Interstellar Pleasure Barge > Verbose

The Van
6/8/2007 12:11 AM

new_cargo_van_4
My brother put me in touch with a friend of his, Derek, who manages some sort of HVAC installation company. They were retiring numerous old fleet vehicles with the intention of using them as "trade-ins" when purchasing new ones. Since Derek wasn't expecting to get anything more than the paltry trade-in value from these trucks and vans he didn't ask me for anything more than that low, low value.
I ended up purchasing a 2000 Chevy Express (3500 series) with a tank-like 5.7 liter, 8-cylinder engine for all of $1500. I didn't even try to bargain the price.

So far I've fixed a couple tiny things and removed the internal shelves and driver/cargo divider. Even if I weren't building it into a mutantvehicle this van has been tremendously useful (I've already lent it to four different people for a variety of reasons - trash hauling, apartment moving, huge PA system moving).

I had to also install a new wiper motor. Thanks to Checker Auto's bad replacement motor it took more than twice as long as it should have.


Image Gallery: The Van
The van. The van, from the side this time. Oooh, the rear quarter of the van. These are the interior shelves that I got rid of. So that the inside of the van could look like this - ready for anything.
See all 6 images.