by Once upon a time in the 70's there was a van club and Mark had a van called Polar Bear,,,,,and one day it all came to an end,,,,,
Last edited by donivan65 on Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:18 am; edited 2 times in total
+7
Roman
Scott
Bear
sasktrini
PolarBear2
G-Man
donivan65
11 posters
Polar Bear
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Last edited by donivan65 on Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:18 am; edited 2 times in total
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
So,,,,back in 2007, Mark decides he needs a Van,,,,,Polar Bear the 2nd and he buys a 1969 Chevy Van with a 307,,,,,,
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
And he went shopping,,,,,
Last edited by donivan65 on Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
2009,,,,,I let him use my old front axle to get it to the body shop,,,,,and then life hit a rough patch and all work stopped,,,,
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
,,,,HE'S BACK,,,,,,, March 2012,,,,,,life is back on track and Polar Bear 2 is in his buddies garage getting body work done for a trip up north and a NEW PAINT JOB!! Then all the fancy pieces that have been sitting for 3 years will be put on and the Polar Bear will RIDE AGAIN!
G-Man- Mayor
- Number of posts : 30743
Location : Fowlerville, MI
Age : 63
Registration date : 2008-05-06
good to see this van again
PolarBear2- Number of posts : 183
Location : SoCal
Registration date : 2008-05-16
Great seeing you again Don, thanks for posting the pictures. Nothing will slow down a Build like getting married. Geez... LOL! Lucky for me Brenda was one of my girls from back in the Van Club days and wants to see us ridding high again in PB2. Back then, over 30 yrs ago, she wasn't old enough to go to some of our events and it would probably be a tough sell getting her to go camping in the Van instead of her Motorhome. She has still blessed the rebirth of the Polar Bear and the funds are available to do so now, again, and it's full steam ahead this time. By next Summer, if not sooner, we hope to have it all finished.
sasktrini- Number of posts : 2067
Location : Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Registration date : 2008-05-20
Excellent! Congrats on paint... it's dang near done!
Bear- Number of posts : 849
Location : dearborn hts michigan
Registration date : 2010-11-23
come on don,t stop telling the story,read on to the end
Scott- Number of posts : 1651
Location : Anoka, MN
Age : 54
Registration date : 2008-05-20
It's a cliffhanger..
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Mark is now a long haul truck driver so he might not be on line too often,,,,,but anyways Mark,,,,,what's become of the West Coast Van Club,,,,,,are you all that is left?,,,,,and what ever became of the original Polar Bear van,,,,how did his life end?
Bear- Number of posts : 849
Location : dearborn hts michigan
Registration date : 2010-11-23
how soon till the movie comes out? who would they cast for vanish and donivan ??
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Tuesdays is the only day that Mark is off work,,,,,and right now the van is just a shell,,,,,he took everything out and put one of my old axles under the front so his new one with disk brakes does not get all painted up from all the body work,,,,he has all the new stuff ready to put back on,,,,WHEN,,,,,,the body work is done and it is painted......
Roman- Number of posts : 822
Location : Nor Cal
Registration date : 2010-09-10
Are those Doug Thorley "Tri Y" headers?
Cool story!
Cool story!
PolarBear2- Number of posts : 183
Location : SoCal
Registration date : 2008-05-16
Yes, these are Doug Thorley Headers. Jet-Hot Coated.
Roman- Number of posts : 822
Location : Nor Cal
Registration date : 2010-09-10
Those are my favorite!
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
So Mark,,,,,,what is all that shiny stuff all wrapped up on the pallets,,,,thats not a stock rear end,,,and it looks like you did not use your old transmission hanger,,,,,
Magic Bus- Number of posts : 1422
Location : -Gateway to the West - St Louis Missouri
Registration date : 2009-12-02
Long live the Polar Bear!
PolarBear2- Number of posts : 183
Location : SoCal
Registration date : 2008-05-16
Putting in a 330HP 350CI Crate Motor from Speedway Motors with a Level 3 700R4 from Boe-Tie Overdrive. The trans crossmember was also from Speedway Motors but we beefed it up and you can see the frame modifications made to install it.
Last edited by PolarBear2 on Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:35 pm; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : added picture)
PolarBear2- Number of posts : 183
Location : SoCal
Registration date : 2008-05-16
In my signature above is the original Polar Bear
VanninBlaino- Number of posts : 361
Location : New Orleans, LA
Age : 30
Registration date : 2011-05-30
Can y'all post up more memorabilia from back in the day? Me being 17, I've never really seen anything first hand like that. Its nice to read some of the stories that pop up on here.
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Well for one thing, Mark found a a few other things to do and keep busy between the 2 Bears,,,,,,
kayjsharp- Number of posts : 44
Location : london
Registration date : 2012-04-03
Polar Bears is the mixture of cuteness and danger.
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12246
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
,,,,,I seen a Bear today,,,,,,,a Polar Bear,,,,,,,,,Mark brings me back my 1st Gen front end assembly that I let him use in 2009 so he could move his van around the body shop without his getting messed up,,,,,,,,, at least the van is in primer now,,,,,,,,
