(Video) Have you seen this CRAZY Ford Truck? Meet the 1965 Ford Econoline Pickup!

Image: TFLtruck

This 1965 Ford Econoline pickup truck is something special, and Andre is dyeing to tell you about it.

The owner of this outstanding 1965 Ford Econoline pickup truck is Tom, and he is driving this gem across country. He’s already put on about 6,000-miles before getting to our studio, and it runs like a top. He loves taking his elderly mother for rides, which she dearly enjoys.

These trucks were made from 1961 to 1967, and they had similar competitors from Dodge and Chevrolet. Basically, they were pickup versions of vans. As it is a van, it has a completely different layout than a conventional pickup truck. For one thing, you basically sit on top, and in front of the engine, which sits between the front wheels. There is very little wasted space in front of the passengers. This means you get a long bed, in a much tighter package than the equivalent pickup truck.

Image: Ford Truck Enthusiasts

It also means, there’s very little between you and the object that may slam into your front end.

Tom beefed up the powertrain a bit. The old 170 CID I6 made about 65 horsepower at the wheels. He replaced it with a Ford 200 CID I6, added a Webber carburetor, and a few other minor mods. Now, he makes about 110 hp. It’s hooked up to a three-om-the-tree (a steering column-mounted, manual transmission), fed to the rear wheels.

Lots of people love the 1965 Ford Econoline pickup truck.

Tom’s truck is extremely clean, but it’s no trailer queen. It was meant to be driven, and he drives it often. He mentioned that a lot of people give him a “thumbs up” and that they are rare at car shows. He calls the truck “Dexster,” after a friend who helped him find it and fix it.

These trucks were super light (often less than 3,000-lbs), yet they could haul around 1,500-lbs. On top of that, they had a very long bed for their size: nearly eight feet long. There was a fairly low load-in height too – because a van frame is not as large as a pickup truck frame at the time. Ford sold nearly a half-a-million of these van/pickup trucks over six-years. If you combine the numbers of these types of pickups at that time, well over a million were sold.

Nathan Adlen
Easily amused by anything with four wheels, Nathan Adlen reviews vehicles from the cheapest to the most prestigious. Wrecking yards, dealer lots, garages, racetracks, professional automotive testing and automotive journalism - Nathan has experienced a wide range of the automotive spectrum. Brought up in the California car culture and educated in theater, childhood education, film, journalism and history, Nathan now lives with his family in Denver, CO. His words, good humor and video are enjoyed worldwide.