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  • in reply to: Cool Song Friday #249879
    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Check out the crazy American Wood Spoke wheels… the spare was never mounted, and the wooden spoke insert was cracked but in pretty good shape.   The wood insert was just screwed to the steel wheel, with random screws no less.   It’s amazing they even held on!

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022.09.10 2

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022.09.10 3

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    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022.09.10 4

    However, the ONLY wheels I was interested in are American Racing JET turbine wheels.    JETs were also limited production wheels, but they were the same wheels we had on the first van.   Finding a set was going to be the hard part!

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Once at the shop, we took some time to look it over in greater detail.   We fixed some leaks, replaced the alternator, installed some belts, swapped the carburetor, fixed some leaky wheel cylinders and brake hoses, and some windshield wiper transmission bushings.   The exhaust was on it’s way out, but it was still hanging on.    Overall, it really just needed items that any old car would need after 43 years of duty.

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022.09.10 7

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022 10 12.0083

    A little STP with on-board ZDDP will help keep the original flat-tappet camshaft happy in the 360.   Cams and lifters from this time period are seemingly more safe from rampant lifter and lobe failures, but a little extra slick ‘em-up doesn’t hurt.

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022.09.10 1

     

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Over the weekend a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado designed by Ben Hermance called The Vanilla Gorilla that incorporates an overall shortening and a rear-drive conversion (among a ton of other touches) – it was cool to see one come to life!

    2024 autorama great 8 1967 cadillac eldorado u201cvanilla gorilla u201d medium

     

     

    I know, I know… we’ve already featured Problem Child Kustoms earlier in this thread, and even a Cadillac. BUT… this one is just too cool not to share. Dig this Eldorado! More here: https://www.problemchildkustoms.com/portfolio-ideation.html

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan 09.22.2022 5 large

    I donned my CARToons Magazine tee shirt and headed out.   Aside from the carb issues, the speedometer cable was screaming and the needle was bouncing, and the steering was all over the place.   The tires were not only out-of-round, but loud as can be thanks to being time-hardened and brittle.  Temps and pressures seemed good, though, as did the brakes.    I added some gas and drove it 13 miles to the shop for further evaluation.

     

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan 09.22.2022 6 large

    The view from the windshield is also just how I remembered it!

     

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan 09.22.2022 4 large

     

    Success!   But with work to do for sure!

    It was a nice sunny day, and our ‘62 Galaxie provided a nice ride home.

     

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    When I finally got a minute, it was time to try to evaluate this rig with a clear head.   It would start pretty easily, but it didn’t want to stay running.   Once in gear it would die.    I pulled the doghouse off to reveal a new 2-barrel carburetor, and sort-of-recent plug wires and distributor cap, but no real evidence of other recent tune up items.  I think what this thing needs is more vacuum lines!

     

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan 360 V8

     

    The mighty 360 LA-series Dodge V8.   One benefit of a van is the ability to work on the engine from the comfort of the cockpit!  I made some basic idle adjustments, but the accelerator pump seemed to be junk, and I had to bump the  idle speed up pretty high just to keep it alive enough to move it.  I set the timing with a vacuum gauge.   Eventually, a carb rebuild and compete tune-up were in order.

     

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan 360 V8

     

    Once I got the idle sorta stabilized, I let it reach operating temperature without incident.   It was time to take it around the block and see what else it needed!

    The exhaust was dangling, and the wheels were a curiosity for sure.

     

    American Racing Wood Spoke Wheels

     

    We’re looking at a set of American Racing “Wood Spoke” wheels, made in 1978 and 1979 and installed by Concept Engineering on the van.   The center is a real wood decorative insert – note this one is cracking – screwed to a stamped-steel wheel.   The 1970s were strange times.   The BFG Radial T/As had plenty of tread, but were old and hard as rocks.

    I stepped on the brakes, and carefully put the van in reverse.   It crawled back when I let up on the brake pedal, although the engine wanted to die.   I had reverse… and brakes!   Clicking the shifter into drive, the van lunged forward and the brakes seemed happy to stop it.    It was time to drive it a block or two!

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    The Van arrived about a week later.   I walked around the Van and eventually helped the transporter and backed it off the trailer.   It barely stayed running, so I had to two-foot it, but I managed to get it up the driveway and park it behind my garage.

