1978 Chevrolet Van(TIME CAPSULE) Up for auction here is a prime example of a custom build from the van craze era. This is not a recreation, it's the real deal originally customized back in the early 80's. It has been extremely well preserved and it runs and drives just as well as it looks. If you are wanting something different to take to shows or cruises, this is it. Not only will you never see another like it, people will gather around this more than the three figure show car you parked next to. I'll start off with the exterior. It has a brown metallic finish that shines very well and was just waxed. The body is very straight with no damage, dings or scratches. There is absolutely no rust anywhere, it is very clean and solid. Nothing is patched up. It has all factory seams and spot welds showing. It's a real survivor. This doesn't have the crazy fender flares or visors but they could be added very easily if you wish since they are still available through suppliers. It does have the two glass windows towards the rear and pop up sunroof that are a necessity to the look. All ofthe doors, windows and hood open and close as they should and form a nice tight seal. I believe the rest of the body speaks for itself. It's not all cut up with crazy modifications it just has a real clean simple look to the outside that could be a blank slate for any future modifications you wanted to do. I know most vehicles look a lot better in the pictures than in person but this one is not the case. In person it looks just as good as the pictures represent it as. The interior is really where someone went all out. Everything is pretty much custom with the exception of the actual dashboard itself. Everything is still in remarkable shape and looks like it was just customized yesterday. None of the seats or material really show any wear. It has swivel bucket seats up front with the full size sofa in the back. It of course has the wood paneling and the carpet to complement it all. There is a lot of woodworking that has been done also and you really need to see it all in person to really appreciate the craftsmanship. The ceiling was actually made out of prom dress material and really glistens in the light. It has lots of lights all around the interior along with a pretty good sounding speaker system. The radio is actually one of the only things that we have changed on it but it blends right in with everything else you don't even notice the addition. It's a retrosound head unit that has am/fm, aux input and can also be hooked up to a cd changer. It has a cb installed which still works but the antenna was removed since it didn't fit in the garage with it on. All the gauges work and an auxiliary oil pressure gauge was installed under the dash. The steering wheel was also replaced with a custom unit and the shift knob is an actual pool ball tapped to screw onto the lever. The engine has been recently replaced with a brand new crate 305 engine. The transmission is a TH350 and it was rebuilt by Fort Dodge transmission at the time of the motor installation. The van runs and drives great and has no issues at all. The radiator was just replaced as well as it had a tiny seep on the end tank. All of the air conditioning components were just reinstalled but has not been actually been pressurized yet but it should work since everything is there. It has power steering and power brakes and all of that works great. It has dual exhaust that sounds excellent. It has a nice deep tone to it and is not very loud inside the cabin at all. You can carry on a conversation inside just like normal and there is no interior drone. The tires are new and have less than 1000 miles on them. The van rides down the road very well and is actually very comfortable for long trips. There is no reason why you wouldn't be able to fly out and drive this across the country if you needed to. This needs absolutely nothing just a new owner to take it out and show it off. The previous owner was telling us about all the trips they have been on with the van and it sounds like it's been everywhere. They started to collect state stickers and were placing them under the hood. Unfortunately some of them have deteriorated over time but some are still intact. Overall this is just a good, dependable custom van that you will not be disappointed in. It seems like everyone we talk to remembers a van like this back in the day and it's just neat to hear their stories. If you have any questions at all please contact me here on ebay, or you can always just give me a call at 515-249-6167. Thanks for looking and have a great day! |