengers.
I initially thought that this might have been a former U.S. Forest Service crew carrier (close). I have heard that pickups and stake beds were the norm “ back in the day”. The USFS currently uses crew carriers, but they are an 8 passenger bus body on a commercial chassis. With two in the cab, you have a 10 person hand crew who do similar work to the crew that used to ride around in this vehicle. Today’s crew carriers are little more upscale- air conditioning, high back reclining seats, reading lights, phone charging stations, etc.- more like an airplane. Even still, hand crews have a tough, dangerous job in typically inhospitable terrain.
Bread truck – totally. This thing wears the face of the Kerns, Bost, & Sunbeam – among many others – rout delivery trucks of my childhood. I learned today the badge on their noses said Boyertown. Pretty cool.
Did you notice that it also says “Merchandiser” on the nose badge in the eBay listing? You are correct- this van was likely the base model for many occupations, with custom modifications per customer requirements. I worked for firms that produce custom equipment and, oftentimes, a standard model body, with selected modifications, was easier, faster and more cost-effective than a custom body.
While in college, 50+ years ago, I worked part-time driving a van exactly like the one shown in the photo. It had a 300 ci Ford in-line six and four-speed manual transmission. The writer seems to characterize the vehicle as being slow, yet the one I drove was powerful and quite fast.
Dual wheels may have more to do with stability than anything else. At least it has the aux. heater in the back for that loooong ride to get anywhere!
I grew up near Boyertown and knew people who worked at the “body works,” as it was referred to by the locals. They made an incredible variety of bodies on various chassis up until they declared bankruptcy in 1994. The demise of the regional bread and dairy routes sealed their fate.
we owned a ’51 walk in van a one ton job with the flat six and 3 speed on column. Original owner purchased it in ’51 for his florist business. It was a boyertown truck and he had a custom heated floor with copper pipes allowing some heat for deliveries in cold weather. He sold it to us as he was retired. when we got it it was no longer hooked up for floor heat. we used it on our construction site moving lumber and such material around! It was a hoot to drive. Plenty of torque! Wish I had it today.
That’s a sweet looking ride right there.
Sometime in the early/med ’00s the bakeries “Independent Contractor”‘d their delivery routes to stores, and that put a huge hole in the step-van market since those guys would just as soon buy a trailer and pull it with a 2500 SRW pickup that doubles as their personal ride.
Food Truck!
Boise Cascade is headquartered in- Boise- and had a sizable mill in Yakima for many years. I suspect that it spent its life from new in the Cascades. The loggers it hauled called it a “Crummy”. This unit looks to be in amazing shape, all things considered.
A eply to Howard A. The “C” knob is for the hand choke. I was given some parts from one of these, exactly like the one in the article. I was restoring a 1952 F-1 pickup. The instrument panel shown is the same as my 52 pickup.
I took the F O R D letters off the front and there now on my pickup. Several parts came from the doaner truck. Very reliable old trucks as I remember them so fondly as a chiild. Bread, milk, bakeries, and more used these. Leon
I live 15 minutes from Boyertown. This would be a neat piece to take to shows in this area. Not sure how much transport would cost, though.
@Dana Humbert-
I sent an email to the President of the Boyertown Museum about this as a possible acquisition for their facility. If you have any contacts there, please let them know about it. Thanks.
Hi, John, I’m a volunteer at the Boyertown Museum, on the small crew that maintains and repairs the vehicles. We know about this bus, and it does look as if it’s in pretty good shape – but we already have a large number of Boyertown trucks. We’re actually more short on space than on funds! Now, if someone here in eastern Pa. has the space and available funds to buy and fix up this truck, we’d sure be happy to ooh and aah over it at our annual Duryea Day event! Most Merchandisers of this vintage with the three-on-the-tree have the 150-hp. 240-cubic-inch six, which is pretty torquey, but they’re geared low. uld be a long cross-country drive at 45-50 mph.
John, they’re pretty short on $ right now, no. I think we should purchase it for them… I seen plenty too, never this l o n g tho.
Wouldn’t mind the one w/the 4.9. Short would make nice hauler for the race car trailer.