Ready for the weekend?

With the August Long Weekend around the corner, I thought "Do the obvious work that I could" so that maybe I could enjoy a road trip.

So after cutting out the spotwelds, I straightened out the roof ribs.  Got my donor gas tank ready (look at the nice clean floor there... and yes, the rear axle weight is a bear!!!).  I added the comforts for the passenger side to have a sunvisor and a fresh air vent.  Cleaning all the while.  Had some holes in the roof to weld up, and swap out the exhaust from the donor.

Unfortunately, my health wasn't good and repairing all these things took me all the way through the long weekend, and I went no where.  I guess I will just be digging into this van more deeply and quickly than I hoped.

How's the inside?

Man, does it smell in here!  All this has to go... custom battery box, blue shag, wood panelling and pink fibreglass!

Oh joy... dead mouse... I could have thrown up, but instead I tried to be as careful as possible as I stripped out the interior.  My advice for anyone doing this kind of stuff, and find the remains of mice... educate yourself on Hanta Virus, and how to protect yourself from it's deadly effects.  Mice aren't just "dirty", some are deadly. :(

Starting from the top, the condition of my caved-in roof.  The sunroof does not fit the contour of the roof, and leaks quite badly.  Not even sure about the vent, and why it's there... except that the van is so fumey and heat radiates from the doghouse... still, I hate it!

On the floor, only two rust spots in the rear corners so far...  Quite the surprising choice for carpet underlay ;)  Rear floor looked really good!

Walls showed lots of dents, not much different from the roof... will take a lot of effort to straighten that out!

Unfortunately, the front floor (like many other Econolines apparently) looks pretty rotten.

I want to be able to drive this very soon, so going to work on some quick fixes... some parts swapping with my donor 64... hopefully I will be able to drive the van soon!

What's Underneath?

First I saw this behemoth of a gas tank strapped in back of a Ford 9" rear axle.  Curious thing was that it leaked.

Hmmm... Frame rails are a little damaged, and made of surprisingly thin sheet metal.  I had no idea!

I guess this is why it leaked.

The 9" is oily and dirty, and there is no tailpipe!  But that doesn't explain why the drive was so noisy and fumey.  Well, I guess it explains a little.

The discoloration on the exhaust manifold looks pretty suspicious though.

How's the body?

Now that it's home, it's time to do a deeper evaluation of what this van is about.

Body-wise, it's not just pink, but caked with bondo, little bit of tin, a few bumps, bruises and scratches, but very little rust.  It's quite solid!

The roof looks like it was used as a trampoline, and will take a bit of work.  Plus what is with that roof vent?

It was turning into a crazy summer!

I have a 1964 Ford Falcon Econoline, but it's a rust bucket and had left me stranded.  I recently went on a road trip as a seller a few hours drive away advertised a pair of Econoline Cargo Vans for sale.  I thought either they would be better candidates for builds, or would yield precious parts.  So my buddy and I went for a drive to see them, do a deal.  Trailer loaded up, ready to go.  Actually, right near where we found them, there was a salvage yard with a couple first generation (1964-66) Chevy Vans that were in very bad shape!  I only know of one Chev in Saskatchewan that runs.  But I had to stay focussed... I already have a project!

After loading up one van on the trailer and heading back, through the trees, I saw what looked like a solid pink Econoline!  So we pulled in unannounced and took a look.

Not only was it an Econoline, but it was a Mercury!

 

This van was in better shape than the other two, but ugly... so ugly that the owner was proud that it was the recipient of the "Ugliest Rez Car" during a parade and event held by his First Nations Band!

"Grimstone"? That pink paint doesn't look very grim!  Other than that, I see a bad rocker panel, lots of dents, a distorted roof, and a smelly bingo-themed interior (used cards taped to the interior wood panels) to go with the bingo dauber on the antenna and vanity plate on the front!

After having blown my budget, and exchanging numbers with the owner, here I am a couple months later, driving home in the Grimstone van!  A drive that should have taken me three hours to complete took me ten!  The little 170 c.i. Falcon Six engine was overheating, and the carb had a stuck float, forcing me to pull over every half hour to let it cool down!  But I made it!