If modern cars and trucks are full of too many details and annoyances that just don’t appeal to you, I’m happy to say that you can buy a brand-new, 2022 model year Ford that has none of the things that bother you. In fact, it has none of most things, period. It’s the 2022 W-350 Stripped Chassis, and it starts at $31,730.
Of course, stripped chassis are nothing new, and you’re actually around them all the time—they’re just hidden under the bodies of various step vans and other delivery vehicles.
But there’s something strangely compelling about the fact that, in theory, one could likely buy a stripped chassis and build the car you really want atop it, like a 1920s coachbuilder.
I’m sure there’d be hurdles to jump through as a private owner and not, say, a fleet buyer, and I’m gleefully ignorant of potential registration issues, but if you’ll indulge me, let’s just take a moment to imagine that you could, say, buy one of these E-350 chassis and build a charming wooden body atop it, making yourself a clunky yet rakish shingled fastback, suitable for your daily commute, peppy with its 300+ horsepower 7.3-liter V8, and with an astounding range from the massive 40-gallon fuel tank.
Always wanted a really, really long dualie roadster with a body made from canvas stretched over a wire frame? Dreamed of a truck with a cinder block bed? Lost sleep imagining your ultimate station wagon with a body made from plywood and a couple discarded paddle boats? If that’s you, then don’t settle for some overpriced truck or SUV you don’t like — get yourself an E-350 Stripped Chassis.
I just feel like the commercial market has been hoarding these minimalistic babies long enough. Time for the rest of us to start considering the potential of a vehicle, hold the everything.