Chopped 55 f100

[Duke55]

Slow progress but I just installed some new shoes and have a good pile of new parts sitting in the shop waiting to get installed. Just need to find time.

Also lowered it another 1.5” for a total of 2.5” in the back and 3.5” in the front.






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[nonhog]

Nailed it!

 

[Duke55]

Nailed it!

Thanks. Was a bit harder than I expected to find 14” white wall tires. They are almost a thing of the past.


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[PLOWJEEP]

That van is soaking cool. All of your hard work has paid off. You sir have mad skills.
Thanks for sharing , Brian

 

[txvwnut]

You found the perfect wheel/tire combo for it. Stance looks good too, that’s gonna be one sharp breadbox.

 

[xtremek]

Looks great, very nice.

 

[Toolfool]

Taking it to VanNationals this year ?
https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubb...46th-van-nationals-july-25-29-2018#Post726490

 

[Duke55]

Been slowly learning how not to do upholstery.

Picked up 1/4 and 1/2” foam, carpet and white vinyl. Will use some gold material out of my dads stash for inserts. My oldest daughter has been helping with the upholstery every step of the way which I have really enjoyed. We have played the Jukebox many hours to get this much done. Also really like being able to use my dads old Juki sewing machine.



Started with the headliner. Made a couple practice panels then selected which one to take forward.




Moved on to the side panels. Decided to give tuft buttons a try.









Now on to the dreaded seat. Inserts.



Backside of inserts. Blind stitched and pockets at each intersection for the buttons to rest in. Same way the side panels were done. Headliner was also blind stitched.













Painted the steering wheels and bumpers tonight.



Should be on to carpet next. I have two more rear seats but they will get done after the van is on the road.



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[Duke55]

Taking it to VanNationals this year ?
https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubb...46th-van-nationals-july-25-29-2018#Post726490

No van nationals for me this year. Not sure if I will do anything crazy like that when the van is done.


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[nonhog]

Love it!
Reminds me of my Dad's 61 VW Bus he had the front seat redone in button tuck.

 

[Toolfool]

For "slowly learning" that looks pretty damn good.

 

[Bob Heine]

For "slowly learning" that looks pretty damn good.

Royce, I agree with John. That looks a lot better than the work a "professional" upholstery shop did for me.

 

[Duke55]

Love it!

Reminds me of my Dad's 61 VW Bus he had the front seat redone in button tuck.

Thanks. The van has grown on me. I completely lost sight of quick and easy but I have learned a lot on this one.


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[Duke55]

Royce, I agree with John. That looks a lot better than the work a "professional" upholstery shop did for me.

Thanks for the comments Bob and John. I still have a long ways to go before I would consider myself an upholstery guy but to me doing it yourself with flaws is much more rewarding than paying someone else to do a better job.



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[txvwnut]

The interior is spot on and looks fantastic.

 

[C_F]

The interior is spot on and looks fantastic.

What he said! You have done a great job with your interior so far, I like it. Are you planning anything special for the carpet? Or just...carpet.

 

[nonhog]

Just thinking how fast you got this thing near complete.
You burn the hours or just work efficient. Or both?
I struggle on all that. LOL.

 

[Duke55]

Just thinking how fast you got this thing near complete.

You burn the hours or just work efficient. Or both?

I struggle on all that. LOL.

Ha. I think that’s an outside looking in illusion. This project has been harder to find time to work on compared to previous projects and I have had to redo a lot more than typical so my efficiency has sucked. I thought I would have this done months ago.

What he said! You have done a great job with your interior so far, I like it. Are you planning anything special for the carpet? Or just...carpet.

Thanks, I have some carpet that I think will look good. The front will be glued in and the back will be loose mats that can be removed for hauling stuff. Need to find a rubber material to put on the bottom of the mats and figure out what I am going to bind it with.



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[kbs2244]

I don't think I have ever seen a front bench seat in a van before.

