Outskirtscustom's 1980 Dodge Van Project: parking solutions DEMOLITION!

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Kinda thinking of doing a tube grill like this but with painted PVC pipe. Maybe even match it to the body color.
hrdp-1107-25%2Bcustom-vans.jpg
 
Got to work on the van's grill a bit more today, I pulled the grill and tried the metal mesh behind it but I didn't like the way it looked so I broke out the tools and a few chops later it was gone. I went to Menard's and for 2 bucks and change I picked up my new grill... Assembly required... I still have some adjusting to do to square it up a bit and I am going to paint the backing pieces black so they are not seen to make it look better. Still it doesn't look bad for a less than $3 grill.





 
I got a used battery today off a buddy for $10, scored a 4,000lb jack and a battery charger from the flea market for $30, I got home and went down for some gas while I charged the battery, poured a little gas down the vent tube of the carb and pumped the gas twice and it fired right up and purred like a sleeping kitten for about 30 seconds till it ran out of gas. The lights work, the gas gauge is reading a 1/4 tank, wipers work (I also got new blades today at Ollie's for $4) only things I found that don't work are the heater blower motor and the horn so I'll have to look into those but I am so happy to hear the old van breathe for the first time in 25 years. I'm not gonna run it any more till I do an oil change and clean out the tank and carb.
 
Man, I was disappointed. I thought your update said "BARE GIRLS" not "bare grills" :(
 
outskirtscustoms said:
Nope those come later...;)
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"GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS! Crazy horse, Paris, France; Forgot the names; remember romance; I got the photos of ménage a trois, Must've broke those Frenchie's laws with those; GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!"
 
Here's some pictures from earlier, Still have some cleaning to do but the paint on the engine still looks good under the crud.


Battery tray has a bit of rust so I'm going to fix that.


Clean


$1.99 for a windshield wiper? I'll take that all day long


Scored this jack for $15 at the flea market


Good look at the grill


better view


Mustang fox body wing???




Dang it's clean up here on the roof
 
Went to Auto-Zone earlier today and got some good news, some bad news, and some other good news. The battery tested good and they charged it for free so that is good. The starter tested bad even though it worked once the other day. But the starter is cheaper than the battery $35 for a 1 year warranty or $50 for a lifetime warranty so I'm gonna save up and get the lifetime one. Got to love old vehicles, you can fix them yourself and the parts are cheap.
 
I really like the mustang wing!
 
kingfish254 said:
Mount a pole in the center of the van and name it the shagging wagon.
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Only a 109 inch wheel base and low roof, not enough space for stripper poles. Just gonna go with a bed from the side doors back, move the front seats into the middle, some high back captain chairs up front on swivel bases, and a kickin' sound system. Already have a nice CD player and two speaker boxes ready to go in.
 
Well more research and browsing on the web lead me to this cool Japanese trend called Dajiban. They take a 3rd generation Dodge van, drop it on it's belly, beef up the motor, and race them! Well mine is an early second generation and has a slant 6 deuce and a quarter motor so I won't be running any races with it but I think the look would be great especially with the Mustang fox-body wing I have for it. So I think I finally decided on a color and over all look. I want to black out the hood and paint the rest a light air force blue with military style lettering on the doors. The color is light enough it won't get too hot inside, it won't show every little imperfection, and it looks ratty and cool. Then the inside is going to be pure 70's vannin... bed in the back, port hole window, roof vent, and a few other cool touches. Maybe even mod the fenders to include some '71 'Cuda gills. Lots of cool ideas are brewing in my mind. Might also add the black stripes to the sides like the Cudas had back in the day, flip up gas cap like the old Charger the best stuff from all the mopars rolled into one awesome van. I also want to lower it a bit but not crazy low just enough to get the stance right. Probably just lower the back an inch or two. Here's what I got so far playing around in Microsoft paint.

 
More pictures! I started scraping off the Mobile Radio decals today and I tell you after 30 years they have grown quite attached to the van but they are reluctantly letting go.

Here's my inspiration


Cool sticker I found for the back window... Shrooms dude!


I rattle-bombed the hood black just to see how it would look and I like it! I am going to strip it back down and use flat black and fix the dents when I do it for good.


another angle


Decals coming off




Sneak peek of my speaker box that will be mounted under the bed.


Does anyone know what else these mirrors were used on in the dodge lineup? I have looked everywhere and no luck.
 
deorman said:
Cowl needs to be black too.;)
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Now that you mention it I think it would look better with a black cowl. Thanks.

I also plan to add stripes in much the same area they are now but flat black and the same style as the old AAR 'Cuda. Kinda a throwback to old Mopar and the history of the van at the same time.

 
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Another computer rendering with wing, Mopar stripes on the sides, and the Dajiban style military lettering on the doors. I think this is how I want it to look. Now to make the big one match this.

 
cman said:
I like it, but you need to get some different wheels like that one from Japan.
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I would love that but those wheels are $600-$700 EACH... NOT including shipping... I have been thinking of some old Mopar rally wheels like what's on that 'Cuda painted black to get the same effect though. Also I can get chrome baby moon hub caps for the stock wheels to give it a little rat look too.
 
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