Cycle World's Project Van
CYCLE WORLD'S PROJECT VAN
It's What's Inside That Counts
Joe Parkhurst
WE DIDN’T WANT the word to get around, but we finally have to admit it. CYCLE WORLD’S staff has become full-fledged vanaddicts! No, we're not giving up our favorite means of transportation, but we're now the proud owners of one of the sharpest, colorful and practical custom vans around. And our wild new van can carry at least two motorcycles, serve as a pit vehicle at races and test sessions or double as a rec-vee
We started with a 128-in. wheelbase, 1973 Dodge B200 Tradesman van, powered by a 351 V-8 with automatic transmission, power steering, power front disc brakes, air conditioning, %-ton suspension specifications and sporting a stock Dodge color called Tiger Lily Metallic.
We felt the van should at least be capable of carrying two bikes with wide handlebars and wheelbases up to about 58 inches. It would also be necessary to provide storage for camping gear, tools, gas cans, parts and oil and to provide seating for more than two people. Because it would be used on camping trips, Baja riding weekends, as a pit vehicle at races and test sessions, etc., a water tank and some sort of cold storage also were needed.
We ordered the van with windows in the back and side doors only, to provide plenty of light but no loss of camping privacy. On the plain, left side of the van we installed a port hole. Since the windows do not open, we inserted a 24 by 24-in. skylight, which serves as an escape hatch as well.
A full-sized passenger seat with a removable cushion was decided upon, under which was fitted an ice chest and water tank. The seat back also is removable so that one can move around in the van while changing into leathers, or cooking, and allows use of the seat from either front or back. An electric pump moves the water from the tank to a shower/faucet fitting tucked into the end of the seat.
We settled on a Coleman gas stove, because most camping units are fired by butane and are bulky, and we had a drop table built onto the left hand side door. When not in use, the table folds out of the way.
There is a huge amount of floor space available when the bikes are removed, and we had it fully carpeted with a synthetic carpet that also surrounds the engine box. The carpet is covered with snap-on plastic to keep grease and oil from soiling it. Two 4-in. foam pads were covered with Naugahyde so that they can be placed on the floor to provide sleeping for two.
Ted Brown of Ted’s Aircraft Interiors, Costa Mesa, Calif., well-known among race car and dune buggy builders, has created some of the most handsome interiors around. He was commissioned to do the CW van interior.
Ted made handsome diamondstitched, Naugahyde-covered, foambacked lining for all the doors and side walls not covered with cabinets, and a full headliner of the same material. The cabinets are made of plywood, and mounted to the metal walls and floor with angle brackets and sheet metal screws or bolts. The cabinets, including their inside back walls, were then covered with the foam-backed, diamondstitched Naugahyde. The result is nearperfect insulation against temperature and almost all noise.
Next we thought about an awning, which usually means a custom-made affair that threads through a bolt-rope on the roof. We didn’t like the idea of having to remove, fold and store it, so we purchased a device called Inst-Awn, made in Newport Beach. The awning rolls out of an anodized aluminum can, which is mounted on the roof, on a spring loaded shaft much like a window screen. When the awning is fully extended, adjustable length legs unfold. The legs are inserted into mounting brackets on the side of the van, and the unit remains firm and flat in the strongest breezes. Full side panels also are available, to make the awning into a full tent, if desired.
Tridaire Industries furnished us with one of its extruded aluminum loading ramps and a set of tie-down straps that fasten to an ingenious hook that snaps off the base plate when not in use. This allows a completely flat floor with no bolt eyes or hooks to trip on when a bike is not being carried.
We now had a handsome looking van and wanted to trick it up a little. Wide base alloy wheels were added, mounting L60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires. Problems were encountered in getting the front tires to clear the wheel wells, especially when traveling cross-country in Baja, but a little body work solved the problem.
Next came a striping job. We opted to keep the stock paint, since it was an attractive color and finish. Leo Bestgen, CW5 s design director, laid out the stripes and chose the colors. Bob Walters, maker of ceramic sculptures of stylized motorcyclists in action which we used for CYCLE WORLD Show trophies, did the immaculate striping. The finished job is a real attention getter, and the yellow, olive, orange and gold striping enhances the body color perfectly.
The final touch was an FM radio with an 8-track stereo tape deck. We chose one other than the standard Dodge unit because of the positioning of the tape deck. Ten-inch speakers in cabinets, borrowed from a Craig home high-fidelity system, were mounted on the side panels, just behind the driver and passenger seats.
Total cost for the conversion was around $1700; total investment about $6500. It could, of course, be done for far less by doing the work yourself. Materials were probably responsible for only a third of the cost. Labor, any labor, runs high! More could have been saved by purchasing a more basic van, without V-8 or automatic, power discs and air conditioning, etc. But the power steering is almost a necessity. Power discs are invaluable if you drive fast or hard, as do most of us around here. The V-8 and automatic help keep you up with, or out in front of, most traffic. And air conditioning in the hot, sunny climate of Southern California and Baja is the greatest luxury there is. Not many would do without it.
CW’s project van was one of the features at the CYCLE WORLD Show, complete with a 600cc Clewstroke in place. We were vanaddicts before, but now we really have class.
