INBOX

BY KEN BRUBAKER EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM

CRAIG’S 1974 FORD ECONOLINE 300 QUADRAVAN

I’m from Arlington, Virginia. I always bought all my parts from my local dealer, Dick Blanken Ford in Arlington. One day on my way in to get my parts, I saw a van parked in front of the showroom with a for sale sign in the back window. After I got my parts, I went into the showroom to see about the van. Turns out, the showroom was being painted and the guy painting it owned the van. It was his painter work van.

If you take out all of the carpet, cabinets, and interior, there is still a lot of paint spills and spatters on the floor and walls. This was 1976. I bought it the next day and became the second owner. We did a lot of driving in the snow that winter.

In the summer of 1976 it did a trip to Padre Island, Texas. We did the 4x4 “area” and passed a sign that said “4 wheel drive only. ” This guy stopped us and said, “You can’t take that van past here, you’ll get stuck!” I floored it and threw sand all over him. Ha!

In 1977, I did the interior that is still in it to this day.

The van did many van events in the 1970s throughout Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. It always won “Best 4x4” at every van show. I moved to Florida in 1980.

With starting a new business and building a new house, the vanning events were very limited, so the van sort of got parked for a while. Luckily for it, it has always been stored inside. A couple of years ago I got it out of the corner of the old shop, got it running and went through all the brakes; changed all the fluids; and resealed the C4 trans, transfer case, and both axles. It still has the original 302ci V-8 with 77,000 miles, but has a mild cam, aluminum intake, Holley 600-cfm carb, and has been updated to a Duraspark ignition. Most of the paint is original except for minor rust and off-road dents. The van was definitely not a “pavement princess. ” It has had a lot of red Virginia clay and black Florida mud on it. I have taken it to two van events recently and plan to go to Deland, Florida, for Vanners in the Forest.

One of the pics was taken on Assateague Island, Maryland, around 1977. I jumped it at about 40 mph. Broke the front axlehousing. Ordered a new one from Pathfinder, which was still in business then. That Dana 44 housing was specifically made for Pathfinder, not a transplant F-150 or Bronco housing. The overhead console also came loose and hit me in the head on the landing. This pic is inside of the van on the wall. I get a lot of comments on it at shows.

CRAIG

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BLACK BEAR ON A CUSHMAN TRAILSTER

I enjoyed reading the article you wrote and researched (Firing Order, Feb. ’22) about the history behind the picture you chose for the cover of your 60th anniversary issue. I have run across this picture several times in my life, minus the electric pickup, and it always takes me back to the time I traveled that legendary trail. Only I did it on a Cushman Trailster. It was in the mid-1960s, and I was a teenage boy about 15. I was on a summer vacation with my parents. We camped in a 15-foot Aljo travel trailer towed by our ’63 Chevy sedan. The Cushman was mounted to the rear bumper of the trailer and a Tote Gote, which I still own, was mounted on the tongue of the trailer. We were camping just outside of Telluride near the start of Black Bear Road. One morning I got on the Cushman and started riding. I ended up going about three quarters of the way up Black Bear Road and then turned around and came back down to camp. I had no idea where I was at the time.

I will save you having to do the math. I’m 72 years old now and still an avid and active offroader. I live in Kingman, Arizona, now and own a Jeep Wrangler and a vintage Chenowth two-seat buggy that I built in the 1980s and have recently restored to its former glory. Although they have very different driving styles, I enjoy them both and drive them often. As Roy Rogers always said, “happy trails to you. ”

STUART VIA EMAIL

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