Van and Ute Gallery

Happy new year everyone! Over the break I did something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and I've put together a Van, Ute and Pickup gallery.

I've uploaded over a thousand picture already, mostly a collection of Holden vans I've picked up from the 'net.

You can check the gallery out at http://gallery.perryr.com

Feel free to register and add your own pictures to the public albums, or your own private album.

edit: Now over 2,000 images on the site. Thanks to those who contributed!

Sunday Drive and Tailgate

Tailgating

Put a new tailgate on the van a couple of weeks ago, and learned something interesting:

When you buy a new ute tailgate (reproduction, made in Taiwan as they all are), you will need to so some modifications to get the tailgate to fit a panel van.

The mods need to be done at the top right corners of the tailgate - the corners need to be cut out to fit into the rear pillars of the van.

Fortunately, I did a trial fitting before I painted the tailgate and everything is cool. Could be a trap for the unwary though.

Now I just need to try and get some shine into the painted tailgate - acrylic out of a can isn't the easiest stuff to work with if you want a nice finish.

Long drive

Last weekend we took the van to Traralgon (about 500k return) and she ran beautifully. That was the good news. The bad news is that my in-laws were moving, and it was payback time for when they helped us move. I'm getting too old for this....

Click on the map to enlarge

There's nothing quite like an old Holden V8 which is running well. Quite a few people waved to us - exactly what does one finger mean? :-)

It was a warm drive, and it reminded me that one of the major projects I have lined up is to put some air conditioning in the van. I've got a second hand unit out of a Statesman, and most of the bits, but it still looks like a big job.

If anyone has any hints, please let me know!

The beginning

Where's the best place to start? At the beginning, so here goes! We were on the lookout for a van for quite some time - the preferred choice was a WB on dual fuel, V8 without side windows.

This van showed up on eBay, being sold by a fellow in Daylesford (Vic) who has owned and driven it for quite some years.

The photos below were taken when I went and looked at the van, before we bought it.

Standard WB front, with GTS guards

Leather Interior

Wood grain wheel, GTS DashROH Alloy Wheels


Carpet trimmed interior (with spare wheel)

After some negotiation, we paid $5,500 - which included a roadworthy. We had to wait for a couple of weeks while the roadworthy was organised, but we think it was a pretty good buy.

As you can see above, the spare wheel is in the cabin because of the LPG tank. This van is a 253 4-speed, on dual fuel!