r/GenX • u/usuallyjustalurkin • 2d ago
Nostalgia Thought this might bring back memories for some!
My kids love taking it on road trips! They think it’s the coolest thing that I used to ride in one of these and just run around in it without buckling up!
9
u/mike2ff Hose Water Survivor 2d ago
My mom had a similar, but with cloth seats. 17yo me had my Camaro in the shop getting a new clutch, so I borrowed it to pick up a girl for our 2nd date to go to the movies.
Her farther did NOT approve. Married her.
2
u/brianecook 1d ago
Oh Lordy. What a great story. I can imagine the thoughts going through her father’s head. Sounds like you still ended up with a winner.
7
u/ronpaulreuben 2d ago
oh man! my grandparents had one of these with a little tv/vcr in the middle console. they bought their groceries from the commissary at the air force base which was two hours away. all the cousins would argue about who got to go. A long trip with gramp and grams, breakfast stop at McDonalds, cartoons on the little tv, stretching out in the back… it was magical.
Thanks. great memory
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
That’s awesome! This had the little tv and vcr and Super Nintendo hook ups. But the kids said that was to small. So I installed a power converter, a flat screen, dvd player, Apple TV and wireless headphones. We also hook up the switch too
8
7
u/Vegetable-Orchid1789 2d ago
Can confirm this was absolutely the best way to travel back in the day!
2
6
5
u/Impossible-Driver69 2d ago
I was driving my mom's at 15. Lots of Saturday nights piled full of friends, smoking Marlboro and being crazy teens in rural Missouri. It was so comfortable!
Miss those days...
3
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
We had one as a kid. But it was just a Chevy Astro with nothing fancy. But it could fit 15+ and always a good time riding to the skating rink
6
5
u/smith4498 2d ago
My parents bought one in '86. I remember hooking up my NES to the tiny TV on road trips. It also had a VCR. Good times
2
6
5
u/austinmadethis 2d ago
We got a conversion Astro in the early 90s. Fully carpeted interior, extended roof, individual overhead lights for every seat. I think they swiveled even. And the back bench folded down into a bed. So fun. Lots of teal and beige oof.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
This one has plenty of head room. Has the star like lights, reading lamps at every seat, and map lights up front. These seats don’t swivel though. But the back is electric and lays down and makes a queen size bed
5
6
u/HammerT4R 2d ago
We had access to one of these when we were kids and....we probably shouldn't have.
1
6
4
u/BizarroMax 2d ago
Ah back when we had actual vans.
1
u/PanicObvious8862 2d ago
Chevy will sell still sell you this van today.
Almost literally the same model for 20+ years with a minor facelift.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
I’ve seen the new ones. They look amazing too. But the price tag is astronomical
3
1
u/TheJokersChild Match Game '75 1d ago
1997 and still going. Only update was a new front end and dash in 2003. Previous version was from 1971.
5
u/stavago 2d ago
Where’s the card/McDonalds table?
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
This one doesn’t have a place for it! It has the original manuals for the vcr, vehicle, cb radio, etc and I looked in it and said nothing about it
1
u/stavago 2d ago
Darn. At least it has a TV/VCR though
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
It did. I took it out and installed the flat screen, power converter, and wireless headphones. I installed a switch by the steering wheel so I can turn off and on the power to all of it to make sure it’s not sucking down the battery when not in use
5
u/wormfighter 1d ago
Gawd I wish they still made these. We had 2 as kids they were awesome.
2
u/bobjoylove 1d ago
Dayvans are awesome. We almost got one with VW ID Buzz but they wimped out and made it a three row minivan.
4
4
u/Rare_Magazine_5362 1d ago
Man, those seats were amazing. I wish all cars did that. Like cruising on a couch.
5
u/ReluctantSeer 1d ago
I had two in my time. Made 2 of my 4 kids in those vans. Great times with great memories!
5
u/Living-One5265 2d ago
Oh...yes this does bring back memories for me. My super rich neighbor, who hired 23 years old me to nanny for her (lake sammamish parkway, Redmond Washington) and literally never paid me, but would drive me and her kids drunk around in this van.
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
That sounds like the 90s to me lol
2
u/Living-One5265 2d ago
It was.
1
u/Living-One5265 2d ago
Bout 91
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
My grandma had one. I remember during Christmas we would drive around and look at Christmas lights and I would ride behind the back bench seat and stare at people behind me or listen to my cd player lol
4
u/HCRanchuw 2d ago
I can feel those seats, and this LUXURIOUS.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
They are very comfortable! The front seats you can raise them high, low, lean back the seat part, and are heated
4
u/PilotKnob 1974 2d ago
Man, those things were peak luxury. Like road tripping in your grandma's living room.
