virgin vanner

hey guys, I bought a '68 chevy van a few months back as a graduation gift for myself. It's as old as my parents.



But at least it has primer flames.




It's kinda beat up and shitty. It either went under water in hurricane sandy or the suffolk county monsoon a few years back.

So far I've rebuilt the transmission, had the flywheel recut, installed a new clutch, and ripped out the doghouse.



I also dropped the tank, but I'm gonna need a new sender/pickup assembly.
When I pulled up the fiberglass sheets on the driver and passenger floorboards this is what i found


Needless to say that's coming out.

So my plan from here is an engine rebuild and some major steel repair, only thing is im having trouble sourcing some parts, like a clutch fork boot and the aforementioned fuel pickup. I'm also looking for a wiring diagram, i know theres one on this site, but i once saw a pdf. of the same diagram that wasn't all broken up that i'd like to see again if anyone has it.

I'll keep posting photos this week, I have questions about the shift linkage rods and their respective guides. I look forward to learning a lot from taking on this project and the guys on this site.

Stay close.

here's a few more photos to whet your appetites.





a shot of the 3 speed, sorry i dont have any shots from the rebuild. swear it happened though. had some surface rust through the enamel primer so that why it's primer/gmc orange camouflage.


this piece came with a pile of spare shit; sideview mirros, a spare heater core, 2 spare gauge clusters, mustang seats, spare battery box cover, door hinges, among other things. I'm looking for some van doors with windows for the back if anyone has them.

did I forget to mention it has corvette rally wheels?

it has corvette rally wheels.

Welcome to VV Braedon. Yea you have some rust to contend with, as most of us do as well, unfortunately. But hey!!! it's only metal. Cut away the bad and weld in some new. I'm not sure what's available for body parts, but the Chevy boys will chime in with the answers you seek. Take it slow and just focus on one piece at a time and you will have her looking good in no time.

Hi and welcome!  I'm just over in Jersey and there are a few Chevy owners on Long Island.  There are lots of donor vans around where sheet metal can be had once you hang around here and make some contacts.   Start by getting the shop manuals, (eBay, etc. is full of them) there is a supplement edition just for the early vans and the full GM truck manual for 1968, it will show the entire rebuilds for whatever is in that van. The van supplement will show the wiring diagram, you have what's know as a 2nd Generation van, 67-70 model years but not much changed mechanically from the 64-66 1st Gen models.  Others have saved vans a lot worse than you are starting out with, good luck, it will be a great experience for you.  Ask whatever you want here, no matter how big or little, someone will have an answer and/or the parts! A lot of people offer those window rear doors here all the time!

Oh, not so fast on the new sender, if the old one is intact, it may be able to be rebuilt or repaired, search the threads on this, there are several with pictures. New ones are hard to come by and there are no repros for the van tank. You can get new floats and a replacement sender part. There is a similar one for Suburbans that can be modified, but yours can probably be fixed, you can open it up by bending the little tabs back and see what's wrong with it, could just be as simple as bending the worn down contact arm so it makes contact with the resistor, test it with an ohm meter should read 90 ohms full, zero empty on a 2nd gen unit. Sometimes its not the sender at ll but the wiring to the gauge or gauge itself, there are ways to test that circuit and gauge too.

Welcome To VV..!!!.. ..You have a Nice Project there the front floor pans are pretty straight forward to replace so with a good grinder & welder they should fix that right up...Be patient and you should get all the Info and Parts you need here on this site to get the van back on the road..!!!..I think most of us here are as old as your parents maby grandparents . ..

Welcome aboard Braedon! Nice to see the younger generation taking interest in these old classics! Just the fact that you're not scared off by the rust is a good sign. Like everyone's been saying, just attack it a little at the time and soon you'll be making big progress!

Lots of helpful people on this site who love to do whatever they can to encourage others while they're working on their projects. Don't be afraid to ask anything and there is a Search tab at the top that you can use to find threads about almost anything. Good luck and keep the pics coming.

rocky69rhodes wrote:http://www.carid.com/1967-chevy-g-series-interior-parts/sherman-floor-pan-34311032.html

"Great Find"... It will save a lot of fab time and it will look way better than just a flat piece of sheet metal..!!!.

Hey thanks for the link to those panels. does anyone have a link for a dog house gasket?

welcome

Nice Rocky! Paying it forward! Love the support on this site!

I like to help just so he knows YANKEES SUCK lol

There u go =Rocky!!

you aint kidding

welcome to the site! looks like you got a great start for a great truck. lots of knowledge on this site. stick around and keep sending pics of the progress.

Welcome to the site indeed!

First off, hoooooolllyyyy... That's a lot of rust.

Best is to get the shop manuals for sure. I'll throw in my books for tomorrow, see if I remember to make some scans of the wiring harness before I go home.

That good heater core is also very good to have, your core may be toast for all you know. I'd say "Look for a drip", however you have a tad too much rust and damage to see through it. =)