(engine revving)
- [Nolan] Car Culture has so many different sub-groups
that can frankly be a little hard to keep track of.
But there is one subculture that is impossible to confuse.
Vans.
Today, I'm going to show you a few custom vans to prove,
once and for all that they might be the most
versatile cars that you can buy today.
You might disagree with me right now,
but by the end of this video,
you're going to be looking for a van of your own.
(upbeat music)
These days, vans are on the upswing.
From a thousand horse power burn out machines like this one.
To custom throwbacks, to vans you can actually live in.
Like this guy
Vans are like Kirby in a way.
You know?
The little pink guy from Nintendo that lives in your TV.
I'll explain that later.
Vans have had place in American Culture for decades.
Reaching their height in the 70's.
I want to look at some vans
and show you what they're all about.
I'll break them down into 3 categories
that I think embody what vans need.
Practicality, Nostalgia and all out power.
There are a few key upsides to living in a van.
You don't have to pay rent.
And because you can only live with what you can carry.
Van life cuts down on all your material possessions.
(slowed down distortion) Dude that's so Zen.
For the most part, it's kind of an Instagram fad in a way.
It's kinda weird all the biggest van life accounts
follow that same aesthetic.
And that living in a van is even romanticized at all.
I mean didn't Chris Farley warn us about this?
- [Chris Farley] I'm sick and tired of living in
a van down by the river!
- [Nolan] It can look really appealing
but what's it really like to live in van?
Let's ask someone who does.
(upbeat drum beat)
Yo what's up?
Welcome to my boy Tanners' crib.
Got a freakin' cabinet here.
Let's see what's inside.
(grunts)
- Yeah. That's those 2 inches I was talking about.
(laughing)
(upbeat electric music)
- [Tanner] So I drive a 2006 Dodge Sprinter van, 2500.
Five cylinder, turbo diesel.
I took a road trip; Christmas, 2017.
In my friends Volvo for three weeks doing this road trip.
And when we were coming back, I got really anxious.
I was like, "I don't want to be in a...
I don't wanna be in an apartment any more.
Like that was the final moment of like, yeah I like this.
We put in the wood floor & the siding and everything.
And the cabinets.
- Let's take a look at these cabinets.
What do we have going on in here?
Wardrobe. Nothing super exciting.
So this one is where I keep, you know my floor jack.
Other small like maintenance tools and whatnot.
The ever needed Dungeons and Dragons toolkit.
With, loaded with dice.
And miniatures.
(overlapped talking)
- Do you ever host a game in here?
Or do you?
- I have once. And then after that they said absolutely not.
We cannot do that again.
- That's pretty funny.
This one is just all my food.
Camera over here.
My library.
And then down here is my propane cook-top
with my skillet and pot.
- I'm noticing a distinct lack of mattress back here.
...Where do you sleep?
- [Tanner] I sleep on this here hammock.
- [Nolan] Oh wow, look at that.
[Zach] All right Nolan get in that Hammock.
- I'm not, I can't, I don't wanna deal with my arm.
I don't wanna risk it.
Should I?
[Zach] You should!
[Alex] Yeah you should!
- All right.
[Lalo] If you think you're gonna get hurt I wouldn't...
- What is this rated for?
- Four hundred pounds.
- All right we good.
- You're pulling it under you.
- Oh jeez.
(indistinct talking)
- [Zack] Uh Oh.
(slow distorted voices)
- It was just in the wrong hole
- [Nolan] Nope.
- Per uge.
(overlapped talking)
- ...now that it's safe in the house,
do you want a second go?
- [Nolan] No, we're not trying that again.
- No we're good. We're good.
We don't need to try that again.
...Lets move on, lets keep going in the video.
- I would not change this for the world and
I don't see this changing anytime soon.
- [Nolan] So varies can push the boundaries
of practicality from being able to hold lots of stuff,
to being able to hold your entire life.
But what if you're not interested in that?
Maybe its because I'm a 60 year old man at heart
- [Nolan but vans like these,
are what I imagine when I hear the word, "van".
There is a term we use to describe vans like this...
Shag and Wagon.
Shag and wagons typically took on elements popular
in the muscle car scene at the time.
- [Nolan] Mag wheels.
Raked Forward Stance.
Side exit exhaust and big power.
- People would hang out, smoke a little green and...
Do other things in their Shag and Wagons.
There are a devoted few who still rock these things...
out of choice.
- [Nolan] Like this guy.
(easygoing rock music)
- [Rob] I actually chose a van because...
My balls wouldn't fit in the muscle car and
everyone scratches their heads and say "why'd you do it?"
Just because.
- [Rob] When I'm driving that van I feel like I'm 16.
Nostalgia played into everything.
Hence the straight axel, hence the big block chevy.
Purple leopard skin.
Ya know we wanted it to be just a total throwback.
The paint was actually put together from a guy,
- [Rob] That he had scraps laying around.
He just mixed them together and it came out Blurple.
- [Nolan] Lets talk about the name, of the Boogy Van.
How did you come up with that?
- [Rob] Because it really doesn't do anything...
But boogy.
- But boogy.
- It hauls ass, that's pretty much it.
- [Nolan] What's the deal with the leopard skin?
- I could have put shag carpet but if you know,
a lot of the guys in the 70's,
that's all they did with shag carpet.
- [Rob] We wanted it to stand out.