 

[Bob Heine]

I don't think I have ever seen a front bench seat in a van before.

I think only VW and Corvair vans could have a bench up front. Pretty
much impossible in front-engine vans.

 

[kbs2244]

But even those had bucket seats didn't they?

 

[dittle fart around]

But even those had bucket seats didn't they?

Volkswagen had walk through models with buckets.

 

[Duke55]

Installed bumpers and all weatherstripping. Steering wheel in place but not cinched down yet.







Decided to keep the goofy chrome turn signal switch that came with the van. Originally wasn’t going to but it has grown on me and I think it fits the goofy van.




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[Toolfool]

That van didn't look this good brand new !!

 

[C_F]

That van didn't look this good brand new !!

That's for sure!!

 

[Duke55]

Got the van out for the first time yesterday. Went to the Salt Flat Speed Shop open house. It was over 100 degrees out. Made it there and back with no issues. Have some plans for this weekend. Should have some good pictures to post early next week.












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[C_F]

Glad to hear the first trip out went well, it sure looks purty sitting there in the sun! Love the little CT70 in the back, I used to have it's twin...

I had it in my office room, it was a fun conversation piece. Sold it about 4 years ago.

 

[xtremek]

Looks like you already shot some good pics. To town and back in 100*, sounds like most of the bugs are gone.

 

[Duke55]

Glad to hear the first trip out went well, it sure looks purty sitting there in the sun! Love the little CT70 in the back, I used to have it's twin...

I had it in my office room, it was a fun conversation piece. Sold it about 4 years ago.

Very cool. I would like to find another one. We have put almost 150 miles on this one since we got it. Mostly around the neighborhood but we did take it camping last weekend.


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[Duke55]

Another less popular bike I picked up the day after I got the CT70 is a 1973 Suzuki RV90. I guess they are very popular in Japan. They call them van vans. It actually would be a much better bike to ride around town than a CT70. They are two strokes. Bought it from the original owner for a great price.




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[C_F]

Another less popular bike I picked up the day after I got the CT70 is a 1973 Suzuki RV90. I guess they are very popular in Japan. They call them van vans. It actually would be a much better bike to ride around town than a CT70. They are two strokes. Bought it from the original owner for a great price.

That's really cool, I haven't seen one of those RV90's before. Looks like it's in great shape!

 

[KMinAF]

Fantastic job on the van!

 

[Duke55]

Broke the van in at the Bonneville Salt Flats for Speed Week.









After the first day of racing we drove into Wendover for a car show at the Casino with a pile of other salty rods.

First time getting the van on the interstate. It did great. Think we’re gonna have a lot of fun with this goofy thing.


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[HOTFR8]

I heard at the DLRA meeting this past weekend some of our members at Bonneville stated the Salt surface was not as good as it has been in the past. Great photos of the Van on the salt.

 

[Duke55]

I heard at the DLRA meeting this past weekend some of our members at Bonneville stated the Salt surface was not as good as it has been in the past. Great photos of the Van on the salt.

The consensus out there is the salt was the best it’s been in close to a decade. Lots of new records to prove it (including the worlds fastest piston powered).

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[nonhog]

I went to Utah to see the races one time about 15 plus years ago. Rained out, never saw the salt but still had a great time in Utah.
Pics are perfect!

 

[Duke55]

Sometimes the lighting is just right. Looked out the front window of the house and the roof was beaming. Suckered me in to taking more pictures.





Crazy how it can go from dead to beaming with a slight lighting change. The dark color on the sides does the same and is what I like the most but for whatever reason the sides don’t picture as good.




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[don long]

That van is killer.
The paint is amazing knowing how much work goes into getting it to look like that. My hat is off to you once again.

So what is your next project???

 

[HOTFR8]

The consensus out there is the salt was the best it’s been in close to a decade. Lots of new records to prove it (including the worlds fastest piston powered).

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That sounds much better

 

[xtremek]

Someone has some mad skills. I love the paint job. Not my style, but so sweet.