Home » This Mysterious Chevy S-10 Conversion Van Is Like A Hot Wheels Car Come To Life

This Mysterious Chevy S-10 Conversion Van Is Like A Hot Wheels Car Come To Life

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If you’ve been reading auto news sites at all in the past week or so, chances are that you’ve seen this Chevrolet S-10 conversion van for sale near Wausau, Wisconsin. I did, too, and I embarked on a search to figure out who made this van and why. After over a  digging through archives and undertaking countless searches I still have a lot of questions, but I did make one surprising discovery.

A couple of weeks ago, this 1984 Chevrolet S-10 conversion van popped up for sale near me. I scooped it up thinking that I’d feature it in a Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness, but finding information on this creation has been a challenge, to say the least. The fact that it exists at all isn’t too surprising. As some of our readers could probably attest, there was a conversion van craze in the 1970s and 1980s. People loved hauling themselves and their families around in vans filled to the brim with shag carpeting, huge recliners, and dim interior lights. And who can forget the murals!

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Someone, or more specifically a company, thought that what the Chevrolet S-10 pickup was missing was a fiberglass conversion van body complete with a gullwing door. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, check it out!

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As the General Motors Heritage Center notes, pickup trucks were becoming larger and GM saw a market for a smaller, less expensive pickup. At the time, small trucks were popular. Ford jumped into the market with Mazda with the Courier. Plymouth had the Mitsubishi Forte-based Arrow pickup. Dodge was selling the Mitsubishi Triton as the D-50. And GM itself had the Isuzu KB as the Chevy LUV. The Chevrolet S-10 released in 1981 and GM says it became a hot seller practically overnight. And soon, it replaced the LUV as GM’s small truck.

The S-10 and its GMC Sonoma badge mate would go on to become more than just a work truck. The GMC would get ironed out into the famous Syclone and the S-10 would even get an SS version. But none of the official versions came with a van body. That’s where New World Editions, Inc. comes in.

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In all of my searching I couldn’t find much about this company. I found one Florida company matching the name that went out of business in 1994. There’s another matching the name in Mishawaka, Indiana that also appears to be long gone. Through some digging, I found that the Mishawaka New World Editions was featured in Woodall’s 1986 Western Campground Directory as selling Class B RVs.

New World Editions
Woodall’s 1986 Western Campground Directory

But the van featured in that periodical was larger. If the Indiana company is the correct one, it would make sense that it would offer a smaller van, but on the bones of a pickup truck. This S-10 conversion van was created only a year after the launch of the first-generation Chrysler minivans. And building a van from a pickup truck offers the freedom of creating any body that you want.

In this case, the van body is said to be fiberglass and it hangs behind the cab like a growth. 

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Pop through the gullwing-style hatch and you’re greeted to a typical conversion van interior. The second row gets two bucket seats while the third is a bench. Everything looks extra plush and of course, the typical conversion van lighting and windows are present, too.

Those seats all fold flat, making bedding for roughly four people. 

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The cab got a nice treatment, too, as it got taller with a neat wraparound upper window. New World Editions clearly put a lot of work into this van-truck (vuck?) and you’ll probably even notice that the rear axle features dually wheels.

Power comes from a 2.8-liter V6 2BBL making 110 horses and 145 lb-ft torque. When I was researching this van, something hit me. I have a Hot Wheels car that looks like this thing! Sure enough, buried in my two decade-old diecast stash and filed into my box of RVs is this Hot Wheels Minitrek camper.

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Mercedes Streeter

Fans of this diecast model call it a Toyota Hilux-based Chinook camper, but I’ve yet to find a Chinook that looks exactly like it. I think that this van comes even closer than a Chinook! And it gives the vibes of a real life toy car. It has the goofy proportions of a Hot Wheels car and a hatch like you’d find on a toy. I love that.

The seller claims that the truck is one of five ever built. Since there’s no readily available history on this company at all, I asked how they came to that conclusion. As it turns out, this is essentially a game of Telephone where the seller learned from the previous owner, and the previous owner didn’t have any proof. That said, this is likely rare since this is the only one that I could find anywhere at any time.

I found just one old listing, and it was for the last time that this van was sold, which was in 2020.

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That sold listing does give us more details than the current listing. Underbody shots show rust all over the van’s frame, and indicated that it had a rotted out brake line. The bad news continued in the form of a downshift clunk, a bad strut for the apparently heavy gullwing door, bald tires, rodent damage, and torn seats. It also said that every bit of metal was rusty.

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The new owner wasn’t able to give me any history about the van or the company that built it, but tells me that a lot of work was done to the van. It now has six new tires, new rockers, new brake lines, new window seals, a strut for the door, fixed lighting, and the broken air-conditioner was repaired. The seller admits that they haven’t fixed everything as the fenders remain rusty. The price for it two years ago was $4,800. With the fixes, the current owner wants a little more than double at $10,800.

