Recycling a 65 sportvan custom.

Only if I had time to make them lol. My own van keeps me busy enough. I'm more than willing to email the cut files to anyone willing to attempt the tank on their own. Thanks guys. I was worried it would stick down too much. I did learn an interesting thing, for each inch in height I gained 2.5 gallons. Had I seen what it looked like I might have made it 1 inch taller. The goal is to be able to drive from San Diego to Vegas on one tank. That's plenty of time to be in any car let alone a 48 year old van with no A/C. Lol

Dirtstar1 wrote:Only if I had time to make them lol. My own van keeps me busy enough. I'm more than willing to email the cut files to anyone willing to attempt the tank on their own. Thanks guys. I was worried it would stick down too much. I did learn an interesting thing, for each inch in height I gained 2.5 gallons. Had I seen what it looked like I might have made it 1 inch taller. The goal is to be able to drive from San Diego to Vegas on one tank. That's plenty of time to be in any car let alone a 48 year old van with no A/C. Lol

Great work Great tread Dirtstar, I'm up in Clairmont (Bay Park) if you ever need a hand! By the way that's why they call it 60 at 60. (60 degrees @ 60 mph) but of course on the Las Vegas run it would be 110 @ 60 LOL!

Thanks for the offer leftcoast65, I may take you up on that. 60/60 A/C would mean my van is driving. Ill take that! Lol

Nice work Dirtstar, it won't be long now!

Thanks vanny, I'm pushing pretty hard to get it running but I'm trying to not cut any corners. I hate going backwards.

Didn't get much time. To work on the van. I did start the sender and fuel pick up

Custom!

WOW Thats Vantastic bro! Youre kickin its butt big time! LOVE IT!

Question for you chevy guys, if I was going to put an automatic trans in my van, what would I get the steering column out of? Is there anything other than an early van that has a direct fit? Anyone got an automatic steering column they'd like to sell?

Will a 67 van column fit in a 65?

check with member Bear he was selling one

Can anyone tell me what the spare tire holder looks like? Is it a threaded bolt with a big nob. Or a stud with a wing nut?

I couldn't hold out anymore. After reassembling the throttle linkage it was time to go for the first drive on its own power since  the 90's. without a gas tank, belly pan doghouse lid or air cleaner, this was to be my first driving experience with a 1965 cab forward van. First thing I noticed is the carter carb is cold blooded and likes to feel the manifold heat before giving way with any throttle. After a little warm up idle I put the van in gear. This is the first time I've driven a 3 on the tree since high school. Not remembering where first was I pushed the lever up and slowly slid the clutch out. No go? I put the lever straight down, no go! Something's locked up. At this point what do I have to lose? So I bumped the clutch in forward and reverse until the rear brakes freed up from being too tight. Timidly I slid the clutch till the tired old van was moving on her own. Towards the end of the alley I applied some brakes to make sure all my hard work was good enough to stop the old girl. The sportvan custom stopped great. In all actuality; with a little tuning on the brake adjuster she will feel pretty modern in the stopping department. Leaving the safety of the alley, I rolled onto the gas. At this point the thermostat opened up and the little van turned into a convection oven. The carb was sweating around the gaskets and 48 year old crud was burning off the block. That was the smell of success boys! We made it out of the alley and into second gear. At this point I circumnavigated   The block and back in the driveway I went. I have to admit. She rides pretty nice. Looking past all the spare parts in the back clanging around, all the smells and the heat, I think she will be really fun when she is all put together. Thank you guys for all your help. Your insights trial and errors have got me going in a short time. 

Officially parked in the driveway under her own power.
  

How she got around the block with no tank
 

Oh last but not least I got the wheels back from powder coat. White with gold green and blue shimmer. 


All and all a successful day.

 Totally Cool !!!

Thanks for sharing that! The maiden voyage was an Resounding Success! Congrats Man! Those wheels look like a million bucks! Nice detailed description, like we were right there with you remembering our excitement of that first drive! Vantastic!

That little drive was a good motivator. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the van.

