Oldmopars

The high top is not from any van kit, it was made out of a top from a MANN truck cab. I had to build it, cut it down the middle to narrow it, then cut it in half and lengthen it. This took a lot of work, but gives the van standing room inside for more comfortable travel. I left ir removable so I could photo the interior. Inside the van is where even more work was done. I created a full camper interior to include a bathroom, sink, stove, bed/couch, table, fridge and several drawers. The front doors received door panels that were missing from AMT design. I also created interior walls for the inside of the van like the real thing would have had. The front bumper from B&N got the winch and "Bull Bar". The paint is all Rustoleum and in colors to match the 70's theme I was after. I finished it off with a large Indian decal and several cation and warning decals on the different doors and propane tank. As for the engine, well it is in there. It is a Stroker 383 (because I said so) with enough performance mods to move this beast down the road at race speeds. However it is all hidden by the bodywork and once sealed up all you get to see is the oil pan and transmission, but I swear it is all there. I spent a ton of time on this one, 10 months and I am mostly pleased with the results. It was a fun build and cool to get to build my dream camper van.

So, this is my entry into the 2019 Vannonball Run Community Build. My goal with this Van was to build a Van that looked like it was from 1976. I wanted a 4 wheel drive van that could head off the main road should the cops be looking for us. Being a full camper it allows the drivers to rotate out and get some sleep between driving shifts. It also have a full kitchen and toilet so stops can be reduced to get more time on the road. Then, once the race is over the van can be used to tour the country and camp in and have more adventures. I started with an AMT Rescue Van, it is a G20 2wd. This kit is OK, but really lacks details of any kind. There are no interior panel, door panels, etc. I also wanted this to be a 4x4 and it was not. I started with some parts from B&N and Fireball. I got wheels and tires from Fireball and the axles, and front bumper from B&N. I had to remove all the 2wd stuff and build custom springs for the front. B&N also supplied the transfer case. Custom drive shafts were made to connect it all. The body needed a lot of work. I removed the lower trim to give it the older look. I opened the rear doors and converted the side sliding door to 2 hinged doors. The drip rail was and missing body line at the roof were added as AMT left them out. Various small additions were made to the outside of the body that would be on a camping van(water, power, sewer, heater, etc.) I cut in a side window and added a propane tank under the drivers side.

OK, its done. I had a full description, but the stupid "securities" on this site kept giving me a 404 error. I will have to post more in small bites till I find the keywords it does not like. But here it is till I figure it out.

I have been trying for 2 days to post in the Light truck underglass section. I have tried 3 different browsers, with and without pictures, changed the body, changed the title all with no success. I just keep getting a 404 Error, page not found. But it will let me post here. What is going on?

I have thought about making wrecked models. Instead of melting the plastic, I am thinking of forming the fenders, hoods, doors etc out of thin aluminum like from dollar store roasting pans. I like the idea. Yours look really good.

This may be a strange question, but as I look at my models and why I build them I wondered why other build. What I see is a range of builders, it seems that some people build just to build. To have fun building. Other seem to build to display the models and have other see them, be judged at show. Recognition. Do you build just to keep your hands or you mind busy? Do you build to show off your skills to others? Do you care if anyone ever sees your finished project? Do you proudly display your stuff, or put it in a box to never be seen again? Do you build and sell to others to enjoy? Is it something you do because it is an obsession, or a passing interest? Are you always doing it or do you get into it for a while and then take a break for a while. Is this your primary hobby, or do you have others. For me it is something I do while I work from home. Without going into a long explanation of my job, I have time where I am not actively engaged doing something with my hands. I spend a lot of time on the phone, and a lot of time waiting. So this fills the gaps. I can be on the phone with someone and be sanding a part, or gluing parts together. It keeps my hands busy. It also keeps my mind working. Most of what I build will never be seen anywhere other than here. I will put it on the shelf for a little while, then put it in a box to never be seen again. My family is not overly interested in them and I don't have any friends that care about the either. So, my budget for them is rather low and I may take a year to finish one, or 2 weeks. My other hobbies keep me busy. Motorcycles, Overlanding and Camping. I prefer the out doors, but when I am forced to stay inside, I build models. So, I get more done in the winter than the summer. What about you? Why do you build?

