"GENESIS"

Owner: Garry & Melanie Armstrong
Make: Bedford
Year: 1980
Model: Long Wheel Base 'Jumbo'
Club: Parlour Vans, Auckland

Engine: 350 Chev V8
Modifications: Bored to 355 ci, Performer inlet maniford, Holley 600 carb, HEI distributor, worked heads, plenty of custom extras.

Transmission: Chev 350 Turbo, B&M shift kit 
Differential: Ford 9" 3.0 ratio, 4 spyder

Suspension: Front & Rear - Heavy duty front, Nolathane bushes throughout, front torsion bar. HQ discs front, 9" Ford drums rear. 
Shocks: Stock front and rear.
Wheels: Front - 14 x 7 Cheviot Turbos, Rear - 15 x 8 Cheviot Turbos
Rubber: Front - 245 x 50 x 14 BFG T/A's, Rear 275 x 50 x 15 BFG T/A's
Steering: 944 Porsche power steering rack, Chev power steering pump

Front Interior: Rover and VDO gauges, custom dash and cosoles, door panels etc. Swivel seats bases with Autosport custom seats, Mongoose alarm and central locking. 
Rear Interior:  Custom cabinets and consoles, TV, video, playstation, blue neon lighting throughout, carpet, duel battery system, custom computer soon to be fitted.

Pioneer cd/mp3 player with amplifier, 3 x 9 180 watt speakers front, 3 x 9 220 watt speakers rear. 

Extensive body mods including front spoiler, hood scoop, flared guards, side skirts, rear skirt, paneled rear, shaved front doors, smoother side panels etc all in steel. Custom grille in aluminium, madified lights front and rear.  

Currently finished in Satin Black with Flat Black trim and blue stripes. Murals to be added to side and rear panels.

In 1985 I was shopping around for another van having sold my original van "Windsong" a few years earlier to build a house. Needing more room than Windsong had I opted for a CF Jumbo and spent a few months looking for one with a straight body and no windows. One was eventually found and the first thing done was to fit a new set of wheels. The mags were won as first prize in the van show with Windsong, so new tires were purchased and fitted to the van and Genesis was born. The vans first run was the 1985 Van Nationals held at Te Puke and this was the start of the long road to getting the van to where you see it today.    

The running gear was purchased and rebuilt in 1986 and fitted into the van in 1987. At this time the underside was cleaned up and painted. On a holiday to the States in 1988, 2 sets of bay windows were purchased and eventually fitted into the van. In 1986 I enrolled in a Vintage Car Restoration Course at Manukau Tech and started building all the steel panels to customise the body. At the same time the interior was fitted with a double bed and the usual refinements found in vans. In 1980 our daughter arrived on the scene so the interior was altered to allow comfortable traveling for the expanding family. This resulted in the bed going and the fitting of seats in the back. For sleeping a pop top camper was purchased and towed behind the van. 

With the changes to the inside came a complete refit including new cabinets and interior layout. To aid the traveling comfort a 10" TV with video and playstation was fitted along with a dual battery system and 230 volt inverter. Boat-building material was used in the interior construction which made the interior light and strong. This also allowed for curved panels to be used which made for a nice finish.

Over the years the brakes have been upgraded by fitting HQ discs to the front. These were done by grafting the discs into the standard CF hub thus retaining the CF bearings and stud pattern. Porsche power steering was also fitted which, apart from the V8, was one of the bets the mods I've done. It improved the driving no end and I wonder now why I waited so long to do it.  

The original stereo system was recently changed to a new Pioneer cd/mp3 player with new speakers and monitoring system. Blue neon lighting was fitted for interior lighting and an under-car LED system was also fitted.

While the van has been modified it's been painted primer grey. Last year I attended a custom airbrushing course with the intension of painting the van. This year I sprayed the van satin black to give me a canvas to play with. Over the next year I intend to paint murals on the side and rear panels. Once I have the murals and graphics as I want them I'll strip the van van down for it's finish paint job, probably in blue. The interior is currently undergoing a major upgrade also.

To date the van has won many prizes at van shows for engineering, interior, radical, big van, vanners choice, peoples choice, unfinished and even super van. For more info on the mods done to this van check out the workshop pages on this web site. I'll try to update them with further articles over the coming months.

Various photos of Genesis are shown below. Click the thumb to see a bigger shot.

Keep on Vannin,

Garry

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