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Posted By: MobileCustoms '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 25th 2017 2:56 pm
Hi everyone, figured I should start a real thread for my van here, since I was dragging on in the welcome new members forum.

Anyways, I bought this '78 Street Van in July of 2016 here in Minnesota on whim one day. I was on my lunch break looking through Craigslist because I had been wanting another van for a while. I saw the add for this van and it had just been placed a few minutes before I logged on. The van happened to be only 15 mins from my place so I dropped what I was doing and drove there to look at it. The minute I saw those sweet Street Van emblems, and the 4 speed on the floor with limited slip suregrip I was hooked. So I bought it!
It was a great addition to my [very] small stable of Mopars.

I started working on it right away and ordered up the necessary patch panels to take care of the rusted areas. The underside and structure of the van was in really great shape.
As far as i can tell, it is a real street van though there is no metal tag on the firewall like the ones i have seen posted. It had the original paint job and had never been painted anywhere at all. It had the mirror screw holes for the street van style mirrors and no evidence of re-drilling the doors for the street van emblems.
There was only one metal tag on the firewall but it's not really behind the battery. Maybe the '78s were different?
-Doug

Anyways, here's some pics:

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Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 25th 2017 3:03 pm
And the latest photos, with a fresh paint job just a couple of weeks ago.

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Posted By: Dyno_Dave Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 25th 2017 4:25 pm
Great work. Thanks for the photos. I would not have been able to pass up a shorty Dodge Street Van with 4 on the floor.
Posted By: Rusty Pancelode Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 25th 2017 4:44 pm
Wow!
Nice work!
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 27th 2017 5:48 pm
Behold: The Love Taxi! Got the vinyl wrap installed yesterday and took it to a little car show/cruise-in immediately afterwards. Still gotta put the door handles and some other stuff back on but it still got a great reception and lots of people wanted pictures of it. It sure does change it up!





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Posted By: lukester Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 28th 2017 4:52 am
Wow, that is wicked cool. cheers
Posted By: Bblintpicker Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 28th 2017 9:45 am
Oh man those graphics are really cool!
Posted By: Dyno_Dave Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 28th 2017 6:17 pm
They came out great! A long time family friend does graphics, and I had thought about asking him to crate some vinyl for my van. Had second thoughts, but I think this has sold me on the idea. Thanks for posting these.
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - May 29th 2017 9:00 pm
Thanks, it sure is getting a lot of attention everywhere I drive it!
Posted By: nextinline Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 10th 2017 7:38 pm
Your van look's awesome! Great job.
Posted By: newkirkinc1 Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 11th 2017 12:42 am
Awesome!
Posted By: StabbinCabin Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 11th 2017 7:30 pm
Very nice! I'm also in Minnesota working on a 77 Chevy shorty. Hope to see you around!
Posted By: Rusty Pancelode Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 11th 2017 10:59 pm
That looks great!
Posted By: Greenstreak Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 12th 2017 3:20 am
The wrap is cool and unique, but man that van looked good in the fresh black paint!
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 22nd 2017 4:07 pm
Put about 300 miles on the van last weekend and it was a big hit everywhere we went. This is such a fun vehicle to have!

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Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - June 30th 2017 1:56 pm
Originally Posted by StabbinCabin
Very nice! I'm also in Minnesota working on a 77 Chevy shorty. Hope to see you around!


That would be cool to see ya around! Are you going to the Chariots of The Gods show?
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 11th 2017 3:57 pm
I just bought a 1988 Dodge Extended van for parts that I can use on my '78. I will be parting this van out as it is really rusty underneath and not safe in my opinion. But the interior is in near MINT CONDITION.
Things I intend to keep from the '88:

-Front Captain's chairs
-Everything A/C-related
-Driver's side pop-out window (if it will fit my slider door)
-Cargo door pop-out windows
-Inside visors
-Front seat belts and enough from the rear to fit my van's rear loveseat.
-Front doors hardware and trim pieces
-Glove box liner
-various inside lighting fixtures

Most of the other things will be up for grabs at some point, if anyone is interested. Even the carpeting is in great shape!
Here's a video walk-through of the van:

https://youtu.be/uzxHQ0C7Zho

Posted By: Reed Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 11th 2017 6:05 pm
If the weatherstripping on the big rear cargo door is in good shape I would be interested in it.
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 11th 2017 6:51 pm
Originally Posted by Reed
If the weatherstripping on the big rear cargo door is in good shape I would be interested in it.

