mikeonabikesmith
New member
I don't think this build will be anything revolutionary, but I don't see too many low roof passenger van conversions so I hope that I will be able to at least provide some info to others who convert these vans.
Backstory:
With COVID came WFH, which stuck around. I've been itching for a van for the last 7+ years but have always needed a sort of reliable winter vehicle to get to work (and skiing). With work out of the equation, access to my wife's Subaru, and a miata that works OK as a daily, I posted my gx470 for sale and was surprised to see it go in less than 24 hours. Finding a van was much more difficult than selling the old 4x4. I'm in the Denver area and vans sell almost instantly it seems. So I expanded my search nationwide, and still found that vans sell almost instantly. Fortunately, I stumbled on this gem about 4 hours north of my childhood home and where my folks still live. Upstate New York isn't really a used car Meca, but after some time on the phone with the owner,videos, and all the due diligence I could do a plan was made, check cut, and van delivered to my parents in MA.
The previous owner being a nice guy later shot me a link to someone trying to move a motorcycle to Colorado. So, a motorcycle was delivered to my folks as well and slapped on the back. I had planned to drive the van out to CO, but my parents being masochists decided they would like to have the "fun" of a 24+ hr drive with questionable AC. So the van had a dealership oil change and they hit the road. Much to my surprised, the van had no trouble and my folks had some fun - windows down the whole way
Out with the old
In with the (actually a couple years) newer
These take a long time to wash! But it cleans up well
And I'm happy with how things are looking under the hood
Backstory:
With COVID came WFH, which stuck around. I've been itching for a van for the last 7+ years but have always needed a sort of reliable winter vehicle to get to work (and skiing). With work out of the equation, access to my wife's Subaru, and a miata that works OK as a daily, I posted my gx470 for sale and was surprised to see it go in less than 24 hours. Finding a van was much more difficult than selling the old 4x4. I'm in the Denver area and vans sell almost instantly it seems. So I expanded my search nationwide, and still found that vans sell almost instantly. Fortunately, I stumbled on this gem about 4 hours north of my childhood home and where my folks still live. Upstate New York isn't really a used car Meca, but after some time on the phone with the owner,videos, and all the due diligence I could do a plan was made, check cut, and van delivered to my parents in MA.
The previous owner being a nice guy later shot me a link to someone trying to move a motorcycle to Colorado. So, a motorcycle was delivered to my folks as well and slapped on the back. I had planned to drive the van out to CO, but my parents being masochists decided they would like to have the "fun" of a 24+ hr drive with questionable AC. So the van had a dealership oil change and they hit the road. Much to my surprised, the van had no trouble and my folks had some fun - windows down the whole way
Out with the old
In with the (actually a couple years) newer
These take a long time to wash! But it cleans up well
And I'm happy with how things are looking under the hood