Hi there- I just bought a beat up 1950 Metro van and am having it brought back to life. This is a crazy mission but what the hey, life is too short for caution. I'm interested in other Metro van stories and parts leads. Cheers- Geoff
Welcome! this was posted on another site yesterday. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=14602494&cat=&lpid=1&search=1950
I am building a 1947 Metro. You can check out pics of the build on my blog. http://www.XtremeMetro.Blogspot.com These vans are a lot of fun. Good luck with the build and let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks- I'm glad to have company in this crazy project. I bought the red van you showed on your site in your search for a new grill. It was at Desert Classics in Montana and is now being mated with a 2003 3/4 ton Dodge diesel pickup frame and engine. Also getting a whole lotta body work. And this is just the beginning.... I'm hoping to end up with a van that looks close to original but drives a whole lot better.
Hey Geoff, Welcome to the Metro Club! I wondered who bought this van... http://www.desertclassics.com/IHC48van.html remaxman already found you. Another good guy you should contact is Acme Speed Shop. I met him in January at the Grand National Roadster Show in Los Angeles. I got to crawl all through his van, its NICE! Are you keeping it stock or hot rodding it or maybe a resto-rod (half & half)? Just to get you started, eBay is a wealth of sources. maybe not the exact part you are looking for, but connections to guys who probably do. Here are some other sites worth perusing... http://oldihc.org/main/truck-talk http://www.binderplanet.com/forums/index.php Does your van still have its build plates? They are located just above the passenger side window and look like this... http://picasaweb.google.com/graynak/1946IHCK1Metro#4969270558986797074 Just for the record, this is not a '50, its a later model, '54 and up because of the large IH logo on the grill. This is assuming that the grill and shell haven't been swapped. I have a '52 and our grills are roughly the same. Lets stay in touch, Chris
Hey Chris- Thanks for all of that. I'm planning to have it look as original as possible, very much like the ACME van. I've traded emails with John and he is a very nice and helpful guy. When I think I'm nuts for even doing this I look at photos of the ACME Van and get re-motivated. The finished project will be a rolling billboard for one of my businesses. I'll have the shop check for the build plates. That's a good question.... Let's keep in touch- Cheers- Geoff
Just saw this posted on eBay. Its for a set of Metro badges, not sure what year or era... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250791700355
Pretty cool. Not sure about the vintage of those badges but for now the price is right. I've found a junkyard in PA that apparently has several Metro vans. I'll report back if I find anything more.
I'm a Van man myself. I'm fixing mine about so I can launch a coffee assault on this town using the 1957 Metro as a brewing machine. Welcome to the club
Best wishes on your project! One of my Bucket List projects is the 2-3 ton, dual rear wheel delivery van built in huge numbers for Railway Express Agency (later, REA Express). This outfit was the Fedex of their era (1800's-1975). Most example found here in the Rust Belt are just that - often rusted beyond repair (all steel bodies). Various body builders modified the cowl/chassis delivered from the factory, on being Montpelier Body of Ohio. Whenever I'm south of NYC, my countryside drives are always on the lookout for these, or any O-R-O, old, rare or obsolete vehicles. Mike Boston
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