Counting blue vans

1955 Ford Step Van, Saugerties, New York

The same van in Cincinnati, Ohio. Image: collectorcarads.com

I came across this handsome, well-worn van while having breakfast in Saugerties, New York, an urban village twenty miles south of Hudson. It sat in the driveway of a Victorian house with a similar patina of neglect. I imagined it to be an artifact of a defunct family business, perhaps a baker or drycleaner in the village. But the blue and gold license plates suggested it recently had been, and perhaps still is, roadworthy, missing turn indicators notwithstanding. 

The van lacked badging, and I'm not good at sight-identifying cars built before about 1950 or trucks of any era. When I returned to my office, I Googled "step van." The first page of images included an advertisement for a 1955 Ford Step Van. It was this very vehicle, for sale last year in Cincinnati. An intrepid soul apparently drove it 750 miles to its current resting spot. I wouldn't be comfortable driving it a tenth that distance, but it does look like it would make a very cool and serviceable urban food truck.

Take it away, Dishwalla.