Quesnel resident Gary Hartley’s Green Van, or Shaggin’ Wagon, as he likes to call it, is truly a blast from the past that anyone who grew up in the ’70s can instantly relate to.
The 1976 Chevy shorty custom van, built by well-known California craftsman Graham Oats, was featured in all of its original glory at the Hot July Nights Car and Bike Show in 100 Mile House, July 15-17.
Purchased new in 1976 at Johnston Bros. Motors in Quesnel by local resident Don Cameron, the van was sent to California four times over the years to be customized by Oats.
As part of the deal, Oats was allowed to tour the van for one year, to various car shows after it was completed, and during this time, it won many awards and was featured in several magazines.
When it came back to Quesnel, Hartley was just a young boy, but he vividly recalls seeing the Green Van cruising around town.
In 1981, with just 39,988 miles on the odometer, Cameron parked the van in his garage and for 28 years, it didn’t see the light of day. Hartley knew it was stowed away in his neighbourhood, and in 2009, he got up the nerve to ask Cameron if he could put it on the road again to show it off.
Covered in a thick layer of dust, it was hardly recognizable, but Hartley cleaned it up and found, to his delight, the van was in perfect condition, with no alterations ever having been made to the original custom work.
“It’s a survivor,” he says, adding custom vans from that era, and in the same original condition, are far and few between.
From the three-inch long lime green fake fur that lines the cab and the bed area in the back, to the diamond tufted dark green velour that covers the rest of the interior, the van is a classic.
The original Pioneer brand Supertuner cassette player and the eight-track player still work, and the highly detailed paint job on the exterior, which features an airbrushed outdoor scene, gleams as brightly as ever.
Hartley explains that in doing paint jobs, Oats preferred to hire students from a nearby university who were studying how to paint prosthetic eyeballs for humans.
“It’s because they were very detail conscious.”
Since coming into the hands of Hartley, the van has put on a few new miles. Perched proudly on one of two swivel captain’s’ chairs, he drives it regularly to show young people just what shaggin’ wagons from the ’70s were.
“I plan to drive it and show it lots and keep it original. That’s what it’s all about.
