Freiburger is building a van. No, that’s not a joke…the TEN Network and MSD are teaming up to turn a fairly worn 1974 Chevy short-wheelbase van into a 630 horsepower stomper that the Roadkill duo will (hopefully) leg across the country on Power Tour this year. The Chevy started life as a six-cylinder automatic breadbox, so naturally any upgrade would make an improvement, but a Lingenfelter-sourced LS7 and a GearStar 4L80E overdrive automatic is several steps beyond a simple upgrade. This is one van that will haul ass before any passengers are on board. We don’t know if they are going the full shag-carpet route or not with the inside, and lets hope that they aren’t camping in it during Power Tour.
Additionally, this is the second time that Hot Rod Garage’s new host, Tony Angelo, makes a solid appearance. Angelo, the pro drifter who assisted during Roadkill’s Hellcat torture test episode, appeared on the last episode of HRG and promptly got slammed by the Internet…who would’ve guessed? His background is pretty wide and diverse, and he gets his opportunity to explain his background here, from the Dodge Demon he built as a teenager to his pro-drifting background.
OK … so its a Chevy … which in and of itself doesn’t exactly make me happy .
But then again … its a Freaking ‘ Freak ‘ van with a freaking killer motor under the hood
And that …. makes me very happy indeed ! … ( apologies CHMG )
As for all you Van Detractors on site ? Got some bad news fer y’all . VAN’s .. especially 70’s custom vans with hot rodded to the hilt engines ….
… are now …. IN Fashion
And when I say In Fashion …. I mean like NYTimes full feature article [ along with several of the fashion magazines and newspapers out there ] In Fashion
Finally …. something to hopefully displace the whole Metro Retro Hipster Scrambler/Cafe Racer motorcycle trend … hopefully
And in the mean time … just remember ;
” If this Vans a rocking … don’t come a knocking ”
” This van runs on cash , gas or a** but nobody rides for free ”
And finally
” Don’t laugh .. Your daughter might be in here ”
Rock On – Drive On – Laugh On – and for gods sake .. do Carry On …. my wayward sons 😉
PS ; Mr McTaggert ? Time to put those latent journalistic skills [ I know you have ] to good use and do a full on original feature on the Rise of the Hot Rod Custom Vans scene for the BangShift pages
Cause ready or not …. here it comes …. baby !
” Trucking … got my chips cashed in … Keep Truckin … like the do -dah Man … “
Not usually a van guy, but having seen the pictures of the finished project, I like this one. And what’s better than busting ass with a Lingenfelter LS7-powered van?
Personally, I would have left the patina and crunched front corner (from where it tried to run Rob Kinnan over) so it would be even funnier when it lays a patch a mile long.
As for Tony Angelo, he’s not my favorite drifter, but he is a really cool guy and I never knew he had a musclecar streak. Hope he’s hear to stay.
Angelo seems like a pretty qualified guy mechanically, but strikes me as lacking in camera presence. Some people just don’t have it.
Vans rule! I roll a mopar my old man tells me if I lived in it I’d be home by now…
I be Dave Jarvis will be beside himself looking for a grudge match.
Scooby-Do against the universe!
Don’t know who Jarvis is?
Look up “World’s fastest Chevy van” on Youtube & get ready to enjoy 9 second ETs, boxcar sized wheelies and 1000 foot burnouts in a vehicle too cumbersome to fit into a trailer – so its driven to the track.
Was particularly unimpressed with TA in the last episode and didn’t even bother looking for the new episode yesterday and as expected I read that he is the new presenter, see no reason to bother watching. I never expected to reject what was must watch TV.
WTF? Furbie wearing shoes in a show?Stop the world , I wanna get off!!(and before you safety sam guys start; I dont care, we all do car shit wearing flip flops- we call them thongs in Australia, but thats a whole ‘nother story….)
Nice getting some background on Angelo, just went up 100 points in my book(70 340 4sp dart guy here)
x2 on don’t paint the van
Sorry, he’s like the guy who did the Hellcat thing the other day. Some guys just don’t have the presence on camera.