Welcome to America in 1975! Gas just got more expensive, custom vans are everywhere, and there's only one thing you have to remember: when this van's a rockin', don't come a knockin'.
People born in the seventies are the younger of the two generations who pay the most taxes. Think about it! They must be. Millennials don't seem to find jobs. The MTV kids? Only starting to get good money after years of hard work. The original baby boomer generation? Can't wait to retire and start fishing. Good for them. In the meantime, people born in the sixties and seventies push the boat ahead.
If you happened to be born in 1976, take a look at Ken Palmer's recently scanned Kodachrome slides from the year before. The 24-shot roll was taken in June of 1975 at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ with a trusty Minolta SLR.
Were your parents around? That's how.
My brother and I went to this custom van show - at the height of the van craze - to admire the vehicles and get ideas for what to do when I afford to acquire my OWN van.
I finally DID buy my own van in 1977: an old 1966 Dodge 100 for $300… my parents were horrified. Over the course of a year, I completely re-did the interior with panelling, shag carpet, a handmade wooden dash, denim bucket seats (from a junked Levi's Gremlin), mag wheels (from a friend's old Dodge Challenger), and a killer 600-watt stereo system... which was mandatory on EVERY custom van at the time!
Good times Ken!
Wings, flying elephant-dragons, the works. Can't tell you how much I love these.
They just don't make them like they used to.
Many thanks and photo credit to Ken Palmer!
What America's Tax Income Has To Do With Seventies Custom Vans