(First Posted September 1, 2013) So what would you do if you rolled your 1979 Volkswagen Van? Send it to the scrapyard? Part it out? Find a replacement body shell? Or like the owner of today’s feature give it a brand new custom body?
Constructions looks to be heavily inspired by the motor-home and travel trailer industry of the mid 1970’s. I suspect plywood and siding are what makes up most of the boxy body. The windows also look to be sourced from the RV industry. Despite this the two tone orange and white color scheme somehow manages to avoid it looking like a cheap box on wheels. Or perhaps it is the front end that looks vaguely like a sad dog face that saves it but this vehicle has character.
There are a few stock bits showing themselves like the rather undersized looking wheels as well as the tail lights. The integration of the engine cover is a nice touch. I didn’t hear it run to confirm but the fiberglass air intake mounted up high at the rear, just like a stock Volkswagen van, indicates this unit still runs an air cooled flat four motor. The big Mopar bumper is an interesting addition although something a little less substantial might have been more aesthetically pleasing. The van is complete with trailer hitch just in case the squared off corners and extra weight haven’t completely blunted all the performance so one could add a trailer to the mix. A Seventies travel trailer would be the perfect companion assuming you could find one light enough.
Coming around the other side we can see that this van has one and only one door. Appropriately enough I spotted this custom van at the local self service scrapyard. Maybe the owner was after some more bits to further personalize his ride? I later found out the van is dubbed Fred by the owner/builder who is also named Fred.
Very highly creative and he used what he had instead of scrapping it. That is to be commended.
It also appears he has a wee bit more room inside that what he had previously.
The Blazer next to it has me curious also; I’m seeing at least five colors on it!
Wow! I’m quite curious as to how this was done structurally, as the VW bus is a unibody, although it does have frame-like members welded to its undersides. I suppose they kept the original floor/frame, and built up from there, which is what the pickup did too essentially. Just needs a Corvair engine back there…not digging that huge bumper back there though.
Love that vintage 1970 cladding!
I’ve seen it in blue before, but never orange.
It really looks well put-together, and I’m pretty curious about the structural details. And I’ve gotta know about that Mopar bumper. Something that caught his eye at the local junkyard, or a bit saved from an old car of his? It’s such an odd choice that I’m going to guess that it’s a bumper with some sort of sentimental value. After all, that the sort of thing that a guy named Fred with a truck named Fred might do.
It’s what Clark W. Griswold drove before the family truckster.
It has a 1973 Alberta plate with a 74 sticker on the front – maybe the original plate, or at least the year of the VW?
Plywood? really Caravans as we know them are constructed from Aluminium on an Aluminium frame, Theres probably a chassis to locate the mechanical pieces andmount the body frame on and the pressed sidings to keep the weather at bay, this is quite a popular thing to do with old trucks to create a RV usually something more substantial than a VW is chosen simply for drivability and towing boats etc.
Cool van its well made more power can easily be had with Corvair or a Rover V8 bolts neatly to a VW van transaxle.
Most anything can be bolted to a VW transaxle thanks to Kennedy Engineered Products. My favorite had a little hemi looking Toyota four.
When I saw the headline I thought, whats the point. First sentence gave the point and it is well taken. I love folks who make do with what they have like this. I envy them for their skill.
Check the household blind as sun visor – just like they use on large coaches/buses although they usually have them running on tracks so they don’t hit you in the face!
I love custom solutions to problems like this little RV.
The thought did cross my mind that this would be a cool thing to do using the frame to the old 92 Explorer that I have. Since the body is fairly rusty, I could just discard it and use the frame and drivetrain to make a little 4×4 RV. Would need a doghouse to house the 4.0L v6, but it’s do-able I suppose. It would have a short wheelbase though…and be top heavy. Not a good thing for highway driving.
I’m not normally a fan of the no-curves school of RV design, but that is one mighty fine looking creation. The styling, proportions, colours, all work perfectly in unison.
where is this?
How much is it?
Are those airscoops for flo-thru(tm) ventilation on the front sides under the side mirrors? I see he reused a lot of the parts from his Bus. The assorted front and tail lighting, the crank out windows on the side, maybe even the side mirrors as well, cause I remember my family’s bus having side mirrors like that.
I’d like to see what he did with the inside. I bet he reused a lot of the interior parts too.
With the exception of that goofy oval side window, and the ’73-’74 Satellite Sebring rear bumper (it even looks like it still says ‘Plymouth’!), for a homebuilt, this is mostly done quite well. I wonder how much heavier the body is than the Transporter from which it came. In that regard, I would hope that the engine has some decent power mods. It’s not like Type 2 VWs were exactly speedy in the first place.
Admirable re-use of his VW, and with the straight lines I can’t help but think “bread truck,” or–of course–“Fred truck.” Would love to see the interior…
The rear bumper probably does wonders for traction. Handling, maybe not so much.
“4 U 2 C” lol
Interesting – different license plate numbers on the front and the back, but both from Alberta. Nice work to keep this going and make it useful again.
Front plates are not required here so you can put pretty much anything on the front. An old, year correct example is a common add to classic cars.
Leve de man van de SRV van je hieperdepiep hooray.
(photo courtesy of Sebastiaan ter Burg)
The Fred Song
https://youtu.be/o9RiMrA3XM8
Another Fred Song: