Samvans '66 handibus

The color? I don't know if anyone's done it but I was thinking about painting it like the Mystery Machine!!! Just kidding. I'm back and forth.. It's hot in Fla. so a light color is a must. I'm thinking either silver with some lime green pinstriping or maybe white with a charcoal raccoon stripe and red pinstriping. I don't have wheels picked out yet either.

Here's a couple of my favorites...

Twin, I already got my kingpins from Rare parts, Inc. They have the bronze bushings. Joe and Vanny, thanks for the pic's. I'm really digging that silver one. Maybe add a charcoal strip around the windows. Here's the rims I'm thinking about. http://www.wheelsforless.com/TW695-777861C
I might do all chrome or maybe grey spokes. Still have to get it running first though...

IMO Billski's silver Sportsvan is by far the Nicest & Cleanest one I have seen and is my favourite..!!!..I am seriously thinking this colour scheme for my van (minus the lettering) you can use the same body lines but use Silver & Charcoal instead that would really look "Sharp".. .

I have the very same drive train in my 68 108 and I love it
only open the lid to change oil and it is my daily driver!!!!!!!

Making progress a little at a time. We got the rear bumper fit. It's off a '69 Camaro and I think it fits perfect. It definitely took some fabrication though. One down, one to go. I also got a different set of rear doors. Mine were too wrinkled to get straight. I have to thank Joe Van for tirelessly posting links to parts for sale. Here's a couple pics of the bumper.

Looks Really Good Sam those bumpers look right at home and might be are only option in the future since the 1st gen original ones are so hard to find and those doors are defiantly workable the wife and I are talking about visiting again to check out the vans progress in person and go back to that "Beach Bar" we will make a weekend out of it this time..!!!... ...It looks like the bumper is D.A. sanded are you going to paint them or get them re-chromed.???

Joe, you and the wife are welcome any time. There's a lot more places I'd like to show you by boat. The bumpers though, it will probably cost me too much to get them perfect enough to chrome so I'm probably going to paint them. We'll see though. They sure would look nice chromed. The doors in the pictures are actually the ones I'm replacing. It would have cost me more to fix those than it did to buy the replacements. So if anyone needs a set of wrinkly doors, I got you covered.

Front bumper done. My guy filled all the bolt holes and welded nuts on the inside of the bumper to attach to. Nice, huh?

Looks Great Sam!! Nice and smoooooooth!

Looks great Sam. Are the bolts welded to backside or to a plate that's welded to backside of bumpers? Pics if you have any would be great. Thinking of doing this as well, when the time comes.

I had to go back and check. He welded threaded "studs" to the back of the bumper that go through holes in the brackets he modified. The nuts go on from the inside. I took a picture but you couldn't see anything in it.

Ok... thanks anyway. Gives me some ideas none the less. I definitely like that smooth look.

Nice job , the front door must just clear the bumper when opened

Yeah, the way the hinges are, the door actually swings back and out away from the end of the bumper. I can fit my whole finger in between them when opening the door. We still have to make the end brackets for the front and fill the holes in the rear bumper too.

Plugging along, literally. We welded up all the extra holes in the body like the antenna and side emblem holes. Bumpers are done enough to paint or powder coat. Body work pretty much done.
A guy brought a '71 Camaro into the shop for a full power train swap and he might sell me his wheels and tires. They're almost brand new. What do you think?


I think I might want a little more sidewall. We're going to lower it some too. From what I've learned here, I'm not going to do the axle flip. I'm thinking about raising the leaf spring perches. Has anyone tried this? I'm only talking a couple inches and it looks doable.

They look good on there Sam almost looks like the New style Mustang rims on the wifes 07 Mustang almost like a torque thrust rim.. you can always get a taller profile tire for those rims but they look good the way they are.. .The van is coming along nicely "Looking Good"

The rims look nice, but I would also go with more side wall as well. I have seen wheels like this on other trucks at car shows, and they look great when the vehicle is in the weeds. But at the height these vans were meant to be at...I think those wheels make the van look like it's running on just the rims. It's almost like they were meant to be up inside a wheel well. I guess I'm kinda old school/old kool. But once you lower it a bit they may just fill out nicely. And as many will tell you...You need to be happy with it first. Your van is looking good...and keep up the great work.

Getting my front end lowered a little. The guys moved the leaf spring perches up and got everything tacked in place. Nothing drastic but I think it's going to look good. We did end up flipping the leaf springs on the rear end. That lowered it a good five inches so we're going to have to add leafs or air bags to bring it up a little. I want a little bit of rake when it's done.
Here's some pic's of the progress.

Once everything's buttoned up with the suspension, I'll try to get some better pic's of what all we did. For the most part, here's what it's going to sit like with my new wheels and tires. I got 8x18 wheels all around (4 1/2" backspace) and for tires, 245/45r18's on the front and 255/45r18's on the back. I think they're staggered pretty good and I got the rake I was after. Check it out...

I kind of hated the wheels I bought so I'm going to change them to these Boss 18"x8"'s.

I decided to restore my pop-out windows today. I started with six frames - four from my van and a couple of extras I picked up. I should be able to get four good ones in the end. All the clips are good and I'll try to chrome them all so I'll have a couple of extras to get rid of when they're done. Two of the frames are rusted on the bottom but possibly salvageable. The rubber is actually a one piece gasket and I'll have three extras of those.
I was able to unscrew nine out of twenty four of the screws that hold the frames to the clips. For a microscopic fifty year old screw, I thought that was pretty good. I drilled the rest out to remove the frames. The clips with the frozen screw ends are soaking in PB Blaster until I try to extract them.
Before I do something stupid, the clips have a few rivets holding all the pieces together. I have to disassemble them to chrome them so I'm wondering if I or someone else can re-rivet these things with the proper rivets. They're definitely not aluminum, they're chromed steel. If it's too much of a PITA, I'll just paint the clips.
Here's some pics of what I'm talking about. Thanks for any advice.

We finally started my van up last week. The wiring was a bear but it runs good. I have to get the exhaust done still but I'm hoping I'll be ready for paint in a week or two. I decided to install a remote transmission cooler and an external engine oil cooler so they still have to go in. I got the cable operated throttle and shifter in and they both work great. I'm so freaking glad for this forum and all of the ideas and advice that are shared here. Thank you guys and here's some pic's.

Congrats Looking "Great" Sam It all will be worth it once you are cruising the highways gonna be one "Sweet" ride when you are done we cant wait to see it ...!!!....Great job on the throttle I like the adjustable rod a lot what was the length of the cable and if you dont mind the part number I have to do mine ASAP does it pull from the rear of the throttle body or is it in front like a push style set up.??..More pictures Please..I figured you be getting antsy to drive it by now it will be well worth the wait the rims look Great also do I see Electric steering too..?? ...!!!.. ..Keep Us Posted...!!!... ..

I got everything from Jegs. The throttle cable is 6' - part #555-15706 and the one for the shifter is 11' - part #555-15711. The throttle pulls from the rear and I just have to hook up the kick down cable and that's done. And yes, the electric power steering is in and working. We still need to fabricate a cover for it. Besides the external engine oil and trans. fluid coolers, I also bought a 3 wire o2 sensor kit. Just a few things left to do and then it's time for paint. I'm mocked up for A.C. but I'll have to wait 'till spring for that. Not to jinx myself but this bitch WILL be ready for Nat's...