Fish, skulls, Harley Davidson and a brown interior.

Today I had some time and an afternoon of good weather to tackle a few projects on my van. The first order of business was removing most of the stickers the previous owner had applied, especially the huge HD emblem on the back door windows. As you can see it was quite the tribal skull abortion. There were also some stylized HA stickers adorning the doors as well as skull door locks and even a skull radio antenna topper. The guy REALLY liked skulls. After a few minutes with the widget and some Windex the goofy images were gone, butI left the largemouth bass. Inside of the van the fish motif continues. There are fish shaped night lights cut out of the same brown Masonite used in the floor, the door panels and dashboard. He also made a handy rack for fishing pole storage. Opening the back doors lets everyone know that the driver has "Gone...Fishin". The platform bed and LED lights added later enhance the magic of the 70s era brown naugahyde and bubble windows. The stereo speakers are cobbled from a home theatre system, complete with a free standing bass cabinet. The HD floor mats really pull it all together. In addition to his love of skulls I noticed that the previous owner wasnt really into basic vehicle maintenance and repair. Body repair from a fender bender is clumsy, but he did a great job of matching the paint. The battery tray was sort of half connected and shoved into the engine compartment. I secured it with a nut and bolt, easy. Next I fixed the radio antenna. Instead of putting it back together he had jammed it in the hole in the fender. No wonder I couldnt get in any stations. Again, it was another obvious and simple job. The real head scratcher came when I checked the tire pressure. The Wranglers called for 35 psi, each tire held around 15. No antifreeze or wiper fluid either. Sigh... Yeah, he was one of those guys. Anyhow, the van runs like a top despite any neglect it might have experienced. I dumped some Sea Foam into the gas tank. Hopefully that will take care of the carb loading up and running rich. All in all, after 2 weeks the van is a real pleasure to drive and I look forward to some new projects. The front brakes need some attention, the door locks need re-keyed, Id like to add jump seats or a removable bench seat, add cigarette lighter and the sliding door freezes half open. Id like to get the windows mirror tinted and it will definately need a real tune up before any major road trips. Oh, and I found a nifty cup holder at Autozone that fits righ in the map pocket. I like those modern conveniences.