Monday, December 27, 2010

hot rod mag, feb 1974




chopped sunday!

first off if anyone has pics of the interior please let me know!

secondly. the story.
this is a 77 ford econoline 100. named the harley hauler. owned by arlen ness. more of the story below.



For starters, Ness took the van down south to the absolute master of the top chop, Dick Dean. Dean removed a straight 6" of roof height. Then, Arlen hauled it back to the Bay Area, where Rod Powell stepped the frame 8", and sectioned the body another 6".

Arlen himself, along with Bob "Mun" Munroe handled all the interior modifications to the dash, "doghouse", door panels, seats, and all the related components like the gauges, steering column, garnish moldings, and the factory A/C unit to fit the new low body profile.

From there, it went to Jack Hagerman to get its hood louvered. Next, it was shipped to Kenny West's shop in Fresno, where its rear door panels were louvered, the metal flares were constructed, and a power sunroof section from a Thunderbird was grafted into the front roof panel.

After all the mods were done (all in steel, mind you), Ness sent it to Paul McElly in Hayward for the bodywork and paint. Anybody that knows anything about doing a black finish knows how much time, blocking, and sweat it took to get that super modified body to the point of painting it. The least little flaw under black paint sticks out like a rubber pee-pee. This van was flawless when Jeff McCann and Dick DeBenedict did their pinstriping and gold leafing on it. Of course, Danny Grey handled the entire custom interior.


To round out the package, Arlen added Western Wheel Turbo Vector rims with the recesses blacked out, BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires, and a set of Hooker headers and sidepipes in black ceramic.

The article never mentioned an overall height for the van, but with Arlen standing next to it, it looks to be less than 5' tall overall. Wow! I wonder where this van is now, or if Arlen still has it? Anybody know

awesome.

4x4 vans!

good? bad? ugly? i personally hate off roading. but these vans get an A for effort. and a B for bad ass!









who needs a house...

when we can all party in this thing!

dodge weatherstripping hints!




Saturday, December 25, 2010

christmas finally didnt blow!

i got a sawzall. which means i can finally cut in my bubble sunroof. and i can fix my bubble window holes. anyone want a convertible?

and a new steering wheel!

i got new chairs for my van!

or at least i am tomorrow. so stoked. and with those two cushions im thinking of making boxes to sit over the fenders n having some seats.

Monday, December 20, 2010

how was your weekend?

mine ended with me not being able to shift my van. at least i get to upgrade to power steering now!