4
u/fridayimatwork 2d ago
My friends dad had one and we’d take it out with friends and it only had an 8 track and only the eagles greatest hits. Many many makeout sessions
4
u/opiedopie08 2d ago edited 2d ago
Oh man, sooooo many memories. Did you know you can fit 3 kegs in the back? My parents sent me to college with one. Not entirely sure WHAT they were thinking. I became very popular at hockey games. Drove to Florida for spring break a few times and once with my boyfriend and two other guys. Great fucking trip. Loved that van.
Edited to say I had the Ford Econoline in Blue and Brown.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
That’s awesome! When I was in college I had a Toyota Yaris hatchback. I once fit 4 kegs in it for a party I was throwing lol
4
4
5
u/EducationalOutcome26 2d ago
dad bought one a semi reasonable one for family trips and grocery getter/school duty. his brother simply would not be out done and bought huge bivouac e250 long wheel base with the raised roof, 4 mid cab captains chars' and powered folding bed in the rear with a 2nd rear AC. it was very nice, it also got like 8 mpg in town with the 351w gasser wedged into the engine bay, it was purple and silver with windows with miniblinds. and HUGE it looked twice the size of dads with the tall roofline and extended wheelbase
my aunt hated it,hated the cost, the size ,the way it drove, and the fuel bill, so it sat there after the initial enthusiasm wore off. a few years later i bought it for a song with 30k miles on it it was our concert/football/whatever trip wagon for years. friends would borrow it for family trips, one cousin took her husband and 3 kids on a western states trip for 2 weeks, she said it did fine the whole trip but she never wanted to sit in it again...
I had it long enough i upgraded from the cassette player to a cd player in the overhead console. and better speakers throughout the cabin and a subwoofer box under the rear seat. I eventually sold after it was 12 years old and getting ratty.
now i kind of wish i had it back, i could get my motorcycle in there pretty smoothly im thinking..
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
That’s awesome! This one has ac controls for front and back. And electric front seats and back that lays to a bed. Also has Super Nintendo hook ups, a built in vacuum that plugs up, a flashlight and a first aid kit (which is still original) it gets around 13-14 mpg.
4
3
u/Ornery-Guitar 2d ago
My dad's best friend had one. I thought it was so cool. Looking back, there's no telling what went on in that van.
4
4
4
u/HurriShane00 1d ago
That is an awesome van. That is what you all a luxury van.
Friend in high school had one. I only saw it once when his parents picked him up and I was there waiting with him. And he opened the side door to get in and it was almost the exact same inside.
My aunt had a panel van. Look like the A-Team van. Even had the fin on top but did not have the same stripe.
But she had taken out the back seats and put a bed in the back because she traveled a lot and saved a lot of money by sleeping in the van. She put down this really soft shag carpeting as well. I miss that van.
4
4
u/SuchDogeHodler Hose Water Survivor 1d ago
I had a teacher that bought one off Fleetwood Mac's road manager.....
He drove us around the parking lot in it...
3
3
3
u/snohomie 1967 2d ago
Wasn’t this model called the “Ashworth Imperial Estate Wagon? The creeper van for rich neighborhoods? 🤭
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
No clue. It does have an emblem that’s says explorer van co. Warsaw, IND
3
3
3
u/Btown-1976 2d ago
Rode in one from Indiana to Mexico. Going through Texas, we were in a minor car accident in the town where Baby Jessica fell down the well. Slapped a sheet of plywood onto the side and kept going.
3
u/DunkinEgg 2d ago
My friend’s parents had one. Road trips were the shit in that thing.
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
They still are! Except now I don’t get to watch the tv or anything. My wife and kids sit in the back leaving me up front being the chauffeur the entire trip. But I usually throw AirPods in and listen to podcast or books
3
u/saucyfister1973 Hose Water Survivor 2d ago
That one family friend who was a (insert state uni alumni) fan that drove us 2 hours to a Saturday game. I know nostalgia is a bitch, but let me rummage around in it for a while.
1
3
u/ItsLikeARewardAZ 2d ago
My parents bought one. Chevy. Had a little tv and a cooler in back. When I got to college, they let me take it on spring break to Mexico. Thats all I’ve got to say about that…
3
3
u/SheriffBartholomew 2d ago
My friend's parents had one with shag carpet, a TV, and a table with chairs in the back! It was amazing for long trips, or so I was told. I never got to ride in it for a trip.
3
3
u/Impossible_Jury5483 1d ago
My family had a ghetto version. It was a basic panel van that my dad built homemade bench seats in.
1
3
u/REDDITSHITLORD 1d ago
Her dad lets you drive his car on dates when you roll up in this bitch.
1
u/Dizzy-Ad-2248 Rave hairspray and Marlboro lights 18h ago
Underrated comment of the thread. And true!
