What have I done???

[Snikwahjm]

I have searched craigslist for months and either didn’t come up with anything we wanted or it was gone. Most of what I saw on CL had a lot of miles or was way too expensive. We kind of joked and said why not look for an old 1990s heap? So last night I found two vans that looked good. One was in Cincinnati - still is - low miles high top Chevy Van needs some paint... and the other north of us. Well north answered the phone and yes we could see it at a convenient time. It seemed a bit over priced but we hustled off this morning and gave it a good look see. Long story short we bought a van. When we got back we took my parents for a ride. They love it. Then my BIL the vintage car guru came over and looked it over. He came in and announced we bought a time capsule. He said we should be taking it to car shows like it is...  It is a 1991 Chevy g20 with around 80,000 road miles. The van is maroon with real nice paint and some stripes. BIL searched in vain for rust. No rust. He was about slobbering when he looked at the paper work. We have the original papers from when it was purchased new and the repair records. They guy we bought it from got it from the son ofthe 90 year old who bought it new back in 1991. The truck has all new rubber including tires and hoses and all new fluids. I’m thinking there are other all new parts as well. He was selling because his wife didn’t like sleeping in a van... in other words the guy fixed it all up mechanically. It was already very nice. BIL looked at the Cincinnati ad and declared we still got a good deal and the Cincinnati van would have been an ok deal too.  Oh and the seats are mauve. What else from 1991? Lots of decisions to make. I kind of hate to wreck a time capsule. Did they have solar panels in 1991??? noooo.... maybe on the roof rack... if it stops raining I’ll shoot some pics tomorrow.

[Blacktank]

sounds like you bought a van,a 3rd gen chevy van,made them from 1971-1995 so you have plenty of used parts out there,a fender is just the next salvage yard away,fuel injected version of the chevy small block engine that came out in the mid 50's so every autoparts has all the part you need

5.7?
hightop?

[Snikwahjm]

The one in Cincinnati is the high top. It was killing us that the one we got doesn’t have a high top. Then my hubby said he thought it made about 4 or 5 inches of difference compared to the other van.
How much do high tops cost?

It has the 350 engine and fuel injection. We have been driving that model van for a few years. And we can work on it. The old one has a lot of miles, a lot of rust and peeling paint.
We already have the repair manual.

[Texjbird]

  Good For You Guys!  My '98 Safari has Mauve seats too.

Jewellann

[Blacktank]

a new hightop professionally installed cost thousands,i've seen them used as low as $100 on craigslist,so keep an eye there and wrecking yards,if you can cut a fairly straight line and drill some holes you can install yourself

[Snikwahjm]

We have a high top on the old van... it is from 1987. The van still runs... I’ve seen high tops on CL once in a while. How do you know it would be strong enough if it is that old? We could get the roof cut off straight. We have tools. Holes are no big deal. What do we look for when we try to find a high top?

Don’t you love the mauve seats? So 90s. I’m not real enamoured with 1991. It was a horrible year for me. Maybe this is a restart.

[Cammalu]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! What great news.

You're off and running now!!!


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[AbuelaLoca]

How freakin' exciting!!! Congratulations!!!

[Snikwahjm]

Thanks. Mr. Sniky just drove off to the BMV. My 3 year old grand daughter showed up earlier to show off her fresh hair cut and pink hair. Yup a three year old with pink hair. Makes me want to do mine up in blue or purple.

[heron]

Hey, Congratulations! Sounds pretty sweet!