Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, I am old enough to remember the days of the custom van era. It allowed customizers to build some wonderful creations which were the envy of their friends, and an object of loathing and dread for the fathers of many a teenage girl. Many manufacturers cashed in on this craze by producing special edition vehicles that gave the young owners a blank canvas on which to work their magic. Dodge was just such a company when it released the Street Van in 1976. You will find this customized example of the Dodge for sale here on eBay. It is located in Appleton, Wisconsin, and is being sold with a clear title. There has been some interest shown for this vehicle, and this has pushed bidding to $12,605, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
The Street Van was seen as a clever marketing idea by Dodge, but it never really caught on, and sales figures were actually quite low, so finding a nice example today can be quite difficult. This one is finished in the original yellow paint, which is said to be mostly original. There are a few marks and minor dings, but the overall condition of the body and paint is quite good. It still wears its original Street Van decals, and I believe that the wheels are also original. The exterior mirrors also look to be original, and these were fitted to the Street Van in place of the standard mirrors fitted to commercial vehicles.
One glance into the cockpit is enough to tell you that this is no tradesman’s van. The interior is largely original and in good condition. Additions include a Clarion radio/cassette player, concealed Kenwood speakers, shag-pile trim, and an octagonal steering wheel. The original wheel with its timber inlay is also included with the vehicle. The remaining interior trim is all standard fare.
Many of these custom vans featured elaborate and beautiful airbrushed murals adorning the outside of the van, and some of the artistry was magnificent and admired by people of all ages. This van doesn’t feature this sort of art, but the interior more than makes up for that. What was also typical was interior trim like this. Carpet, shag-pile upholstery, mini-bars, TVs, and beds were all part of what made these vehicles such individuals. Dodge really got into the swing of this trend with the Street Van. As part of the ownership package supplied to buyers, Dodge actually supplied a number of designs and templates to assist new owners to customize their vehicles. The person who undertook the work on this van has given it some careful thought. The TV and lighting are all period-correct, while the bed has been designed to be removed if the vehicle needs to be used to carry large loads. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are looking for a period-correct recreation, then this is pretty close.
This Dodge isn’t all looks and no performance. The engine bay is crammed full of goodness. The engine is a 440ci big-block V8, but it isn’t your average engine. It has been freshly rebuilt, and the owner has pushed out the boat. The engine is balanced and blueprinted. It also features forged pistons, a Comp Cams XE268 cam, the heads have been mildly ported and fitted with bigger valves. It also has a Holley 750 Street HP carburetor, Hedman headers, and a custom exhaust to the vintage Thrush side-pipes. This then pushes power through a freshly rebuilt Torqueflite 727 transmission. The seller states that the van goes well, and will cruise all day at 80mph.
This Dodge van hails from a unique era in motoring, and it is part original, and partly a tribute to those times. It is a vehicle that is guaranteed to stand out wherever it goes, and it will bring back a lot of memories to people over a certain age. The fact that people are bidding on it tells me that it has struck a chord with them.
Somebody really put some thought and work into this, and I hope it’s bought, driven and taken on many a road trip. I certainly would.
Wow, I too remember these new and the angst anyone’s father had when this pulled up to the house!
The Thrush Outsider side pipes are a cool sight, as is the correct interior décor.
With a built 440 this should really scoot.
Truly a “Shaggin’ Wagon”
hopefully nobody does a black light test – d.n.a everywhere
There were 6 or so graphic package suggestions w nice posters that came with the Street Van package. Paint codes and measurements for copying these paint designs for your van were on the backside. All of these are available to anyone for FREE at http://www.vanning.com as I and another guy scanned these posters and loaded them on the site for all to use & enjoy.
Look for posts by me; “boxdin”.
https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/725093/1.html
Here is the link these are very cool in many color suggestions
Here’s a dropbox link to all of them I guess you can print easily. My partner is this finished scanning all and the backside is available too w paint codes & measurements.
This is really cool for van nuts !!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/si9wvwuerf925tm/AAB5IVjJNkAoTT3bKiqVpV9Ia?dl=0
I guess this one escaped the attention of Chris Carter, the guy that stole the Wild Cherry van.
Steve R
The Wild Cherry tale is nowhere near being over but the story is getting screwy enough for a Coen brothers movie.
Could be, they do like prison scenes.
Steve R
Cruise all day at 80…w/ a few gas stops. Ready for a road trip w/ George Peppard.
Need to dig him out first! Asking mr T to.drive you around is more plausable;)
Did you know that Street Van backwards
is Nav Teerts?
Pretty sure that was the nameplate used on the model that was exported to the Netherlands.
Wow! As stated on here many times previously, yes the price is high, but try to find a nicer one.
If this van was stripped with a 440 (last year available) I’d buy it. I had a 360cu.in. 1984 B-200 that cruised to 12.95 @ 105.5 mph at E-Town with not much work. It was our daily hauler delivering floor covering for the family business.
Very reliable, very fast and great memories.
MOPAR had it all covered for decades.
I know, I was amazed how dodge gave up the van business during their financial crisis as dodge vans had been the top seller for the 70s. But then the minivan…….
I like it. I live in sherman oaks where the california blues van and the blues 2 van where built. I am sure if there are any hard core vanners out there they will remember those two vans.
My late brother bought a 1977 street van new off the lot. His was black with gold metallic. He had it professionally customed very similar to this van he also had fender flares added to it. These vans always remind me of him.
LOVE love love this van!! Always been a dream. I am saving up my hard earned money to eventually purchase one of these. I looked at this van it has been (to no ones surprise) SOLD!!!
Always thought this very van was a benchmark. Just my opinion but always preferred clean graphics to overdone airbrush work.
Not that it matters to me, but is this beautiful rig an actual, original Street Van? I recall metal door emblems and a floor shifter up against the driver seat in those I’ve seen.
a 440 powered crime scene!
The van is not my thing but it sure looks nice and original, no clue if the 440 is original or not?
Looks like a fairly healthy 440, it’s most definitely going to burn some fuel but all in all I am not a van fan, I don’t care much for Mopar but with that said I kind of like this?
The 440 is a bit much unless you’re going to pull a decent sized load with it. As mentioned earlier, the 360 has plenty enough power to move this along and It’ll be able to pass more gas stations doing it.
LAB3, that was my first thought with this.
is the 440 needed in this size van?
“needed” are you kidding? They surely a 440 is too much for a Charger or a Challenger? If you’re worried about gas cost then go buy a prius.
boxdin, did I mention gas?
I didn’t.
I am more worried about the torque the 440 produces for this top heavy vehicle.
Sometimes want overrides need. Does a hemi cuda’ need a hemi?
Mike, If it is a “HEMI” Cuda, it needs to have a Hemi.LOL
Wow, the memories come flooding back! My father-in-law bought a bone stock, empty work van one Saturday morning. Brought it home and called me to come over. Handed me the keys and said “got a little project for you”. One summer and several hundred dollars and we had a custom van! Many years of driving up to the lake trailer and huge fun.
Had many “GREAT” years in my 72′ Dodge Sportsman Royal Maxi B 300, which I installed a “HOT” 70′ 340, around 1978.
After seeing the interior photo, one thought comes to mind: Giggity, Giggity!!!
Love this van! Dodge certainly owned the custom van market with their “Street Vans”.
Regarding the “Wild Cherry” van debacle how did Chris Carter ever think he could just remove a van sitting on someone else’s property and then consider himself the rightful owner?
the 76 Street Van had a decal, the 77 had the metal emblem. The stock 440 would really move