Who's up for the challenge - Centurions

[BroncoHauler]

Centurion van conversions in need of rescuing. No affiliation.

1983 ford centurion turbo diesel



1982 Ford Econoline XLT Centurion 1 ton



1987 Ford Centurion E350 Dually



1980 Ford Econoline E-350 Centurion

[86Scotty]

Not I.




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[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Not I.

I actually figured you for the most likely.


Herb

[86Scotty]

Ha! You overestimate my gullibility.

You're doing a lot of shopping lately, Herb. What could this mean?

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

...You're doing a lot of shopping lately, Herb. What could this mean?

Just a slow day.

[SoCalManVan]

I use to own one of those along with a Centurion 4 door Ford Bronco. Those were fun vehicles to own.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by SoCalManVan

I use to own one of those along with a Centurion 4 door Ford Bronco. Those were fun vehicles to own.

I was looking up 4 Door Centurions (Broncos) at the time I came across these van conversions.


Herb

[Annie O]

Those are beauties!

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Okay Herb, you've definitely detoured at least a few of us down some "lesser-traveled rail-lines of the internet" this morning, that's for sure....

....but man.....the scenery is great

Your Centurion listings got me hunting for more great info/photography of those things from back when they were new....and ended up stumbling across this neat "curbside classics" article on the "Cabriolet" E-series conversions, look essentially identical to those Centurions.

Curbside Classic: 1990 Ford E-350 by Cabriolet – Purpose-Built Fifth Wheel Trailer Hauler

But wow.....its what THAT article made mention of that was truly awesome: has anyone ever heard of the "Ultruvan" conversion, built by a guy named Steve Divnick? Apparently it was the first one of these "pickup / van" conversions ever.....and started the whole trend. (The idea of which was then picked up (pun intended) by Centurion and other custom builders, who made a whole mini-industry out of it.)



Hot damn this thing was cool (check out the rear-swinging double-doors into the truck bed, and the mod interior lounge space).




Article detailing it's build --- man, this guy was definitely dedicated to the cause.

Link: The Ultimate Truck-Van: UltruVan

This guy seems like he was cool as heck.



Steve Divnick:
"While a school teacher, I designed and built the first prototype Pickup-Van combination, which later became a standard in the RV industry as 5th-wheel tow vehicles. It was featured in a number of magazines in the late of 1970's. It has always attracted lots of attention whenever I have taken it out for a spin. On a trip from California to Michigan, I got out of a speeding ticket because the highway patrolman became intrigued with the conversion.

With a young family, I wanted a pick up. But I also wanted a van for its obvious benefits. Since there wasn't any vehicle like that on the market, I decided to build one.

I knew how to weld, having built off-road racing vehicles, trailers, and other projects. But this was the most ambitious endeavor in my young life. It took many hours over a two-year period after school and on weekends."

[Jsweezy]

There's a couple of those running around near my house (not those exact) and every time I see them I always point them out to my wife. She normally looks at me to see if I'm serious and then sees me doing my own list of mods in my head and threatens me if I buy one ha ha.