Land Ahoy

Now here’s a sight for sore eyes, a seldom seen 1978 Landmark Camper

- James Peene

The old sweats amongst you will be aware that we’ve featured a small number of these crazy horses before. They’re an unusual sight on this, and for that matter, any shore, and this is only the third we’ve come across with our own fair peepers. And for the record, it’s one of two blue versions, the other sported brown decals.

If you’ve never seen one before, you’re probably asking what is it and how the heck did something like this ever come to pass?

Like most things, you can blame the Americans. Actually, blame is a strong word, we think the word ‘thank’ is more appropriate when it comes to this contraption.

Back in the 1970s the ‘Vanning’ craze was a massive part of the custom car scene in the US. Think wild Chevy Day Vans with crazy paint jobs, porthole windows, glitter balls and shag pile carpet deep enough to lose a wedge-heeled Chihuahua in and you’ve hit the nail squarely on the head.

In those days, no one was into Buses over here. They were just work hacks, but on the other side of the pond they were big news and that meant they were big business, too. Suffice to say a plethora of suppliers sprang up to offer parts and conversions, some of which were even sold direct through dealerships.

In the early days of ‘Vanning’ the focus was firmly on USbuilt vehicles but, as the late ’70s hoved into view and the fuel crisis followed in its wake, customisers began turning their attentions to the more fuel efficient foreign imports, like Volkswagens.

NATIONAL EXPRESS

The National Coach Company in Carson, California was one of the larger West Coast conversion firms and their Landmark line was a high end - read, big money - choice.