Thought I'd continue this showcase thread...finally completed the interior using a light grey silver oak paneling from Lowe's, some indoor outdoor carpet and a bunch of plastic trim. Roof is plastic wainscot, also from Lowe's. Roof is insulated with two layers of silver foil bubble foam, walls have a spun wool carpet underlay (previous owner installed with lots of glue so I left it) Doors are filled with white fiberglass and floor has 3/4" plywood over a layer of bubble foil. Coat hooks came from an old office coat pole, screws are mostly white coated screen door self drilling types. Wheel wells, doghouse and fuel neck are covered with black carper used for speaker cabinets, glues on with spray glue. Panel edges use plastic edging, I opted for angled cuts at the rounded corners, what else can you do? I used a heavy 1/2" door edge guard where the paneling meets the wheel wells and front pillars, (Trick to this stuff is to heat it first under hot running water to soften it and it slips right onto the curves). A previous owner paneled this van and cut away the rear corner curves that protect the tail lights from cargo damage, helps make a square interior, but removed support for spare so I added a bracket from an old generator wheel kit as a tire bump stop for the spare. Spare tire is on a vintage 15 x 7 rally wheel with a plastic re-pro cap and new beauty ring to dress it up, may go to a vinyl tire cover, but this looks cooler. Jack and accessories are stored in bins found at home center. A few thoughts on paneling....I really like the look of clean painted exposed sheet metal interiors, but to do that you need a pristine body and a shop to do that kind of restoration. My van was a good deal but the the interior had been done several times with many holes, the aforementioned hacking of the corner braces and all kinds of old glues and mastics on the interior surfaces, dents in the wheel wells and doghouse, even a few bullet holes! (I was told a dairy farm owned this van) Lacking a shop, I opted to cover all the flaws with a paneled interior. On the other hand, it captures the old school look of paneling which was the thing to do back in the day with these vans and I'm very pleased with the result! And now onto the pictures!
Old coat pole hooks, plastic grab handles:
Tire support bracket
Speakers built in behind seats:
Original door straps re-used:
Hidden Battery Cover, small flap over finger holes for removal, barely noticeable:
Front area, shown before but for any newbies:
Glovebox artwork matches exterior theme:
So there you have it! Now its on to the final mechanic issues, getting my radiator boiled out, replacing gas tank sender (have in hand, just need winter to end!) and a pro clutch job! Looking for good shops in my area, found one that always has old Vette's, 57' Chevys and muscle cars inside so I figure they can work on an old van! Hope this gives others some ideas on how to do interior. I may re-paint the exposed metal around the doors a light gray instead of the black, too much contrast with the paneling or does it compliment the black wheel wells and seats? a few other thoughts, if you panel or add any kind of interior finish, the factory ribs are not wide enough to catch screws from both sides of a joint, I added some 2" x 3" "cleats" made of sheet metal screwed to the ribs first to provide screw points. Also, I used small deck corner braces at the floor and rear corners to screw every thing together and make it removable should I ever need to service a light wire back there! I did not opt for a hard built bed or cabinets as this van is being used a an equipment hauler for my musical act and light hauler for flea market finds. Should I ever camp in it, a blow up double air mattress will suffice! another thing I noticed in pics, you can see my twin 4" speakers behind the grill opening for the front speakers of the radio. I made a baffle from a scrap of masonite. They sound fine, you don't need a lot of separation for stereo with the rear speakers and I have a Clarion powered sub under the drivers seat too! Good solution for where to put the front speakers without cutting holes in doors or adding under dash boxes...
by Vantasia Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:58 am
..I think people are sick of looking at the same camaro, chevells, and mustangs, at the show's theses day's and enjoy something different ....I get the same reaction and I draw more people than some of the high dollar car's do with my Early..I got a people choice trophe with over 125 cars and trucks a few weeks ago at one of our Saturday night cruizes... 
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