- Should we climb in?
(slowed down) Should we climb in?
(distorted voice)
what do you think?
Its a little-
(grunting)
Hard to do with one arm.
(kids cheering)
- [Nolan] You have a nitrous canister?
- If a 80052 horse aint enough, then...
You have extra.
(laughing)
- Working on this van with my son has been
a really nice, a really nice bonding experience.
- [Rob] He's more GDM and he's more Japanese motor.
He'l have a lot more influence on the next one.
- [Nolan] So stock, it does lift, it already does...
- [Rob] Yes, this is actually
the stock location.
- It actually uses a factory engine cradle for 307.
We lowered that two inches and then the rest
has been soak framed from wheel to wheel.
- [Rob] And its got a full custom
shiny cross member underneath.
- I mean its called the boogy van, so I feel like we should,
Boogy, in the van.
(laughing)
- What?
(laughing) Perfect! Okay!
(engine revving)
- That was the sickest thing ever dude.
Its a freakin' van doing donuts.
- Hey man if your hands don't shake after boogy van ride,
there's something wrong, even I shake.
Well like I say, wait till' the next van comes out
with the two J.Z in it?
Its gonna be stupid fast.
- [Nolan] Like I said at the top,
Vans, are like Kirby,
you know, like the pink round guy.
Is Kirby a guy?
- [Nolan] In my research for this episode,
Kirby's Wikipedia page uses the he pronoun.
So I guess that answers that.
- Anyway.
- [Nolan] Kirby is famous for his ability
to inhale enemies.
Which gives him their powers.
- And vans are the same way. Vans are kinda boring.
- [Nolan] Literal boxes on wheels
they're not fast, they certainly don't handle
And frankly they're not very interesting to look at either.
But that changes,
when you start giving them attributes
typically found on other cars.
There's perhaps, no better example of this,
than Bisimoto's Honda Odyssey.
(upbeat music)
- [Bisi] My children love it.
I have six year old daughter and a sixteen month old son.
- [Bisi] They are the coolest kids at their school,
because of this mini van.
- [Bisi] At a factory, makes about two hundred horses.
But this now? A thousand twenty nine.
It's absolutely frighting, can spin the tires in any gears,
It's absolutely fantastic.
- [Bisi] The automatic factory gear box
cannot handle the power.
- So, we are opted for Acura TL Type S. Manual gear box.
- [Bisi] So that being said, you can actually eat your cake
and have it too.
Rowing gears and experience the power,
of a very amazing mini van.
Everywhere I go with this car, this van, people go bananas.
So we needed more members of the van mafia.
( laughs) it's very important to us.
- [Nolan] So...
I think the first thing people notice
when they see this car and
- [Nolan] They think something might be different.
Your inner cooler,
- [Bisi] Yes.
- This is my signature. I like to give a little hint
of what's lurking underneath.
And this is the only thing that shows,
that something awry is going on with this vehicle.
- [Bisi] Factory J. 35 Mill, so its not a swap,
but internals are heavily reinforced.
And this is the baby here.
A sixty nine millimeter bilet.
Yes, sixty nine millimeter precision turbo.
- It is very important for me
to look good every time I park.
- [Bisi] So I have this really cool airbag system,
courtesy of Air Ride Suspicion.
That allows me to bring it down nice and low.
- And of course, for the children, a booster seat,
and a proper Recaro, child raise seat.
- You have a roll bar in there too.
- I sure do!
- [Bisi] Yeah, I have to, safety is paramount.
- [Nolan] Wow.
- But everything works just like factory,
Even when you put a side mirror, you wanna turn,
It shows the indication on the side.
Reverse camera work, just like factory.
It's just like a factory car,
- [Bisi] But with a lot of power and a lot of fun.
(engine revving)
(indistinct shout)
(excited laughing)
- It's a mini van. Its a mini van!
- [Bisi] We never knew,
Mini vans could be sexy, let alone, performance vehicles.
- [Nolan] I love this van, not just because it can break
the tired lose in any gear, but
because it really shows the potential Inside all vans.
I think an opinion most car nerds have,
is that they never owned a mini van.
- [Nolan] But what if it was like Bisi's?
Probably would then.
- Remember, vans, are like Kirby.
You just gotta give them a little taste of some other car
and they'll start giving off, that cars energy.
- Plus I'm wearing vans right now.
- [Nolan] Thanks to ExpressVPN
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Why is that guy over there looking at sewing supplies?
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- [Nolan] Expressvpn.com/wheelhouse
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Thanks for sponsoring us guys.
I'd like to thank Rob, Bisi and Tanner
for bringing their vans out here today.
This was super fun, super awesome.
Hopefully you think vans are cool too.
I'm gonna go buy one now.
- Yeah, I have a sling in this episode.
I was on my bike, went to some dirt jumps.
Was riding outside of my skill level, broke my collar bone.
Smacked my head really hard, I was wearing my helmet though.
Probably won't be doing jumps anytime soon.
But thank you for writing.
(grunts)
- [Nolan] Give us a like, really helps us out.
Consider subscribing, we're almost at two million subs.
Check out this episode of Up To Speed right here,
Check out last weeks episode of Wheelhouse right here.
Follow me on instagram at NOLANJSYKES.
Follow donut at donutmedia.
Always wear your helmet,
otherwise it'd probably be a different story.
Shaka, dude.