Thursday, May 28, 2009

lake washington

i walk by these caged cars all the time and today i took some pix, i know their not vans- so don't get all huffy and write me hate mail and tell me how i've sold out.

you can tell from the photo that someone obviously backed this beast in, they even left the wipers at full on 12 o'clock, then they put up the fence threw the keys into the toilet and never drove again.

maybe they started walking, like i have, this one got all munched recently, even with the anti-bad kid fence, it looks like a sinking ship, going down. man, this is a great driveway story- i can see it all, the fear- the fence salesman, the old people getting older some blind guy trying to drive it out of the driveway with four flats and a flat bottle

on the other hand this poor guy was just looking for kids, but they're all at school, fool, and your parked all wrong, but i must have a thing for bomb pop art, really eye catching, i came running, but not for ice cream-


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

my walk today

these guys have been rolling around for years in my hood, but you know i've never seen anyone go in or out, ghosts ? i love the battleship grey paint and the fact that they harvest rainwater off the roof gutters, maybe they have an aquarium inside, now that would be pimp.
this one's for toby, because he drove one very similar to this, i think a teacher drives this little hussy+4wd and cute little red decal- very nice van


this is where i want to wake up, on an incline wrapped in pure 1975 mini-winnie- all brown, avocado and burnt orange- down some quasi-industrial stretch of my part of town


parked a respectfully not gay distance away from the puckered rear end of some short bus, pictured above.



i just liked this little bay window, with really exaggerated bubble top, very clean and cared for, no neo- hippy dirtbags here.




sorry, but i don't believe there is even such a thing as the central area chamber of commerce- do you ? but, if so, why is their red van such a piece of shit ? no offense



this van i featured a few weeks ago, from craigs list and then bammm it's parked two blocks from my house and it is so cool, a little kitchen, a little table- adorable and yes, original mopar wheel covers.
these two vans parked bumper to bumper remind me of some fucked up van version of our flag.
all photo's taken today, on one walk- that's how many creeper, van livers, i could find, besides the old guy, handicapped asleep, in the smushed back, front seat, and behind him some lady staring me down as she performed some nefarious acts in a blacked out chevy, i didn't take pictures of that. i don't really like taking pictures of people.
thanks






Sunday, May 24, 2009

SPLITTY SITTING UNDER TREE





look at the beauty, parked super primo, with safety cones to keep the kids back, under a fine glaze of mold dust and grime, but just look, the tires are full, and the tabs have just expired, i'm going back to leave a cash down payment,stuck under a wiper blade- i want this gem- the tiny kitchen pop-top has double sky lights, one of the sweetest free range dubs i've seen, wild-unmolested rusting in a parking lot oh oh- i forgot, look at the photo, even the highly stolen front emblem is there.
i want it
i want it-
to sit in my drive-way and rot, rust and roll


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

commer mini bus rv









this bus had been parked over by shoot out park a few years ago and i had ogled it for weeks until it had disappeared,
well, now, my ace photographer Henry, found it parked in Ballard, and now it looks like someone has turned it into a mobile house, very sweet, Ballard's a great place to live in a bus, and from the future, all the fisherman do, we all should, this one has a lot of windows though, fishbowl living in a hothouse would be my fear. creepers and hot, icky.
funny, i remember the Commer name only from matchbox cars, and Kent, my east coast car expert and mechanic in demolition derby daring.
great find Henry, i hope these bus dwellers come out camping at the beach this year, instead of on the streets, if it moves, i wonder if it has a little four banger diesel ?
i really like the futuristic shape and design, like a playland trolley, an abandoned airport shuttle- i can see drunk cosmonauts smoking cigarettes in the back with monkeys and Kalashnikovs, but really, in Ballard.
this is a bedroom community, yeah, in a bus, so cool, daddy.

Monday, May 18, 2009

the more i walk the more crap i see



love this chevy, but i think some hipsters own it- they don't live in it. really love the washed out paint job and the little chimney, so cute, with original hub caps too !

this van used to be complete, until a few years ago, and this psycho started hacking at it to make some kinda truck hybrid,with a roof thingy, so-so crazy, the garage behind the splitty is full of parts and bikes and crap, he drives this around town though which is nice



parked in front of the destroyed splitty is a beat down original corvair van i think, mid engine, low and just fantastic-but really needs a restoration, or maybe just a grinder and sawsall too.

vanagon painting


this painting is part of my 100th Posting party this is also a painting of a vanagon parked on the grassy knoll that is Hobuck beach campground-i missed neahbay this winter, a whole surf season lost to injury.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

going postal with white walls


i think this jeepette lives a parallel life to mine, i see this freaking crazy ride everywhere, it's so pimp with those whack white walls and third world paint and pinstripes, i know it's not a van, but it's so far out there, i've been waiting to find it, so i could snap this shot-you like ?
i haven't seen the driver yet, i can't wait- what a surprise it'll be.
maybe i need to get a job.

