1962 Grumman Olson Project

[UPNADM]

Originally Posted by hartleymetalworks

i bought a grumman olson kurbside van, where can i find info for it? i dont kno the year or frame info or anything. i wana fix it up but not knowing wat ive got, its guna be hard. i have a number from the olson tag, but wat can i do with it??? thanks for any help

I wish I could give you more insight. I was luck that my van had some id tags on it.

All I could really tell you is that it is on a GM chassis.

Best of luck!

[FrankyV8]

Man oh man that is one heck of a job, but worth while!!

[UPNADM]

I was lucky enough to have a good friend bend me up some metal for my floor pans.

I got a good start and some practice with my little mig machine.

Nothing too exciting.

Need to pick up some more pieces to get the job finished.

[UPNADM]

Need to pick more steel up to finish the floors.

In the mean time I thought I would put in the fuel tank.

Thought I would go with a 73-87 GM pick up style. Drilled holes and mounted it. I need to pick up a filler neck and fab a mount for it.

Here is a photo of my dual's as well.

Need to get the boring stuff done before I can move on to the good stuff... ha.

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

Nice progress
-Sam

[Greenlee]

Cool project!

[UPNADM]

Got a little more done on the van... Needs a few more passes, but got most of the heavy cutting done.

[UPNADM]

A few more...

[flashed]

WOW ,nice and shiny .

[superduty_59]

Looking good!

[1963c-10]

Looking sharp.....will be a head turner for sure!!

[UPNADM]

So a little more progress on the van...

Got some licks done on the polishing, a few more paths needed in certain areas.

Because of the previous fool who cut windows into this van, my plan is to laminate some patches and cover it with a large decal to hide any sins.

Here is where we stand today...

[UPNADM]

A few more...

[flashed]

Wow ,you do amazing work ,it looks great .

[markeb01]

I just went back to page 1 and started over. This entire project is mind boggling! I think you've invested more work in this one vehicle than I've done on all the cars and trucks I've ever owned!

Love how it's turning out, especially the polished surface. I saw airplanes with that finish in the Marines. Each one was assigned to a General Officer, and the minute it landed, 10 PFC's jumped out with a can of Brasso and went to work with a rag!

[Grizz1963]

As Mark says up above, you really are doing this van justice.

I can only look at the photos and text every so often and smile in admiration.

I do not know if it is at all do-able, but could you not have metal Tig welded into the holes and refinish them? Just an idea, or would you never get it straight and good enough?

[UPNADM]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

As Mark says up above, you really are doing this van justice.

I can only look at the photos and text every so often and smile in admiration.

I do not know if it is at all do-able, but could you not have metal Tig welded into the holes and refinish them? Just an idea, or would you never get it straight and good enough?

Thanks everyone for the compliments...

I initially thought I would go crazy and fill all these holes, straighten dents etc, then I realized I would like to use this van sometime in the near future. The dents, deep scratches and other flaws are nice "age marks" and I think it gives the van some character.

At the end of the day, to get someone to tig this would be more than I wish to spare. I kind of like doing these builds on a budget, trying to do most of the work myself.

[UPNADM]

Got to spend a little time on the van this evening. Got one of the doors mocked up and back in place.

Now I need to give it a bit of shine. Getting there, slowly.

[flashed]

Looking better every time you give us an update ,thanks for keeping us in the loop.

[UPNADM]

Nothing to exciting to report... Got some time over the weekend to finally get the doors hung.

Now to get them buffed to match.

Hope to get the windows in the side panels filled in next.

[flashed]

Looks great.

[Captainfab]

That's a L-O-T of polishing.

Are you planning on riveting the window patch panels on?

[Grizz1963]

This build makes me grin like a mad man every time I look in.

Looking great!!

[stersam]

I can tell you like to be seen really well.

[joedoh]

this thing is so awesome I can barely stand it.

why not put a big food truck style door on the side and polish it? would maybe look better than patches and you could set up at shows and sell kettle corn (anyone elses craigslist full of kettle corn businesses for sale?)