new here, thinking of a '64-66 any advice?

just got here. always wanted an early chevy, dont know that much about them. want a panel with side doors. what i have saw so far is rough, too rough. can swap a motor if needed, no problem doing interior. dont really want to paint. really prefer "get in and drive" but am able to do any repairs, just dont want a restoration project. what should i expect to pay and what common issues should i look for? anyone know if they still have any of the van clubs like they did years ago?

I think a guy should expect to pay any where from $2500 to $4000 or more for a get in and drive with a good body not needing paint.

Like Don said, usual bad rust spots are around the roof, bottom of door posts, rocker pannels, windshield frame under the rubber and inside the gas tank.

M1D

Welcome to the site!!!! Finding what you want on the east coast will be harder, looking on the west coast will be easier

doesnt seam like many out there. might have to get what i can find and do a little more work. man, i dont want to wet sand something that big.

welcome to the site. they are out there i found mine as it sits for $3500

There are a lot of van clubs vanning today. Many are on the east coast and midwest.

jrinaman wrote:doesnt seam like many out there. might have to get what i can find and do a little more work. man, i dont want to wet sand something that big.

I'd say be prepared to do alot of work, or pay ALOT for a van that doesn't need any work (if you are lucky enough to find one that does not)

Most of the vans for sale are projects... and its very hard to find a straight rust free 1st gen, wherever you are!!

I am originally from northeastern PA. Where is Zelienople, PA?

20 miles north of pittsburgh. s.w. pa. my biggest fear with the rust is a silver dollar size hole needs a basketball size patch, which needs a beachball size area to repaint. repainting just a panal is still 1/3 of the van so now it needs a complete paint job. new color means door jambs and ??? i have close to 2 years on my current restoration, i can swap a motor in a day, but a complete resto isnt practical. scroll up to donavan or kookiekrispy, their pics is what i would want, but no windows. not asking to buy either, but what are they worth?

saw one i like on ebay. seemed overpriced. it is also here in the vans for sale but has a comment "bad truck title" and descrepancy of actual year. can someone look at add and give opinion? yellow, in new castle,pa.

dont want the either, so a mixture of the 2. saw pics of them with side doors and no side glass. not sure a no door would be practical, i would have to see one finished inside. the windows wont do, i plan on costomizing interior with a bed, fridge and whatever will fit from a camper.

i will look at panal vans then. window doors or ok, but not needed. can you look at the vans for sale titled "bad truck title" and give opinion?

any links to finished interiors? curious as to how a no door would be done.

Interiors are the last thing done. Ester's been this way for a few years now. They take on a personallity of there own, and then you just start tradin some parts around and the the next thing you know its time to paint it.

thats about what i am looking for as far as windows/doors. if i found one in that condition, what should i expect to pay? what about same with shiny paint? i found one with nice paint and "budget" finished interior for $5000.00 but am skeptical. is that what they cost?

jrinaman, the cost of a van really depends on whats been done on it. Paint and body work seem to cost the most and will drive the price up. The mechanical part tends to run a bit less, unless its been upgraded to dual master, bigger motor, auto trans, etc. then you will pay a premium for that as well. I doubt any of the guys on this site who have updated their vans would let them go for less then 10k... so 5 k for a painted running van is not bad but I would want to see some in progress photos of the work!.... just my 2 cents!

jrinaman, you may want to check out our thread for the build of a 64 in our shop right now. It is for sale at any point in the build process. I'm not sure what your budget or level of skill is but we can stop at a certain point and let you finish from there. If interested at all post a comment on our thread and we can start filling in the details for you.

We are a full service restoration shop centrally located in the midwest and could deliver with no problems. I smell a roadtrip!

Kevin, Blue Star Garage

oops, sorry here is the link:

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t19987-new-member-building-a-64-g-modifiedcomments-suggestions

no idea where prices are for what phase of completion. i am capable of restoring, but dont want to invest that much time. as i am sure you know, the cost of restoration often exceeds the "practical" value. throw some numbers out for me to think about. i was hoping to find something that someone bought and had painted, drove and maintained a while and was ready to part with it. i am quickly finding that may not be out there.

I guess what we need to do is figure out if we can meet in the middle somewhere. The customer we are building it for owns a radiator shop here in town and originally had in mind to keep it and maybe put his logo on it and drive it around for advertisement. Due to economic factors he has now decided to fund the build to some level of completion and then sell hoping to get his money back.

It would be nice to find someone to buy it before it's done, it is so hard to pick colors and details that everyone will like.

So far, we have a relatively rust free shell, which will be completely repaired with new sheetmetal where needed. The repairs will be fully welded and finished to look as original as possible with minimal filler work, in some cases body stuff will be modified slightly such as around the floor around the doghouse and such.

We have plans to modify some things on the body such as rolled pans instead of bumpers and filling the side doors instead of windows, to give it a smoother panel van look.

Front and rear suspensions are in the process of being lowered significantly and will be upgraded with a front sway bar and better shocks/springs. Disc brakes have been added to the front and we will be installing a proper master cylinder along with an adjustable proportioning valve. A brake booster could also be added if so desired.

The engine is a fully rebuilt 350, bored 30 over with flat top pistons, comp cam, dual plane intake, holley vac. secondary carb, and long tube headers. This combo should net well over 300hp but still be very streetable. A rebuilt 700r4 is bolted up behind it.

This is an ongoing project and changes from week to week. Up to this point the customer has invested a decent amount of money and keeps up to date with paying our labor as well. It would be difficult for us to quote any price without knowing what our finished goal would be.

If you could give me some idea as to what condition you would like to receive it in we can talk with the customer and try to find a price that works for everyone.

If nothing comes of it, we'll just keep pluggin away at it.

Kevin