Boise Street Sighting: Chevy Van 108

Boise has lots of interesting old vehicles scattered about; I would almost call it the Idaho version of Alameda, CA. It's a city where 30 year old vehicles mixed in with smarts and Maximas are the norm. Over the course of my weekend in the city, I spotted probably 100 classics or so. Due to time constraints, I only shot a handful of them. As with any urban setting, classic cars are a lot more common than trucks out here, so finding older utility vehicles proved to be a tad tough. Luckily, with this tired example, I hit paydirt.
Nestled just off the main drags sets Western Boise; its a neighborhood filled seemingly rundown houses, where trashed is piled up for weeks on end; its a wonder the trash trucks even hit that part of town. Naturally, the vehicles the Westerns' residents drive match the overall state of the neighborhood. Gone are the lifted Silverado four doors on 37" IROKS sporting Dick Cepek wheels, the multicolored, bodydropped Four Runners on 24" Intros, and the slammed post-facelift Chevy Express' riding on multithousand dollar 22s. Out West resides a different breed of "utility vehicle"-- one that actually sees the duty it was meant for.
Sitting about a block away from where I shot that patinaed Dodge truck last year, I found this little guy. Built in a time where "compact" vehicles truly were compact, this Chevy Van competed with the Ford Econoline and Dodge A-Series vans for its share in the compact van market. But, being small didn't necessarily mean simple. Two wheelbases were offered along with a multitude of engine choices. Want a basic van suitable with doing weekend house chores? Get a 230 I6 powered 90" wheelbase version. Not quite your thing? How bout a 108" wheelbase model powered by a 350? And what transmission do you choose? a 3 speed automatic, or a more tradition (and common) 4 speed stick? It's up to you, with Chevy trucks. Wow. That sort of sounded like an ad. Oops.
Anywhoo, as I mentioned earlier, this example, although tired, was complete. Despite this particular van being a nondescript shade of white, it seemed to be complete. While it did suffer from a case of missing hubcaps (and to be honest, which nearly 40 year old daily driver doesn't?), all the trim was there, and the badging was all intact as well. What I like about these older vehicles is the badging. Unlike modern cars, you can tell there was serious thought in designing even the simplest of badges. Today? Well.. we have stupid plaques on the tailgates and trunks to remind us which boring we drive. Aside from that stupid tatoo-like sticker on the front of the vehicle, this van represent an honest, hard-working daily driver that likely has about 100,000 miles of everyday use on it, if not more.
Would I drive it in its current state. You bet. Would I drive it fast? Probably not. I'd be too scared to tip it over in a crosswind. I think it'd be handy around town. And being this small, it probably isn't a pain in the ass to park, either. Not to mention the likely better gas mileage out of a van of this size.