It’s hard to say if that’s a good price, even if it’s rare and looks like a toy. What I want to know is if any of you out there know anything about New World Editions. Someone out there thought that this van was a great idea, and I want to know about it! But annoyingly, I’ve come to a dead end in my own research. So if you have any details on this thing or just want a virtual hug, drop me an email at mercedes@theautopian.com.

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Maymar
Maymar
1 year ago

Given that this just looks like a fiberglass replica of a GM G-van plopped on the back of an S10 chassis, I wonder if this would actually be any more efficient in the real world.

MaximillianMeen
MaximillianMeen
1 year ago

Ahhhhhrrrrrgggggghhhhh!!!

This is NOT a gullwing door!!! Both you and Rob have been calling it a gullwing, but it is just a hatch!

The distinctive feature a a gull’s wings is that they go up at a 45-60 deg angle and then bend out. A gullwing door, therefore, has a bit of the roof included. Go look at the M-B 300, C111, and SLS, and the Bricklin SV-1, DeLorean, and Pagani Huayra. The Aston Martin Bulldog is a bit of an exception, as it doesn’t actually have part of the roof in the door, but the extreme angle of the window to side panel still results in a vertical aspect.

A flat panel that lifts up is merely a hatch.

Data
Data
1 year ago

Crack Pipe!

Dave Horchak
Dave Horchak
1 year ago

Okay a little more.
1. The grill has no bowtie.
2. One of the pics shows the vehicle is a multi passenger vehicle. And the gullwing handicapped door and evenly spaced windows does lean towards a bus. School, metro, whatever. This is another example why the internet is good enough to ruin existing channels but not good enough to replace them. I mean 1984 chevy s10 passenger van search most of what you get are ads for new vans. But everyone bought Into the hype so no real resources.
SHAME ON EVERYONE ESPECIALLY AL GORE FOR INVENTING THE INTERNET.

Dave Horchak
Dave Horchak
1 year ago

After a deep dive I believe it is the Chevy S10 Sandtana RV. It has everything but the gull wing door which could have been an owner added option. The paint job is clearly not the original. The company who offered this whose name I can’t find also offered it on a Toyota. This is

Erik Hancock
Erik Hancock
1 year ago
Reply to  Dave Horchak

I don’t think this is a Sandtana – pictures of that vehicle show the standard single rear wheels and regular-length wheelbase. The cab overhang is also the same width as the rest of the rear body kit – in line with a pickup-based RV. The Sandtana looks like what I would expect from an S-10 RV. This van-adjacent thing is different – not that different – but significant in that it seemingly compromises every advantage of starting with a pickup.

Dave Horchak
Dave Horchak
1 year ago

After a deep dive I believe it is the Chevy S10 Sandtana RV. It has everything but the gull wing door which could have been an owner added option. The paint job is clearly not the original. The company who offered this whose name I can’t find also offered it on a Toyota.

Erik Hancock
Erik Hancock
1 year ago

How delightfully absurd. So many odd choices here. The choice of a pickup as the base vehicle would seem to be rooted in economy and yet there’s so much additional work and cost – stretching the wheelbase, dually axle, gull wing hatch. Each of these modifications involves a structural/functional compromise that could have been avoided by sticking with a van body base. Why did they make the overhang above the driver’s cab so bloody small, instead of keeping it the same width as the back like every pickup-based camper? And, sure, gull wing doors are cool – but this is actually more like a chicken wing. It’s hinged right at the corner, instead of closer to the centerline of the body, maximizing the amount of clearance required to open it. This issue is compounded by the fact that there is no other door to exit from the back part of the vehicle. So, if the door is obstructed, you have to exit through one of the front doors, which is made more difficult by the choice of pickup truck cab and the tiny attic space above it.

Dave Horchak
Dave Horchak
1 year ago

Really interesting, the gullwing door makes me think this started as a commercial work vehicle. But the paint job is too personal non business. But then the paint job while good does appear to be from a decade or two later than this S10. I would think Custom but just looks too well done. Maybe if Barris or equal did a one off but definitely no drunken weekend project.

Ben
Ben
1 year ago

I absolutely loved our conversion van. With the one caveat that the third row bench seat was the least comfortable thing I’ve ever had the displeasure of sitting on for multiple hours. Thankfully I almost never had to ride back there.

Brian Kipper
Brian Kipper
1 year ago

This is one of those times where it is good that I’ve never won the lottery. Because I unironically want that. I would buy it, have it shipped off to a custom shop (Eckstensive Metal Works out of Texas comes to mind) have them bring it up to date, repaint it, and enjoy the crap out of it

Arrest-me Red
Arrest-me Red
1 year ago

Other than the engine, having driven this with a 5 spd it couldn’t get out of it’s own way, I like it.

Sure it would cost a bit to get it up to spec and maybe upgrade. Then again, I am known for dumb car purchases.

