Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

[".ci I vaft i/u• ••• ] A personal view of the multi-purpose box from Ford . 25,000 miles under the fanbelt of an E-250 0) By J im Gianatsis ~ T he most desirable piece of automotive su bculture in America isn't a Corvette Stingray or a Cadillac Eldorado. It' s a van . A Ford van. Two and a half tons of rolling steel , rubber and gla ss with lockable doors and hidden storage to keep th ings as big as dirt bikes and racing cycles hidden from prying eyes and sticky fing ers . To most , of. th e American youth cu lture it's called a van and ha s becom e th e ultimate means of expression for the 1970s. The automobile has alwa ys been a status sym bol for the young. Vogue changes with the times. In the 1950s it was th e stroll , greased hair , Meres with leaded-in fenders and 283 Che vys. With the 1960s came the twist , long hair, and rump-rump muscle cars with 426 Hemi engi nes. W ith the em issio n cont rols and Fed eral sa fety standards of the 1970s, getting there in speed was a no -no. Attenti on shifted to getti ng a rou nd with a s mu ch laid -b a ck overkill as possible . While the over-Sf) bun ch makes th e scene wit h W innebagos a nd GMC mot orhom es in 72 easy p a ym ents , t he yo unger ge neration does it in custom vans ro lling steel shoeboxes with airbrushed mural s, slos h ing wa te r beds , shag ca rpeting, fold -op en wet ba rs a nd crank-up sunroofs. Grass smoke clouds th e a ir -condi tio ned cubicles as thev h ydroplane down puddled city streets on th eir B.F. Goodrich T / A Radial skins a nd Cragar a lumi num wheel s. Fak e chrome sid epipes hang fro m the rocker panels. Bu t th en , I never did get off on shaking h ands " so u l brother " style, eit her. For a dirt bike rider or road rac ing asphalt ra sher, a van is th e most practical vehicle for getting him an d his motorcycle where they want to go. It fills th e need of a transporter, min i~orkshop , storage room and m. tel all o m on e. I use m y va,:, for covermg th e r~ c es . o n th e National M.otocross Cir cuit. It' s an In tersta te cruiser most of the week and a muddy pit road terror on weeken ds . I had str ong reasons for choos ing a For d van over a Dodge or Chevy (GMC) when I purch ased m y 1976 model E· 250 Econ olin e. The firs t was reliability. Fords have a reputa tion for holding togeth er , part icul arl y in th e engine depart men t , longer than Dod ge or Ch evy. You ca n usuall y expect to put 100 ,000 miles on the odometer of 'a For d before it needs engine work mor e involved th an a tuneup , IA bov el Van partition f alls between the f oldi ng doors for easy access t o f ront and back. 12 The next subject is tires. A lot of guys swea r by the Michel in 8x 16.5 truck radials which are available , but I hate the sloppy way which radials handle on th e road and th e eight in ch tread width of the Michelin doesn't seem too good for dirt. Goodyear offers a really fantastic radial for trucks in tread widths of eight and 12 inch : with a beau tifu l tread design for ra iny roads or dirt and lots of sidewall stability, which most radials lack . I wanted the I2x16.5 size until my local Goodyear dealer told me they were $155 each and probably would take six months to get. He tried to sell me som e bias ply tires in the same size for only $120 each, and the Firestone deal er down the street had the same high pri ced deal. Something else to rem ember about van engi nes is tha t in all st a tes , except Ca lifornia , th e engines won't have to have em ission de vices or bum unl eaded fuel if th e trucks exceed a cert a in gross .vehicle weight. This includes all E·I50 , E·2 50 and E-350 Fords with V·8 engines. Your engine will live longer and get better performance with regular lea ded gasoline. Fords also ha ve fantastic electronic igni tion . At 25 ,000 miles I've yet to need new spark plugs or other replaceable parts such as th e rotor and distributor cap. My van is an E-250 model with optional 1,000 pound su sp e nsio n package, which incl udes heavy duty shocks for a load rating of 3,000 pounds. Though I'l l never fill the truck with bikes and cargo anywher e near that limit, I wou ldn't feel safe at high speeds in a van with much less suspension . Included in . th e package are heavy duty axl es, eig ht -bolt 16.5 inch diameter wheels, power front disc brakes, and optional sway bars front a rid rear. You need that much suspension on a 5, 000 pound van to get it to handle well in turns and not bottom out on simple bumps like Interstate overpasses. Ride does suffer somewhat on patched roads and expansion joi nts , but that's the price you pay for setting up even a sports car to handle well. Heavy duty axles and eig ht bolt 16.5 inch wheels are necessities wit h me. W hi le following the AMA ra cing circuit, I've seen too many lightweight suspensioned vans (Dodge Maxis in particular) piled to th e ceiling with bikes. While going down the road with their stock five-lug 15 inch diameter wheel s th ey've snapped off lug bolts, pulled out wheel centers , and even had the wheels fall off. They just aren't safe. If you don 't ever put much of a load in a va n , a lig h twe ig h tsuspension van is OK if you put on accessory mag· type or steel spo ke wheels that ca n handle the job better than stock 15 in ch sta m ped steel wheel s. If you hav e a long wheelbase van and are going to carry a lot of bikes and stuff, then be sure to go th e route of heavy duty suspension and ax les. My wheels are Duke IOx16.5 spoked steel with a few inc hes of offset to increase cornering sta bility and allow front wheel turning clearance. They've been repainted chrome yellow to match the main body of the van . Next was design. The latest Ford series III van s are on e design step ah ead of Dodge or Chevy. At first I ha ted t he looks of the moved -up engine, but there is more interior space and the top of the engine is easier to get at from outside for service. T he entire body is mo unted on rubber doughnuts to th e frame ,· ala Mercedes, to cu t d own on vibration

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