Description
This lot will be auctioned via Silverstone Auctions, The NEC Classic Motor Show Sale 2022 on Saturday the 12th of November - Sunday the 13th of November, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT. Ford introduced their new E-Series (Econoline) of panel vans back in 1960 and incredibly, many generations later, they are still available now.
This, first-generation Econoline Cargo Van was supplied new to a Pennsylvania dry cleaning company in 1966 and maintained meticulously for 16 years before going in to dry storage way back in 1982. Meguiars are a decades old US family business that has built up a world-wide reputation for car care products and, when Meguiars UK were searching for a vehicle to use for the marketing of a new product, they set the task of finding a nice all-American van to an agent in the States with the criteria that, as they would be demonstrating the new product on the van's panels, they needed those panels to be perfect to start with. Little did they know that they would find such a gem. When the van arrived in the UK, the guys at Meguiars found an envelope stuffed with the full Ford history for the vehicle, detailing every service and almost every mile that the vehicle had ever covered. Plainly our dry cleaners had made sure that their investment would last as well as it did.
Built on a standard van, this is an extended version, 18" longer behind the rear axle and built on the same lines as the standard van upon which it is based. Upon acquiring the van, our vendors wanted to use it for the marketing of their new 'Mirror Bright' product. The original intention was to customise the van, however, when it arrived it was just too good to take to bits and redesign and even a bare metal restoration was unnecessary as the only rust within the vehicle was in one quarter of the rear extension. Other than that, the little van was in great condition so they set about a non-compromise colour change only, including all the way down to the door straps, locks and badges. It was perfect for the intended purpose - being sprayed with muck and polished with 'Mirror Bright' several times a day at shows up and down the country.
It has since been featured in Classic Ford Magazine, and shown at the NEC Classic Motor Show as well as at the Goodwood Revival so this is a van with serious provenance. Offered at No Reserve, this is a two owner van that is almost 60 years old with plenty of life left. We don't think that this van's first owner, as he loaded it full of dry cleaning in 1967, ever imagined that decades later it would be swanning around glamorous car events on the other side of the Atlantic. Who knows what's next?
