Ford E-350 Centurion Van-Truck For Sale Might Be the Most Peculiar Pickup Out There
What’s half-van, half heavy-duty dually pickup, and fully fantastic? This beast.
If the two most utilitarian types of vehicles are pickup trucks and vans, wouldn't the ideal workhorse be a combination of the two? Such reasoning must have been behind Centurion Vehicles' decision to combine a Ford F-series pickup truck and an E-350 van into the freakish, yet phenomenal van-truck you see here.
Known as an E-350 Centurion, this van-truck was the brainchild of Centurion Vehicles, a former truck upfitter that also produced oddities like the C-150, a super-sized Bronco. As neat as vehicles like these are, they weren't enough to keep Centurion afloat and in 2001, the company folded into another, more successful upfitter. But still, nearly three decades after Centurion quit building van-trucks, its quaint creations maintain a devoted, knowledgable following, which rarely puts its prized peculiarities up for sale—hence why it's newsworthy that a Centurion E-350 was just posted on Facebook Marketplace.
Because Centurion was inconsistent with how it executed these van-truck conversions, sometimes stretching existing van chassis and others starting on the basis of chassis-cab trucks, it's hard to be sure whether this specific vehicle has more Econoline or F-series in its DNA. Either way, 330,000 miles on the odometer make it a well-traveled example and serve as a testament to its durability.
It's difficult to decipher exactly which engine this wacky worker is powered by, though photos show a power plant that's mounted underneath the center of the dash. We can spot spark plug wires, meaning it isn't a diesel, and most Ford E-350s of this era touted a 460-cubic-inch gas V8 for heavy-duty tasks. That's likely the case here, with an automatic transmission sending power to the dually rear-end.
Even with its proven reliability, this Centurion is in need of some TLC. Its interior has wear to match its odometer reading, at least one tire needs replacement, and its powertrain could probably use a once-over by now—if not a retrofitted Power Stroke diesel. All in all, this rarity will set you back $5,500...or a trade for a dragster, side-by-side, or camper.
Still, if you want a vehicle that's equal parts workhorse and show pony, there's no better candidate than a Centurion, and you can't help but wish van-trucks like this were still in production today.
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