Custom Vanner Magazine blog

Busy Busy Busy!

2013-10-06T11:51:00.001-07:00

As usual my time is absorbed by things I probably shouldn't be involved in so it's slowed down the production of issue 7. Issue 7 will be out by the end of November and I will have it in person at Mooneyes Xmas Party in December at the Irwindale Speedway. Speaking of which if you plan to bring your van please pre register. They need to know how many vans will be there to make an appropriately sized van section this year. Support Moon!

So what's been taking up my time? Well great things like my full time job at Allison's Rod and Custom as a fabricator, printing all of my own t-shirts for the web store, a few fiberglass projects for my room mate, turned an old engine in to my coffee table, helped coop spray his shortened van, built a gullwing door for an A100, helping friends figure out sheet metal patch panels, updating the website, and instagram, swapping a 4 core radiator in to my room mates van, playing with slot vans, helping out with an intake swap for a member of our van club which turned in to a motor swap, paying my bills, helping people gullwing their doors over the phone, going to truck-ins. Lots of stuff like that. All fun stuff for real.

Speaking of fun stuff and truck-ins we went to Next Gen vanner's (of Cleveland, OH) 3rd annual truck-in and it was a blast. Lots of great vanners up that way new and old, lots of great vans, and plenty of party.

early econo patch panel

3rd gen chevy hood scoop mold

gnarly mustang at work. making room for 14" meats.

great home made sticker of an old chevy truck

one of my new slot vans.

the four core going in to alexs van

how my mornings go.

helped coop spray his short a100

built a fiberglass A100 gullwing with a steel inner structure for billy from next gen.

show n shine at next gen

sweet airbrushed wood dash in hot box

burts space cruiser

full custom hot box

how every issue starts

super bummed that my 36th nats frisbee broke in half. fuck.

my LT1 coffee table.

when bolts get in engines. if your friends come over to help you work on your rig make sure they understand that it's a serious deal not playtime. beers come after the work is done.

Issue 7, van nationals

2013-08-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well the 41st van nationals was awesome. 660 vans there from Wednesday through Sunday. A lil rain never hurt anyone. I saw a couple of canadians sliding down a hill in ponchos. it was like cool runnings. I saw some great vans, great vanners, partied my ass off, sold some mags, made new friends. what more can you ask for? We picked up Matt from Rolling Heavy wednesday during a gnarly storm. It was great to have his company. I hadn't seen him since mooneyes in december. Much too long. So we jammed down some steak n shake while the locals gave us the easy rider look. then we hauled ass over to old washington in my 67 econo and set up camp. We wanted it to be comfy so we brought a stereo and a leather couch. Guzzle puzzle was a big hit. If you didn't catch the rules you had to chug a beer to win a limited edition puzzle. only thing about it, it wasn't the beer of your choice. We set out 6 numbered beers which ranged from pbr, High life tall boys, to Foster's big cans and so on. You rolled a die. whatever number you rolled, you chugged that beer. Good times and free beer were had by all except for one guy that said " i've got a puzzle for you: why the fuck would we do this?" for fun ya dumbass. So anyway the Vannin Documentary folks showed a cut of their movie and it was superb. Can't wait for the full length. Everything else was a blur. pictures will complete that story. I'm starting on issue 7. Hoping for late september early november release. who knows. This one is gonna be jam packed. I'm trying to do more single page articles to fill the mag up as much as possible while staying with the 28 page format. Theres gonna be some great how tos like disc brakes for your early, custom floor pans, pre trip maintenance, sun roof installs and probably a few more as well as some sick feature vans.

Issue 6 is out!

2013-05-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

Man things have been crazy since my last post! I've been unbelievably busy. I layed out issue 6, I gullwinged an express van, and I've been working hard on Bj's 62 econoline project. It's got all kinds of new sheet metal on it. A disc brake kit from D&D disc brakes (dddiscbrakes.com), and their dual reservoir master cylinder kit, and a rear roll pan with license plate mount frenched in to it. All very nice stuff. Issue 6 is now out! I changed things up though. I really don't have time to ship all of the orders and I don't really have the money to keep up with the demand so the mag is now purchased through Magcloud.com. Magcloud prints and ships to order. So that means you get your order within 10 days, and you don't have to worry about whether I have it in stock or not. You can also order issues 4-6 all at once. I'm working on getting issues 2-3 up there as well but that could take some time because I will have to pull out my old laptop to recover some of the photos. We still have the web store for T shirts, coozies, and fiberglass parts. Go to customvannermagazine.limitedrun.com for all of that merchandise.

Custom Vanner Issue 6

Some great DIY builds featured in this issue. 2 in depth how to articles on fiberglass, and collision repair. An article on Deez crew van shop in Japan and more. Definitely an issue for fans of early vans (flat fronts). Disclaimer : there are no VW vans in this magazine.

