Dunno if many of you all know, but I guess my handle says it all...I'm a van nut. Well, I've got another addition to the van family here I couldn't pass up. I was out in the east end today when I passed a yard with a bedraggled looking 1967 Chevy van sitting in the front yard. After busting $500 out of my savings account, I drove the thing home.
...and drive it did! The engine started up on the first crank and it cruised on up the road with very good manners. The van's not really in too bad of shape other than needing a good cleaning. At one time, the van appeared to be someone's pride & joy custom job. At that time, a 327 engine, and a Fridigaire air conditioning system was installed in it. Later on though, the van was used as a building contractor's work truck, and the thing got FILTHY!!! the sheetmetal got a bit banged up too, but I didn't find any rust at all. It's definitely restorable...like I need another project
I've got some plans for this van though. I want to put a Holley EFI system on it to get some good gas mileage. I checked the compression this evening, and the motor's remarkably tight. The shabby interior's gonna get stripped and rebuilt. Not sure what I'm going to do yet with the interior, but it's definitely going to be a retro-custom job. The exterior is going to get cleaned up and re-painted too. I'll probably do some chassis work too. First and formost, new tires, wheels and shocks! I also want to get the AC system charged up and operational again with R134.
Well, Dunno if any of you all know, but the early GM vans were sort of like VW vans in that they are cab-forward. The engine is between the seats, not up front. Sort of looks like the "Mystery Machine" from the Scooby Doo TV shows. These vans never came with a 327 engine in them...only a 6 cylinder. They were built on the old Chevy II Nova chassis. It's not a great handling van, it likes to bounce and jounce around, feels a bit tipsier than the newer vans for sure. These vans have a lot in common as far as size goes with the newer Astro vans, versus the full-size vans, so this van will be a neat addition to the driveway!
I'll put some pictures up once I get some taken...maybe I ought to paint it up to look like an old appliance repair truck from the sixties!
...and drive it did! The engine started up on the first crank and it cruised on up the road with very good manners. The van's not really in too bad of shape other than needing a good cleaning. At one time, the van appeared to be someone's pride & joy custom job. At that time, a 327 engine, and a Fridigaire air conditioning system was installed in it. Later on though, the van was used as a building contractor's work truck, and the thing got FILTHY!!! the sheetmetal got a bit banged up too, but I didn't find any rust at all. It's definitely restorable...like I need another project
I've got some plans for this van though. I want to put a Holley EFI system on it to get some good gas mileage. I checked the compression this evening, and the motor's remarkably tight. The shabby interior's gonna get stripped and rebuilt. Not sure what I'm going to do yet with the interior, but it's definitely going to be a retro-custom job. The exterior is going to get cleaned up and re-painted too. I'll probably do some chassis work too. First and formost, new tires, wheels and shocks! I also want to get the AC system charged up and operational again with R134.
Well, Dunno if any of you all know, but the early GM vans were sort of like VW vans in that they are cab-forward. The engine is between the seats, not up front. Sort of looks like the "Mystery Machine" from the Scooby Doo TV shows. These vans never came with a 327 engine in them...only a 6 cylinder. They were built on the old Chevy II Nova chassis. It's not a great handling van, it likes to bounce and jounce around, feels a bit tipsier than the newer vans for sure. These vans have a lot in common as far as size goes with the newer Astro vans, versus the full-size vans, so this van will be a neat addition to the driveway!
I'll put some pictures up once I get some taken...maybe I ought to paint it up to look like an old appliance repair truck from the sixties!
