New vanner from Iowa

I didn't see an introduction thread so I figured I would post here. I can move it if needed. My wife and I just picked up a 1969 G10. Technically we are the 4th owner, but owner two and three passed it right along in a short time so hopefully it has found a permanent home now.

I'm in love with the van. It has old original hand painted signs on each side for the original owners upholstery business. It runs and drives but needs a tune up. It has a new fuel tank and sending unit as well as some new brake lines. It seems everything works and from what I can tell, it's mostly all original. My wife wants it to be teal and white for her business work van. I compromised and said I would try my hand at vinyl wrap. I dont have the heart to paint over the artwork. Hopefully the wrap doesn't take it off. There almost 0 rust and no putty. I think it will be a great van for us.

It is missing the rear door handle so in case someone has read this far and has a lead on one, I'd greatly appreciate a pm or post.

Without further ado, ill post some pictures of our new addition. I put the white walls on today. It still had the big chevy hubcaps.

Looks like a solid runner. Welcome aboard!

Welcome to VV! Nice looking van.

Welcome... Looks like a fun van.

Check out the "G" parts for sale and the "G" parts wanted sections down a little further for parts that you need.

Congrats and Welcome to Vintage Vans! Great looking 2nd Gen you’ve got there! I agree that it would be nice not to lose the original artwork...A wrap will hopefully preserve and protect it while providing a nice Billboard for your wife’s business! We love pics here so keep them coming...Please and Thank You!

Welcome to the Van site, Engel.

I also have a G-10 van, a '67. Mine has a 283 V8. Is yours a six or an eight?

These are good vans, IMHO. I haven't driven mine much in the past year, but intend on firing it up later next week to take it up into the hills around here, with my bicycle stashed in the back.

Let us know if you need any advice/help/etc.

welcome to vintage vans...

Welcome Engle - looks like a good van, wearing it's years well!

Solid looking rig! V8 or 6? Love these old vans! If the artwork used decent paint and isn't flaking off, the vinyl shouldn't hurt it but its a bit of a crap shoot. Still worth a try.

Not a big fan of vinyl here. It just doesn't seem to last all that long; eventually UV rays seem to get to it. Then again, paint starts to deteriorate as soon as the car is parked outside. I just don't care much for the look of vinyl, I guess.

Also, IMHO, that artwork on the outside is faded and showing more than its age. Needs to be restored or re-done anyway.

thanks for the welcome. Its a 6. I wish it was a v8, as I'm much more familiar with sbc. Ive been creeping around the forum to learn more about the 6 though. The hand painted sign is showing wear, but the fact it is probably about 51 yrs old I'd say it looks okay. I'm not trying to advertise his old business anyways so it just adds to the ol girls story.

One thing I've learned is its difficult to come up with parts for these old vans, especially patch panels. I couldnt help myself and got another van that I can play with. It needs much more work than the white one. I call it the swamp monster because it looks like it was dragged out of a swamp. Its not horrible as far as rust goes considering the area I live. Its also a 6 with the PG. I got a deal on some slots with nice tires so that prettied her up a bit. I have to tap the front wheel well a schosh so they don't rub

Well, I've never had a Chevy Six, just this 283 V8 in my '67. The good news is that your doghouse is probably big enough to house a modern V8; the 1st gen Chevy vans, as I understand it, have to be enlarged to fit a V8. The Chevy Six is apparently a good motor, with a true overhead valve design instead of the more common flat head six design of early Plymouths and Fords. And it's probably better on gas economy than the V8's.

Mine was an interesting acquisition. I got it about 10 years ago from a friend for a song. He thought it needed an engine rebuild. It did run quite poorly. Then after a few months I finally got around to checking the valve clearances. Turns out these were in dire need of adjustment; there was no pre-lash on most of the valves. Once I dialed in minimum pre-lash on all cylinders, it transformed the motor from a sluggish revving beast into more like a rev-happy sewing machine. My friend told me it had been rebuilt while he owned it. I'm guessing that the rebuilder never bothered to adjust the valve train after slapping it all back together. Not sure, but that seems to make the most sense.

YMMV