Back Yard 65???

Entered my 66 in a local car show last w/e. This guy stops to chat and tells me about a 65 Chevy he knows about 10 miles from my house. So I ask...Where??? How much???? What shape??? He tells me how to get there..Today I took a trip and here is what I found.

This is a cell phone pic a little blurry...This is inside the Doghouse...I opened it up after moving loads of crap off it hoping to find a stock untouched 230.....what I found was a serious squirrels nest,,,so proceeded to dig looking for an original air cleaner....after brushing and poking I noticed the alternator on the top right side...hum...that's not supposed to there..turns out it has been converted to a Chevy V8...darkness kept me from digging further to determine what size...hoping for a 327...

The van has been sitting since 1985. looks like a sportvan on this side the other side has no windows. Right rear door has lower rust issue all others are in good shape...no major dings or dents..roof line is in good shape...rust at the front seam to roof pillar..not to bad

Shag carpet throughout...has been retro fitted with late model seats.......dash intact.....inside filled with old tools clamps vices...you name it its in there...
So I ask the Lady.....How much????
She says $ 200...Mam you got a deal....Now I have to get some wheels on it and drag it out of her back yard..
Sunday is gonna be a FUN DAY !!!!!!!! Oh Yeah...I'm STOKED...

Thats the kinda stuff that makes keeping an eye and an ear out n open for these fun !! Cool find !

Great score ya did... even if that engine turns out to be a 327 - you still get a good price for the van! I'll be checking on your thread tomorrow.

Another one saved!!!!!

Cool find Whopman.Glad your gettin it out of the woods.
I don't know which sounds better...'I know where one of those is' or some chic say 'I wanna go riding sometime,here's my number,call me.'

Nice!! Good find.

Put some new rubber on the van..still working on pulling it out. Look what I found


sway bar and belly pan...so far a good score

Whopman - you found a "display van". Pull it out and save it. I wouldn't even cut it up for parts. Looks restorable. Nice find!

KC good eye, and yes it looks to find everything there also.

Took 5 hours to get it wiggled out between the trees...had to used a come-along from tree to tree...the tranny was stuck in gear had to unhook drive shaft...no biggie...right rear brake locked up,,, but still was able to keep draggin it..got it to a clearing and will be flat bedded on Tuesday...Didn't get casting numbers off block will do on Tuesday and get motor size and type....still STOKED but worn out ...ready to save her.
The roof is in great shape has a vent installed...To much junk inside to see how the small block fit so well...Looks like a second gen dog house was grafted to the existing dog house....
KC .....I plan on bringer her back to life.

whopman,you have it real bad hehehehehe. Billi

Brought the 65 home today. Spent several hours pulling all the crap out of it. The carpet was screwed to the interior structure with hex head machine screws throughout the van . Found a possum skeleton!!! The right rear drum was locked onto the pads Had to cut the drum from top to bottom to split it off,,
It has some rust issues but I believe they can be repaired.

That is not rust above gas cap ..there was a dent filled with bondo.... inside around gas fill is clean and rust free

The doghouse that was grafted???? beat the holy crap out of it is more like it!

the worst part of the rust



Roof is not rusted and has no dents.... drip rail still has sealant !......... My cat in the street...he just does what he wants... still pissed at me for naming him Noodles...

Oh the motor turned out to be a 283 v8....cast number 3756519 58-62 ....when is the last time you saw PCV coming from the rear of the block...still has the old can style oil filter....

found these in the back...any idea the year and model they fit?
I was guessing chevy II 62-64

Took the lower air deflector off to check the condition..There is another piece that connects to it still on the van on the drivers side ...I think the passenger side it gone

Great score. That needs to be saved. Pretty soild van. Looks like they added the gen 2 doghouse sides and back for the V-8 conversion. It's a shame, I just had all the body parts you needed to fix that up until just a couple of months ago. I parted out a 67 GMC that would have been a great donor for you. Had the dash, some floor sections, the footwell, even a rear section from the doghouse. Anyway, Good luck with it. Get that 283 running and have some fun. BTW, caps look to be a 64-65 Chevelle SS.

Duane in Tennessee.

Looks even better cleaned out

Whop,that chunk of coal could very well make a diamond someday.Great find.Did ya happen to get a title with it? Don't know how Ga. laws work.

Nightmoves....no title bill of sale only..georgia doesn't require a title after 20 years...I can get a title however which I will do nxt week.

she cleaned up pretty good!

The SS hubcaps you got - you get only two of them? They look like come from Chevelle models, I think or maybe the Impala models? If you have 4 as a set - you could make a decent coin in selling them and use it toward your new van! But even only 2 will still work and get good money out of them.

Looks like you got a good savable van there, are you planning to fix the rust issues?

63 merc don't have any plans for it right now...just wanted some parts off it and get it out of the woods...I will more than likely move it to the back yard and cover it...if anyone is interested in it give me a pm.

Ya baby! how many non van people used to look at that van and see nothing but junk.

And there it is , the diamond in rough

M1D

For being in Ga.,and nearly on the ground,I'm amazed the only rust ya see is on the doors,skipped over the rockers.I'd like to have a 1st gen display some day.Great find Whop.

Nightmoves check your messages
Whopman

Pulled the sway bar off the 65 tonight , sand blasted the bar and lower mounts.
energy suspension has replacement end link bolt and bushing sets ( part # 19419 $22.17 ) as well as sway bar bushing sets( part # 95158 $16.99). The sway bar is 7/8 dia. and the end link set is 5 3/4 will need to cut it down to 5 1/2 to match original.

cool ! Glad ya got the swaybar you were wanting.