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novelties
The Japanese Convert JDM Boxes Into American Iron
Apparently, the custom van fad of the '70s never died in Japan. But what if you want all the style of a vintage American full-size, but you need the efficiency and small size of a Japanese econobox? Well, do what these guys did, and convert the front end to look just like a Dodge or Chevy Van. Auto-Otaku found these custom creations at the Japanese Mooneyes Street Car Nationals, a gathering of all kinds of American iron in the land of the rising sun. Besides the vans, there were also a couple JDM rides transformed into old Chevy Suburbans, as seen above. [via Auto-Otaku]
custom van
Forget The Spoiler: Your Van Needs Bat Wings!
Yet more proof that nobody can outdo the Japanese when it comes to wild-ass vehicle modifications comes courtesy of this photo sent to us by reader Nathan. You got your Dekotoras, and now you got the BatVan! That means it's time for some Melt-Banana, so make the jump and crank up your speakers. More »
novelties
Douglas DC-3 Converted to Phone-Toting Road Warrior
There are nooks and crannies of enthusiasm which make this perversion we have with cars seem quaint. One example among many is the collection of vintage phones, which up until recently we didn't know existed, much less that there were vintage telephone display and trade shows. Regardless, here exists a link which neatly stitches together that world and this one, a Douglas DC-3 which has been sliced and diced and dropped onto an unknown truck chassis, and then outfitted to carry old phone hardware around. Bizarre, yes, but also the bitchinest way to go vannin' ever. (h/t to Brett)[Telephonetalk.com]
question of the day
What's Your Favorite Van Of All Time?
Though we'll probably never have a "Maximum Van Day," yesterday's hard-living QOTD got us thinking about vans and vanning. Though the idea mostly died out in the 1970's in this country, the spirit of the van has lived on in Japan and in the hearts of anyone that owned a Supervan 2 matchbox car. Whether it's something small like the Mitsubishi Town Box, the gigantic and world-destroying A-Team GMC or Julie Nimoy's Silhouette, vans are rad. More »
classic ad watch
1991 Oldsmobile Silhouette: Julie Nimoy's Space Vehicle
Remember the "Dustbuster" GM minivans? The Trans Sport? The Lumina APV? The Silhouette? Sure, it's only been a little over a decade since they stopped making the things, but just about every last one has disappeared. They can't all have been crushed by now, so where did they go? Into space, of course! Let's let the daughter of famous poet Leonard Nimoy 'splain how UFOs are really time machines!
found on ebay
1977 Dodge Tradesman Van Has Star Wars Mural, Geek Love
This 1977 Dodge Tradesman200 van represents years' worth of lonely Saturday nights filled with geek-love and rightly so. It's adorned with a Star Wars mural fit for a Jedi. The van itself has seen some better days. This ladies-mobile has 100,000 miles on the V8 engine and the inside boasts a poorly-maintained lounging area and mini-bar.More »
choose your eternity
In a rare upset, a French car actually lost a Choose Your Eternity challenge! Not only that, front-wheel-drive triumphed over a rear-engined machine. Yes, the Fiat 128 Rally beat the Simca 1000GL in our last Project Car Hell! Today we're going to look at a pair of vehicles that do interesting things with the concept of scale: a tiny German Thunderbird or a huge Seattle Hot Wheels car.
More »
Project Car Hell: Auto Union 1000 or Shorty Corvair Van?
In a rare upset, a French car actually lost a Choose Your Eternity challenge! Not only that, front-wheel-drive triumphed over a rear-engined machine. Yes, the Fiat 128 Rally beat the Simca 1000GL in our last Project Car Hell! Today we're going to look at a pair of vehicles that do interesting things with the concept of scale: a tiny German Thunderbird or a huge Seattle Hot Wheels car.
More »
novelties
Volkswagen T3 Retrofitted For Wilderness Espionage
You should think twice about your off-roading outdoors adventure vehicle, because it would seem that an old VW T3 is all you really need. This T3 has been outfitted with off-roading wheels (compared to the inflatable inner tubes on the stock T3), a safety-jacket orange paint job to distinguish the van from a bear for hunters and enough gadgets and gear to do damn near anything.More »
novelties
Wood Panel Van Liquor Cabinet: Why Not?
Be prepared to confuse the hell out of guests because it's time to finally get an indoor wood-panel van, or at least a quarter of one. This Wood Panel Bar is a bar/liquor cabinet for lovers of the wood paneling. The liquor cabinet includes a classy drawer, hanging racks for various types of classes and an extending shelf. The back doors swing open like a real wood-panel van and the only downside is the lack of wheels. Click through to see another picture of the cabinet open. More »
retro
Did a Ruthless Conspiracy Crush The Forward Control Jeep Van?
