Sometimes, I wish I were a truck driver. It isn’t a glamorous life, that much I understand, but still. When I get the chance to haul gravel in my 1966 Ford F600, it’s one of the highlights of my life. That’s why I don’t blame whoever built this tandem-axle Ford “Economac” that’s for sale on Bring a Trailer.
I stumbled across a video of this little big rig on social media last week, and today, I saw it on every time waster’s go-to car auction site. It’s registered as a 1967 Ford, but there’s a lot of custom fab work going on here. For example, the listing says it rides on a bespoke frame, which houses a mid-mounted 351 Windsor V8. Said pushrod engine screams through a pair of stacks mounted behind the cab.
And speaking of the cab, it’s a trucker’s dream. Not only does it tilt forward like you’d expect a COE semi to, but it’s also furnished with tons of switches to control features like the air suspension. It even has a shifter like you’d find in a true tractor-trailer, although this one is mated to a four-speed automatic rather than a 13-speed. Criticize it if you want, but when you’re building a cruiser, comfort is king.
Only one of the rear axles is driven, which isn’t all that surprising, and there’s an 8.8-inch differential with a Trick Flow cover. They’re hung with a triangulated four-link suspension setup, whereas the front utilizes a MacPherson strut. Power steering makes it a dream to putter around in, and on a sunny day, you can bet the chrome 17-inch American Racing wheels catch everybody’s eye.
Additional creature comforts make it a better place to be, including an aftermarket HVAC system. If you have kids (or grandkids), they’re sure to “ooh” and “aah” at the 140-mile-per-hour speedometer. I don’t know about you, but I personally get a kick out of the 8,000-rpm tach. Dream big, I guess.
The Mighty ECONOMAC, 6-Wheeled, V8 Powered Custom Ford Econoline!
If you ask me, this is way cooler than recreating a Peterbilt on a tiny scale. I’ve seen people build their own “semis” that are so small that they have to cram into the driver’s seat. Instead, what we have here is an awesome Sunday driver that’s sure to make everyone smile—including whoever buys it before the auction ends on Tuesday, April 7. The high bid at the time of publication sits at $21,000, but who knows if that exceeds the reserve. I can almost guarantee it cost double that price to build it.
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