SEAT SCORE

My son Drew came across four really interesting bar stools this weekend while thrifting here in Denver. Knowing I'd been scouting for seats for my Econoline, he called me at work and described them to me. As he has a good eye, I planned to go see them ASAP.

The next morning was Saturday, so I made a bee line to the thrift store. Imagine my delight when I came upon the seats you see here. Better yet, they had been marked down by 50% since when Drew saw them a day earlier. I bought four. It's great having a son who find gems like this for me and the price was more than fair. It was, in a word,  ridiculous. 

EASY TIGER VAN

A guy I used to work with-- a phenomenal designer -- just helped make an old Dodge A-100 into one of the coolest delivery vehicles on the planet. I know very little else about it other than Ryan Rhodes out helped on it. I'm guessing he laid out all the typography. Anyhow, if you see this bad boy running around Austin, TX, follow it to the beer garden. More on it once I've learned a bit more. 

Until then, enjoy. Cheers!

THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART

This has absolutely no correlation to this post. Other than being insanely cool.

VinVanCo merch is coming. After going a couple rounds with the artist we hired, we're getting close to having our artwork done. And it's going to be rad. Which means collecting bids for patches, decals, tees, koozies and bumper stickers can start. Stay tuned. Things are about to get interesting.

PERIOD-PERFECT RAKE

Every once in a while I come across a little slice of period-perfect perfection. Today's example is one of those vehicles that serves to remind me that less is often more. While I've been obsessing over how to bury "Poochie, our '61 Econoline into the weeds, along comes a tasteful rake that looks, well, perfect. Of course, the rake is not the only thing that makes this Econoline wonderful. I wouldn't be surprised if the money saved not trying to make it ride lower than it was ever intended to,  may have made the tasteful mods ot does have possible. For example, the bumpers, the grill, the roof color and the Cragar SS wheels. And check out the mirrors. Not small peekaboos that hardly work. But the industrial kind that actually do a bang up job. I love it. Kudos to the builder/owner. Period prefect.

AN INSPIRING '61 ECONOLINE

Donn Dabney is a Sonoma, California resident who has embarked on an journey to restore a 1961 Ford Econoline the right way. Not the cheap way. He is taking the time that's needed to build a truly extraordinary example of a 1961 Ford Econoline panel van in the guise of a West coast surfer style van. Very few people short of Coby Gewertz (owner of VanGo) have gone so far to build a first-generation Ford Econoline. Prepare to be very impressed.

Note the surf-themed custom gauge bezel.

As you can see no stone was left unturned.

Note the modern headlight and the perfect bezels.

Even the doghouse is perfectly restored.

Classic Cragar SS rims make this Econoline look like a period-perfect throwback.

Perfect chrome.

The humble beginnings of a nice clean interior with insulation. 

What West Coast beach lover wouldn't love to pilot this puppy?

The seats have been treated to leather upholstery.

INTERIOR DECORATING- PRETTY IN PINK

I came across some interior shots of a pink Falcon van I'd seen before on the 'net. Now admittedly, it is not the first color that I'd choose to paint an early. But I'd be lying if said I didn't appreciate it. The more I see it, in fact, the more I'm drawn to it. But what really impressed me when I saw the interior pictures, was the continuity of the theme, in terms of carrying it from the exterior into the interior. I'd have to give the person who did this interior a big fat freakin' A+. It's one thing to make an interior wacky, another thing altogether to go purely functional. But once in a great while, you see someone who does a great custom interior that is a useful as it is creative. That pretty much describes how I feel about this one. Note the front center console and the rear speaker shelf in back. I'll bet this one has a killer sound system. The rims are also great, neither retro nor ultra modern, but rather an interesting balance of each. Kudos to all involved on a very well-done early. Pink. Pretty. Cool.

How to lower a first-gen van

It seems to be the $64,000 question that many of us are asking. In an effort to find the answer, I recently posted up on the world-renowned HAMB (Hokey Ass Message Board) and after a mild roasting over symantics -- referring to lowering a first-gen van as a "body drop" vs. "channeling", a few people in the know actually chimed in. Rather than repeat the highlights, I thought I'd simply share the blog thread itself. Just paste the url below into your browser and enjoy.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=604124

Feel free to give it a read and to those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, have a look at a great blog for pre-63 traditional hot rodding info. But make sure and get your terminology right!