The Grumman P-800 was the largest of the P-500, P-600 and P-800 series of aluminium walk-in delivery vans, built by Grumman Olson from 1965 until 2001. From 1980 the series was sold only to the United Parcel Service, which made it one of the most recognisable vans on American streets.
Grumman-Olson P-800 at a glance
| Maker | Grumman Aircraft Engineering / Grumman Olson |
|---|---|
| Production | 1965–2001 |
| Type | aluminium walk-in step van |
| Series | P-500, P-600, P-800 |
| Sales after 1980 | to UPS only |
| Body | all-aluminium |
| Company base | Sturgis, Michigan |
| Related models | Grumman LLV (1986–1994), Route Star (from 1990) |
| Company renamed | Morgan Olson, 2004 |
There is no Wikipedia article on the P-800; the model is listed among the products of Morgan Olson in the English Wikipedia article on the company, which is the only source here. Based on one source.
History of the Grumman-Olson P-800
Grumman enters the van business
The all-aluminium walk-in step van was the idea of Walter Heingartner, a Chevrolet dealer in Brooklyn, who thought the growing laundry trade needed a light delivery van. He brought it to Jimmy Olson and to Jake Swirbul, one of Grumman’s founders; Grumman Aircraft Engineering was due to build the vehicle from 1939, but the war shelved the plan. After 1945 Olson and three partners set up the J.B.E. Olson Corporation in Brooklyn, and the company grew steadily in the following decades, buying its Sturgis, Michigan plant in 1963.
The P-series, 1965–2001
The P-500, P-600 and P-800 were introduced in 1965 and stayed in production for 36 years, until 2001. After 1980 they were sold only to UPS. The vans kept the company’s all-aluminium body, light for their size and resistant to the rust that attacked steel delivery vans in winter salt.
From Grumman Olson to Morgan Olson
The company’s biggest order came in 1984, when the United States Postal Service awarded Grumman Olson a contract worth over one billion dollars; the Grumman LLV that followed was still in service in large numbers, some 163,000 of them, in early 2016. After ownership changes in the 1990s the market declined and the firm went bankrupt in 2001. In 2003 it was bought by JB Poindexter, Inc. and in 2004 renamed Morgan Olson, which still builds walk-in step vans, P31 delivery trucks and the C250 mail and parcel truck.
Design and features
- All-aluminium body: light and resistant to corrosion, the signature of every Grumman Olson van.
- Walk-in step van: a body the driver enters from the kerb and walks through, made for parcel and laundry rounds.
- UPS fleet vehicle: after 1980 the P-series was sold only to the United Parcel Service.
- Thirty-six years in production: the same family was built from 1965 until 2001.
Grumman-Olson P-800 versions
- P-500: the smallest of the three P-series vans.
- P-600: the middle model of the range.
- P-800: the largest of the series.
The P-800 followed the earlier Kurbmaster and was one of the Grumman-Olson vans that made the company’s name. More vehicles are in the Grumman-Olson collection.
Sources
- Morgan Olson, English Wikipedia: products list, production years, UPS sales, company history
