What are you up to?

Russell, is that a new project or did you do a repaint of your van? Either way, I love both versions!

This is the '66 GMC I bought a few months ago.
I still Love my Chevy just the way it is.

Man you do Really nice work Russell...Are you selling the GMC??? She's a Beauty!!!

Just looking for anyone with knowledge to swap a 6 cylinder engine with a 327 v8 in my 65 HandiVan.
Pics of modified doghouse in particular

Bug this is a good place to start. Russell has lots of good info and pic's of his projects.

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t60342-russell-s-66-gmc-handivan

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t52103-russell-s-66-sportvan-deluxe

WELCOME TO VINTAGE-VANS !!!!

Just checking in . I've been sidetracked by a 74 B100 for a couple years now. Just wrapping up some basic interior lighting now on it. Still driving the 65 Chevy as weather allows and won't be long now and it'll be daily season for a few months. I'd post some pics but I have to figure that out again now. So used to using the phone I've forgotten some basics on the PC. LOL

Bought myself an early Christmas present for the Van Cave!


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looking onto some kind of vinyal ship scene for the outside of the van. cant afford airbrush scene. wrap/sticker not whole side maybe 3/4 quaterpanel

Stared doing some(More) rust repair on the 64 GO.  
A little Moe Better

More fun with rusted metal. 1st piece of (new)drivers side floor pan.

Tom, you’re rising up to the challenge! Looks great man !!!

More Fun with rust repair

pic of wheel lip repair(2nd try, still not right)

Well, where do I begin... (Yeah, this is going to be long!)

Let me go back to "GMan". After Chris's passing my life slowed considerably since I was also dealing with the "Big C" and was not able to do much for a couple of years Chris was my goto because he, at that point had been dealing with his cancer for some time and was my voice of positivity up until he passed.  I took that hard since he was a good friend and made my next few years more stressful. I eventually recovered, after going it alone and never told my friends and family. Clear of any signs by 2016 I took a vacation back home to Upper Michigan (Marquette) for a long overdue break from the last few years.
As my luck would have it I got bit by a couple of Deer ticks that carried "Lyme Disease" and after returning to Florida began feeling very ill. Doctors in Florida are not in any way experienced with Lyme disease, so I was treated for all the symptoms individually and the thought of Lyme never crossed my mind either. After a year it started attacking all my internal organs and I was finally properly diagnosed with "Extreme Late Stage Lyme Disease" meaning even my blood was deemed "bad". In 2020 after 3-years of treatments, 3 transfusions, and experimental chemo (which all but bankrupted me since no medical Insurance will cover "experimental" anything). However, the chemo killed the Lyme disease very quickly so I was thankful for that although the damage it did still remains.
As a result, I now have a permanent body temp of 99.2 degrees. This of course was a problem with Florida's 10 months of the year being 90+ degrees with 80% humidity year-round. The humidity seemed to actually play a bigger part in causing my overheating. However, moving north for cooler temperatures meant moving back into "Tick Country". I looked at Maine, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and of course Michigan... After a considerable about of searching and realizing that properties were selling faster than I could fly up from Florida to see them, I decided, If I am going to do this, "I might as well go home!" Sooooo, in May 2022 I packed up everything, made 3 trips from Florida to Michigan, and put everything into storage in Traverse City and rented a place in Lake City while I searched.
After a year of searching and driving all over the state, I finally found a place in Escanaba, Michigan (a Lake Michigan Port Town), and closed on the property on May 1st, 2023.   It took me several trips downstate to move everything I own from storage up to the new place and finished getting everything here on July 1st...

I am currently unpacking boxes and totes daily. My health is still not 100% but slowly improving so I have to pace myself accordingly and try not to overdo it since I overheat very quickly!

So it's, "One day at a time" and with the temps here being in the mid 70's all summer and the constant breeze off of Lake Michigan (5 min away) I do feel far more comfortable here.
I figure by next spring I will be settled in and be back to being more active on here as I start working on the 65 G10 and other new projects...


Hope all is well with everyone and you all are having an awesome summer!

~Dan
(DanTheVanMan)

Wow Dan, sounds like a lot of miserable years for you!
I’m so happy to hear that you’re on the mending side now.
I think working on your van and other projects will be good medicine for you!
Welcome back and go easy for a while!

Just checking in, now that I've got internet again. It's not fast enough for streaming but at least I can get on here, etc. Weird thing happened recently with the Kermit mobile, 69 A108 tradesman. For years the temp gauge would peg right when engine got to 180 (slant 6) and the fuel gauge stayed to the left. Since I had a temp gauge on the radiator + an infrared thermometer and regularly filled it I didn't care much, because it runs so good. Anyway, after going back home from a free cruise in where I got a spectators choice award (thanks to the kids who like forward control vans) + a gift certificate from a restaurant as door prize, both gauges starting working on their own, have no idea why. Don't know how long it will last but I wish every mechanical issue on anything I got would do that.

Unfortunately the bullet hole in the side of the van has not filled itself in yet. I'd sue or charge the shooter if I knew who it was, but I guess I should just be thankful no one was in it at the time.

I would take a resistance reading on the temperature sender when it reads normal so if the gauge acts up you can tell if the sender resistance changed,,,,,however, Dodge uses a current limiter in its fuel gauge and it sends power to run the temperature gauge so you might check the wire from the temp gauge to the fuel gauge if you got that system,,,,,,and where are you,,,,,Dayton?