2013-03-11T12:51:00.001-07:00

Well been a busy couple of weeks. Been makin sun visors and doing the in door show Circuit. Helped gene Winfield chop a 50 Chevy in Chicago, then did the stripers jam with Coop in Detroit and helped gene a little bit again on a 39 Chevy. Saw the Moore family's Hudson that we chopped on search and restore as we'll. I've also been working on the floors for Bjs 62 econo.

Truck on Keepin - matchstick

Fiberglass!

2013-02-16T10:14:00.001-08:00

Issue 5 is sold out! Way to go you sell outs. I'm thinking about doing a paperback collection of issues 1-5. Any takers on a book like this?

I just sent a gullwing off to Canada. If you need a 64-70 Chevy gullwing hit me up. I'm ready to make another. Also just did an econo visor for another vanner in Vanada. I'm also working on a chin spoiler for 64-70 Chevy vans.

Bj's 62 econo project is about to get a D&D disc brake kit and we're making new floor pans.

I had fun at council of councils in Boston. Got snowed in during some record breaking storm. We just partied.

This old spoiler was rapped in vinyl and I had to get all of the contact cement off of it. A few mods and I'll take a mold.

Location:Bed

I never update this

2013-02-02T07:01:00.001-08:00

Man I hate updating blogs. No one follows this crap anyway. We're all on Instagram and Facebook right? Well for the sake of makin good use of the bandwidth ill update. Issue 5 is pretty much sold out. I'm looking to release #6 at the end of April at Van Jam 37. It should be pretty heavy on the DIY side with a fiberglass how to, an article on a disc brake upgrade an early econoline, a giant patch panel project on a 62 econo that was hit hard, an article on coops short dodge, Jim yocums gasser econo, a look in to Deez crew and much more.

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Issue 5 is at the printer

2012-11-23T15:56:00.001-08:00

Vanners! Issue 5 has been sent to print. It's a 2013 calendar plus a few bonus features at the end of it. I kind of consider a year end calendar to be like a year book so I tried to cram as many vans in there while tryin to make it a quality piece and not a jumbled mess. Matt from rolling heavy magazine invited me out to his territory for the Mooneyes Christmas party. We will have a booth out there amongst the very special van parking section. The guys behind the moon equipment company have been in to vans for years. They know its coming back and they have welcomed all 60s and 70s van in to their event this year. We hope to see you there. Check out the webstore for a couple of new patches and order issue 5 while you're at it. Orders will start shipping out mid December.

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2012-10-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

I'm putting the back issues on mag cloud. You can order through them. They'll print you however many copies you order and mail them directly to you. This way I don't have to front the money and you get the magazines you want. Issue 5 will be out at the beginning of december. I'll be out in california with them for the Moon Eyes christmas party. If you're gonna be out there come say hi! Issue 5 will be a bitchin calendar/mini issue. we're calling it a calizine. It'll be 36 pages total. It will be super cool I promise. If your van is bitchin and you wanna see it in the calendar send me some pictures to : customvanner@gmail.com.

New Publication

By David Brooks

28 pages, published 10/24/2012

Issue 4 of Custom Vanner. Packed full of custom vans. This issue features a handy article on wheel offset, vans from the UK, event coverage, some west coast survivors and much more.

2012-05-01T12:52:00.001-07:00

Well that's another van jam in the books. We had a good time and a decent turnout. It didn't rain to awful much and we partied quite a bit. Here's some photos.

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Random vandom

2012-03-31T09:16:00.001-07:00

Just random photos. All recent. All of these vans are out on the road.

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Busier than shit

2012-03-28T07:33:00.001-07:00

I have been Very busy. I have another 100 copies of issue 3 on the way. I'm working on issue 4. I think it's really gonna shape up to be quite the issue. I'm also taking ads for issue 4. Full pages are $100, half $50, and 2" of the long edge of a page are $25. Email me if you would like to get an ad. Customvanner@gmail.com.

I went up to coop's house this weekend and installed a set of gullwings on a 65 Chevy. I'm glad to have that out of the way. I'm still working on billy burketts a100 gullwings.

Coop's A 100 is coming along nicely.

King turds Astro showed up in coop's driveway with a burnt up rear end.

Vance's astro is for sale if you have 5 grand. This is a mean mochine.

I finally finished the aluminum dash skirt for a 52 chevy truck at work.

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What I'm up to.

2012-03-07T22:26:00.001-08:00

Saw this 65 at skatepark. Turns out the owner is a 17 year old skater and he's had his van a year. Very cool!

This guy came out to our club meeting recently. His Chevy has a stock four cylinder. It's tiny!

