I have been pretty fortunate to have built and driven some crazy fast cars. However what I came to recognize this year is all I am really doing is just showing off! I mean that with the least amount of vanity I can apply but it is the absolute truth. There is no money in building a vintage race car, it is a total money pit! There is no money in sitting around at a car show or cruise-in, and certainly no money racing it at nostalgic events. So I have been thinking why am I paying $100 to show up and show off. Why not build something that maybe a track would PAY ME to come and show off! So that is the premise of Spilled Milk! It is a 1948 "snub nose" Thames (1/2 Ton) van that my Dad purchased in 1968. It has been somewhere in storage ever since but never too far from Dad etc. It has been tucked in the back of my shop for the past 4 years. We nearly started to build it after Dad wrecked his RPU a couple of years ago but decided it was going to take too much work and time to get it on the road etc. Just like the last build thread, we start with some good old Photoshop work. Here is what I am thinking with the above. This old van was a retired milk truck. That is all it ever was in its former life. I am thinking of doing it in a Neapolitan style graphic, white on one side, chocolate brown on the other and a big pink (strawberry) stripe right down the middle. I am going to find me a big dairy like HILAND to sponsor us so we can take and give out milk to kids at the track and also maybe visits schools, show off the van and help with programs to get kids back to drinking milk with lunch instead of sodas etc. But that is down the road a bit....for now we are pulling the old van out of storage this weekend and looking for media blaster. This is going to fun!
Good ideas. Lose the front snow tires. Best way to get over your other bad luck is to get busy and try not to think about it. This new project should keep you busy. I will be following along as you put this one together. John
this e-83 truck would be a nice build !! i had one -but got discouraged w/ it-it had lots of tiny soft wood in the body & it seemed to like to shift around =as it had the sheet metal "brad nailed " to the wood ??? it will take lots of engineering to stiffen the body up OR replace most of the wood ?? keep up on some pics !!
Actually I thought I had SpilledMilk.com secured because all the others were taken. But I some how made an error as it was not available either....so it is all up for grabs now....LOL
We rolled the Thames down to the shop and got after it. Therapy. ... I was pretty impressed how easy the front suspension came out. Every nut I put a wrench to broke loose and came right off and we made quick work of the front end. Same with the rear suspension, a couple bolts and poof she rolled right out from under it. So tonight she is in the shop sitting on stands. Tomorrow I plan to really get after all the stuff bolted and riveted to the frame that we do not need. After spending some time with it today it didn't take very long to decide to utilize the original chassis. The plan is to strengthen it a bit by boxing the whole thing and then building a full cage that will really make it strong.
We have an Anglia Fiberglass front end for it but I really like the little snub nose it was born with. Since we don't have to worry about cramming an engine up there, I am planning on using it.
I have the 400 small block from my first hot rod ever ('62 Nova Hardtop) in high school. It was one bad automobile back in the day. The car is being held hostage in a storage facility by some Barrett Jackson watching Yahoo less than 6 miles from my home. We just tracked it down this past year after looking for it for 10 years etc. Anyway, I am taking the 400 block with me Monday to have it gone through. Early in the planning stages but right now Supercharged, Hilborn Injected again (efi), TCI Powerglide into a heavy duty V-drive, and then back to a high performance Winter's Quick Change rear end. Motor going right in the rear and thinking instead of trying to straighten those busted up original doors do something with Lexan etc.
for what it's worth, i vote for the snub nose. you will probably never get to many people to know that is what it came with, being that most angilia's came with the more common one.
Something pretty cool I found before we closed up the shop for the night. If you look closely you can still see the pencil line of flames I drew on the van when I was in 6th grade. That is what you call history with a car...LOL!
This is gonna be good.And am proud for you and your Dad. I love the stub nose. I changed to the Anglia front cap on my Prefect. I have never seen a real one of those. Only in the online sites etc. I love the quick change idea. Had a steel tube winters under my 39 Chevy 4 door. It was both fun and different. Been a while but had to replace the pinion shaft with a high stregnth. Something about dropping a clutch at 6 grand on the street it didn't like. Lol. Does the windshield roll out like the Prefect etc. I am actually gonna keep that on ours. Makes for some relief while sitting in staging. Again proud for you and your family. This will be wild
I went back and looked at the photos. I love the firewall. Much cleaner than a stock Prefect. A full cage and boxing will do the trick for sure. We actually jig built ours but the original frame is actually well thought out for the time it was produced. Fits neatly within the factor lines. And a sbc doesn't weigh as much either. Again I am very impressed already.
Just like your last build, I plan to tag along for the ride. I'm still pissed and sorry about the circumstances, but I respect how you are just soldering on. Plus, you just made a car sized hole in your storage facility.
The Jalopy Journal
