Last Sunday I got to the Portland airport at 8:30 am to board a flight to Cincinnati. Flying standby is always rough, but this was hell. Almost three days at PDX, with a short break in between to help a friend pick up some motorcycles from craigslist, all while knowing the coolest van on earth was waiting for me a few thousand miles away. After being bumped from about twelve or so flights, I made it to JFK, took a bus to LGA, and finally caught a flight to Cincinnati.
I arrived on Tuesday night around midnight, and got a ride to my sisters place in Burlington, KY. The next morning, I got up bright, and early to make my way to the van, stopping only for breakfast at my favorite local dive, The Anchor Grill in Covington, KY. The plan was to meet at the van at noon with Ken (pirate), Beverly,Matchstick, and a handful of other SOVC vanners who I hadn't met yet. I got there a little early to let the reality of the situation sink in. I was given a van, but not just a van. A van that I had been chasing for years. A van that I know deserves to be back in vanning spotlight.
DAY 1:
Ken showed up shortly after I did in his custom Astro van. That thing means business. We shook hands, introduced ourselves in person for the first time, I had the biggest smile on my face. We walked around the van, inspecting the rust, and dammages, both of which are surprisingly minimal. The cracks along the roof are all bondo. There must be two hundred pounds of that crap up there! We walked up to the door, and then he held up a set of keys. THE KEYS! We opened up the doors after messing around with the old latches a bit, and I was able to see the current state of the interior of the van for the first time. I was blown away. Don't get me wrong, it is rough, but almost every original piece is there, and in tact at least enough to be able to recreate. The orange and brown velvet is all pretty much gone at this point. Worn down to nothing but the material underneath. There are a few spots where you can still see the original colors though. Almost all of the period electronics are in tact also. Telephone CB, Compucruise computer, and a ton of gauges and switches that control who knows what. Then we got to the engine. THE ENGINE! The legendary engine pictured in "VANS: Custom Vans in Color" boasting a mean 300HP. I now know that it is a standard 302V8, with a Holly two barrell, and Cobra valve covers. At some point it did have headman headers, but they seem to have been swapped out a while ago. The snazzy airfilter from the old photos was gone, but it didnt take long for me to snag one from the zone.
After Ken showed up, Beard, Fish, Roger, Bob, and Beverly were next. It was decided the first thing to do was get the van rolling. We got it up on jack stands, and pulled the front drivers side wheel. The brakes were frozen. Beard made quick work of that problem with a big hammer. As it turned out, that was the only wheel that was stuck. The other three we put air in, and filled the holes in the gravel so it would roll forward. We removed the front grill to get a strap over the bumper, and used Bob's van to pull the surf forward. We manouvered the van into a position that would make it so the tow truck driver could get it from the front or the back. This ended up being a great idea. After we got the van moved, we lit up a celebratory "Infinite Joint" and got a nice case of cold ones. Match showed up just in time for that part! We headed to a mexican spot down the road for lunch, and ran into Coop on the way. Match,Coop, and myself decided to head back to the van after lunch, since Coop hadn't seen it yet. We looked it over again, and again. That's when Match and myself hatched the plan to meet up early the next morning to attempt to perform a miracle. We were going to get this van to run.
DAY 2:
I got in the zone for some various fluids, and liquids that we would need, then met up with Match at the van. Ken showed up shortly after, and we got to work. We had to go back to the zone for a fuel pump, and a local shop for a used battery, but then we were set. We rigged the pump to run off of a gas can in the front seat, ran new battery cables, replaced the spark plugs, and that was pretty much it. Match bumped the battery, Ken turned the key, and there is was. She roared like a mythical beast, awoken from a long slumber, ready to ride again. Seriously. On the first try. Our minds were blown. My sister came to hang out, bringing various smokables and drinkables. We ended day two very happy, pretty baked, and full of delicious LaRosas pizza.
DAY 3:
Roger drove down again to help with the brakes. After we got the van to run, we figured it might be possible to drive it onto a trailer. No such luck. After replacing the shoes on the passenger front wheel, we realized that the master cylinder was completely siezed. No one in town had a replacement that wasn't two days out. We decided to move on to the issue of the shifter column being siezed as well. The trans shifts through all the gears smoothly, but the column itself wont budge. No luck on that front either. PB Blaster, WD-40, nothing worked. We didn't get a lot done on day three, but just wrenching with Roger was great. He also brought me a few old mags from his collection that featur Infinite Surf, including the December 1978 issue of Vans & Trucks with the full feature!
Saturday I had a lot of non vanning related activities planned, as I do have family and friends in Cincinnati that I wanted to see while I was in town. It was a good day of rest, and I got to go up to the top of Shawnee Lookout Park to see how crazy the river flood still is. Sunday morning I woke up early, got in the car, and called AAA. I met the driver, and Ken at the van, and we got to work on loading it up. This was the first time the van left that gravel lot in many many years. The truck had to get the van from the back to avoid breaking the front airdam. Remember how I said situating the van so it could be towed from either end was a good idea? Now I know! Seeing that van up on that flatbed was an amazing sight. The reality really hit me again at that point, and I think it hit Ken too. It's hard to let go of a vehicle that you have grown so attached to over the years, but I hope knowing that it is going to a new home where it will be lovingly restored, and taken care of makes it a little easier. Infinite Surf will be back on the road soon. For now it is waiting for shipping at a shop owned by a friend of mine in Cincinnati. The shippers should be ready within the next few weeks, then it will be on the way to Portland.
The plan for now is once the van arrives in Portland, I am going to focus on the engine, trans, and brake issues first. The body is solid enough to cruise how it is for a bit. As Match suggested, I am going to drive it for a little while as a running project to really get the juices flowing. I want to know how it drives now, so I can see all the improvements once it is finished. Long term plans include a full engine rebuild, complete interior restoration, a fresh paint job, and having the original murals recreated by the man himself, Ron Tessensohn, who painted the surf back in '78.
I can not thank Ken enough for giving me this van, and this chance. There is so much work to be done, but in the end it will all be worth it. I also have a ton of thanks for everyone from the SOVC that took time out to be a part of the next chapter in this van's life. 2% for life!