Friday, May 15, 2009

ford vs dodge



you all know that i've started walking again, getting stronger,and ready for physical therapy- and so, what the hell my neighbourhood is thick with super creeper van livers, i just noticed while on my morning walks and i've started taking photos with my phone,
don't be misled by the pretty setting, flowers and trees and sun, that ford is creepy, and kind of badass-
the Seattle University Ram van on the other hand is over the top with a back deck and hibachi, and bike, they used to have a motorbike, but it's gone, maybe they went for a beer run. or to class. they have a very nice church over there and a telescope observatory- not in the van silly, at the university.
PS i took my van for test drives everyday this week and stalled every time, but made it home.
so annoying, phantom non-life threatening power loss to stall. still working on this, and will update.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

VAN LIVING






a few years ago my BABA gave this book to me for X-mas and i have loved it every day since, if you can find it at some thrift store or yard sale, consider it a major score, don't let the cover fool you, this book covers all the bases, on how to live the nomadic life, granted it's a skewed view from the sixties, before the man cracked down on families living in the woods and crapping in lakes and driving vans deep into the forest to kill things with rifles and plaid.
i love the whole book beginning to end and will work to reproduce the whole thing here, enjoy.
there are some serious trippy photo's in here, of mom making breakfast in a truck, wearing a dress, stocking, heals and white cardigan, compared to these oldsters- we are wild beasts, cave men.
Mikey Rourke staring in The Wrestler drives a van, where he sleeps sometimes, which reminded me to post today, watched the film yesterday and cried, like eight times, that's my life minus the wrestling part and all, very sweet and touching, fucking loved the film, great just great watch it now, great monster movie about real life, so good.
Marisa Tomey- by the way is nude through-out, she plays an aging stripper, and i love her too, great actress, didn't everyone want their stripper to fall in love with them ?
i know i did.
what ? you didn't have a favorite stripper ?
so sad
so real.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

white whale captured and bondoed



this van lives in my neighbor hood, and i have never really noticed it, until the brave Deb asked me about it so i walked up and sure enough she was right, i think some squirrel went nuts with bondo and chicken wire, after they rebuilt the front of this whale they went right ahead and covered up a bunch of windows too-
WHY?
or rather why stop there- build a giant tail.

Friday, May 8, 2009

race taxi (my hand's in the air)


hey kids it's vanagon camping season, my piece is ready to roll- just drove it out of Chris G's shop, he's my mentor of all things vw, owns his own shop, teaches me how to fix my own problems, my alternator bracket wings work great, the alt stays put now, i removed the rear heater,plugged the hoses, made the kids wash the whole thing, bought some roof racks on Craig's list, so now all the gear can go top side while my lady drives and i, lay in the back, on the bed with a book and snugly in my sleepy bag, yeah, pulled the AC compressor, cleaned up the wiring. La Push here we come. check out this website if you want to see more of the race taxi so sweet.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Iowa must be scary






alright so this van showed up, parked on the block near the guy who collects old crappy cars and parks them on the street, so he can move them once a month, when the neighbors call the cops, this van is from Iowa, which is really far away, and sounds idyllic, in poetry, but not in vans.



this piece of shit is rattle can shiny black with some sick botched attempt at A-team meets Starsky custom paint stripe, even down to the rims. i looked close too, it has completely bald front tires no bumpers, a visor and a really great spoiler, so classic.

black and red is such a fantastic color combo, i might paint my house like this, but where am i going to find a giant spoiler for the roof ?


IOWA


everyone say-



IOWA !
* i found a similar spoiler on spoilers to go for about $200.00

toy car collection




travel trailer-station wagon-motorcycle photos by neilwaukee 2009


Sunday, May 3, 2009

dodge van hi top. way over priced





here's a little cutie, i'm going to buy this for my mom, and she can live on my block, i'll park her under a nice shade tree, she'll love the barn doors, and me and the kids coming over for breakfast, what are we having mom?
cigarettes.


69 Dodge, high top, camper van - $4900 (woodinville)
Reply to: see below Date: 2009-05-03, 5:09PM PDT
Rare!! only a couple left in the country. 69 Travco Family wagon High top camper van sink, 2 burner stove. 65k miles, at on dash. 5'11" standing height inside. great condition. fold out bed, flip down table. 318, v8, at new tires doug 206.334.7748 collectors, a100, a108, cabover, vw