1971 Ford Econoline Club Wagon Chateau- Rare w/ AC PS 302 V8 CA Very Complete

1971 Ford E-Series Van Chateau Description

1971 Ford E-Series Club Wagon Chateau – Not Running. On Non Op. Has Clean Title. 118,000 miles.

So here is a great specimen of the 68 to 74 Gen E-Series by Ford. Very complete with all options and trim in place. Only the original seating is missing. I've always thought this Gen is the coolest and toughest looking of all the old vans. They also seem to be getting very hard to find in decent condition. Although more then ever, parts are plentiful. In 2004 I bought this van here on eBay from the original owner who lived in the Phoenix area and I had it shipped to Los Angeles. I picked it up at the shippers and drove it 75 miles to my desert climate home in Riverside CA. Ran great but the brakes were dodgy. Started digging into the project. Cleaning it up really well, driving it around town, doing small repairs and hunting down any and every trim piece or factory option that was missing.

There were lots of surprises, some good, some bad, some ugly -

The Good > AC turned right on and blew hard and cold. Heater worked great. Has power steering and it worked well. Has an alarm that worked. Has tinted windows. The 302 ran great and is hooked up to duel headers, extra long glass-packs with chrome tipped pipes(sounds great). Body straight with no sighs of rot or repairs. Nice straight front and rear chrome bumpers. There is no record or evidence of this van ever being in any kind of accident or fender bender.

All the original interior is intact (except seating) Has all the little things like > factory radio, armrests, cig lighter, ash tray, dash pad, dome lights with covers, front rubber flooring, spare tire with cover, seat belts, rear view mirror, sun visors, AC housing / vents / controls, headliner, all inside wall and door panels, door locks, window latches, keys, rear heater box unit etc.. Interior items that are not in great shape > headliner, dash pad, sun visors, AC housing (still complete though), some wall panels.

The Bad > plus things bought and repairs made > Drum brakes were shot so I had a new master cylinder, drum hardware, pads, fluid, bled, cleaning, full brake service done professionally = much better. New fuel pump, New starter with heat shield. Radiator rebuilt and new hoses. All new belts.2 barrel carb rebuilt. Complete power steering re-build. New fuel filter. New K&N air filter. New cap & rotor, plug wires & plugs. New shocks on all four corners. Four brand new Cooper tires. New locking gas cap w/ key. New oil breather. New battery and built a new battery tray.

Got all of these things working > inside and outside lights, turn signals, flashers, license plate light, windshield wipers, horn, alarm, etc.. Windshield was cracked and rubber gasket was allowing water in so I found an NOS gasket and brand new windshield and had them installed professionally. Probably a lot of other small repairs and things done that I can’t remember. After all these things were done I drove the van around on the weekends and sometimes would drive out to the desert (65miles) to go camping, shooting or hiking (ran great, stayed cool, good times)

Then the transmission started slipping. So it went into the most reputable trans shop in my town and I had the trans completely rebuilt. Have receipt (back to driving it around)

Then the rear end started clunking. So it went into the most reputable rear end shop in town and I had it completely rebuilt. Have receipt (back to driving it around)

Then the electrical started doing random strange things. So it went into the most reputable auto electrical shop in town and I had that completely sorted out. Have receipt (back to driving it around)

The Ugly > The A/C R12 ran out and I never had it serviced but the entire A/C is complete and is still all in place. The front end needs all new rubber, bushings, ball joints, etc..never got this done.Exterior paint is shot and now has a fair amount of surface rust. All glass is nice butattachedrubber on pop out windows is dry checked.

Lastly > In 2008 a bunch of not so good personal things started happening. So I put the van on Non Op July of 2009. For the next nine years (my main photo is of the van sitting in my driveway in 2017) I kept the van clean and would drive it around theneighborhoodevery weekenduntilMarch of 2019 when I had it moved into storage at a buddies place. Then it sat for about 14months before trying to start it up again in July of 2020. It just would not start. All the old engine gaskets hadbasicallyturned to dust from sitting in the super hot and dry storage.

I will be moving out of CA some time next year and the van will not be going with me.

The motor Does Not have to be re-built but I’d have it taken apart and have it put back together with all new gaskets, cleaning and fresh fluids. Of course you'll need a new battery. Get a full front end kit and have that done. At that point you'd be back on the road with a van that has an excellent motor, transmission, rear end and front end. Yes I would do a front disc break conversion for sure. From there it would all be about how far you wanted to take the refurbishing of this super cool old piece of American transportation history.

You’ll receive the van with these things > The title and registration paperwork. A bunch of receipts.A full set of factory shop manuals. The keys. Two nice rear seats. The factory pop out side step. Some extra parts and pieces.General info and great advertising. Cool goodies all related to the van.

Thanks for looking. Hope the van goes to a great new home.I’d love to see it all fixed up and rolling down the road.Please feel free to message me with any questions or concerns.I'm not a big eBay person so please bare with me. Good luck with your bidding.

Sale is Final and vehicle is strictly sold AS IS.

Payment is due in full before shipping. PayPal, E-Square, Zelle are all payment options.

Buyer will be responsible for shipping arrangements but I will be as helpful as I possibly can be.

You can TEXT me questions at 951-208-5458

Have a great day, Mark