1969 Chevrolet Chevy Van

1969 Chevrolet Custom - Blutopia

What is Vanning? Well, I guess that depends on who you ask. What seems like a simple question is much more complicated when you consider the entire sub-culture that has emerged surrounding these custom vehicles. Vanning is a life-style. This style of customization exploded back in the 40's and 50's out of California with the surfer world and the vintage woodie. What you might have made fun of as your parents station wagon or woodie became cool as the trend emerged and now has a huge following all of its own. The first official cargo van for North America came with the Econoline in 1961 from Ford but Chevrolet soon caught up with the Corvan which was a Corvair spinoff. After that things took off and "Vans" became a common vehicle but even more so the world of customization jumped right in. These were an accessible vehicle that a young person could attain and modify on their own. In our business we love every car we list but every once in a while something comes a long that is extra special. Well, Blutopia is one of those. This 1969 Chevrolet Cargo Van is absolutely one of a kind and just as much a work of art as it is a show vehicle. As the owners would put it "it's a practical, radical, streetable, show van" but one look in person and you can see it is so much more than that. There literally, without a doubt, isn't anything else like it on the road. It was professionally built by Utopia Customs who, let's just say, know what they are doing. They built their first van in 1973 and since then there was no looking back. They have won countless awards in various vans throughout the years and don't worry, Blutopia has its fair share. This is one of those where we will do our best to describe this unique creation but know something is going to get left out.

It all started with a Chevy cargo van but that has since been completely transformed. It took a full time 3 year build with around 6,000 hours invested. The Blue color is absolutely stunning and has a beautiful slick finish. The rear of it has been welded and smoothed so well you would doubt there were ever doors there to begin with. Same with each side as this radical custom now has a full tilt, remote controlled, electric front end. Then on the passenger side is a full custom gull wing door to gain access to the interior but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Angle chopped top, shaved drip rails, custom molded front spoiler, Cobra gas cap, Corvette tail lights, custom portholes, the list goes on and on. That doesn't even include the awesome custom rear spoiler with a third eye stained glass design. Again, this is art! Think it's just for looks though? Of course not! In that third eye is a back up camera and it also lights up as a brake light. That is a testament to how well this build was planned, designed and executed. The level of detail is truly something special. What is even more impressive is everything except for the side door is all steel. The wheel wells are all tubbed and it has gorgeous Dcenti wheels that are 20inch up front, 22 inch in the back, and to not be outdone 24 inch on the custom pull behind trailer.

Pop open the front cab and between the seats is a fully chromed out crate Summit Racing 350V8 motor. "Fully chromed out" is not an understatement because we are talking about a lot more than a shiny air cleaner. From top the bottom this thing is show ready and only the highest quality components were used throughout. Don't let all that shine scare you though because this thing was built to be driven. It is fully road ready and has been road tested with the owners traveling to shows throughout the country including the Van Nationals where Blutopia was awarded multiple "Best of" awards in various categories across multiple years. Paired with the great running motor is a smooth shifting Turbo 350 transmission to send power back to the narrowed 10 bolt rear