Heres a 65 econo I did some striping on recently at an indoor car show and pinstripers charity auction

Here's a rat fink panel I painted recently for the charity auction.

Here's the aluminum dash skirt
I've been working on for a 52 Chevy pickup.

And last but not least my buddy Bj bought this 200 straight 6 from a 67 mustang to put in his 63 econo. Should be a good runner.

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Location:Here and there

Issue 3 sold out

2012-02-14T05:21:00.001-08:00

Hey Vanners issues 3 and 2 are presently sold out. I have 50 more of each on order. This is last call for issue 2. Issue 3 will probably get re printed until 500 copies. Issue two made it to 550 and I think that's plenty. Thanks for the support as always and again the webstore address is customvannermag.bigcartel.com.

In other news if you haven't layed your hands on a dirty Donny vantasy model kit yet you should. They are bitchin.

As always I like to share random photos I have on my phone.

Fourth nationals sticker

I loved the drawing of that econo.

Old school two color posters

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Shipping delay

2012-02-08T05:34:00.001-08:00

Hey Vanners issue 3 is selling fast. There is a shipping delay right now. I packed orders while I was at the council of councils in Florida but I did not ship any. So they start shipping out again today. If you ordered between the first and the fifth and you don't see your mag by next Wednesday send me an email. Otherwise sit tight and thanks for the order.

In other news issue 2 is sold out! It took some time but they are now gone.

Here are a few photos from Florida.

That's all vans by the way.

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Custome vanner Issue 3

2012-01-17T20:39:00.001-08:00

It's been some time since I have posted anything. I've been pretty busy with the fiberglass and magazine. Issue 3 has gone to press an will be in stock the 27th of January. I finally got with the times and made a webstore for the magazine. You can order mags and stickers from www.customvannermag.bigcartel.com.

The third issue focuses on art and graphics in the van scene mostly concerning airbrushed art. There is an article on harold harnish, Interview with painter Ron Kassebaum, inside the club with wheels of confusion, several feature vans, vintage photos and more. I'll try to post a lil more often.

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Sticker packs and issue 3

2011-10-14T21:15:00.001-07:00

Ok guys there was supposed to be a third issue out by October but we have decided to wait until council of councils in February. Three issues in the first year would be great but it's a gamble right now.

New sticker packs are available. Six stickers for six dollars shipped. Paypal me as usual. David at monkeydrive dot net.

I picked up a Toyota 20R motor for my van. It was sitting in my bosses back yard. I recognized it because leadfoot put one ( or maybe it was a 22R) in his 65 chevy. I snagged it and the 4 speed trans that was bolted to it for $100.

For those of you not familiar with the 20R it's an overhead cam 4 cylinder with a dual row timing chain. To top it all off it's carbureted. I'm hoping for around 25 MPG.

The engine was sitting in a field for a while so we pulled the head and cleaned it up. She broke free and feels great. We pulled the valves and cleaned all the seats. Were gonna re assemble an see how it does. If it's worth it then I'll pull the head again and get a valve job.

I know what you're saying. Wheres the power? This is a 95 HP engine. That's 20 less than a stock 230 and about the same as a flathead V8 that would have come in a 49-53 mercury. If it could move one of those it will move the van. I'm considering making fiberglass front doors eventually to get rid of some weight.

Here's a couple of welding Helmets I striped for work.

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Dazed and confused

2011-08-26T06:33:00.001-07:00

If you're in California in september ya should hit this event. Been around for a long time. Wheels of confusion is a great bunch of Vanners. They've been around since 73.

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How to shorten a drive shaft

2011-08-11T16:45:00.001-07:00

Ok so you're making a really bitchin van but the engine, trans, and rear are all different than stock and now you need a drive shaft. Here's a quick how to on shortening it your self. I have pictures for most of it but none for the very beginning. Sorry.

Determining what to take out: slide the yoke end of the drive shaft into the tail of the trans. Then pull it back out about 3/4 of an inch (that's what she said). Now measure from the center of the eye (the part of the joint that gets pressed in) on the u joint to the center of where the eye of the rear joint would be when bolted to the rear end. you now have your new drive shaft length. Now subtract that from the length of your current drive shaft. Thats how much to cut out.

Ok here comes the fun stuff! You need to scribe a straight line down the drive shaft. This line will allow you to keep your yokes in exact factory phase when you go to weld it back together. If you get the yokes out of phase you will end with vibration. Get out a metal scribe and a long straight edge. Put the straight edge down the length of the driveshaft centering it off the same u joint centers you used to measure the desired length earlier. Now choose where to make your first cut. This is up to you. Perhaps you want to retain a factory weight or get rid of a dent. It's up to you. Remember to take your time and get a straight cut. This helps a lot when welding it back together. We used a gravity style band saw
Which made for a very precise cut. We made our first cut about ten inches from the yoke. We needed to remove 25 1/2 inches from the shaft. Here we are measuring from the first cut to the Blade. Now would be a good time to double check your measurements.