    Kevin Oestes 1979 Dodge B200 Custom Maxi Van on trailer

    Kevin Oestes 1979 Dodge B200 Custom Maxi Van on trailer 2

    I couldn’t believe it was real.   I sat in the driver seat and looked around, and so many little details and memories came flooding back to me.   The sound of the key in the ignition tumbler, the Mopar gear-reduction starter, the 360-barrel engine running… it was all nearly the same.   Even the little “twang” when you turn the ignition key back to the off position.

    Kevin Oestes 1979 Dodge B200 Custom Maxivan interior

    I crawled in the back and sat in the midship captain’s chair, and turned on the orange-lensed mood lights on the overhead A/C ductwork.   I was again transported right back to the mid 1980s, and I could clearly visualize the back of my Dad’s silhouette, complete with the window cracked and a lit Barclay cigarette out the window.    It was wild.

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    I contacted the seller, who shared a story about how he was a dealer that picked up the van when they bought a load of cars in a package deal.  He said it was a one-owner vehicle, and that the original owner had passed, and his family donated it to a charity, who then auctioned it.   I have no way of finding out if that is true, but it sure appears to be well cared-for.   We chatted over a facetime video, and he showed me around the van via video.  It ran poorly, but didn’t seem to knock or smoke.  He drove it a bit, but it stumbled and died.   But I didn’t care.  Resurrecting mothballed old cars is something we do at the V8 Speed and Resto Shop all the time, and I wasn’t deterred by what I saw.

    My mind was bent.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.   Each detail brought back another memory, of my youth, family trips, my friends, and my Dad.  I didn’t realize how much the old van had been on my mind, but seeing this version caused a big feeling of relief.

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022 07 21.0029

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022 07 21.0052

    The airbrushing and interior were nearly identical to our old van, and when the seller sent me the VIN, I found they were both built around the same time.  This one in December, 1978, and our old one in November.  Most likely,  both vans were painted by the same guy!

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022 09 24.0211

    1979 dodge b200 maxivan ko 2022 09 24.0225

    I poured over the pics, and the little details came back to me one after the next.   This one had 4 captain’s chairs, while our old van had 3 installed with an extra.  (My buddy Paul and I once bolted the extra chair to a skateboard and damaged it…  lol!)  Van 2 had the same cooler / console but mounted further back in the van than ours was.    Van 1 had a bar on the passenger side, complete with mirror, lighting, and wine glass rack, but this wasn’t installed in Van 2.    V2 also didn’t have the overhead console for the CB and lighting switches.

     

    After a week or so of deliberation, I made an offer on the Van and the seller accepted.   He even threw in free delivery!   Moving a poorly-running 5000 lb van nearly 400 miles is a bit of a chore, so that was a nice perk.

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    One late summer Saturday in August, 2022, I was going through my morning routine of checking email and what-not on my laptop, when I noticed a Google alert in my SPAM folder.  I’ve had a few Google Alerts saved over the years, several of which I had forgotten about.   Google Alerts send you an email when a saved search term pops up on the Googles.   I normally don’t even click on these, but this time, I felt something that said “click me man, you won’t regret it!”

    When I clicked on the link, the page opened and a photo hit me in the face like a baseball bat.    “There it is!”  I exclaimed.   My wife Kelle asked “There WHAT is?”

    “Well it’s not IT, but it’s twin brother!   Holy s#$%!”  I yelled.

    “WHAT IS IT?”  Kelle asked.

    “The VAN!” I said.  “The van!”

    Custom 1979 Dodge B200 Maxi Van Kevin Oeste Driver side exterior

     

    The link was an ad for… you guessed it… a 1979 Dodge Maxi Van customized by Concept Engineering in Goshen, Indiana.   It had a nearly identical paint scheme on the outside, save for the base color being “Cashmere” rather than brown.   It was amazing.    It was like seeing Elvis!

     

    Custom 1979 Dodge B200 Maxi Van Kevin Oeste Passenger side exterior

     

    The van was for sale, and the ad said it had just over 60,000 miles and seemed to be in really good shape overall.    It wasn’t rusty, it ran and drove, and it was being offered 350 miles north of us in Gurnee, Illinois.

