11 Highlights from the 1972 Complete Book of Pickups and Vans
A Time Capsule of Early 1970s Goodness
It is easy to sit here in the 21st century and think that we have every pit of information we could possibly want at our fingertips via the internet and smartphones, but that isn't the case. I picked up this old yearbook of Petersen Publishing truck and van articles at a local shop that specializes in automotive literature, and I'm glad I did. 1972 is an important transitional year in the American automotive timeline, with safety, smog, and fuel economy standards just coming into effect and muscle cars (and trucks) just dying off. Lets flip through the pages and see what the past can teach us.
If you are looking for your own copy, there are currently a few on Ebay, some as low as $5 plus shipping, or find it here on Amazon.
1. Mini Trucks are a Big Deal
I like to play archaeologist when I look back at stuff like this, and the first section (33 pages) is all about the latest mini trucks from Toyota, Datsun, Mazda, plus the Chevy Luv and Ford Courier. Obviously, they were new and hot, and lots of people were into them. Because some of these stories come via Hot Rod magazine, they touch on hop ups for them and possible engine swaps, of course. It wouldn't take long for guys to start stuffing 302 V8 into the Courier, and you can still buy adapter kits to built one today. If you aren't going off-roading, these little trucks make great runabouts even today (if you can do without the latest conveniences). And don't forget, Bill Stroppe and his team raced these in 2wd form in Baja with only minor modifications.
2. Street Rod Trucks are Trucking Awesome
Ford Model A Sedan Deliveries, Trucks, Roadster Pickups, and AA trucks have been popular with hot rodders, even before the supply of coupe and roadster bodies started to dry up, because they give you all the style plus a little practicality. The 1970s were still a hodge podge of styles, with some stockish looking trucks, like the 29 in a solid black color, and some with wild paint, or a blower and dual quads like a 1960s show rod. Building an early truck like these now would cost you a bunch of money just for clean sheet metal, or to invest that money in a completely new kit from Brookville Roadster and start fresh with new American Steel.
3. Nifty 1950s Ford F-100 Custom Trucks
Unfortunately, except for the covers, this magazine is all in black and white newsprint, so you can't see the awesome color these two award-winning 1956 Ford F-100 trucks must wear. Both are done in similar mild custom style, with lots of detail work like chrome and wood beds, deep shag or fur carpeting, and bright red paint. Under the hood, one sports a 396 big block Chevy motor (the horror!) while the other is packing a 428 Ford Cobra motor to make Henry proud. Both also feature simple slot mag wheels and side pipes. When you start with a shape as great as the 1956 Ford truck, you really don't have to do all that much to make it a show stopper.
4. Bill Stroppe Baja F-100 Prep
Looking at these early Baja 500 and 1000 trucks, it is amazing anyone lived to tell their stories. These are basically street trucks, with 6-point roll bars, 4-point harnesses, and minimal reinforcements. In order to survive the pounding, a second shock mount was added to each wheel, limiting cables were bolted on, and Air Lift bags were used in the front coil springs. It is worth noting these were 2wd trucks, automatic transmission, and mildly hot-rodded 302 or 351 motors. For high speed desert work in Baja, the trucks need the better weight distribution you get from a lighter small block motor up front, plus 300-400hp was more than enough when you didn't know what was around the next bend or over the next rise.
5. The Birth of Vannin'
1972 might not be the birth of the van cultural phenomenon, but this flat nose, forward control, first generation Econoline certainly represents its infancy. This was only considered a mild custom interior, but features a kickass Yamaha stereo system installed, with a pair of home-sized speakers, shag carpeting, wood paneling, silk tassels, and Persian rug print drapes. Powering it is a warmed-over 302, custom adapted with a 3-speed column shift manual, but it is calling out for a set of side pipes to fill the void between the wheels.
6. Cold Duck Wild Custom Van
That earlier Econoline was mild only when compared to later builds like this second generation van, the Cold Duck. This one features plenty of shag and custom paint, but also a TV, textured paneling, smoked crackle mirrors, swivel bucket seats, a mini fridge and more. This van has everything the young man still stuck living in his parents' house would want for partying with the ladies in his home away from home. The exterior seems to have every custom paint trick in the book applied to it, and this van does have the expected side pipe exhaust, too.
7. El Camino vs. Ranchero
It is strange that although Ford had the Ranchero on the market two years before the debut of the El Camino, Chevy was much more successful at building car/truck hybrids over the years; Ford stopped in 1979, while Chevy continued until 1987. These two pages tell the short history of GM getting caught flat-footed in 1957, when the Ford Ranchero became a hit with commercial buyers looking to stand out from the crowd, and truck buyers looking for a stylish vehicle they could drive not just around the ranch, but also to town.
Back then, Chevy had outsold Ford every year since 1937; the outlandish 1959 Chevy was just a bit too much for some buyers, and Ford sold more of every category than Chevy in 1959. These days, both the full-sized 1957-59 Ford Ranchero and 1959-60 Chevy El Camino are rare and sought after, much more so than the later Falcon or Chevelle based models.
8. Ranchero Spotters Guide
There were two years of El Camino on the full-sized car chassis, and then the rest were intermediates, but nothing at Ford is ever that simple. After the first three years of full-sized Ranchero, it moved to the compact Falcon platform, then to the larger Fairlane body in 1967, then the still larger Torino body in 1968. It remained based on the Torino until it was cancelled in 1979, but the Torino itself got much bigger in 1972 and larger again in 1977. Of course, in 1972 they didn't know all this, but they do have pictures of all the years from 1957-1972. My favorite? The 1970 or 71 Ranchero Squire.
9. Primitive Tire Technology
It really is funny how primitive off-road tire tread was back in 1972. It's as if they didn't have 3/4 of a century of rubber tire development behind them. Much like modern medicine, you should be thankful you live in the 21st century because of modern tire technology. Not only are modern tires better riding, they also have more traction and durability. In 1972, tire tread design and construction was not too far removed from the farm tractor style tires that the original WWII Jeeps were deployed with. Check out a few more oddball designs on the next page as well.
10. Just Five Styles of Wheel
Much like the primitive tire tech, wheel selection was basically stock steelies, steel wagon wheels, slotted mags, or Torq Trust style. Today you can buy more than five styles from any manufacturer, and most have dozens of options. For any given size and bolt pattern there are probably 100 choices these days. In a way, maybe having just five was better? You could spend more time on paint and other decisions.
11. The Stroppe Baja Couriers
Remember the Ford Couriers mentioned at the beginning of this slideshow that finished in 1st and 2nd in their class at Baja? Well, there is a little rundown of the prep they got for the race at the end of the book. The tires are 15" x 9" Bridgestone "Alligator" bias ply. The windshield was removed and a solid metal rock deflector was put in its place for the first 3" of the opening, then nothing to stop dirt and rocks from hitting your goggles. Inside was a big foam air filter element, taking up the space of the glove box, while a huge fuel cell and spare tires were added to the bed.
With little allowed in the way of improvements, and no bolt-on parts, the little 1.8 liter motors were pulled and blueprinted, ported and polished, and put back in with no smog equipment. This is back when even the top racing teams only spent a few thousand dollars getting ready to race, not the millions they do now.
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