by Scotts_A100 Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:00 pm
Thanks all for the welcome...
I did see the Baker's meet date and as of right now I do plan to come by, but I'm pretty sure that as of now it would be safe to say that it will not be in the van. But next year, I would not rule it out.
As to the media blaster that I've chosen, it is called Strip-It All.
As I mentioned in my intro, it was my search for parts that surfaced this website. There are not all that many parts that I need but I am always looking and considering my restoration options.
My van is a stock A100 Sportsman, not a Custom, so it never had side panels or the fibergalss panels around the windows although I've entertained the idea of looking for the panels but have not yet nor do I have any idea as to the availability of them.
As noted, my van came with a 318, it wasn't running but I was not concerned at the time as I noted it was from Oregon. Well the engine was the major item that pulled me into the restoration. I owned the van for 6 months before having time to attempt to start it and quickly learned that the filler hose was rotted and most of the gas I tried to pour into it when on the ground. I pulled the tank to get the hoses off to replace them and learned that a previous owner screwed the tank to the floor when they screwed the wood down to the floor of the van. I had the tank redone, bought new hoses from NAPA and put it all back together. I tried to start it and it was trying but would not catch so I pulled the plugs to check them and decided that I would at the same time check the compression, it failed badly. It would be another 12 months before I could work on it again as I had to do some extended traveling for the job. The next task was to pull the valve covers, it was a very sad scene. Ok, it was time to pull the intake and heads off and do a bit more detailed analysis. It didn't take much analysis with the heads off, the block was cracked on both sides of the valley, it was dead. As luck would have it I checked craigslist and found the next night a '71 318 for a really good price that just came out of a running wagon. I bought it and again the van sat for another 12 months before I had an opportunity to work on it again. I did entertain for a short while to sell it as is but I have a passion for these vans. I pulled the old engine out and tore the new one down to rebuild it. It did have some wear and the machine shop brought this to light as the smallest bore that they could go with was .040 over. The engine is back, the cam, pistons, rods and all are present and ready to be put back together but it will wait until the van heads off to get blasted and epoxy primed. So, there you have a bit more details on the history and the status of the van.
So, now on to the rest of the van. It was while taking the side and rear doors apart for media blasting I learned why the doors had a problem locking. The lock bolts were rusted into place and every one of the lower bolts broke from the rods when trying to turn/screw them off the rod ends. I am also missing one of the springs for the rod bolts.
The floor had the holes cut into it for the step but there was no step. Also the one hole, the slot, looks like it was cut with a torch and I've no idea if this is how they were cut at the factory.
I will be looking for new tail lights and backup lights.
I would like to find a better set of vent window gaskets. I do know of the one place in california that makes them but from what I've read so far is that they are not the best quality and they are pricey.
I've one cracked windshiled that will for sure have to be replaced. There are other items but those are the major things that come to mind. I've thought about looking for a junkyard that might have some of these parked about that I could check out but I've no idea as to where to begin to look for a yard here in michigan that would have any of these sitting around. Scott...
