The ‘real’ Mystery Machine
As a kid growing up in the 80’s I watched a lot of Scooby Doo. It was the after school ritual. Watching the gang always solve crime and show monsters were really just some old dudes in costumes trying to get away with something.
Fandom says. “The Mystery Machine was a vehicle that appeared in the Hannah-Barbara cartoon and live-action movie series, and direct to video Scooby-Doo movies, Often driven by Mystery Inc member Fred Jones. It was the main vehicle choice for Mystery Inc. The classic Hannah-Barbara cartoon version appears to have been based on a 1978 Volkswagen LT 40 Van. In all The earlier Hannah Barbara/Warner Brothers Direct to Video Movies from 1998 to 2001 the vehicle appears to instead be based on a Chevy Astro/GMC Safari full size van rather than a Volkswagen LT 40 van.”
What kind of van was the original Mystery Machine
What was it? Fandom says it was a VW. We don’t buy it. Scooby-Doo was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1976. Soooo… T
Simply if the first episode aired in 1969 and the first VW LT came out in 1975, that alone tells you there’s no way it could be a VW LT 40. Don’t get me wrong. I think the VW LT 40 is pretty kick-ass.
The LT 40 seems to have some of the similar angles going on.
But it just doesn’t have that 60’s funk to it. Also, the LT40 wasn’t really available in the US. And the US based cartoon would most likely include something a bit more accessible and recognizable.
Well we found what we think is a real version of what the Mystery Machine was modeled after. A Dodge A100 Van. The A100 is a range of vans and van trucks made from 1964 to 1970 by Chrysler under the Dodge marque in the United States and the Fargo marque in Canada (make sure you say that with an accent).
The A100 competed with the Ford Econoline (we had a 61 Van Truck) and Chevrolet Van and Chevy Corvair Greenbrier, and of course the Hippy Bus VW T2.
What’s critical about these types of vans being like the Mystery Machine is that it’s got a "forward control" design. Placing the driver on top of the front axle with the engine between the front seats, just behind the front wheels makes it a "cab over" vehicle.
This A100 was in Boulder Creek, CA just a few miles outside of Santa Cruz, CA.
The Mystery Machine indeed
The Pacific coastal fog has made the patina perfect on this van. Can’t fake this funk. Shoes aren’t right however. This looks like an 80’s modification.
Patina Perfect
You can see the flat windshield here. The shape is correct but you don’t see the split in the split window in the cartoon anywhere.
Even Autoweek seems to be on our side.
“The question of what van the Mystery Machine IS, has been its own mystery for years. In the early run of Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, which started in 1969, the van was either a mid-’60s Chevy G-Body panel or a Dodge A100 (cool example built by AKA Junk). There’s no “official” consensus. They both look similar to the Mystery Machine, and both have round headlights. The Ford Econoline is also mentioned by fans—it had round lights—but also a distinct headlight housing that disqualifies it from mystery duty. The forward-control cartoon van also sported a spare tire in front with a flower-power graphic.”
The Dodge A100 was featured in the American television series That '70s Show episode "Red's Last Day", as Michael Kelso's new van. It also appeared in the movie Cars as the character Dusty Rust-eze, in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as the comedy Stealing Harvard. An A100 appeared in many different colors in the 1960s Batman TV series. More often than not, it was the preferred getaway vehicle of each episode's villain. And I would add, Fred’s Mystery Machine.
There’s that often overlooked detail. The flower painted spare tire cover on the front of the van. Ace!
