My Van story...

This is what I found on Craigslist. Listed out at $600. The guy said she was running like a champ. No tires and wheels.
I bit. Drove 4 hrs away with a tow dolly and a pocket full of $20s.


I get there and this is what I find...




All in all, just what I expected. (okay, maybe a little less). She's running. Gas can inside (as make shift gas tank). No throttle linkage. Brakes in front seat (the front set). And she was sitting on four logs.

So we make the deal at $500. Oh yeah, a good Texas Title comes with it.
The guy offers to help push her up onto the dolly. Nah, she's running remember? And I did bring a set of Keystone Klassics from an older project of mine. Boy I tell ya, the guys had second thoughts as I strapped on those Keystones. Too late though, he had my money and I had the title.

Yes, I drove her outta his yard and onto the dolly.
The van is a little wide for the dolly. But it'll do. The Honda Pilot did well.
I got the Van home 5 1/2 hours later. And this is where she is so far...







So I still need the obvious things. (Thanks Scott for the linkage!)

The kids are STOKED! And so am I. More pics to come with progress.-John

A van that runs for that $, ,Ya did great IMO. Have fun !

Looks very solid , thats half the battle. From the vents on top looks like you found a Ma Bell phone van

I think I can see some sort of "Bell Company" lettering under the SEVERAL coats of paint.

I'm in love.

And from the "things" I have found inside her, I think she was used as a painters work truck, a rad cruising machine and finally moved down by the river and used as Apartment 90. I have since evicted the tenants and started the remodeling. They did a nice job with what they had, but now I have a few dry wall screw holes to fix. The worst of it is that they used house insulation throughout the whole van, holding in all of the moisture as well as heat/cool. Lots of easily fixable surface rust, but some extreme deterioration around those ma bell vents. It looks like I'll be able to use one of the vents, but I gotta go shopping for the rear replacement.

-John

John,
I think that will be a great project. Would these bubble vents on top of my van work for you? I think I'm getting rid of them when this finally makes it to the paint stage. I have one more spare that is old stock but brand new.

They have a crank handle on the inside that opens them up. I don't know if you can tell from this image what they look like. They are an amber color.



Thanks,
Scott

let the fun begin.............

I enjoyed your story. Welcome and congrats!