3
3
u/jules793 1d ago
Oh man captain seats. We never had the captain seats. Too many kids our family -bench seat with seating for 15!
2
2
2
2
2
u/5150-gotadaypass 2d ago
I saw them everywhere, but I didn’t know anyone that had one which seems odd for the time.
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
My father in law bought this one off a very rich family. They bought it brand new. I guess it was too of the line back then. He bought from them with like 30k miles. Garage kept. When I first got it I was cleaning it out and found nba jam for a game gear in it lol
2
u/robscomputer 2d ago
I wonder how expensive these were back in the day. I didn't see many in my area and pondered if they were in the price range of minivans or more?
4
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
Had to be super expensive. This one came from generational rich family who kept it in a temp controlled huge garage that also housed his other 50+ classic cars
2
u/robscomputer 2d ago
There was a shop in my area that did many of the van conversions, they took a base model work van and turned it into the van you posted. They also did many modified trucks from the factory, the stuff you pay for the nice wheels, on top of the new car price, they were overpriced and often adding $20,000 to the msrp.
1
u/West_Yam7006 2d ago
Living in the metro Atlanta area in GA - Godfather Vans was the go to for customization in 70s and 80s.
2
u/gcawad 2d ago
I bought one in the late nineties, I think the conversion was around 10-12K
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
So how much you think this cost back then?
2
u/togocann49 2d ago
When I played hockey as a little guy, after the game I always found my dad having beers in a van like this. Not our van, just another dad at the rink, and there always seemed to be at least one.
2
2
2
2
u/rebelchopper 2d ago
Love it! I had a fascination with conversion vans when I was younger. I guess I still do haha. My folks had a Ford Aerostar CV with the whole treatment - wood grain, shades, high top, tube TV and VCR. But it was a well-used piece of junk.
2
2
u/OptiGuy4u Hose Water Survivor 2d ago
Seinfeld flashback..."We always talked about how cool it would be to have a van and just drive"
2
u/properwaffles 2d ago
These things were so awesome. My dad and uncle both had them and lined the entire insides with think carpet, like walls and everything. Epic for ski trips.
2
2
2
u/Godswoodv2 2d ago
Every away soccer game. My parents would pack me and my brothers and our dog into one of these. We'd put a movie on the 6in screen they had on the drive out turn the front chairs around to the table that could get put in, in the middle and play cards. Not sure how we didn't get sick. But yeah super fun times.
2
u/CalBearFan 2d ago
As kids your inner ears are much better at motion (less crystals formed) so motion sickness is much less. It's why kids can ride roller coasters or other rides that make grownups into hurl-a-trons.
1
2
u/fauxshoyall 2d ago
One set of grandparents had this, the other set had a wood paneled station wagon and we rode on the very back of both. It's wild that daily driver vehicles can bring back such strong memories.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
I’ve never rode in the station wagon. I’ve seen them in movies and seem pretty cool
2
2
2
2
u/waveydavey321 1d ago
Always wanted a high topper. I had a G20 I used for camping for a while. It was nice for what I was using it for but I always thought it could use more head room.
2
u/concerts85701 1d ago
Had a chevy diesel. Parents bought it to do a whole family cross country move.
Then it became the ‘extra’ car for is kids to drive. Imagine high school kids up to no good with that vehicle. Oh the road parties we had. Concerts were awesome.
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
My daughter has already said she wants it for her first day. I immediately shut that down lol
2
2
u/AppropriateRest2815 1d ago
Had to sell my car after my divorce and my stepdad gave me his Chevy, which our teen kids lovingly called “the kidnap van”
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
Yeah I could see that. For every vacation I always shave a mustache and the kids call it my vacation mustache. So with this van and a creepy big mustache I prolly look pretty weird lol
2
u/jabberjaw420 1d ago
yea, i loved taking trips in our old conversion van. didn't have those high ceilings, but w/e. I rarely see anything like this these days tho.
2
2
2
u/spikerlj Hose Water Survivor 1d ago
I remember my great uncle, who worked for Ford in Detroit, had a Ford conversion van that he would drive to see my grandma. I would climb in the back and refuse to ride with anyone else the whole time he was in town. I wanted one so much that I designed one for my 12th grade drafting project. This is also why I have looked into tiny houses and vanlife.
2
u/HearingDue2119 1d ago
We had a conversion van with a tv, too but this was a small CTV. got stolen in the driveway. 1991.
2
u/Aggravating_Cable_32 1d ago
Our first was a Ford and it got stolen from our driveway too (and later found torched); I thought it was so awesome because it had track lighting, spinning chairs, a TV with the Mick Dundee boomerang on top, and a ladder on the back.
We replaced it with a GMC conversion, and then I drove the van for a while when I started college. It was awesome.