Why wasn't the Brooks Stevens-designed 1958 Forward Control Jeep ever mass-produced? Why? One glance at the prototype makes it obvious that it would have sold more than VW Transporters, Corvair Greenbriers, and Econolines put together! We can only assume that Powerful Forces conspired to keep total production to just the three that were built. Thanks to UDMan for the tip! [Hemmings Auto Blog]
down on the street
In James Ellroy's novel, Killer On The Road, there were only two serious flaws: One, the serial-killer protagonist Martin Plunkett (yes, that's where my pseudonymous surname comes from, thanks to an editor at Virgin Books who knew I'd ripped off Ellroy's style for my NSFW novel) used a silencer on a revolver, which won't work. Two, his serial-killer van was a Dodge. Now, Dodge vans are great, but everyone knows the well-prepared serial killer always selects a windowless Econoline for those late-night trips to shallow gravesites in the desert or forest. And we've got a really scary one right here, perhaps even scarier than this '69 Econoline Super Van.
More »
1969 Ford Econoline, With Bonus Serial Killer Poll
In James Ellroy's novel, Killer On The Road, there were only two serious flaws: One, the serial-killer protagonist Martin Plunkett (yes, that's where my pseudonymous surname comes from, thanks to an editor at Virgin Books who knew I'd ripped off Ellroy's style for my NSFW novel) used a silencer on a revolver, which won't work. Two, his serial-killer van was a Dodge. Now, Dodge vans are great, but everyone knows the well-prepared serial killer always selects a windowless Econoline for those late-night trips to shallow gravesites in the desert or forest. And we've got a really scary one right here, perhaps even scarier than this '69 Econoline Super Van.More »
novelties
A V8 Dodge Van Is The Jalopnik Way To Make Apple Sauce
We're not sure who the Musselman (or Mussellady) is that came up with the idea to take a V8-powered B-Series Dodge Cargo Van and turn it into a DIY apple saucer maker, but we tip our hats to them. Normally, when we see a windowless van and an old guy with a beard driving we make our girlfriend walk on the other side of us. This changes everything. We're going to hit the sauce and try and grasp the engineering work that went into attaching the drums to the wheels (looks like duct tape to us). (UPDATE: Apparently, this is from the TV Show Red Green, which is a bizarre Canadian export)[Make: Blog]
retro
1936 Stout Scarab: The First Minivan?
Dull as minivans may seem (well, unless they run 12-second quarter miles, of course), they're pretty useful transportation appliances that do the job asked of them. Lots of folks give VW credit for making the first one, but the Gray Lady would like to point out that the Stout Scarab, a Ford V8-powered machine equipped with comfy furniture and aluminum bodywork, came first. Its builder, William Stout, also designed the aircraft that evolved into the Ford Trimotor... which is cool and all, but can't measure up to the achievement of Bill Lear, who is responsible for both the 8-track tape and the Learjet. <[New York Times]
classic ad watch
Sell Your Soul To The Man, Drive A 1981 Vanagon
Say you were a Berkeley radical back in 1968- you know, high ideals, willing to lay down your life for The Cause, etc. Then, well, you got taken up on that high mountain and shown the fleshly kingdoms that lay before you, simply for the price of your soul. That's what happened with Jerry, an ex-radical who struck it rich in the house of Mammon. Jerry shed all the trappings of his old life, with the single exception of the Volkswagen bus... perhaps as a cynical reminder to himself of what might have been. Then, some camera-wielding freak from his past shows up when he's leaving work and blows it all to hell. Or something like that. In any case, it's hard to see how this ad could have moved any Transporters off the lots.
down on the street
DOTS Truck Monday has worn enough of a groove in our routine to become sort of a tradition, but so far we've just seen pickups. What about vans? It's been half a year since we saw our last DOTS van, so this nice specimen of a forward-control Dodge fully deserves its day of glory.
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1969 Dodge A100 Van
DOTS Truck Monday has worn enough of a groove in our routine to become sort of a tradition, but so far we've just seen pickups. What about vans? It's been half a year since we saw our last DOTS van, so this nice specimen of a forward-control Dodge fully deserves its day of glory.More »
classic ad watch
If you're the Japanese Sherlock Holmes, you don't want to have any of those boxes of confiscated cocaine get left behind at the station when you're heading out for a night on the town. That's why you need the 1978 Mazda Bongo Multivan- just roll right up and get those flatfoot coppers to pack the goods right in! We'd like this ad better if it had a macho announcer's voice, of course, but perhaps that's not appropriate for a Bongo.
Detectives Can Fit More Evidence In A Mazda Bongo!
If you're the Japanese Sherlock Holmes, you don't want to have any of those boxes of confiscated cocaine get left behind at the station when you're heading out for a night on the town. That's why you need the 1978 Mazda Bongo Multivan- just roll right up and get those flatfoot coppers to pack the goods right in! We'd like this ad better if it had a macho announcer's voice, of course, but perhaps that's not appropriate for a Bongo.
custom van
Why, a custom van, of course! And, man, the onion-like layers of conceptual heaviosity involved with this painting; since our commenters are a bunch of Wittgenstein-quoting theorists, we're sure Brandon Bird's Signifier and Signified will be food for some serious thought this fine Wednesday morning. Thanks to Teargas for the tip! [BrandonBird.com]
What Would Noam Drive?
Why, a custom van, of course! And, man, the onion-like layers of conceptual heaviosity involved with this painting; since our commenters are a bunch of Wittgenstein-quoting theorists, we're sure Brandon Bird's Signifier and Signified will be food for some serious thought this fine Wednesday morning. Thanks to Teargas for the tip! [BrandonBird.com]