I have the same rims on my 66

Hi Dirtstar! Welcome to the San Diego two-tone Sportvan club! I am in the Bay Park area too. Where are you at?

I was out of town when you got your van and I only just now discovered this thread. Man, you are in high gear on this project!!! Amazing progress. 

I woke up and couldn't sleep so I thought I would post a quick hello. Lots to talk about. If you haven't seen my van's thread, check it out here.

Nice to meet you vanagain, I read your thread and that is one fantastic build! Your van looks great. I'm not sure ill be building to that level but ill sure try. 

Question. How did the 1/2 thick insulation work out in the doghouse? Did it make that much difference?

The insulation really helped. I haven't done the lid yet, just the dog house itself. (Plus it has that masonite underneath the foam, in the recessed areas.) When you knock your knuckles on the metal it sounds solid and dull. I've read that the main thing for noise is to add mass to the metal, and the 1/2" foam really did that. And while driving, it doesn't feel hot at all, compared to the uninsulated lid, which is very uncomfortable to the touch!
 
However, I would not recommend this insulation product. I don't recall the name, I picked it up at an auto swapmeet. The foam is fine, nice and dense, but the foil is extremely thin. I had an exhaust leak at the donut and it blasted the foil away (the foam held up fine!). I spray mounted heavy duty tin foil there and that's been good. But now the rest of the foil is just falling off the foam. Take a look at this piece that's never even been on the van. It got this way just sitting in my garage for a few years!
 

 
Another thin about the thicker foam: It takes up more space. And there ain't much space in some areas to begin with, like in front of the radiator, where you might need to squeeze in an electric fan. Also, no matter how thin your insulation, don't put any where the sides of the radiator touch the walls of the dog house. In mine, anyway, it was a very tight squeeze and I had to cut away the insulation to get it to slide in.
 
I say, you can use cheaper insulation everywhere else in the van, to reduce noise, but the doghouse derserves the good stuff. Stuff like Dynamat and Second Skin are a lot more expensive,  but that stuff is so thin! Then I see people using Peel & Seal from Lowes, at a fraction of the cost. But they are more concerned about sound than heat (loud stereos). Not sure what to use on the lid...

Good to know. I'd sure like to see your van in person. It looks great in pics. I've been doing some research on insulation, the tin layer is supposed to reflect radiant heat. The thick foam layer is supposed to absorb it. The two together are great protection. I found some other stuff that really looks stock. It has 3 layers of tin and a 1/2" of fiberglass mat behind it. I'm also thinking of covering the outside of the doghouse in a carpet with insulation, then leather wrapping the lid with aphoustry foam  under the leather. I'm sure I have the same goal as you. I want the engine to be least obtrusive to the passenger compartment.

Mounted my tires today. New wheels and tires sure help the eye sore look a little more appealing to the nieghbors. 

Much nicer! Your doing some great work there Dirtstar! Before you know it, It'll be the pride of the neighborhood!!! Hell, I'd be proud of it just the way it sits now!

Question for all. I live about a block from the beach. If you walk around the neighborhood and look at all the cars new or old the top sections of all the cars start to rust through after a few years of being here. I'm thinking of sanding my roof to bare metal and covering the roof with a few coats of por15. I only say por15 because we have a store on the east coast and they swear by it. I've seen their results and it really works. My goal would be to use the por15 as a rust barrier before I paint the van. And honestly ill prolly do all my raw metal work repair in por15 as I start to pick off rust sections. Any thoughts?

Next question, when you guys do disk brakes, are you adding a proportioner valve to the existing drum brake master? Or are you changing out the master to the disk brake version?

I've used POR15 for the suspension parts under my truck and they still look like new, that was several years ago.  That being said, I can't help but wonder if regular epoxy primer would not be enough to protect the roof under the paint. I would also replace the calk used in the drip edge prior to sealing the roof. I've been doing my A100 body work and have done just that and fully expect the van will probably out live me when it's done. Again, this is just my opinion and what aproach was. Scott...