Michael
Michael
1 year ago

“As some of our readers could probably attest, there was a conversion van craze in the 1970s and 1980s. People loved hauling themselves and their families around in vans filled to the brim with shag carpeting, huge recliners, and dim interior lights. And who can forget the murals!”

Minor nitpick – custom vans shouldn’t be confused with conversion vans, even though there is some overlap. The former were built by long haired stoners and used for partying, while the latter were built by companies and were marketed primarily to families that took vacations in them. I highly recommend this documentary for anyone interested in these sorts of things:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWq8ZMUdQVg

Manwich Sandwich
Manwich Sandwich
1 year ago
Reply to  Michael

Once upon a time, those people used to be ‘with it’. But now? It’s more like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGrfhsxxmdE

John Hower
John Hower
1 year ago

Thank you, Mercedes, for doing as deep a dive as possible on this creation. Very interesting! And yes, the 70s and 80s saw some quite remarkable custom vans. Some were more remarkable than others, in their own ways and to varying definitions.

Man With A Reliable Jeep
Man With A Reliable Jeep
1 year ago

My first thoughts:

With that 2bbl 2.8 liter, this must be a dog.

Wow, I am surprised at the personal luxury inside.

That frame rust is ugly.

I low-key want this.

MATTinMKE
MATTinMKE
1 year ago

I had the same thought process. This “Vuck” is only about 2 and a half hours away from me…

Shop-Teacher
Shop-Teacher
1 year ago

It’s amazing how much ink this thing has gotten. I’ve seen articles now here, and that lighting website years ago, on the Drive. It pops up for sale over and over again. Probably because it sucks to drive. I love S-10’s, but this thing must drive like absolute dog shit! It’s a neat curiosity, but I sure wouldn’t want to own it.

Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker
1 year ago

I had that Hot Wheels as a kid. I spent a long time trying to figure out what truck it’s supposed to be; clearly not a Toyota, though. The closest match I could find was an early ’80s Isuzu, which ironically was also sold as the second-genreation LUV.

https://topclassiccarsforsale.com/uploads/photoalbum/1981-chevy-luv-diesel-pickup-truck-isuzu-pup-new-engine-1.JPG

LTDScott
LTDScott
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

Hot Wheels made a pickup with a very similar front end and called it a Dodge D-50 (which is of course a badge engineered Mitsubishi) but I think it looks more like an Isuzu too.

https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Dodge_D-50

LTDScott
LTDScott
1 year ago

This reminded me of an ’80s Nissan based camper I saw, so I went looking for photos and couldn’t find one, but did stumble upon a Toyota camper made by “New World.” Same company maybe?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/37NZgjlv/1986-toyota-new-world-rv-camper

TXJeepGuy
TXJeepGuy
1 year ago

Sweet, a shoutout to the S10 SS! I had one of those as a teenager.

Justin Haas
Justin Haas
1 year ago

If you take away the ratty S-10 camper aesthetic, I think a gullwing door on a limo could make for an amazing entrance at a nightclub or prom. Add some theme music and a fog machine and you are looking pretty cool.

Andrew Wyman
Andrew Wyman
1 year ago

This is a vehicle I would want a chauffeur for. Just so they don’t see me driving it. But riding in it looks very comfortable.

Red Devil GT 5.0
Red Devil GT 5.0
1 year ago

This would be much less beige malaise with a different color and a 4.3

Angry Bob
Angry Bob
1 year ago

S10 V8 swaps were very common.

Beasy Mist
Beasy Mist
1 year ago

Man, that 2.8 is a dog hooked up to a normal vehicle. I can just imagine how overtaxed it is here.

Nlpnt
Nlpnt
1 year ago
Reply to  Beasy Mist

I’m surprised the conversion company shelled out for that and it’s not a base Iron Duke/5 speed.

LTDScott
LTDScott
1 year ago
Reply to  Beasy Mist

Probably still better than the Toyota and Nissan campers of the same era.

Frankencamry
Frankencamry
1 year ago

I really want to know what changes were made to the rear suspension, other than longer wheel studs and a spacer to toss a second wheel on. I just have a sneaking suspicion that’s a bone stock S10 axle.

I don’t see anywhere near 10K here, but it only takes one buyer.

Michael
Michael
1 year ago
Reply to  Frankencamry

They did go through the effort of stretching the chassis and adding an extended drive shaft, so I’d like to imagine that a proper dually axle was added out back as well. Who really knows without a proper in-person inspection though?

That said, this is the most Wisconsin vehicle I’ve ever seen, and I want it SOOO BAD.

Gilbert Wham
Gilbert Wham
1 year ago

I’d want less rust and more engine for that price.

Brian Burke
Brian Burke
1 year ago

This thing is wonderfully ridiculous in every sense of the word. I’d love to hear an interview with the visionary who thought this vehicle needed to grace the streets.

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