The disco era was barely hanging on by 1982, having spun (no pun intended) enough polyester pants, silk shirts, and gold chains to keep factories humming for years. Vanning was still a thing, however, and this 1982 Ford Econoline E-150 shorty van has spent its life in the southwest. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Las Vegas, Nevada and the current bid price is $4,200.
Most of us think of the custom van era as being based in the 1970s and the really fancy and classic vans were, the ones that we think about when we think about custom vans. Murals with unicorns or dragons or some crazy mythological beasts, bubble windows, and layers of custom paint and graphics. Things were settling down a bit by the 1980s.
You can see that this example is a little sunburnt from having been in California for most of its life, according to the seller, who says that it’s now been in storage in Las Vegas for the last two years. The _ORD Econoline (just seeing if you were paying attention) was part of the E-Series family of Ford vans, along with the Club Wagon, which was more of the people-mover van than the whatever-you-want van.
The seller has included a lot of photos, which is nice, including underside photos showing how solid this example really is. Things are a little used and sunbaked inside, too, but I’m guessing that the first thing most of you noticed is that floor-mounted manual shifter. That always seemed unusual for me to see a floor shifter in a van, even though I had a Dodge van with one that we put in to replace a worn-out column linkage. The interior of this van, in the back, looks pretty nice and if a person just wanted an interesting former glory van, this would be a nice one to own.
The engine is Ford’s 300-cu.in. inline-six, with around 120 horsepower. The seller says that it’ll need to be massaged a bit due to being in storage for a couple of years, but it runs great and the AC even works. Have any of you owned a custom van with a manual transmission like this early-80s Ford shorty?
There’s no wonder why this one got saved. Nice van.
Man that’s like the best van I’ve seen in years with that 300 I-6 & a 4 speed & A/C ! What a groovy project van ! Everything you must have & ready to be made in the owners dream, if it just was on my side of the USA id be cruising this baby on Daytona beach!
oldcarbrochures.com doesn’t have a brochure for the ’82 Econoline, but they do have Club Wagon (passenger van) literature.
I was darn near shocked to see the 4-speed floor shift pictured in the brochure. Especially for the passenger version. Those must have been exceptionally rare.
Actually that transmission was quite common in the late 70s and early 80s, they were offered in pickups as well. They were 4sp overdrives
I found at least one, Evan:
https://xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/1982-Ford-Econoline-v1.pdf
The shift knob in the seller’s photos shows 1-2-3 and “O” for overdrive, along with reverse, of course.
Thanks, Scotty! And just so you know, you’re one of my favorite writers here and the one I’m learning to emulate so that one day I might be a writer here.
My buddy had had at least four 73-77 Dodge panel vans with the slant six and four speeds. Super rare and this one is too
I had the same thought as Evan. I didn’t even realize that a manual transmission was still available in these vans in the early 80’s. This is cool just for that reason. Overall doesn’t look bad at all. Good job Scotty.
I was in the Air Force in December 1972 and was still driving my 1966 Fairlane GT 390 4-speed. The clutch was going out so I traded it in on a used 1972 Econoline E-200 shorty cargo van. Rare for a E-200 short wheelbase with a 302 V8, 3 speed on the tree. Paid $2400 for it and got $500 for my Fairlane. Drove it from Denver to England Air Force Base in Louisiana, almost froze to death until I could put some insulation on the bare metal walls. Kept that van for 12 years and 220,000 miles. Have some great memories with Ol Blue.
Thats a cool van 😎 200 series, stik shft, V8
Love this one too. I6 + manual = 👍
Back in the day I had a ’78 long wheel base with a 351 and the 4 speed. Converted to propane, isulated it and added a 10k btu furnace. Loved it. The trany had needle bearings that didn’t have the greatest lifespan though.
Nice van…I’d buy it…but to far away…
NO SIDEPIPES, I’m Out
The 4 gear was a great option, could pull stumps.
A bit of a challenge in that the throw from 2 – 3 was about 2.5 Feet !
Not for short arms.
I first found one of these transmissions in a Granada V-8. Pulled it and put it in my ’66 289 Galaxie. As long as the 2-3 shift was physically, the ratio gap be-tween 2-3 was wide as well. Tried pulling another ’66 Galaxie from North Carolina to Indiana; climbing those West Virginia peaks in second gear, that 289 was screaming at 4000rpm, or third at 1500, threatening to stall.
Nice looking indeed….
Did anyone else notice in the eBay pictures that one of the ball joints is almost out…. castle nut & gap below looks to be ready to come apart…..
Yep that’s tie rod end ready to come apart. I have alerted the seller on eBay.
Poppy,
The highway safety gods will bless you!
A neighbor bought a new _ord van in the early 80s to haul his race bikes. The 6 and the 4 speed upped the mpg from 11 or 12 to 18, which was a big deal then, and still is today.
That Passenger Seat is like sitting at Home with a Cold Bud looking out you TV window.
My favorite BF this year (2023)
I currently have a 1983 Chevrolet Chevy Van 20 with the 6.2L diesel and four speed manual (NPG A883 with O/D) from the factory. Purple unicorn indeed!
Sold, sold, sold, at $8,774.74!
I drove one of the 300/6/manual floor shift Club Wagons about a year ago. I had never seen a van so equipped. Nice auction and maybe I will have one myself again some day.
I drove one of the 300/6/manual floor shift Club Wagons about a year ago. I had never seen a van so equipped. Nice auction and maybe I will have one myself again some day.