And now for something completely different.....

[falconvan]

Were you able to stop the order & get colored windshield glass?
-Chaz

No, I ended up with standard glass. They had it cut and ready to go the next morning after I dropped it off. No biggie; it would have looked cool, though.
Here my chrome coating attempt before the clearcoat; you're supposed to wait 24 hours before the final coat. Does it look like real chrome? I dont think so but it does look better than standard chrome paints I've tried. Maybe it'll look better after the clearcoat. Either way; this was $60 and the best price I could find to get these three pieces chromed was $350. I'll live with it for now.

 

[falconvan]

Here's my recommendation for this product: save your money. I sprayed the clear on today and it looked great until I came back an hour later and the whole finish had lifted and cracked. I have no idea what happened; I watched their application video and followed it to a T. I wiped it all off, said the hell with it, and grabbed a can of silver caliper paint I had on the shelf. Looks as good as it did before I put the clear on. It'll have to do for now. I'm aggrevated.

 

[jfg455]

as you found out there is no quick or cheap way to replicate anything. Thanks for sharing the tip though. It is still looking good!

 

[falconvan]

as you found out there is no quick or cheap way to replicate anything. Thanks for sharing the tip though. It is still looking good!

I guess $60 for a good lesson learned means I got off cheap. I just cant believe that something advertised on TV wasn't as good as what they said it was!

 

[jfg455]

I just cant believe that something advertised on TV wasn't as good as what they said it was!

Hahaha! what!? really!??! [S

 

[falconvan]

Yes, Im one of those people who buys the $19.95 kitchen gadgets off of the TV infomercials.

 

[falconvan]

Bear with me; I went a little picture happy today but got a ton of work done. First off, I needed some speakers so I was going through old band stuff and found a 2- 8" guitar monitor cabinet I built many moons ago and havent used in several years. I cut it in half, put a new side on each half and will be mounting them to the wheelwells. I wanted speakers on the ceiling but when you open the rear door it comes right to the back of the seats so that wasnt happening. Next I cut some 1/8" plywood for headliner panels, installed some conversion van lights, covered them in black Ozite and there you have it. Worked all day from 6:30am to 5:30pm but I'm really happy with the results. Even my beautiful wife pitched in and helped.

 

[falconvan]

I think it came out pretty decent!

 

[jfg455]

wow! roof looks good! nice to work on something without any compound curves for once.

 

[falconvan]

Thanks! I'm doing the floormat now and just had the new glass put in so it's closin in fast.

 

[falconvan]

Got the new windshield in this morning; I decided to order it in one piece rather than two like the old one. I also got the floormat cut and the speaker boxes finished. Not that you'll be able to hear the radio but it has them, anyway. I'm going to let the rubber mat relax for a few days before I glue it down as it was rolled up for a while.

 

[falconvan]

Well, other than putting the back door on and a couple minor tweaks; I believe I can call it done. I finished up the wiring and it all works, swapped to an auto choke on the Holley (and found a pretty good vacuum leak in the process so it runs much better), finished glueing down the floor, put on the mirrors, hubcaps, and trim rings, put in the side window glass, and several other minor jobs. I took it a few miles down the road and everything seems to be great. It's running smooth, it's loud as hell, and it'll smoke the tires pretty good so I'm happy. I'll throw a few pics on when the back door is done next week and try to get a burnout video done if I can ever get my son to take a few minutes and help me with it. I might put a start to finish slideshow together if I get the the time. But there she is; just a little under a year from start to finish. Cant wait to cruise as soon as I get plates on it!

 

[falconvan]

There's the last of them. Look a little different?

 

[jfg455]

Looks good! nice job. Should be a fun parts hauler for the next build!

 

[bob w]

Congratulations on creating such a cool vehicle. It came out excellent. There's got to be a thousand hours of hard, dirty work in the van.

 

[falconvan]

Thanks guys; i'm pretty happy with the way it came out. I hope it sells without taking too much of a hit. Bob, I dont want to know how many hours I have in it but I enjoyed them all.

 

[clamor]

If not...it can be your next project, too.
Chop, channel, etc, etc, etc....then maybe it'll sell!
-Chaz

 

[Flipper_1938]

When do we get the burnout pics?

 

[falconvan]

It's coming; trying to get a teenager to help you is like pulling teeth sometimes.

 

[falconvan]

Quickie burnout in the city water dept parking lot; I was going to do a donut but the back wheel started coming off the ground so I figured I better not. Still some tuning to do but not bad for now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYAUCk_e7SA