The Van Beginnings |
August 13th 2003 We answered an add in the paper for a 1975 Chevy high-top van. Since it was only 12 miles away, we immediately hopped in the car to go take a look. The van had been parked since 1996. The body frame was in decent shape, but the exterior had seen better days! |
The rear passenger and driver side wheel wells. Not a place you really want to be growing moss... |
August 14th We drove back the next day and bought the van for $535. Even if it was undrivable, the high top was worth that much. New tops retail for about $1200. Mom drove the van home without incident. Now the fun begins! |
The floor was covered in junk. Plastic sheeting, spare parts, sparkplug boxes, and worst of all, bright orange shag carpeting straight from a 1970's commune. I immediately got to work ripping out the carpet. It took 4 hours to remove the carpet from the subfloor - whoever had laid it down really liked tar and staples. |
August 15th I woke up bright and early and started work on the van at 7am. In my mind, working on a project like this is way more helpful than therapy. It's more expensive, but at least you have something tangible to show for it. You can also vent your frustrations by destroying things. Die orange shag carpeting, die! Hasta la vista, annoying lettering! |
After I sanded the entire van and was coated head to toe in paint dust, I wondered to myself ... did automobile paint from 1975 contain lead...or did that just apply to house paint? If you squint and look at the top of the radio antenna, you'll see an impulse buy. I bought the Wal-Mart smiley face mascot that wears a black cowboy hat. My mom has the cowgirl version on her van. It cost $1.74. It adds immeasurable joy to my life...as well as boosting the resale value of my van. :-) |
Making a template shape out of paper to trace onto the metal. |
Priming the bare metal to guard against rust |
Starting to pop rivet it on |
Sanding and riveting metal on other side |
Starting to sand the interior |