Next we beveled our edges to give the weld a little v shape to lay in to. This helps with penetration ( that's what she said).

Now we take both pieces of the shaft and clamp it between two small pieces of u channel. Make sure you line up your scribed line and of course strip the area where you are going to weld.

If you look closely you can see our scribed center line.

Now place a few tack welds around it. Then finish up with a solid bead. Make sure you ground your welder to te drive shaft and not a u joint bearing. You can ruin the bearings. Putting in new bearings you say? Well then ground wherever you want.

Now grind down your welds. Don't go nuts. Just get it pretty smooth and be done with it.

Next check the fit in the car. This is a 34 ford so we had a pretty short length. 33 1/4 inches to be exact.

She fit like a glove! Now we will take it out and put in new u joints and have it balanced. Then we'll paint it. It's up to you whether you have it balanced or not. As long as you kept your yokes in phase you should be fine. I suppose it depends on the project and your pocket book. Balancing usually costs around $150. Give it a shot first and if you don't have vibration at highway speeds you did well. Good luck and be sure to wear safety equipment when working with power tools. Work smarter not harder.

Fool injection!

2011-08-10T10:09:00.001-07:00

Well I'm getting my LT-1 engine ready for the 68 no door. We've stripped the block of it's accessories and we're getting it cleaned and ready for paint. After I'll figure out the bracket for the alternator. That will be the only engine accessory. I have the intake and water pump at work and I plan to start polishing those tonight. it should turn out to be pretty fancy. I also bought a wiring harness from kwik wire and a steering wheel from a 54 chevy. It's coming together!

CVM issue 2

2011-07-18T16:54:00.001-07:00

Ok folks issue 2 is now up for sale. I have about 250 of 500 copies left. Please send payments to david@monkeydrive.net. If you are placing an international order please email me at that address first. I work full time now so I will be shipping on Wednesdays and Fridays. Sorry for the inconvenience but I've got bills to pay!

Prices for one copy of Issue 2:

USA $6.50 USD
CANADA $7.00 USD
MOST INTERNATIONAL ORDDERS $9.00 USD

It's a full size mag this time. This issue is 16 pages full color. This issue features some old vannin photos from the late 70s , how to replace the roof skin on a mid dodge, a special article on radical builders, DIY tool highlight, feature van metalstorm, and vanner art by bill Rowe.

Here is a picture of issue one and two to give you an idea on the size change.

Also here was my favorite van I saw at the nats.

2011-07-05T18:20:00.001-07:00

Well I've been real busy. I'm getting ready for the van nationals in Ohio. I leave in six days. Issue two of custom vanner magazine is on it's way to me from the printer. Hopefully it looks ok because I don't have time to deal with problems. I get the msg Friday and head to the event Monday. We've been working on new fiberglass parts. 3rd Gen chevy sunvisors are ready and
We just finished the wing mold for 3rd gens as well. We also have a mold for early econo sunvisors now. Here are some pics. Hope everyone is havin a truckin' awesome summer.

stripin

2011-05-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

I striped a car fender tonight for the beatersville art show. Liberty Tattoo asked me if I had anything. I don't know if they're taking stuff up to the show or if it's something they've been displaying for the month of the show. I don't ask questions. I just do what I'm told. Here's the lines. I used my coop friki tiki brush, and an ed rother White elephant. sure wish I could find my real camera.

gullwings and no doors and hot rods

2011-05-14T03:50:00.000-07:00

Scott,Spence and I gullwinged a factory slider for Kerry out of cleveland last night. Big thanks to those guys for staying up real late and getting her licked. It came out real nice. Odd thing was it was a window slider, so when it's up his gullwing has a sunroof.

My 68 No door finally made it home. Gotta get the Caprice motor ready for it.

To top it all off hot rod magazine made some mention of my glass doors and Custom Vanner magazine. That was very nice of them. Big thanks to dave wallace for the nice write up. Very good people.

John's 67 supervan

2011-04-14T08:23:00.001-07:00

I'm gettin john's 67 super van in epoxy primer. for a long body van this thing is gonna look pretty cool. more pictures to come. also thanks to anyone that ordered a copy of custom vanner. your order is in the mail.

More copies of Issue 1!

2011-04-11T12:08:00.005-07:00

I have 100 more copies of Custom Vanner Issue 1. They're $6.22 by mail. I'll have the pay pal address below. If you need to pay by snailmail please send an email to that same address so I can set a copy aside for you until your payment comes in.