I will check it out tonight if I get a chance!
Posted By: VanRick Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 20th 2017 12:30 am
What an amazing paint job. Great work!
Posted By: lukester Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 20th 2017 1:16 am
Wow, that poor van is rusty. How are vent window latches? I need the hardware for both side. No glass.
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 20th 2017 1:54 pm
Originally Posted by VanRick
What an amazing paint job. Great work!

Thanks!
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 20th 2017 1:57 pm
Originally Posted by lukester
Wow, that poor van is rusty. How are vent window latches? I need the hardware for both side. No glass.

I will take a look and get some photos when I have a chance. Do you need just the piece that rotates to latch it closed? Not the hinge/pivot???

I wanted to use the pivot part and glass from the driver's side for my van if they will interchange, because mine doesn't stay open at highway speed
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 20th 2017 1:58 pm
Originally Posted by Reed
If the weatherstripping on the big rear cargo door is in good shape I would be interested in it.

I think that weatherstrip is in pretty good shape. I can try to remove it carefully and get some photos.
Posted By: Reed Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 20th 2017 4:00 pm
Originally Posted by MobileCustoms
Originally Posted by Reed
If the weatherstripping on the big rear cargo door is in good shape I would be interested in it.

I think that weatherstrip is in pretty good shape. I can try to remove it carefully and get some photos.


Great! How much would you ask for the weatherstripping and your efforts? If it helps, and if the weatherstrip is held on with the plastic clips instead of glue, I have found a small pair of needle-nose pliers to be the best tool to remove the clips fromt the door. Grap the plastic tab with the pliers and use a small dowel or other object as a pivot to use the pliers to lever the plastic tab out of the door.
Posted By: lukester Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - July 22nd 2017 12:15 pm
This is the part I'm looking for. They are at the base of each vent window. If it's what you need to keep no worries man.

[Linked Image]


[Linked Image]
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - August 30th 2017 4:15 pm
The parts van ended up getting bought as a whole and towed away. Sorry for the delay in posting about it, for those wanting any parts. Things got really busy for me!
I did make some progress on the Street Van. Got the burgundy seats and new front carpet in and got some new rims & tires installed. Had a great time at the Chariots Of The Gods van & vintage camper show also!
Here's a link to some photos from my google account:

[img]https://goo.gl/photos/EiiUaS58axiY9sweA[/img]
Posted By: crazyvanman Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - December 03rd 2017 2:01 pm
Awesome !
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - December 04th 2017 7:06 pm
Originally Posted by crazyvanman
Awesome !


Thanks! Been doing more work on the interior since my last post.
Posted By: HotRodHarry Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - December 06th 2017 5:49 pm
Looking real good!! Definitely cool in my book!!
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - February 07th 2018 4:09 pm
Originally Posted by HotRodHarry
Looking real good!! Definitely cool in my book!!


Thanks! Coming from you, that means a lot! I still have a long way to go on it but having a blast.
Posted By: Lettercraft Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - February 07th 2018 4:44 pm
I just got a set of those side pipes on Craigslist for $50.
Are yours hooked up?

Is that a wrap on your van?
Looks Sweet.
Posted By: MobileCustoms Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - February 07th 2018 6:49 pm
Yes, It's a wrap. Over a nice black paint job. Thanks!
Posted By: Keep_On_Truckin_WNY Re: '78 Dodge Street Van - Twin Cities, MN - February 14th 2018 3:31 pm
That wrap is awesome man - great job on it...!

Looking forward to interior progress...!
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