A letter from a reader (January 2009, yes I am laggin'... but better late than never!) of DON'T COME KNOCKIN':
Hi guys ,
Just found your site and it's way cool !
Here are a few pics of my van that I found in the classifieds and purchased for $ 1300.00 !
It was in storage in a guys garage for 12 yr.s up on cement blocks ! It was purchased new by the owner in 1981 and he then had it painted by Dez custom paint here in Ottawa ( $ 3500.00 worth in 1981 ) . The underneath of the van has zero rust and the body is rust free ! WooooHoo !
The interior had a bed and bar plus lots of crushed velvet all over the dash which took me 2 weeks of careful scraping to remove all the contact cement residue .
The bed and bar were taken out because the van was going to be used to haul rock band equipment . It smelled pretty stale when I first went to look at it and it has burnt orange shag rug still in it !
I get thumbs-up everywhere I go and people always take the time to look it over and talk to me about their " van days " back in their youth .
The back doors have an airbrushed prospector with his donkey , the front engine hood has " Golden Nugget " airbrushed on it and on the other side of the van is a large airbrushed mural of a Klondike town in the 1800's with a saloon , jail and a bank which is being held-up !
I have plans to add headers , duals this summer and fix a few items ( interior trim ) .
Thanks for your site and keep those vans rockin' !
Cheers,
Joe Ovington,
Ottawa, Ontario
