1971 GMC Vandura: Acquired

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
10/14/2016 at 23:07 • Filed to: None

Hooked up and ready to go.

I was disappointed to find this rust on the floor, but it isn’t rusted through anywhere. I’ll sand blast it and prime it.

The carburetor is rebuilt and there’s a new fuel pump, distributor cap, wires and fresh engine oil.

I guess in 1971 disc brakes were still a novelty, enough for GMC to brag about them with a sticker.

There’s O.C. and the O.G. I bought the van from.

I found this 1971 GMC Vandura about 90 miles from my house in Atwater, near Modesto, California, on Craigslist. The van was for sale by the original owner . The guy had ordered the van from GMC for his wife with gearing and cooling and disc brakes and windows for towing and touring. Absolutely plain Jane in every other respect. The engine is a 250 CID L6 and the transmission is a three-speed manual with column shift. 80,000 original miles. The van has been registered inoperative since 1999. The man’s wife died recently and he decided to sell it.

The seller and his son had it running in July, he tells me. There’s fresh oil in the pan, and new distributor cap and rotor, fuel pump and a rebuilt carburetor. We were disappointed to discover that someone had tried to steel the van, but they couldn’t figure out the transmission, apparently. They tried to drag it away, bending the front bumper in the process.

So we didn’t start it; I just hauled it home.

I was surprised to discover that it had 14-inch wheels from the factory! That’s going to change.

The guy was asking $2,000, and dropped the price to $1,800, but then he bought a set of used tires for $140 and asked me to cover that, and I did. So $1,940 total, plus $60 to rent the Uhaul and $75 in diesel for my friend’s F-250.

Clean the van out and vacuum it. Clean up that surface rust. Needs a battery and a radiator. Get it started. Steam clean the engine. Damn thing smells like a junk yard inside.

Stay tuned.

DISCUSSION (25)

Die-Trying > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:19

looks nice...........

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:20

This is all kinds of awesome! I see you avoided the tow dolly situation completely. Smart move.

Now, don’t you dare complain about that rust again! You have no idea what real rust is! :p

TheHondaBro > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:21

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Die-Trying
10/14/2016 at 23:23

It’s crusty. I need to make it look like somebody owns it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
10/14/2016 at 23:25

Original owner. Figure the odds.

They couldn’t figure out how to get it out of gear when they tried to steal it. Punks.

The interior is rotten. All the vinyl has peeled off the dash and the dog house.

Everything is so simple!

Gotta get it cleaned up so it looks like someone loves it.

Die-Trying > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:25

maybe some “no trespassing” signs?......... but a REAL GOOD wash does amazing things for them.........

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:26

“We were disappointed to discover that someone had tried to steel the van”

... but they lacked the iron will to succeed...

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Die-Trying
10/14/2016 at 23:27

Maybe some polishing compound.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
10/14/2016 at 23:28

Pieces of FEces.

PS9 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:32

Ahh, I see. Both Diesel truck and Van that can be converted into sleeping quarters just in case everythings all ‘WITNESS MEEEEE’ After Nov. 8th. Excellent.

Biodiesel can be produced, but you’re not going to have room for a fuel lab and a place to sleep in such a small van. You’re also going to want a water filtration system, a generator setup for the truck, barbed wire, spiked caging for the bed area and a few roof mounted missile launchers. Don’t cheap out on rockets; you’re not going to have time to aim them during vehicle combat, and all the bullets flying about will make that impractical anyway. Just fire the heat seeker and let it handle the rest.

Birddog > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:32

I am 100% tuned in on this!

I once butchered a Chevy Van that looked identical to that. Plans? Preserve it? Hot Rod it?

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:32

Very small odds. Luckily most young punks can’t drive a stick. I’ve never driven one on the tree before.

No surprise on the interior. I wonder if anyone repops that stuff. LMC Truck maybe?

Birddog > shop-teacher
10/14/2016 at 23:33

“You have no idea what real rust is!”

Californians..

Die-Trying > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:34

i’d start with the wash....... the old paint on my truck “lifts” with little effort. sometimes i cheat, and take a 5 gallon bucket to the car wash, and fill it with the foam brush stuff. and then set there with a good deck brush and work it over. i hear comet is some good stuff too.

shop-teacher > Birddog
10/14/2016 at 23:42

I know. I was going to post a picture of a really rusty Chevy Van, you know how the bottom foot always rusts away, but kinja mobile doesn’t do pictures in comments anymore...

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/14/2016 at 23:48

Whose truck?

Birddog > shop-teacher
10/14/2016 at 23:51

I’m not having kinja mobile issues.

Some coastal Calis know rust. Midwestern style rust. It’s rare though.

(Off topic.. I just emailed my pop. I think he has a pic of the Van I butchered. I needed that engine so bad. It was also the first time I met an angry momma Possum. She nested in the “doghouse”)

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/15/2016 at 01:42

Oh dat crew cab Powerstroke.... me likey

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
10/15/2016 at 01:44

Why’s the brake pedal so small?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Die-Trying
10/15/2016 at 01:47

freiberger speaks of comet on Roadkill.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
10/15/2016 at 01:50

Not mine! Thing’s a beast. Comfy seats, though.

KnowsAboutCars > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/15/2016 at 07:57

Very nice!

For the wheels, I was going to suggest the 70's rally wheels (stock on GMC Sprint SP) painted in white (stock on white late 2nd gen Z28 Camaros) but they have wrong bolt pattern so you would have to use spacers or redrill the hubs. They’re also kinda expensive.

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/15/2016 at 08:19

What’s this other pedal for?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > KnowsAboutCars
10/15/2016 at 09:24

I appreciate the suggestion but that would be too elaborate. Even once I’ve made performance mods to the engine, this is still going to be the van that Pops bought for Moms so they could go camping together. 15x6 styled steel wheels will be the likely result, with GMC centers.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher
10/15/2016 at 18:56

That’s the starter pedal.