RATED X - MOTHER TRUCKER

1976 STREET VANS

VANS

1976 - "Yeah, I'm a truck driver", said one heavy hauler whose run includes the stretch of Highway 101 from Los Angeles to San Francisco. "I kept getting reports over my C.B. about huge convoys of custom vans en route to King City", he continued. "And then I passed the fairgrounds and saw it for myself. " Vans!!! Hundreds of 'em!!!

Held at the King City Fairgrounds, the 3rd annual event attracted well over 1.300 vans from all over the California, Nevada, Oregon... they came in huge groups, many flying their club colors on flags afixed to C.B. antennas. There were Dodges vans, Ford vans, Chevy vans, and Volkswagen buses.

MOTHER TRUCKER

The "Mother Trucker" is a highly modified 1974 Dodge ownerd by Bob Schroeder

1976 - Bob Schroeder, who lives in North Hollywood, California, started with a '74 Dodge six-cylinder 225 with manual transmission, and here's the result.

70s CUSTOM VAN

1976 - Looking for a really professional outfit to do the big number on your van ? Look no further. The House of Stewart is bound to have exactly what you're looking for. You can have the van you've been dreaming of.

70's VAN CUSTOMIZATION An Armada on the Road

 

Bill Abbott, a truck driver from Cincinnati, Ohio, who is known as "Spanish Fly" by close friends, climbs into his '74 Dodge Van, "Spanish Main" and is a wheelin' conquistador of the highways.

To set the mood Bill's Dodge is emblazoned with colorful murals depicting the Spanish Armada, conquistadores and others Spanish period weapons of war.

The paint job by David Dessauer was rendered in stock yellow with a gold leaf underbase on the murals which were done in reds, orange, gold, black and grey.

On one side are Spanish war ships and on the other a conquistador in full dress astride a white horse. 

The interior was done in a Spanish motif with swords, shields and wood sconces. Cocktail table in center is removable.

Shag carpet on walls, ceiling and floor give warm feeling to the interior. 

The hood and lower panel of the van are done in the same colors blended with black smoke and have swords, shields and battle axes airbrushed over gold leaf.

All artworks is covered with 7 coats of clear. Pinstriping in black and orange is on the hood around the gold reflective letters, also around the license plate, pop-open gas cap and on the doors.

The spoiler on front is painted to mach the lower panels and has the name "Spanish Main" gold leafed on it. The step wells on the inside of all doors are pinstriped in black and orange.

GEORGE BARRIS, DREAM MACHINE

When Jacqueline Suzanne wrote her best selling novel, "The Love Machine" she had something in mind beside cars, but custom car engineer George Barris of North Hollywood, California, has come up with a little item that may shake up the automotive world as much as suzanne's novel shook the literary scene and for much the same reason.

Hardly bigger than a normal car, Barris's luxurious "Dream Machine" is outfitted with conveniences that would make a millionaire envious. The most striking facet of what Barris has created in cooperation with General Motors is a six foot, circular and revolving velvet sofa that may well be the most popular item in this love buggy.

With its tufted top and the shag rug on its perimeter, the sofa seems to have been taken from an old C.B. DeMille film, and like the old DeMille flicks, will probably be the witness and willing partner of many an orgy.

The car has what Dodge calls a "cocktail servateria". Basically it's a bar, with two cut-glass decanters. Four glasses accompany, the decater, in case you have triplets beside you on the couch.

For more mundane entertainment, there is a color television set. Or, if you want a little mood music, flip on the a.m. or f.m. radio. Or, in case you're the type who likes to program his own, there is a conventional stereo tape set-up. You can play or record what you like. If you don't have any long-play tapes suitable to the occassion, and still don't want the radio on, there is also a cassette tape deck.

There is nothing dull about this dream machine. The sides of this mobile bachelor pad are glass, covered with charcoal colored polaroid sheeting which will keep out sunlight, moonlight, and probably spotlights.

The sides can be raised for enjoyment of the great outdoors, and the lower half can be dropped to provide easy access to whatever you need from inside.

Technically, the dream machine is quite a car. It is built on a standart Dodge 108 Sportsman Van chassis, with heavy duty shock absorbers. It is hardly longer, and no taller than a conventional car, and can go practically anywhere. The recessed headlamps and taillights are protected by a series of metal bars.

The paintjob has a high lustre, the result of forty hand-rubbed coats described as "burnt orange sunset pearls of essence, blended with a bright sunray yellow candy lacquer".

The rest of the creation is just as fantastic as the paint job, all the result of many hours of hard work and the creative mind of George Barris. From bumper to bumper and from bedroom to driver's seat, this sex palace on wheels is a truely creative example of the infinite variety of man's mind.

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