So I saw the van advertised a while ago on the tightly run ship that is “Unusual cars for sale”
I have always been kinda into Commercial vehicles, trucks, vans, anything practical.
And this was the ad.
But of course I already had the Rumblegrizzkin Chevy S10 in ZQ8 spec with its 4.3l V6 auto and extra cab.
This is an amazing car/truck.
Small, for an American, and actually has 4 seats, the front buckets are also a bench, when you lift the armrest, and the midget seat in the rear folds down for a skinny 10 year old.
But as much as the truck is a great thing, at times my butt itches for a change, and weirdly, with work insecurities etc, the best fix is to buy more cars. IYKWIM
So I got my head around to deciding to reduce the fleet significantly, including the Rezin Rockit should I get approached randomly (which has happened)
The van is well known in certain circles and everyone wanted it, but nobody bought it.
So I did my research and found out what I could, based on a few photos, and later a short start up video.
I also approached a complete random stranger on GarageJournal.com whose avatar showed he lives in S****horpe (10 miles from the van) and after a long, enjoyable conversation with Vaughan, who turns out to be 70, just recovering from cancer surgery, and still rides a KTM 990, he agreed to go take a look at the van, and go for a short drive in it.
This all happened last Sunday, and when he called me later in the day, there were no punches pulled, and his feedback was that is was a 33 year old van, and it had the bones of a good car. It needed a few bits tidied up ( I like to polish turds) and that if faced with the dilemma of buying or not, at the stated price, he would buy it.
So I called the seller ( who was going to buy the truck off me, but ended up buying a 1972 Toyota Crown wagon on Saturday) and asked if there was any movement on price, which there was not.
So I asked if I could still have a go at squeezing his bits, and he asked what I wanted, which I said was taking delivery of the van with a full tank of fuel.
Monday was spent insuring, getting recovery sorted and generally trying to fit the day job into my schedule.
By 3.00pm I had Green Flag recovery switched from the S10 for a total increase of premium of £2.48
Here is a video of my total motivation, and information on the van before buying it.
https://youtu.be/ewf60bR00k8
I will add a few more pics and observations of the van later for those morbidly interested.
In the mean time, having been an underused, 78k mile van, the battery gave me a load of solenoid clicks after I got back home last night.
I went to Sallys place for dinner and to show her the van, which of course needed a jump start.
So a battery is first on the list of items.
I see that as a longer term wear and tear item if a car is not used much.