1971 GMC Vandura: Daydreams, But No Progress

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura) 11/03/2016 at 15:20 • Filed to: None

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At least it sits in my driveway and I can daydream about it whenever I head out to work in the morning. I walk past it to my ‘97 GMC Safari and as I start up the trusty Vortec 4.3, I think, One day that Vandura will be my daily .

Berang > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 15:31

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paint a mural on it

a mural of vans

Mercedes Streeter > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 15:33

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Old American vans have that crazy charm about them. 10/10 would convert into a mini RV.

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 15:44

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This van makes me happy.

And jealous. This van makes me jealous.

Please put some chocks behind your rear wheels before you crawl under there again. I don’t want to hear about a math teacher getting crushed to death by his beloved van.

fintail > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 15:57

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Do you know how early this one is in the production run? Examples this old are really thin on the ground today.

Frank Grimes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 16:14

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one of these would be cool in the van.

If I had that van the first thing i would do would be give the paint a good comet scrubbin then some wheels and tires or just paint the steelies.

Frank Grimes > Berang 11/03/2016 at 16:15

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I would think a mural of righteous brave vans that have come before and paved the way for later vans would be awesome maybe some arthurian tale with dragons and wizards.

Die-Trying > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 16:33

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how is the progress coming along?? have you put any fluid in the master cylinder?see if you can find some leaks, or build some pressure?.......... done any prepping/changing of the oil and filter.?............ have you sat in it making driving sounds?...........

we need updates...........

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > fintail 11/03/2016 at 18:09

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That is an excellent question. I bet Dave the Car Guy could help us figure that out. And this one was special-ordered. At $1,800 and 80,000 miles, I’ve found a diamond in the rough, I think.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Berang 11/03/2016 at 18:10

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No way.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Frank Grimes 11/03/2016 at 18:10

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LOLnope.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Frank Grimes 11/03/2016 at 18:11

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I’m going to massage the original 250 L6 before I go crazy changing engines.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Die-Trying 11/03/2016 at 18:13

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Thanks for inducing a smile. It stinks like old oily junkyard inside.

Polishing compound first, so it looks better for the neighbors.

Vacuum and scrub the interior.

Tow it to my friend’s shop and steam clean the engine.

Bring it home.

Start it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher 11/03/2016 at 18:17

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Believe it or not, starting the engine is kinda downlist for me. I want to concentrate on the body first. Mind you, I’ve no intention of restoring in per se , but rub off the dead paint and sandblast the rust and spot paint over it. Window regulators are shot, door latch mechanisms are marginal and window seals are questionable. The slider barely slides. All of that stuff is the easiest on the list, and the cheapest. And I don’t want to do a thing under the hood until I’ve steam cleaned it. All of this is more or less the task order that Freiburg, Finnegan and Dulcich would do on Roadkill.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter 11/03/2016 at 18:19

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Hey young lady! What appeals to me is the downright utility of the thing, along with that old Family Truckster aesthetic. This is gonna be the family wagon that drifts. With a massaged straight-six and suicide-shifting manual transmission.

Berang > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 18:32

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You obviously don’t really love vans.

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 18:48

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Sounds like a plan!

Die-Trying > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 19:21

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when i had gotten my truck, it smelled of stale gasoline. i didnt know at the time, but the gas tank behind the seat had holes in the bottom. it would hold gas long enough to go around the block twice. i wondered about the smell. soon after i discovered the holes......... i remember having put a bunch of charcoal in the truck cab, and that it absorbed the bulk of the smell.

maybe get a deck brush, and some comet, give the interior a good scrub down. i been hearing that comet does a good job. i have yet to get mean with any of the trucks and comet. dont forget to scrub the roof. or maybe scrub a clean spot bulls-eye onto the roof. THE IMPORTANT THING, is that you dont have to scrub the WHOLE van at one time. break it down to easy sections. maybe do the hood tomorrow, then a door the next day, front fender the day after. small. manageable jobs........which reminds me, i need to get after it on my own projects too..........

