Photo: Chicago Motors
Introduced in 1960 and discontinued in 2014 (it's still available as a cutaway cab), the Ford E-Series was America's longest-running van. It was popular and reliable, and much like the Ford Crown Victoria, it had a long relationship with the government. This 1991 E-250 cargo van, for instance, used to be an FBI surveillance vehicle. And if you're interested in this type of thing, it can be yours.
Surveillance vans used to be a big thing in the 1980s and 1990s. So much so that every cop film had at least one scene with a surveillance van strolling through the neighborhood. Stalking people is criminal harassment, and you shouldn't be doing that, but if you ever wondered how it feels to spend hours in a surveillance van, you can find out for $9,995 and a trip to Chicago.
What you get for this amount is this 1991 Ford E-250 HD hauler. A late third-generation Econoline, this van is in surprisingly good condition. It has only 23,410 miles (37 674 km) on the odometer, and it looks pretty good on the outside. Granted, the tan paint isn't exactly fetching, but hey, surveillance vans had to look as plain as possible, and this color is bound to keep you under the radar.
The interior also appears to be in excellent condition, with the brown upholstery free of rough spots and cracks. The cargo section still retains signs of the van's FBI-related past, including cabinets that used to house transmission equipment and a bench seat. Again, everything looks clean and original, so whoever used this van took good care of it.
As for what's under the hood, this van draws juice from a 351-cubic-inch (5.8-liter) Windsor V8 engine. It wasn't the biggest mill available with the E-Series back in the day, but it was plenty powerful at 210 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. The van comes with an automatic gearbox since Ford dropped all manual transmissions from full-size vans in 1989.
While it may seem to be a tad expensive for an early 1990s van, this E-Series is not only a cool survivor, but it's also an interesting collector's item if you're into detective work and government-related cars. Definitely, a better option than a Crown Vic since you get all that extra storage room.
Most likely first purchased at a Government auction, the van is now for sale through Chicago Motors.
What you get for this amount is this 1991 Ford E-250 HD hauler. A late third-generation Econoline, this van is in surprisingly good condition. It has only 23,410 miles (37 674 km) on the odometer, and it looks pretty good on the outside. Granted, the tan paint isn't exactly fetching, but hey, surveillance vans had to look as plain as possible, and this color is bound to keep you under the radar.
The interior also appears to be in excellent condition, with the brown upholstery free of rough spots and cracks. The cargo section still retains signs of the van's FBI-related past, including cabinets that used to house transmission equipment and a bench seat. Again, everything looks clean and original, so whoever used this van took good care of it.
As for what's under the hood, this van draws juice from a 351-cubic-inch (5.8-liter) Windsor V8 engine. It wasn't the biggest mill available with the E-Series back in the day, but it was plenty powerful at 210 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. The van comes with an automatic gearbox since Ford dropped all manual transmissions from full-size vans in 1989.
While it may seem to be a tad expensive for an early 1990s van, this E-Series is not only a cool survivor, but it's also an interesting collector's item if you're into detective work and government-related cars. Definitely, a better option than a Crown Vic since you get all that extra storage room.
Most likely first purchased at a Government auction, the van is now for sale through Chicago Motors.
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