Hot Rods 1965 Dodge van

The other spring mount was in much better shape; just cleaned up the surface rust, hit it with some POR-15; and made a new backing plate section to tie it all together.

 

I got the other corner on; now I need to patch the floor on this side and make a tail pan. Then all I have left is one small area to patch by the side doors.

 

Finished patching the floor today and got most of the tail pan finished.

 

From Weirton Steel in Weirton WV, They must have supplied Chrysler back then. They are still around but not as big and are Mittal or something like that. The City of Weirton is all but dead as compared to back in the 60's and 70's. The van is looking good with the rear roll pan almost completed.

 

Cool; thanks for the history!

 

Damn, Pat........I wish I had half your energy!! Looking great.....

Ray

 

Great work, so far. Keep it up! Subscribed.

 

Thanks! I’ll be glad to get the body work part over with. Tail pan is tacked on; started on the last area to patch.

 

Finished the last patch area; that will probably be it for pictures for a while. The next few weeks I’ll be finishing up the welds, grinding, and sanding off the rest of the old paint. Pretty boring stuff.

 

We'll be here, patiently waiting.

 

That’s a great looking Stude you got there.

 

Thanks! Unfortunately, that pic is 30 years old. I still own it (my first car), but it's waiting for my retirement for the royal treatment! It'll be an OT project, so no build thread on here!

 

Man, that’s great to have it that long; it must be pretty special to you. I got my 48 Plymouth from a retired guy that got the car for his 16th birthday and kept it all those years. It was like letting go a member of his family when I came to pick it up. Make sure you start a build thread when you start on your Stude!

 

You're doing a great job on the sheet metal, looks good. Who is the supplier for the patch panels you used over the front wheel openings?

 

Those old vans are fun, and can be very practical haulers.

 

I got those from Mill Supply; they sell a variety of step van parts and replacement sheet metal.

 

Busy week! Sanded all the old paint off, finished a good portion of the welds, dropped the leaf springs off to get re-arched, and painted the underside of the rear where all the repairs were done so I can put the rear end back in this week. It'll be easier to work on when I can roll it around again.

 

Check out my friend's van redo here....http://forums.aaca.org/topic/148603-reviving-a-69-dodge-sportsman-van/?tab=comments#comment-703943

 

Nice! He did an excellent job on it.

 

i am working on one of these right now. cool little truck.
keep up the good work!
do you have a source for front parking lights? i had to glue one of them together.

 

check out how he lowered it, longer shackles and a couple holes in the floor.

 

Thanks! There’s an all Mopar salvage yard in Catawissa, Missouri called Clay & Sons. He’s got several of these vans; look him up online and give him a call.
Your van looks awesome, love the color! That shackle poking through the floor could be a pain; interesting way to lower it.

 

Love your van and your skills, keep up the great work.
What color are you thinking?

 

Thanks! There is a bluish grey on the 65 Ford color chart; thinking of something like that.

 

She’s back on all four feet; I just finished stripping and the old seam sealer out of the drip rails and painting them with some POR-15. As soon as I finish stripping the old paint out it the door jambs I’m going to start on the doors.

 

Got the first pass of filler on and started on door #1. Pretty straight on the outside but I’ll have to patch a section on the bottom.

 

Two down, four to go.

 

A lot of work but you have it looking good so far, color sounds good too, light blue.

 

You don't lack ambition!

 

Thanks! I hope to be painting in early March.