    Clicking through the photo created a total mental meltdown.   A time warp occured as I scanned each image, bringing back memories of things I’ve not seen in decades, but were as familiar as the back of my hand.  The interior was only different in a few details, but was overall the same as our first van… the overhead A/C plenum, the sculpted carpet, the digital clock in the dash… all the same.

     

    Custom 1979 Dodge B200 Maxi Van Kevin Oeste Concept Engineering dash plaque

    Custom 1979 Dodge B200 Maxi Van Kevin Oeste Dash and interior

    Custom 1979 Dodge B200 Maxi Van Kevin Oeste

     

    After a bit of vocal commentary about the pictures I was looking at, Kelle asked me what I was going to do about this unplanned discovery of a time machine.  “What would you do with it?” She asked.

    “I’m not sure” I said, “But I know I’ll be pissed if I let it get away!”

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    I drove the Van to high school for a short while, and my buddies and I had some great times in it. However, that all came to an end on day in the spring of 1990 as my Dad traded the van in for a used Mercury Lynx for my older sister to drive. The deal went down at the local Lincoln Mercury dealership, a place that was managed by my good buddy’s Dad. To add insult to injury, my Dad told me to drive it to Park Ridge Lincoln-Mercury and hand over the keys so my sister could get her Lynx. My buddy Mark shot the drop-off on his parents’ VHS camcorder… Not a happy day.

     

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    Speaking of Old Style commercials, this one was a favorite… so much so that my friends and I went on a Boundary Waters canoe trip up at the edge of the USA and Canada… and I remember us all singing this song as we paddled across a lake.

    We were 16 at the time.  Beer commercials are powerful things.

    But back to WMTH…

    We also broadcast a bunch of the high school sports, like football games, basketball, girls basketball, and more.   I felt we were definitely part of the culture, and would be a fitting addition to the homecoming parade.   However, the faculty organizers didn’t feel quite the same, for whatever reason.    I think they feared a return of the Animal House “Deathmobile” float.

    So… we decided we wanted to be in the parade anyway, and just drove the van into the field house where everyone else was building their floats the night before the parade and went to town on ours.

     

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan custom conversion being prepared for the homecoming parade at Maine South high school 1989 Kevin Oeste

     

    We added a platform to the roof, and secured a gas generator to it.  Then we stole all the audio gear out of the radio station and mounted the speakers on the roof, and we installed the amplifiers, reel-to-reel, microphones, and more inside.   We found a couple WMTH banners and taped them to the van, and topped it off with red and yellow rotating lights.   It was all going so well.

     

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan custom conversion being prepared for the homecoming parade at Maine South high school 1989 Kevin Oeste

    (Note the wiped-out sidewalls on the General tires on the passenger side… not only did my family slam this thing into the curb while parking, but it appears we NEVER rotated the tires… LOL!  Also visible is the one rear wheel that was different.   Another story.) 

     

    We were largely ignored during construction, but the real challenge was yet to come.    You see, students could not drive any float in the parade, so I needed to find a parent or other suitable adult.   I conned Big Al into driving, but he was clearly not happy about what we did to his van, and he didn’t really dig the parade, either.

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan custom conversion being driven in the 1989 homecoming parade at Maine South high school Kevin Oeste

     

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan custom conversion being driven in the 1989 homecoming parade at Maine South high school Kevin Oeste

     

    I’ve seen that look so many times.. this being a PG forum, I’ll spare the phrases that used to accompany the look…

     

    The fun part was that we were there to provide the sound track for the Maine South Orchesis Dance Team, so we cranked the tunes while the dancers danced the whole route.

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan leads Maine South Orchesis troupe in 1989 Homecoming parade

    1979 Dodge B200 Maxivan leads Maine South Orchesis troupe in 1989 Homecoming parade

    Somewhere I have video of this parade, and if I recall, it’s more focusing on the people before and after us in the procession.

     

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    And then there was the time when I rallied to have a float in the Maine South High School Homecoming Parade representing the station’s radio and TV station, WMTH.    I enjoyed being on the air on the 8.9 watt blowtorch burning up 90.5 FM!   The station didn’t have much range, but living near Chicago, we actually reached a good amount of people.    I was the DJ for the “no rock, no pop” hour weekday mid-days during what would be a study hall for me.   That means Country or elevator music.  But the real fun was after school on Thursdays, when I had a free-for-all show with my friend and classmate Charley.   He went on to be a bigshot at a radio network in Texas.  We’d play whatever we wanted, have friends on the air, take calls… it was the berries, man.   So much fun.

