topic Re: panel vanning in the 1970s in Community Spirit

panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 01:21:39 GMT

RetroFocus looks back at the joys of panel vanning in the 1970s

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-01/retro-focus-panel-van-clubs-in-the-1970s/10766540

kinda sad there are no more panel vans and traditional utes.

if your into them get one now before they are fully extinct

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 02:14:28 GMT

my first car was a nifty little escort panel van

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

kopenhagen5 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 02:28:51 GMT

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 03:10:08 GMT

i still see the odd panel van going around but i havent seen an escort van for a very long time

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 03:12:32 GMT

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

travlyn2012 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 03:23:45 GMT

I remember some people would spend some big bucks on them, decking out the insides.

Some even had mini bars in them.

Owned this HX when I was a lot younger, me and my girlfriend (now wifey) would be at the drive-ins often,

along with all the many other panel vans that would be there.

A friend had the Holden Sandman Van.

I told him that Holden used special paint on the Sandman,

because the market for them was aimed at the surfies,

and said that you cannot use normal polish on them, and had to use paraffin wax.

He wasn't impressed when he found out I was BS him.

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

kopenhagen5 — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 03:39:49 GMT

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

chameleon54 — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 10:51:15 GMT

@davidc4430 wrote:
i still see the odd panel van going around but i havent seen an escort van for a very long time

The neighbour has got one. It has been a labour of love restoring it for around 5 years. It is almost finished. just needs a new gear shifter fitted.

At least it was up until six weeks ago. Our evening telly was interupted by explosions. The shed had caught fire, burning to the ground. Not only did they lose the Escort van, but also several racing motorcycles and all of their tools. Thier twenty year old son had a room in the shed. He lost everything including trophies from when he was a state motorcycle champion as a kid. I went over to help fight the fire. It was by far the worst fire I have attended with plastics, paints, gas bottles and fuel. The flames just poured out of every opening like a huge upside down surf wave. A bit like you see in cartoons.

Genuinely frightening experience and tragic for the family. Unfortunately none of it was insured. RIP. One less Escort van in the world.

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

joz*garage — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 10:58:29 GMT

XW GS 302V8 4spd, i swapped a 72 Fairlane for it that only owed $900

wish i still had that van, very collectable these days, was very tidy too in electric blue, gold stripes

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 11:52:59 GMT

@chameleon54 wrote:
@davidc4430 wrote:
i still see the odd panel van going around but i havent seen an escort van for a very long time
The neighbour has got one. It has been a labour of love restoring it for around 5 years. It is almost finished. just needs a new gear shifter fitted.

At least it was up until six weeks ago. Our evening telly was interupted by explosions. The shed had caught fire, burning to the ground. Not only did they lose the Escort van, but also several racing motorcycles and all of their tools. Thier twenty year old son had a room in the shed. He lost everything including trophies from when he was a state motorcycle champion as a kid. I went over to help fight the fire. It was by far the worst fire I have attended with plastics, paints, gas bottles and fuel. The flames just poured out of every opening like a huge upside down surf wave. A bit like you see in cartoons.

Genuinely frightening experience and tragic for the family. Unfortunately none of it was insured. RIP. One less Escort van in the world.

not the same but i built a 1977 celica hatchback (the mustang style) from the bare shell. kept it sheded and hardly ever drove it until finally decided it needed to be sold.

next time i saw it was doing a google search, came accross a picture of it with no wheels, bonnet, doors ect ect next to a fence with grass growing through it and spider webs all over it.

still had the same number plates. so i knew it was mine.

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

kopenhagen5 — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 12:11:26 GMT

Wanted one of those (metallic blue) when I got my licence but got mums old corrolla instead.

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 01:46:42 GMT

my celica during repaint and completed

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

kopenhagen5 — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 03:58:09 GMT

Wow, looks like a total nuts n bolts restoration.

Very noice.

Planning or wishing for any future projects ?

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 05:51:04 GMT

no more projects, lack of a garage/workshop.

i have resprayed the bonnet and rear hatch lid on the comodore wagon.

that proved difficult in my limited space here in my tiny beach front abode.

where we lived before i had a huge 60 feet by 40 feet garage with lots of room.

here i have converted my carport into a shed just big enough to park the car in with a small work bench and some cupboards for my tools. its full of boxes of toys and 'stuff'

i have built a 1/10 r/c scale model of the celica.

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

davidc4430 — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 05:56:29 GMT

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

chameleon54 — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 21:43:55 GMT

Very impressive work on both cars Dave. When I saw the pics of the real thing I just instinctively went WOW.

To any ladies reading, its just a Guy thing .......

On the story of what you wanted when you got your licence and what you ended up with.............

I also wanted a Celica but ended up with my Grandfathers clapped out old HQ Holden farm car. The dog had ridden in the front for years and being Granpa's farm car it had a few major bingles. I tidied it up as well as I could and finally had it looking reasonable. I went away to a regional centre to do a two week TAFE course and met the most beautiful girl this country lad had ever seen. Heck she even loved riding motorcycles !!! ( big turn on for an eighteen YO boy from the bush.... )

After much persausion I finally convinced the girl to come for a ride " down to the river " . As we drove off in the HQ. the auto trans decided to stick in second gear with the engine revving flat out doing 40 km. per hour................Needless to say that was the end of that little plan.

AND YES IT STILL BURNS EVEN AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS !!!

Re: panel vanning in the 1970s

duosmash — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:08:14 GMT

I don't think they had wheels that big in the 70s