Vanny's Diamond in the Ruff!

Well, the search is finally over, my little slice of heaven just arrived tonight! Thanks to Vanish, I was able to bring home a solid 66 Econo as a starting point to my project. Since they dropped it off in the dark, I was not able to see it as well as I'd like but I'm fighting off a cold and allergies right now so I'll have to wait til I get home from work tomorrow to get a real good look.
I know I could have never found one this free of rust anywhere around these parts and I am so thankful to Bill for his kindness. Joe Van has also been very helpful and supportive to me along this journey and I really appreciate that as well. I'm not in a big hurry and most of my budget has been dwindled away just getting it here but I want to do things right so I will concentrate on getting it running and running safe first and foremost. I will worry about cosmetic stuff much later.
Here's a few pics that Bill supplied for me! Enjoy!

http://public.fotki.com/Vintage-Vans/vintage-vans-es/ruff-diamond-1/?cmd=fs_slideshow

Good luck with your new project. Keep us posted.

Looks like you're off to a great start. looking forward to your progress pics as you move along on this project. 

Paul it has been a heck of a journey going over all the Vans that caught your eye the past few months For Sale but I enjoyed it and it was fun to focus on something other than my own stuff for a change. . Bill (Vanish) you are Awesome thanks for selling the van to Paul it went to a GREAT home its has not been easy to find something for him with a decent body and minimal mechanic work needed..  I have a sense of relief also myself.!!!!! Paul GOOD LUCK and Enjoy Your New Found Friend it was WELL deserved and you earned it. The Van Looks GREAT!!!!!!!..   ..JOE VAN..

Paul I'm Glad the delivery went well !!!! and I hope you are happy with it !!!!! Now the Fun starts !!! just go one thing at a time and it should Turn out well !!!!!! Thanks' Paul .... AND ANY THING I can help you with Just give me a Yell !!!!!!!

Great van!!!! I remember Bill buying that, you got a good one

Nice van... Ditch the rear bumper. Good luck. Ken

  Looks like a nice rig. Have fun !

Have fun with it! Its a great place to start the project of a lifetime!

Thanks for all the support guys! Can't wait to get started. I'll keep posting as I progress! Basics first!

Paul glad to see you found your van.. you had some good help along the way...

And I'm grateful to each and every one of you...And for the additional help I'm probably going to need going forward! This weekend, I'm going to be looking at the posts about things to do BEFORE trying to start a van that's been sitting for more than a couple of years. I believe Rod just recently
posted one again. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions along the way. Thanks Everyone!!!

Congrats on finally snagging one Vanny!! I am gonna be taking a break from my vans for a while & try to focus on other life's issues that is going along in my life & family. I will be checking in every now & then to read all of what's going on with your new project & all of the other Guy's vans. Good luck I hope everything turns out good for you man!

Thanks Handi! Family's always First, Vans a VERY close second  
I'm planning on giving it a good cleaning this weekend and making a list as I go and explore! We'll be waiting for you right here whenever you're ready to come back!

he fun soon begins, Try not to think about it to much or you won't get any sleep LOL

Congrats Vanny! Thats one fine looking Van, Im super jealous wishing mine was from the west coast, nothing like a solid start to build on. Go Get em!

Well, the neighbors have spotted my van in the driveway!

Yesterday, when I went to pick up my grandson at the busstop, the women saw me coming and yelled out "Scooby Dooby Doooooooo!" They said that they asked my wife about it that morning and she said "I don't want to talk about it!"
This morning one of the new neighbors' husband was asking about the van and said that he LOVED to tinker around with old cars and that he was looking for an old Chevy Van himself. He said that he had all kinds of tools and could help out with anything mechanical! I love it when things like this happen. I can introduce him to the Vintage-Van site and maybe get some help and pointers to get this thing up and running!
Score!

How about more pic's

After the weekend, I promise! I need to change my Avatar as well!

vanny wrote:Well, the neighbors have spotted my van in the driveway!

Yesterday, when I went to pick up my grandson at the busstop, the women saw me coming and yelled out "Scooby Dooby Doooooooo!" They said that they asked my wife about it that morning and she said "I don't want to talk about it!"
This morning one of the new neighbors' husband was asking about the van and said that he LOVED to tinker around with old cars and that he was looking for an old Chevy Van himself. He said that he had all kinds of tools and could help out with anything mechanical! I love it when things like this happen. I can introduce him to the Vintage-Van site and maybe get some help and pointers to get this thing up and running!
Score!

Congrats again! Could it be you've found the Don of the east coast?

I had a little time today so I scooted over to pick up a couple of tires to replace the weather cracked front tires. Then I pushed it off the lawn and into it's parking spot in the driveway. The POR 15 gas tank kit arrived today so first chance I get, that'll be the first project on the check-off list to tackle. When I removed the tires I noticed the transport company left me a nice present. They evidently hooked the drag link (I believe that's what it's called) with their chains and they put a real nice curve in it! I'm going to try to put in a claim but I doubt they will reimburse me for it. I'm just glad I've got it home!

East Coast Don? - Not sure yet but he definitely has a bug now to get his vintage Chevy van now that he sees my van! I showed him the site on my phone this morning so hopefully he'll check it out and find the van of his dreams!

Vanny as far as a gas tank liner make sure you go step by step on the directions, it's inportant that the tank is dry... i used a shop vac on blow for a few hours for a few days.

Thanks for the tip Dix. I've been reading up on the POR15 site and everyone says make sure you follow the directions closely or you're not going to get good results. I intend to be very careful! I was under there over the weekend and was just tapping on the bottom of the tank and it sounds like it's pretty empty but I'll find out once it's removed.
Here's a couple of pics but it's already dark at 6:45pm.

This is the time to replace the fuel lines as well

That's second on the list! I figure, why go to the trouble of cleaning out the tank and not make it a clean run to the motor with new lines and filter and fuel pump? With me it's probably going to be baby steps... If I can get those steps done, I'll start to feel like I can tackle the next hurdle. Thanks again Dix!