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This is a picture of a Ford Econoline. If you live anywhere
in America, you might associate this van with being the choice fleet vehicle of
everyone from your local plumber to police paddywagons and even oversized
families. It has been a staple of American transportation since 1961, with Ford
carrying the Econoline name all the way through to 2013, with the Transit name
plate taking over following its retirement.
The recipe for the Ford Econoline was brutally simple, and
that simplicity is what contributed to its success over the past 50 years. This
formula of simplicity, durability, and reliability meant that maintenance was
cheap, and that should something go wrong, it didn’t take a specialized tech
expert to fix it. The Econoline van began with simple Ford V6 engines in the
early 60s, but by 2011, you could have an Econoline (re-named the ‘E-Series’ in
2002) with a V8 from Ford’s SuperDuty Truck line, or, if you really wanted
power, you could elect to have a 6.8 Liter Triton V10. That’s right. In its later
years, before the Competition forced Ford to ditch the Body-on-Frame design,
you could have a 15-Passenger Lamborghini.
Sadly though, by 2013, the Econoline’s old-fashioned success
was falling behind the competition that had been coming from Dodge with their
Sprinter series, and Nissan with the introduction of their NV Series vans in
2012. It’s safe to say, then, that the Econoline was, and still is revered as
one of the most bulletproof cargo conversion vans of its time. It’s no wonder
then, that when it came to choosing a car to compete in a demolition race, Mike
Hillringhouse of Team83 Racing went with a second-hand Econoline to take on the
competition. It would also serve as a fitting send-off for one of Ford’s most
beloved nameplates, only second to the legendary Crown Victoria.
Specifically, they obtained a 1999 Econoline panel van from
a local friend. The 4th-generation panel van was formerly part of the fleet for a
local HVAC company, Montour, Inc of Shawano and Clintonville, Wisconsin. The
van was decommissioned and given to Team83 Racing, provided that they kept
Montour’s branding on the side, in order to get some free advertising. They
agreed, and before long, they’d had the van race-ready.
Based on the picture, you could tell that this particular
example had already been rather tired – its various dents and aged rust spots
serving as a testament to its years of service for Montour Inc. However, Mike
and his team couldn’t just get in and start plowing around the race track –
there were rules for this competition that had to be followed. To understand
the conditions of the race, this took us to the Shawano County Fair in Shawano,
Wisconsin – a Labor Day event filled with various festivities, one of which was
the annual “Trailer Race”, where Team83 and the Econoline would take the stage
to prove their worth, and work to uphold the reputation of the Econoline
series.
The rules, much like the race itself, were quite simple. Competing
cars had to essentially be stripped down to the metal. Anything that was
flammable, and everything aside from the windshield and driver’s seat had to be
removed from the car in order to compete. What you were left with then, was a
bare-bones panel van that had the classic front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.
What it was then could be equated to a sports car that had eaten one too-many
big macs. Oh, and they had to carry a trailer – in this case, a simple flatbed
sporting a camouflaged riding lawn mower made the Econoline race-ready. With
that, the stage was set, Mike was behind the wheel, and the rest – well, just
watch the video below for some in-car carnage. For more, follow THIS link to
another video, which I recommend as it shows a pretty amazing kill shot from
Mike as he turns a trailer into nothing more than an unrecognizable pile of
twisted metal.
So, the race, all in all, went rather well for Mike
Hillringhouse and Team83 Racing. The Econoline van held up to its name and
delivered an exciting performance, and literally went out with a bang after
taking out the trailer attached to an Oldsmobile, subsequently taking himself
out of the running as well. The damage was done. With three flat tires, a
ruptured oil pan and significantly more dents and dings, one would have thought
that, like most of the other cars in the race, it would not be leaving the
track under its own power. But, to my surprise, Mike noted that while some help
from a payloader was needed to get the battered Econoline off the track, he was
able to start it up and drive it onto the hauler trailer under its own power.
At the end of the day, this race is, as Mike put it, a “cheap adrenaline rush, and the crowd loves it.” He also told me that he’s already preparing for next year’s race, hoping to attain yet another old Econoline van from the retired Montour fleet. He also intends to do a little more prep for next year’s race, noting that he’ll be running on skid-steer tires to avoid getting flat tires. All in all, we now know that if you’re planning to enter a demolition derby style race, best go with an E-series.
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