Hey Everyone! I decided to start a readers rides thread to document some of the progress on the van. A lot of this may be in no particular order since I have been working on this project for over 10 years and a lot of the work was DONE out of order haha!
This project started with a trip to the "Cruisin" car show in Ocean City MD where I saw an Early Ford Econoline pickup on a Bronco chassis with really big tires. It was flat black with moon disc hubcaps and really had "the look". I spoke to the owner for awhile and he gave me a few insights into the body-on-chassis swap. I decided to go this route and sell off the cars I'd accumulated for the project so far. (started with a '74 VW bus and an '88 Blazer... See? Out of Order!)
There was no title for the Blazer or the bus either so the plan was to start over. A guy at work ended up selling me a '87 K-10 pickup for $800 which I was able to drive home and drive around a bit before taking it apart. (Seen the prices of square body chevy's now?? I should have just kept it and fixed it up hahah)
The K-10 was stripped to the frame (cab, bed, fenders, etc.. were given to another guy locally who was restoring one) and the van was found on Ebay out of North Carolina I think. The seller of the van was headed to MD anyway so he delivered it in exchange for the brand new rally wheels and BFG's it had on it and I also gave him the VW bus as a donation to the charity he was working for.
The van rolled but didn't run and condition of pretty much everything was unknown. It had spent many years in a barn. My dad and I got the engine running before giving it away to someone who used it in a boat maybe? (memory is a little fuzzy now..) the rest of the van running gear came out too and was offered up to anyone who could use it.
A friend from work recommended a guy who builds rock crawling buggies to do the fabrication work joining the body and chassis. I got it back looking like this:
[img]
https://ibb.co/D9xWTzM[/img].
Right now it looks much the same from the outside, but the inside is coming along. I need a new dipstick tube, exterior mirrors, electric fan to be secured, and a few others odds and ends before going for the maiden voyage on a public road. I've driven around the yard a few times but that's just not the same.
I'll post updates here as I go through the pictures and remember the stories that go with them. If anyone has questions feel free to ask. My background includes time spent as a mechanic on boats and cars, and I ran a small service department for awhile also acting as a State Inspector so I know my way around vehicles. this is the first one I have built basically from the ground up though, so there was a lot to learn and keep learning. Tons of awesome info here and thanks to everyone who provides it!