Boyertown Auto Bodyworks manufactured truck bodies for commercial and government use. They were in business in Boyertown, Pennsylvania from 1926-90 and – during part of this time – would buy new Ford and General Motors chassis from dealers and purpose them for all sorts of applications. This Ford delivery van from 1967 is one of those conversions and bears graphics from a cider distillery. It’s located in Jefferson, Maryland (home to that company) and is available here on eBay. It will need some work and is not currently running. The bidding currently stands at $1,475.
Some of the purposes for these trucks and vans would be for parcel, bread, sandwich, or coffee delivery, but the options were almost endless depending on what the buyer needed. Sometime after the company closed, its plant was transformed into a museum to display all sorts of historic vehicles, mostly those built by BADW. Housed there are carriages (horseless and otherwise), wagons, vans, and even sleighs that were built in the 1800s and 1900s.
We’re told that this ’67 Ford van was bought for a restoration project that never got off the ground except for exterior painting, which looks to be several years old. It bears the graphics of Distillery Lane Ciderworks but we don’t know what involvement (if any) they may have had in the project. It was a barn find that had been living there for at least 30 years.
The body is said to be solid, although there is at least some surface rust in a few places. The floors are sound and there are no leaks in the roof, so it may prove to be a good foundation for its final journey and purpose. Some of the floorboards inside the van have already been replaced, but the windshield will need to be swapped out. While the body is red and white now, there is evidence it was green at one time.
This van is not in running condition and we don’t see much of the drivetrain, which is said to be a six-cylinder engine (Ford?) paired with a manual transmission. The tires may be good enough to get it up onto a trailer and off again, but then what? If you were to buy this van, what would be your vision for it?
I grew up near Boyertown and I am familiar with what we referred to as “the body works.” They used not only Ford and GM chassis but also International and Dodge. I’ve even seen a photo of one of their bodies on a Willys truck chassis.
It’s hard to find one of these old delivery vans with the sheet metal in this good of condition. It’s a blank canvas. Vintage shaggin’ wagon?? What could you do with it?
Iron Trap Garage in Boyertown should snag it for a swap meet hauler!
I worked for a truck garage when I was younger and we had a customer in Danville, Pa (Dietrich’s Dairy) that had a fleet of 6 of these. They were refrigerated milk trucks. All 6 were 300 cube Ford 6 cylinders. They put a lot of miles on them and they were geared horribly low, so we did a lot of engine replacements. It was a horrible job in the summer, not because of the engine work, but because of the stench of the spoiled milk that had leaked in the back of the truck after the refrigeration quit. It was so bad that I would actually get nauseated from it. The plus side is that they were very easy to remove and replace the engine or transmission. Simply remove the dog coup and the front sheet metal, and it was just that easy. I’d like to say that “those were the good old days”, but there was nothing good about the horrid smell of that spoiled milk.
I’d love to have this. My dad use to drive a ruck like this to make deliveries for a local department store in Pa. I’m pretty sure at one time he had one made but this company. He put many miles on it and seeing how the store was in Pa. it would make sense the truck would be from Pa. I could think of a lot of different things to do with this but time and money right now are at a stop. Hopefully someone gives it another chance.
Three on the tree and a Ford “big six” (240 or 300). Bring an overdrive?
What a great Door Dash truck this would
make! Just add some hot and cold boxes up front, some shelves in the rear,
a roof mounted A/C, and call it done.
I’d go with a 300 big 6 and a C-6 for a
power train and disc brakes to make it
stop. I’d also enhance the steering with
an electric steering box from a Toyota
Prius. With home delivery services
expanding due to Covid, there’s a lot
of money to be made here.
For me this would be used to haul and display various automotive accessories to car shows and or swap meets. A more comfortable seat would be my first object after getting it running, stopping and insured. Tires and wheel options are abundant so a trade would be in place at some point. I enjoy a/c in my vehicles so an aftermarket set up would also be a factor. Drivetrain options don’t really matter since it wouldn’t be used as a speed wagon. Might even go with electric conversion, they’re available for around $6,000.00 with out batteries, but a battery pack is another grand. For now I must get back to work on my little 76 LUV mini truck. What a blast it’s turning out to be.
God bless America
Would make a great hunting, fishing or camping vehicle