    Here’s a rare recording, the “Blues, Jazz, and Guitar Rock” show, co-hosted by my buddy Tom Gawne.  This is from 1989 or so.


    The WMTH studio was pretty basic, but had all the required FM radio goodies at the time.   The centerpiece was an outdated and donated Gatesway 80 mono radio console, complete with knobs rather than sliders.   Music was on broadcast cartridges (“carts”) just like real radio stations, and we had a cassette deck, cd player, and a Teac reel-to-reel.   Here’s our hero at the helm of the Gatesway.    Note the Surfer’s Alliance tie-dye getup – we had big waves in Park Ridge.  Requests ignored at 847.825.8292.

     

    And just listen to dat kid’s Chi-town accent… it’s like Dennis friggin’ Farina protecting Old Style Beer from dem lousy New York and LA punks trying to steal our great beer!

     

    Gatesway 80 demo:

     

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    The van was functional as well.    Here, we’re moving my sister into her dorm at Illinois State University.   The van was big,  but completely jammed with her stuff.  I had to lay on the floor!

    When unloading, Big Al (of course) befriended a Normal, IL Police Officer named Tom something… who was bigger than him!

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    We loaded up the van, and I remember having the time to read my January 1988 Hot Rod Magazine cover-to-cover… again.   This was their 40th anniversary issue, after all, and it was a good one.   I still have it!

    A cross-country trip in a van like this is exactly how you would expect it.   Reclining captain’s chairs, plush accommodations, individual lighting… like a disco-fabulous personal jet on wheels.  We had plenty of space inside, snacks, drinks, music… half the vacation was the ride!

    At one point, my Mom abdicated her navigator’s chair in the shotgun position and wanted to go in back to take a nap.    It was late, and we had been driving all day.  I gladly assumed the Navigator role, in which my first order of business was to route us incorrectly off the interstate outside of Chattanooga, TN, and up to the top of Lookout Mountain!   It wasn’t so much that we were lost, it was performing a 3-point turn with a disco bus on a mountain 2-laner in the dark that my Dad didn’t dig.    Once my Mom woke up, things went further south… she wasn’t happy with our detour at all, and I can only imagine what was going through Big Al’s mind at that point.   He was tired, his arm hurt, he was lost, and getting yelled at.   Not to mention his son was an idiot with a map.   Sorry about that one!

    The night wore on, and the white stripes in the road did their hypnotizing magic.  The ride was quiet, save for the occasional sound of the driver quarter window opening, followed by the flick of Big Al’s lighter as he burned through his latest pack of Barclays.   Just outside of Atlanta, I nodded off for a little snooze.   So did Big Al.   Wait, wasn’t he driving?   YOU BETCHA!  I woke up and looked to the left to see him driving at 65 MPH through Atlanta with his head straight down damn near snoring!    I think my shout woke the whole rig, he “came to” without putting us into a ditch, a median, or another car, looked at me with a confused and relieved look on his face, and we rolled on.   No more sleeping!   Not much was ever spoken about this event.

    Kevin Oeste

    V8 Staff
    Keymaster

    My Dad drove that van as his daily driver, and we did take a few family vacations with it over the years.   One time, we were headed down to spend Christmas in Ft. Meyers, Florida.    All the local cops were looking to retire in Florida on the Gulf side, and I have to think this was a bit of a scouting mission as well as a vacation.

    My Dad liked to drive non-stop, so we planned on leaving at night to time the drive down and minimize traffic getting out of the Chicago area.   Bummer was that my Dad had to work his shift all day, and he was directing traffic at an accident when he got hit by a passing car!  It wasn’t anything major, his arm got smacked by some dope’s side mirror, but it hurt him enough to get it looked at.

    Big Al, in “costume” (Uniform) about 1989 or so.   He was a Commander at this point.   This was probably the same face he wore after being smacked by the passing rear view mirror.

    The good thing was he didn’t feel it warranted canceling the trip, but it did delay our departure.   Looking back, I certainly didn’t appreciate the guy putting in a full day, getting injured, but still taking his family on a 1300 mile Christmas road trip without missing a beat.

     

    Kevin Oeste

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