I took my spare tire off the back door today in order to put some paint sealant on before winter strikes and there plain as day is the big "Supervan" emblem. I've had the van for 5 years now and never noticed the emblem before. Is there something special that makes a Supervan a Supervan or is it just an emblem Ford slapped on to make it sound special?

Randy B.

Supervan denotes the longer 123" wheelbase. A shorty with its 105.5" wheelbase would not have the emblem.

M>

And as far as I know, only Econolines got the emblem and designation, not Club Wagons.

But I want a SuperVan emblem on my Chateau because as Marlon says, it refers to the wheelbase. And I think it's cool!!

Thanks guys. I also had a 69 E 300 that had the "123" emblems but no "Supervan" emblem. Did they come with both or was it more of a hit and miss thing?
Randy B

Marlon asked me this a couple days ago, but I just got a sweet deal to buy a 1st gen 66 SuperVan... regular wheelbase, but extended rear end...



So are there 2nd gen regular WB SuperVans?

Wasn't the 123 put on the window vans that weren't Chateaus, and the Supervans put on everything else that wasn't a shorty, Chateau, or a window van? In my experience, the 123 is much more rare to find than the Supervan emblem. Or at least the 123 is more rare than the holes for the Supervan emblem.

OK... but what does a "Supervan" emblem for a Gen 1 denote? As far as I know all Gen 1's were a 105 inch wheel base
Randy B

I like the first gens with the extended rears. More room for everything. Seems by far the best for a camper conversion. Did they ever put pop tops on the first generation vans?

Yes they did and there was a nice original one on ebay not long ago, but unfortunately it's no longer in my archives. It had some extra emblems too, like Heavy Duty or something like that, and it was an extended version with all windows and a camper setup inside.

Heavy Duty was suspension and drivetrain-related. SuperVan was (I think) a Heavy Duty with extended rear with no special trim. Deluxe Club Wagon was a Supervan with luxury trim and padded dash. Only one wheelbase (90" I think) on 1st gens. Those are the different emblems they had, going right under the door "Econoline" emblems. That's the best of my recollection...

I remember my Dad's 85 Econoline was extended in the rear... might have been LWB too... was that comfy for long trips as a kid!!!

Sorry if my input is taking things into left field... I thought that understanding the method used on 1st gens might yield some clues into the 2nd gens.