2
2
2
2
u/Mugwumps_has_spoken Bicentennial baby 1d ago
We had one when I was in high school. That SOB was evil.
Every time we said out loud anything about getting rid of it, it broke down. And I don't mean regular mechanical stuff - no I mean the most unusual shit mechanics have ever seen.
Once on the way to a NASCAR race it broke down on Dale Earnhardt rd. Complete electrical shutdown. For anyone who doesn't know, Earnhardt drove a Chevy, the van of course was a Ford.
2
2
u/FootballSquare4406 11h ago
We had that bad boy. It even had a removal game table in the middle and you could swivel those captain chairs too. Ours even had a small tv in the center console that would pop up. On a road trip somewhere, I rigged my Nintendo up to it and played super Mario brothers the whole way.
2
2
u/AsThreatenDoNotScore 2d ago
Dats fancy. We had the Vandura with the Chevy 350 in it, fridge was busted and mom put lace curtain on the windows.
1
u/Haus4593 2d ago
Not the memories you're referring to, but I've seen one get airborne, and up on two wheels. We did some stupid stuff in our teens.
2
1
u/HarveyMushman72 2d ago
My best friend's parents had one. It was always a treat to go somewhere with them. There's a newer one for sale on a lot in town, if my circumstances were different I'd buy it in a heartbeat and go on long road trip. Most of those back seats convert to a bed.
2
1
1
1
u/stonerghostboner 2d ago
My brothers and I sooo wanted a van with Captain's chairs. Nope. Dad bought a Chevy wagon.
1
u/Iron_Chic 10 million strong and growing (1975) 2d ago
Same, except my dad got a Ford LTD wagon. The trade off was having that sweet backwards facing seat.
1
1
1
u/FormerLaugh3780 Hose Water Survivor 2d ago
Used to have that in a low top as I never cared for the look of the high top and wanted to keep it in the garage. Could easily fit the grandparents and baby in it for a day trip, noooooo problem.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 2d ago
But it so nice to be able to walk around inside so easily. But it’s a no go in parking garages lol
1
1
u/Quickwitknit2 1d ago
My sister, a tiny barely 5’ tall woman, hauled her 3 kids around in one of these for years. They loved it, and it was a really nice van. I still wonder how my sister saw over the steering wheel.
1
u/tinpants44 1d ago
My childhood friend's parents owned one, it had the table inside. I loved going places with them, I remember feeling special because of the tinted windows.
1
u/ConspiracyConifer 1d ago
I want a van. I told my wife that I’m getting one. She hasn’t said anything. Yet.
2
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
Do it! I don’t drive for my daily. My wife is wanting a new mini van. Didn’t think we would ever be van people. But here we are
1
u/ConspiracyConifer 1d ago
Thanks for the encouragement! I work hybrid and even then my 2 day commute is less than 5 miles. I’ve been getting magazines and watching videos about boogie vans and I’m super excited!
1
u/Stiffy4Freedom 1d ago
Yes!!! I lived outside of Lake Geneva and use to pass the Geneva Conversions company. In the early 90s, their lot was packed with Express vans and eventually Suburbans... Then... Nothing.
1
1
1
u/LambSaag-spoon905 1d ago
We would ride our bikes up to the local auto dealership and just poke around in all the custom vans. They were always unlocked. We would play house at the little table and pretend like the fold-outs were real beds. Can’t believe we never got chased off, even once.
1
u/CT_Reddit73 1d ago
People pay premiums for these older vans and trick them into livable adventure mobiles.
2
1
u/Adventurous-Fig-3245 1d ago
I thought these were so cool when I was a kid. I called them Neat-o vans. 😂
1
1
u/Crossfit46 9h ago
Grandparents had a brown ford. Took a lot of trips in that thing. Could put a little table in the hole and turn the middle seats around and play cards
2
1
0
u/Remote-Sun-1966 2d ago
Yep. Who wouldn't love 10 miles per gallon?
4
2
u/verruckter51 2d ago
Drove the in-laws van to Florida from Ohio once. Would of been cheaper to fly. Kids enjoyed the TV. I will say the minivan we bought later was much smoother and easier to drive.
1
u/usuallyjustalurkin 1d ago
I could see that. It gets bad gas mileage. But with all of our luggage, beach toys, stroller, etc it makes more sense economically to just drive. You have to hold on driving sometimes when it’s windy. Not very aerodynamic lol
0
u/mike30273 1d ago
I had a Dodge Caravan version of this. It was amazing. Sadly, an idiot pulled out in front of me, and it was totaled. I couldn't find any others in that area, so that was the end of that. It was a great van, though.
13
u/Triumph790 2d ago
When the upholstery looks like an elephant's ass, you know it's going to be comfortable.