This is a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Station Wagon that was converted into a convincing “Family Truckster” replica, after the car used in the legendary 1983 comedy film National Lampoon’s Vacation starring Chevy Chase, John Candy, and Eugene Levy.
This specific Family Truckster was actually built to compete in the 2014 24 Hours of Lemons by Speedycop and The Gang of Outlaws. After the event the car was sold on to a new owner, and it has now come up for sale out of New Jersey.
Fast Facts: A 1987 “Family Truckster” Replica
- The Wagon Queen Family Truckster became one of the best-known movie cars of the 1980s after “National Lampoon’s Vacation” debuted in 1983. Painted in infamous Metallic Pea, it turned Clark Griswold’s family road trip into a visual gag, parodying the excess, awkward styling, and suburban image of late-era American station wagons.
- In the film, Clark expects a far more desirable Antarctic Blue wagon, only to be stuck with the grotesque Truckster after his trade-in is crushed. The movie car was based on a 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire and loaded with all the right details including stacked headlights, fake wood all over, a hood-mounted fuel filler, and a nearly blocked grille.
- Debate still surrounds who actually created the original Trucksters. George Barris is often credited, but some researchers argue Warner Bros’ prop department handled the work. Five examples were reportedly built for filming, yet none are believed to survive. Replicas now keep the car’s strange legacy alive at museums, shows, and fan gatherings.
- The replica shown here began as a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria wagon and was converted in 2014 by Speedycop and The Gang of Outlaws for the 24 Hours of Lemons. It now carries the full Truckster treatment, plus a fuel-injected 5.0 liter High Output V8 from a Mustang GT, eight-passenger interior, and sale listing from New Jersey.
History Speedrun: The National Lampoon Family Truckster
Relatively few cinematic automobiles have embedded themselves into the heart of American pop culture quite like the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s Vacation. Released on July the 29th, 1983, the film follows Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) as he drags his reluctant family on a cross-country road trip from suburban Chicago to the fictional Walley World amusement park in southern California. The Truckster, an aggressively ugly station wagon finished in a color called “Metallic Pea,” became the unlikely star of the journey and one of the most recognizable movie cars of the 1980s.
Above Video: National Lampoon’s Vacation follows Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) as he drags his reluctant family on a cross-country road trip from suburban Chicago to the fictional Walley World amusement park in southern California.
National Lampoon’s Vacation was based on John Hughes’s short story “Vacation ’58,” which was originally published in National Lampoon magazine in September of 1979. Hughes wrote the screenplay and Harold Ramis directed what would become one of the year’s biggest comedies, earning over $61 million domestically against a $15 million budget.
The Truckster was central to the film’s entire premise – Clark had ordered an Antarctic Blue Super Sports Wagon with CB and optional Rally Fun Pack, but a shady salesman (played perfectly by Eugene Levy) delivered the hideous Truckster instead, having already crushed Clark’s trade-in to force the sale.
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster used in the film was built on the bones of a 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon. Its modifications were deliberately excessive and absurd, the design was intended to satirize everything that had gone wrong with American station wagons by the late 1970s, amplifying every tacky styling cue past the point of absurdity.
The Truckster had eight headlights, the extra pair taken from another Ford and mounted upside-down above the originals, a body-colored grille with only two tiny air openings, imitation wood paneling covering roughly 70% of the exterior (including the hood), a bizarrely placed fuel filler on the hood, and a dashboard airbag made from a trash bag.
Who actually built the car remains a point of much debate, George Barris, the legendary Hollywood car customizer behind the 1966 Batmobile and the Munster Koach, is widely credited with the Truckster’s creation.
That said, some researchers (including well-known replica builder Gary Schneider) have said that the cars were actually modified by Warner Bros. own prop department, and that Barris’s name became attached to the project through his broader Hollywood reputation rather than any actual direct involvement.
National Lampoon’s Vacation was based on John Hughes’s short story “Vacation ’58,” which was originally published in National Lampoon magazine in September of 1979. Image courtesy of Warner Bros.
A total of five Wagon Queen Family Trucksters were built for the production, primarily because the script called on the car to somehow survive an escalating series of comedic disasters.
Over the course of the film, the Truckster survives vandalism, a spectacular desert jump and subsequent breakdown, crooked mechanics, the death of Aunt Edna’s dog Dinky (whose leash remains tied to the rear bumper), and the passing of Aunt Edna herself, whose body is memorably strapped to the roof.
Sadly, none of the five original Trucksters are believed to have survived filming. A car displayed at the Volo Museum near Chicago is sometimes mistaken for an original, but it is actually listed as a replica (details like the side mirrors, wood grain pattern, and rear finishing differ from the screen-used vehicles.)
Despite (or maybe because of) its deliberate and comedic ugliness, the Truckster has picked up a devoted cult-like following. Fans across the country have built their own replicas, and they remain a common fixture at car shows and pop culture events more than 40 years after the film’s release.
Some have suggested that the Truckster’s portrayal helped accelerate the decline of station wagon sales in the 1980s, as families increasingly turned to minivans and SUVs. That could very well be a step too far, mistaking correlation with causation, but whatever the truth the American station wagon may very well have peaked with Clark Griswold’s Metallic Pea masterpiece.
The 1987 Family Truckster Replica Shown Here
The car you see here started out as a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria station wagon and it remained original for most of its life, until it was bought by a 24 Hours of Lemons team named Speedycop and The Gang of Outlaws in 2014 and converted into a convincing Family Truckster replica.
It has now been refinished in green with all that wood paneling to match the movie car, as well as the double stacked lights up front, the quad taillights in the rear, and that unusual grille up front. Inside, the car has brown cloth upholstery and seating for eight, with wood veneer and those distinctive sideways-facing seats in the rear.
The car you see here started out as a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria station wagon and it remained original for most of its life, until it was bought by a 24 Hours of Lemons team named Speedycop and The Gang of Outlaws in 2014 and converted into a convincing Family Truckster replica.
It’s now powered by a replacement fuel-injected 5.0 liter High Output V8 that is said to have been sourced from a Mustang GT which would give it around 200 bhp and 276 lb ft of torque depending on the specific year. Power is sent back through a 4-speed automatic transmission.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Ramsey, New Jersey with spare parts, a workshop manual, manufacturer’s literature, a Carfax report, and a New Jersey title. If you’d like to read more or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer + Warner Bros
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
