Russell's '66 Sportvan Deluxe

Frank bought my old Van, he had the rear bumper done in Mexico which came out nice. I gave him my bumpers a couple of weeks ago and he brought them back yesterday.

I can't wait to see them on the Van, Hopefully tomorrow.

I've been cleaning al the lettering, handle's, lights etc. and have most of it on the Van. I'm getting real close to having it back out on the road again.

that's a nice quick turn around on the bumpers! I especially like the Super Sport emblem...nice touch!

Bumpers and most of the side trim is on.

WOW 😮 !!! Nice piece of work, Russell! That’s one Sharp looking Van...

Right on Russel! Looks killer.

It looks great! Very old school color scheme.

Way to go Russell!! Man, you really know how to get stuff done! I should get you to show me sometime!

Your Deluxe is looking good! That is quite an accomplishment, getting the whole van sanded and smoother out, by yourself! You went with the daring inverted two-tone with the darker color round the windows. You called the lighter color vanilla. In most of the photos it looks kind of tan yellow but are the lighter ones more accurate, like the close-up on the emblems? I loved that color on the straight-six in your other van.

The chrome is failing on my rear bumper. I bet they could do a better job south of the border. How could I get it done there?

Are you going to the Big 3 auto swap this weekend? The rain will be gone by then. Would you be going Friday or Saturday? (I think they’re skipping Sunday this time. The Big 2?)

I plan on going both days, I will talk to you there most likely.

The chrome looks good but not the prep. work. really wavy and bent.

Really looks great! The chrome is nice...

The van is looking great!!!

Excellent transformation!

vanny wrote:Excellent transformation!

Just a reminder, how it was.........


"We are people who have a vision"

Always happy to see another van rescued and restored! (Especially a Deluxe!)

Most of you know Jacke repaired a steering wheel for my Van fixing all the cracks and filling in some broken spots.

I did a little more sanding and coated it with a sealer before spraying it with the first color to match the van. (French Vanilla)

I also did the plate frames I had.

I was going to keep it mostly Vanilla and brown top and bottom but decided that would be too bright for me, it would also reflect off that Flat windshield.
So I taped off the small areas and painted it the darker color. (Mojave brown)


I also taped off some of the plate frame and finished the lettering with a brush, That wasn't easy for me, small lettering and not a very steady hand.


I also got the license light cover painted and installed today.

That looks great, Russell! Love that Felix the cat plate surround.

Beautiful paint job! And that cap looks familiar and beautiful as well.
I really like the color scheme,

Nicely done!! And isn’t it great to be at that stage of the project where you’re doing these finishing touches?!

Looks awesome Russel. What's the significance of the plate frame? Is that the van's original dealer?

samsvan wrote:Looks awesome Russel. What's the significance of the plate frame? Is that the van's original dealer?

Thanks everyone.

The plate frame is from a Dealership in L.A. that's been there for years. I found the frames at a swap meet and liked them.
( I wish they were on 1st & main) Too many little letters.

What do you all think, should I paint the license plates?
The rear one is OK but the front one is really rough.
Or leave them original?

You obviously have the skills to paint them, I'd go for it.

Either way would look fine...you should do whatever pleases you! you've done a Fantastic job with this van and I'm sure you can make those plates come to life again too!

I'm getting the inside of the doors and interior painted, I also added some material to the top and bottom of the door panel.

Before, notice how the bottom has shoe marks from holding the door.

Now, the chrome strip at the bottom came from the original panel.
I wish I would have kept the chrome strip from the long panel in the back, I could have cut it down and used it on the upper part of the front doors.

Big improvement!! And now you’ve determined why the bottoms of the stock panels were so mutilated on the bottom!

I have the chrome strip from my van’s long panel. About 10” of it was cut out for a speaker. I am currently searching for an intact piece. If you help me find one, you can have mine!

Russell wrote:What do you all think, should I paint the license plates?
The rear one is OK but the front one is really rough.
Or leave them original?

Since you can now get black plates from DMV I say leave em as is, most people seem to really be into the original CA plates.