Lots more to do, but it is getting closer. One by one little things are getting done. The front end is done for now till I find a hook for the winch. Once I get the interior done I will be calling it done. I think I will leave the roof removable so you can get a look at the interior. Even with the opening doors, the interior is not very visible.

Anything to report on this build? I know mine has been slow, so I can relate to a lack of progress. I would love to see you get this done by the end of the year. I need some competition to keep if fun.

Progress is still moving along on this project, but it is slow. It seems I can get a few minutes here and there. So, I have the grill put together and the bumper installed. The propane tank is on, the doors are on and hinged. I have added a few details, like the door locks and chrome on the door handles. The kit wipers were trash, so I made some new ones. Not thrilled with them, but they will have to do as the other option is way worse. I still want to add a hook for the winch, just need to find or make one I like. I still have a few things left to do: Make a front drive shaft, glue the interior in, make a seat pad for the bench seat, maybe add some details to the doors, install the front side glass and a few other things. I should have it done by the end of the year.

I got the doors mounted and a few more things done. I am going to tough up the door hinges so they are body color, right now they are clear. I need to paint the center console, it is just sitting there to see how it will look. The table top is upside down in the picture, I had to move the mounting post, it was too close to the stove. So far my biggest issue is the stupid grill, I need to paint the recessed part and have the raised part still chrome. I have tried a few different times and each time I cleaned it off because it did not look right. I will keep at it. At my current rate of speed, I should be done with it by June of 2021. Guess I better kick it up a little.

I am still in this thing and have not given up. I am working on the doors of the van. I thought it would be a great idea to open them up, and it will add to the final build, but the hinges have proven to be more of an issue that I wanted. I have tried several different ideas and I have finally found one that I am happy with. I will be able to open and close them, but I will display it with the doors open and leave them that way as I don't think they will swing too many times before they break. I am looking forward to seeing everyone's builds, I personally love this theme and I will build another van just for fun. Lets keep this alive. I know summer gets really busy and I have been absent here due to other hobbies I have when the sun is out. My hope is that as Fall/Winter comes we will find ourselves doing less outside activities and finding more bench time. I know I have probably spent less than 10 hours on the bench doing any serious work since July. So, don't feel bad if the summer has kept you from the work bench, Fall is here and Winter always follows. We will be looking for activities to do where it is warm and dry.

I was in Baltimore this past week, it was strange to me to be working with a guy who was 19 and one who was 29. The 29 year old at least had some memory of the events, but he was in grade school. The 19 year old had no memory as he was 1 at the time. When it happened I was Active Duty Air Force, at about the 7-8 year mark. Things got real, real fast. I will never forget, that day is forever in my memory. The images of those that died, those first responders that died, the images of the planes. No, I will never forget. That 19 year old I was working with, he was working at the NSA, he was my escort as I was working. Our future is in the hands of this 19 yo and he does not have any memory of the event that changed the world and the agency he works for.

Chevrolet was the first to really market the 4 door trucks to the civilian market back in 73. Prior to that most all 4 door trucks were either military or used in some kind of fleet service like the rail road, logging, construction etc. It 73 Chevy came out with a crew cab that had nice comfortable features, better trim levels, two tone paint and ads that appealed to the "Normal" truck buyer. Prior to 1973 I don't think I have ever seen a 4 door truck with anything other than base model trim levels. I had an early 70's Dodge and my Dad had a 68 Ford, both were as basic as you could get. I do with there were more 1:24/25 scale versions of these great old work trucks.

As has been said, a conversion of this type would be easy. I am doing it right now with a Chevy van, but a Ford or a Dodge would be just as easy.

