Bronc Shine Express

Today was the first step in this build. I loaded my newly acquired Vonage van on a trailer and brought it to a media blaster. The basic inspiration for this build is the Vango however certain body modifications, running gear and paint scheme decisions will be my personal choices. This is a long term project that I estimate will take me 5 years. The last 2 cars I built took me 7 1/2 and 5 years respectively so I know what a build entails. Now that I think I have figured out how to post pictures I will update this thread as the project progresses.

Your Van already has a unique history! Congrats and Thanks for sharing your build with us...Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Thnx 4 da pic!

WoW, the WB looks shrunk.
(I guess not lookin @ vanny's)
Know what it is? 100, 110 inch?

(BTW - Vanny...did U C the early econo for sale FB Mrktplace this summer n. of Quabin?)

These are shorties, 90in wheelbase...Yes, I probably did see the one near the Quabbin...when you do all the Econo listings, you see so many, they all kind of blend but if I saw a picture of it, I could tell you for sure if I've seen it or not!

uumph, my bronk is 96 inches.

Yeah, I think it wuz black, lrger motor, some 1 w/health problems lettin it go (?$1,800?) drive line unassembled? I remember 1 thing, he'd not gotten the dog house on the bent8 yet... 8^0

I finally got the van back from the media blaster today. Sheet metal is in great shape considering it is 57 years old, very solid. Time to sand and prime

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!!! Happy to hear that you didn't get any big surprises.

Any Color in mind? Perhaps two-tone?

Please keep the progress pics coming...Because if there are no pics, it never happened...LOL! Score!

I could be wrong on this(wouldn't be the first time and certainly won't be the last) but one thing I've noticed since I've been on this site for a while now, is that there seems to be "pockets" of areas that have strong interest in saving these Vintage Vans...

Obvious Warm weather sites such as California of course, Texas and the Zona! Pacific NW, Tennessee and surrounding areas, Florida. And then you have the cold weather areas like New Jersey, New England and the Mid West and southern Canada who don't get to enjoy them year round but who appreciate the Fun they have with them during the warmer months. Then there are pockets across the pond in England and Germany as well!

Seems like there's been a resurgence of interest as of late and many people using them as advertising for their businesses as well! I Love the Passion and dedication of these Enthusiasts and the Comradery of Vanners everywhere!!! Keep on Vannin'!!!

A lot of us(Old Guy's ,or Gal's) its the 2nd time around for the Van Craze.
Or maybe there Parents were into vans when they were kids??(seen a lot of that lately)
Just hope they don't Cut all the savable ones that are left ,for parts for  there easy fix .

Base color will be "Plum Crazy", it will be a panel style paint job. This van is predominantly for my business, Bronc Shine. My signature product is a detail spray that is purple, hence the color choice. I won't be painting this for a number of years as this is a BIG and involved build, feels great to get started on it.

That's a Great story! I will definitely be following this thread...Enjoy the ride!

Guys,
I am deconstructing this van. I have many parts that I will not reuse. In addition, the seller gave me a ton of extra parts. If there is something you need let me know and it is yours for the taking. The one catch is that I am in Middletown, NJ and I am not going to ship stuff so if you want something you are going to have to figure out how to get it.

To make room in garage to work on Bronc Shine Express I finally finished the Cushman. Wanted to take it for first ride but brake issues "She No Stop"

If the van comes out half as nice as the Cushman, I can't wait to watch the progress!

NICE Cushman. What year is it??

1947

I just finished my '61 BMW R60/2, I used left over paint from when I painted Van. Are you going to paint your Van red and white to match the Cushman?

No, base color of van will be Mopar "Plum Crazy"

That’s gonna look way cool!!!

So what was inside the Vonage Van? Was it just bare and only themed on the exterior?

The only thing inside the Vonage Van was an ECHO..ECHO..ECHO..

thebronc4019 wrote:The only thing inside the Vonage Van was an ECHO..ECHO..ECHO..

Yeah mine was the same and driving it around to paint shops and such it was like an empty tin can.

I got started on the body of the van today. If I can avoid it I prefer not to sand in my garage because it makes a mess. My driveway is very steep so I formulated a system whereby I had a core driller cut a 6 inch hole in the back of the garage floor. I then cemented a square steel column in the hole with about a foot sticking out. Utilizing an old winch from a boat trailer, I made up an assembly that fits over the column. The winch cable is connected to the van and it is lowered out of the garage onto the steep driveway far enough to close the garage door. Once the van is outside I close the door and do the dirty work. After I complete sanding I reverse the polarity on the winch and drag it back into the garage for priming. Got the first section done today, PROGRESS! Would like to have van completely sanded and primed by the end of the month, that is an ambitious expectation. Happy Easter

Bronc, I love your McGyver setup with the winch! Thinking out of the box can make tasks a whole lot simpler sometimes!
Nice piece of work!!! Good luck with the rest and keep the updates coming...we live for this stuff! I’m going to try to straighten out the pictures so we can see them better...

After I got the van back from the media blaster I stripped all of the mechanicals from it. Once that was complete it was time to sand and prime the entire exterior. I broke it up into 11 sections. I could only work on good weather days because the job causes too much dust and dirt in the garage. This was a very labor intensive and dirty job. Over the last 2 months I spent a total of 53 hours sanding and priming and now it is DONE! Next up is some sheet metal replacement of the driver's side wheelhouse and back left corner. No idea why image is rotated. I messed with it for 20 minutes but not wasting anymore time on it, turn your head :  




I just opened it up with Microsoft Paint, rotated it and saved the change.  
Sometimes I've seen when pictures are taken with phones, they get rotated when importing them, so it's pretty quick to open them in Paint and just rotate them...(Vanny)