fintail > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/03/2016 at 22:17

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It might make a good labor of love. Restoration costs might never be recouped, but it still could be worth saving - I never see ones this old, and I live in an area where old cars survive. These were a really solid design.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Berang 11/03/2016 at 23:13

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If that were true, the best way I can think of to show it would be to paint a mural on it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Berang 11/03/2016 at 23:16

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PS: You made Mrs. O.C. laugh.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Die-Trying 11/03/2016 at 23:18

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Good advice. I also have access to a sandblaster. I plan on getting after rust with it. And priming afterward.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Die-Trying 11/03/2016 at 23:21

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EDIT:

4. Bring it home.

5. Get the radiator re-cored and replace the two-row core with a three-row core.

6. Remove the gas tank and either recondition it or replace it.

7. Start it. (I could use a fuel can for a source if I haven’t replaced the tank yet.)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher 11/03/2016 at 23:22

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http://oppositelock.kinja.com/1788565267

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > fintail 11/03/2016 at 23:22

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It’ll be dailied with love.

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/04/2016 at 10:12

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I can’t wait to see the work begin.

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/04/2016 at 10:17

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Do the spot repairs then get a Maaco type paint job, slap some Astro van wheels on it and start on the interior.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here 11/04/2016 at 10:19

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I will keep Oppos posted.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here 11/04/2016 at 10:20

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If I spent more than $10 on paint, Mrs. O.C. would give me that look and it wouldn’t be the dreamy look. Other than rattle cans, paint isn’t even on the bottom of the list. Safari rims would be another matter...

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/04/2016 at 13:07

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If you could borrow a compressor and gun, Duplicolor makes qts and gallons now in a limited color selection. If you were North Coast instead of West Coast I would have dropped my compressor at your place for a weekend. One of our techs used the Duplicolor white to repaint his Fox body Mustang. Its in my pictures from the Valley View Ohio photo dump. It sprays well and he did it in sections but you can’t tell.

Die-Trying > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/04/2016 at 16:21

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i love the simplicity of old stuff. i have been running the truck off of two 5 gallon gas cans for the last 6 months? its got a hose that dips into them. you just have to figure how far you can go on 5 gallons, and swap over. fun stuff......... it was BECAUSE of the can situation that i figured out my current gas mileage ........7.5 taking it easy, or 5.5 with your foot in it.

the van should have a gas tank like a blazer/ suburban.

when i have “new”projects, i usually get those small 4x6 notepads, and make lists of all the stuff that i need to do/get/build.i keep the jobs i list small/simple, but detailed.(something like ....remove gas tank. check gas tank. clean gas tank. repair gas tank. reinstall gas tank. get fuel hose.) and i keep the thing around not too far from me. i check on the items fairly often, and cross off everything i have gotten done up to then. its THE best way i have found to stay on track........

making a list isnt exactly my idea of fun, but when you get to start crossing things off of it, it sure is satisfying.........

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here 11/04/2016 at 16:35

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Some day. Once I’m drifting, maybe.

Dave the car guy , still here > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/04/2016 at 17:01

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Love your fuel can remark, you need to remember this hack because I put this one away in my memory banks. Starting a vehicle or running it, its one of the best McGyver jobs I’ve had friends do. Several guys from our shop were in SE Ohio in the boonies running ATVs one weekend a couple of year ago when one of the older Chevy trucks had one of its two throttle body injectors fail after they left the trails. It was only getting a portion of fuel but was running somewhat and needed more gas. They took a 20 oz drink bottle and filled it with fuel. They had made 3-4 pin holes in the cap with a Swiss Army knife awl. With the intake ducts and air cleaner removed they could stick the bottle into the throttle body top while it was running and after some overly rich chugging it got up to enough speed that they were able to drive to a main road and a parts store with the hood partially closed with a bungee cord to hold the bottle in place. They had to stop and refill it once. It dribbled just enough extra gas to get the thing up to about 15-20. Faster or slower was an issue. I laugh my ass off when they told me about it after that weekend.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dave the car guy , still here 11/04/2016 at 19:41

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Click and Clack (The Tappet Brothers) claim that a plumber ran his carbureted truck by pointing an (unlit) propane torch into the mouth of the carb.