Great job. Being more of a Chevy van guy myself, I had to go look at some pictures of the side doors, and you got them spot on. Chevy vans always had asymmetrical side doors, but looks like Ford used symmetrical doors. Always learning

I know nothing about it, but it does say that it is Die Cast. That thing must be HEAVY! Unless it is smaller than 1:25 scale that thing would be a beast. I want one.

Actually, this is the Dozer that I thought was beyond repair. I was able to use the Dozer you sent to copy the needed parts and make this one work, while being able to save the one you sent to use in a future build. So, between the 2 kits I was able to make 2 complete kits even though both were missing things. It worked out good, thanks.

I love how you turned that Sows ear into a Silk purse. You did a great job and the truck really looks the part. It looks like a well used farm truck. I used to see these all the time where I grew up and this looks just like the ones I remember. Great job.

Please add me to the finished list. I just posted "Under Glass"

If you read the build thread on this you will see that this was built to honor the brave men and women that fought the fire that came through my land last year. They worked really hard and due to their efforts all I lost was a bunch of sage brush. We were so blessed. This is a tribute to all of the fire fighters that helped us, and those around the country that work hard every day. I wish I would have had decals that were more local, but that just did not happen. Here it is, all done, for now. This is this years entry into the Big Rig Build Off. This started its life with me as 3 glue bombs. I got these in a box of parts from a member on this forum with a bunk of other truck parts. Lucky for me, while they were glued together, there was little to no painting that had been done. This made things easier, however the glass in the cab was complete junk and had to be remade out of sheet clear. Several parts were missing or broken, so the parts box helped out there. The truck F2674 International, was taken apart, cleaned and then I shortened the frame by 2in to make it fit the plan better. The roof top spoiler was also removed and holes filled. I scratch built the mud flaps and hangers from wire metal foil and some old flaps I had. Roof top lights are from a Ghost Busters computer monitor and spot lights with red lenses. Aluminum tube replaced the stock kit exhaust pipe and decals from an Italeri kit donated the cab marker lights. Fine screen from a coffee maker filter basket is used behind the grill. AMT Rescue van gave its decals for the doors and flags, parts box fender lights finished the cab. All paint on this project is Rust-oleum Painters Touch Gloss Apple Red. The trailer was treated the same way with a full tear down and clean up. The 6 sets of wheels are parts box from a trailer kit I got in the deal. Balsa wood decking and some new parts box lights added to the look. The tops of the rails and the rear ramps are covered in metal foil before the paint, then scratched off after paint to have "metal" showing where the tracks would have scratched off the paint. A little light weathering and rust completed this part. The Dozer required the most effort to make look good. There was a huge amount of glue holding everything together. The rear of the Dozer had to be completely reworked. I added a heavy plate and bolt details to the rear and part of the side. Small details were added to the tanks, the Hydraulic rams, and the blade arms. The blade and the arms were both covered in metal foil before paint also with the same treatment as the trailer, but more aggressive. An extra plate was also added to the front of the blade like is done to reinforce the center. The engine was detailed with plumbing and wires, the exhaust stack is full scratch build out of aluminum. The rams are also aluminum tubing. The grill was cut out and more coffee filter screen was used. Lots of weathering was done on the Dozer to show use. The dirt is soil from my yard and worked out well.

I love it, this is cool. If made into a 1:1 that thing would be fun to drive, all that weight removed it would be pretty fast. Good job on this, it looks great.

I like what you did to the trunk on that I did something very similar to the trunk on my 41 Plymouth Peking car. I added "Ribs" and then covered it with cloth. I used clear Elmers to glue it and painted it flat black for the Canvas effect.

We have color! I hope the color combo screams 1975, that is what I was after. As you can see there are a few flaws in the paint I need to sand out before a clear coat. But, it is moving along. In the background you can see my major B.R.B.O. project and why this is taking so long. I have much to do, but I should be on track to have this finished by the end of the year.

I like where this is going. Are you going to keep it as a panel van or add the windows to a family hauler?

I would love to see it, but the pictures are not showing up for me.