Cut-Down Van Makes Greast "Extended Cab" Pickup

Cut-Down Van Makes Greast "Extended Cab" Pickup PICKUPS Miscellaneous 22-6-3 The challenge of building something "different" led 18-year-old Sam Wilbert of Romulus, N.Y., to convert a 1983 Dodge Ram van into an extended cab pickup with a 6 1/ 2-ft. long bed and double doors out the back of the cab. "It's a real workhorse on the farm and is also fun to drive," says Wilbert. "It has comfortable bucket seats in front and room for a bench seat behind them." Wilbert bought the 1/2-ton, rear wheel drive van from a neighbor for $600. The van originally had been used by a phone company and had 87,000 miles on it. He cut off the back of the van, leaving 2-ft. high sides for the bed, and moved the rear doors forward. He used part of the cut-off body tin to fill in the cab on the sides of the doors. He also welded some of the left-over material into the bed sides to reinforce them. "It's fun to drive and gets a lot of looks wherever I go," says Wilbert. "When I drive it to my high school it definitely doesn't look like all the other cars there. I've used it to haul feed and seed and even my brother's garden tractor. "The rig now weighs much less so it's more fuel efficient than it was. The 6-cyl. gas engine has a lot of power and gets 18 to 20 mpg," says Wilbert, who notes that he plans to add a tailgate onto the bed. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Sam Wilbert, 6441 Rt. 96A, Romulus, N.Y. 14541 (ph 315 585-6601).

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