Those were the days

[spantini]

I used to work for a camera repair shop in Wash., D.C. - My job was to drive all over the Metro area (D.C., Md, Va.) Mon-Thur picking up and dropping off camera gear for repairs, and film to be developed, then Fridays up to Baltimore, Md. and Delaware. My vehicle for the local runs was a '68 Dodge van with the engine between the front seats. That was pretty handy in colder months, and made a great dining table for breakfast and lunch. For my Friday runs up the East coast, my vehicle was either a '68 Mustang 289 4sp w/AC, or a whale of a '70 Chrysler wagon - probably a Town & Country.

I was lucky nothing ever broke down, though the van did develop a massive front end shake on the interstate going through curves.

 

[Mickster]

That's pretty impressive, though, especially for an 18 year old kid. Old guy rant alert....kids these days, forget about it, totally overwhelming to change a tire on the side of the road. Windshield wipers? Iz very complicated stuff only for profe

My dad had one of those vans for his florist business. Ours had windows all around, and the step that popped out with the side door. We used it for hauling band equipment too. Big Blue was a good ol' van!

After sitting for some time, the clutch plate stuck to the flywheel. My brother and I pulled the tranny, removed the clutch and plate. A friend popped it apart, we sanded it down to get the rust off, and put it together and off we went. However, if you didn't drive it for a week, it would lock up. I would warm it up in neutral, turn it off , then start it in first gear. A few hits on the accelerator would pop it loose. Burn the clutch a bit and it was good for another week or so.

It was fun to pull right up on someone's back bumper, since you could almost see the front bumper with that flat front end.

Yeah....I had the same van.....Ford....blue....but with the "extension" on the back end. Used it for transporting band equipment. Man that thing was HOT in the summer sitting right next to the engine "cover". I remember it sort of felt like a bus to drive as the steering wheel was more "level" than upright. It had a six cyliner in it. Empty.....it was ok. Full......forget any power. It strained like crazy.

Drove it from Connecticut to San Diego one summer. A wheel bearing locked up in the desert and had to get towed to some god forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. Going through the Rockies was quite the experience. It could only creep up the steep roads and brother did it strain and sound like it was going to die any minute. Just barely made it. But man that van was fun!!!

Mick

 

[dogooder]

My dad had one of those vans for his florist business. Ours had windows all around, and the step that popped out with the side door. We used it for hauling band equipment too. Big Blue was a good ol' van!

Mine was the long one, , black no windows, 109 inch wheel base if I remember correctly..292 bored .030 over, straight six. When I bought it there was no engine in it. The guy had bought the 292 and it was all apart in boxes and ready for a rebuild. He died before putting the engine together. I bought it from his estate. They told me it was a 250 bored .030 over. I had to get his death certificate to register it. I go to put the new sets of rings on the new pistons and I broke one in the process. I went to the parts store and got a set .030 over for the 250. Go to put it on, it won't fit. So I look up the bore and stroke and measure the piston diameter and it turned out it was a 292. The engine was all ready to go, ground crank, heads cleaned and faced, over size journal bearings, new pistons, new rings, block had been cleaned and bored, new valves, valve guides, valve keepers, rockers, lifters, rod bearings, the whole nine yards. I get it all back together, put it in the van, get her started and she is making all kinds of noise down in the oil pan. I listen for a bit, whip the dipstick out of it and she is purring. It was the wrong dipstick getting knocked around by the crank up against the oil pan. I put a couple of hundred miles on it then drove it from Denver to NY with a full load. One of the craziest stories happened on the way. I won't bore you any more.

 

[dogooder]

Yeah....I had the same van.....Ford....blue....but with the "extension" on the back end. Used it for transporting band equipment. Man that thing was HOT in the summer sitting right next to the engine "cover".

I had a think it was 66 or 64 red ford econoline van. I lent it to a drummer who wrecked it sideswiping a tree and paid me next to nothing for it. His GF broke her ankle in the crash. I sold the van. The guy who bought it, cut sides off behind the doors, cut the roof short, folded it over and welded it to close off the cab. Then he welded a picnic table to the floor and was driving it around as a flat bed with a picnic table on it.

 

[spantini]

I was checking out one of @rob aylestone's recent threads on Vintage Collectables and it made me think back to some of my vintage gear. I'm not famous or in the collectable class, so I'm posting this here instead of Rob's thread.

At first, my band used this PA for vocals only in our practice basement. We all had our own amps so didn't need to go through a board. Then as we started playing out, we took the PA for our stage setup - again, for vocals only. Eventually, I began leaving my bass rig behind and plugged into the PA board. Then, as we were regularly feeding a FOH setup, I switched to plugging my bass into a Roland GP-8 rack processor and that into FOH. Eventually, we began leaving the PA in our practice basement and I used that for my practice bass rig - no amp or GP-8, just plugged straight into the PA with those two ginormous horn cabs.

Here's some pics. These aren't my actual gear, just some same-as images I googled.