"DEATHSTAR" 1977 Custom Tandem Dodge Van. 

In my grandparents' neighborhood, when I was a kid, right after the first Star Wars came out, there was this dude who lived there who we kids called "Van Man", because he had a 70's van covered in Star Wars iconography. It was so bad ass. Every time he'd go up and down the street we'd go nuts.

I remember seeing that van in my youth. Loved it then, still love it now. Would love to see it in person again.

Cool, innovative, unique and I dig it! There are some way cool custom features that make it stand out without taking away from it's usability. Even on my laptop that paint looks fantastic in quality and artistry. I'm not a Star Wars fan but I appreciate what went into this creation and I'm a fan of the van. Excellent execution of a far out vision!

With the current live in a van craze I'm surprised many of these dormant 70's hippy vans haven't been brought back into repurposed service. I'd love to see that one like that brought up to date. It would be cool.

Really awesome build, and extra respect for keeping it this long and running. My only bitch would be (and I can't believe no one else has pointed it out), that the quote on the hoods wrong. For all the attention to detail, that's kind of glaring. But everything else is top line. Plus props for the cleanliness of the fabricated parts. They totally flow with the rest of the build. And that art is on point. Too often photo realistic doesn't come off that well.

What a madness of van, Tom! This 77 Tradesman XL looks huge even with four tires plus.

I had a 77 Dodge Tradesman with a similar 'snack tray' on the front. It had cup holders around the outside and a dropped down center piece. It was a broken down pos I bought for $700 and brought it back to life. I loved that van. The first time I filled the gas tank (back then it cost over $50) I almost had a heart attack.

That van is as old as I am.. And it's in way better shape!

Wow! Probably the most Beautiful van I've ever seen! Excellent design and workmanship!

That is the coolest shaggin wagon I have ever seen, so cool, so cool, so cool.

I'm 55 and remember guys fixing up thier vans back in the day but nothing like what you've accomplished. It was a pleasure seeing craftsmanship to this degree.

This Dodge Van simply looks awesomeI never imagined it with 6 wheels. Its owner is crazy

"Rule number one: In my van, it's Rush. All Rush, all the time. No exceptions."

If the Deathstar is rockin', don't come a-knockin'!

Am not a star war fan but I definitely love your van man .

Did he say a waterbed in the back? Like an actual water bed? NOW those double axles at the back makes sense.

This van has held up remarkably well, thanks for sharing this....very cool.

Inspirational! Your van is a true work of art! The guy who did your van is brilliant! Love the Star Wars theme inside and out! Masterfully done! Thank you for sharing this amazing work of art with us!

The artist is my uncle. My mother just sent this to me lol. I saw this van just finished in G. Coops shop one day visiting home from the service and we had the family get together there. Love them folk.

This is my first time seeing a van limo, but I am a huge fan of comfort, and vehicles of all makes. But vans have a special spot in my heart . Ever since I was a young'n my friends dad had a old school decked out van , with a small bar table, a bed, a Lil fridge and I remember having many fun nights literally filled with laughter. I swear I went in a fat kid came out with a hardened sixpack abs. Thank you for the post

really nicee ride. even with the toasted headlight :-)

Beautiful Van! The paint finishes are beautiful! Enjoy!

A genuine Star wars lover, I like you and your wonderful van Keep on trucking, man👍✌️☮️🙏

I saw this van in Champaign, IL. about 2 weeks ago.

Cool Van.... Kinda get the feeling he’s really not that into Star Wars...just kinda picked the theme

That's beautiful. It looks amazing. Very clean bodywork and paint.

My uncle had the star wars van you speek of here in mass.1977 had a 327 in it .Was bought new off show room floor fully customized but was a Chevy. I want to say there was two for sale new.I was only 7 but will Always remember the attention that van would get!!love your van

Just found your channel.... great looking old school vans..All the best from UK🙂

That front reminds me of Clark Griswolds wagon.

This is the van Vader gave Lando for selling out Han. The bumper sticker says "I Operate This One Solo".

My dad's had a 77 Chevy shorty van that's a badass hot rod for 40 years! So with that said I love Vans at one time we had three Chevy van shorty vans in our driveway I had a 77 my dad's had his 77 for many years and then he had a 76! And with that said I'm not really into super custom bands but that van that you've got I give you unlimited thumbs up I know that took tons of work and it looks pretty cool and Star wars rules!!!!!!

Loving this van I was born in 1977 n I'm a huge Star wars fan. May the force be with you Full Send U.K.

Tom, I worked on that van back in the late 90's, when Select Vans was still in business. Like how you have updated it all around. It was cool then and its even cooler now...keep on keeping on.............

cool van man! lots of blood, sweat and tears there for sure...much respect!

Very unique. Great ideas for snack tray a/c vents, table legs bumper, tandem rear & Cougar tail lights. I really like it.

This van is absolutely epic, but the sequential cougar tail lights... be damned if that just doesn't set it off! I love it. Thanks for bringing this to us! Simply awesome.

Kool paint job...thanks for sharing.

AWESOMEST Van I have seen !!! Great job and in keeping it all these years!

This truly is a rolling work of art. Its a shame that the newer vans don't have the same level of cool to customize like the vans from the 60s thru early 80s. Definitely alot of time and money was spent on this beautiful machine.

Hey Tom, good to see you. Long live Primo Vans!

And the picture on the side here showing all 47 films.

Beautiful van with artwork, thanks for sharing🌺🐞

Oh man! The AC vents at the snack tray! A water bed?!! Cooooool!

I own three vans. Nothing but vans. You sir have outdone yourself. Thanks for keeping old iron on the road.

I absolutely LOVE it . Fantastic customised van :)

Cool van! Awesome paint job. Thanks 4 sharing.

Beautiful old dodge van. I have a 87 Dodge Ram Van with a 360 4 barrel and I've drove it close to 25 years with the original engine still in it. the only major things I've done to it is rebuild the 727 TorqueFlight myself using RU-vid video's as a guide along with a hard kit and new torque converter. I also finally wised up and replaced the temperamental and worn out quadrajet with a Holly 4160 vac. secondary's carb., spread to square bore adapter and a 7 psi in line electric fuel pump to feed the holly. Best and most reliable van I've ever had, and I've had several Ford's and Chevy's working in the service industry my whole adult life.

Beautiful van, Tom. Hopefully I will see it in person some day.

What an incredible van. Just amazing.

simply beautiful!, nice to see a real custom Van I sure miss mine! brings back many fun memories!!

I'm a 60 year old fan of custom vans and never seen one as spectacular as yours. I'm inspired by your imagination.!

As I recall, Kenny (?) of Pacific Vans on South Vermont in/near Gardenia specialized in creating Dodge Dualies. I worked for Fiber Van at the time, 77/78, just a few miles from his shop. One that I remember Kenny built had a hot tub and crystal chandelier. His work was premium and ahead of its time. I was doing Pass-Thrus on mini trucks as well as full van conversions at the time.

Best Dodge van I ever have seen ! Very Cool ! Great paint job ! 👍👍👍

the cabinetry looks out of place...but i love it all the same..

Just to have that hood hanging on the wall would be Awesome! Great Van Video...

Waterbeds are one thing I'll never be nostalgic for

I loved the van craze back in the 70's. I went to as many shows as I could. No 2 we're alike.

Remarkable craftsmanship . I do find one thing curious though - RV'ers are always careful about excess weight and he has a water bed that probably weighs 600 - 900 lbs, which would take a toll on gas mileage and stopping distance.

I use to be very partial to the Dodge brand don't know why love your tandem axles. And the use of the materials in the interior they give the interior very clean look instead of the carpeting that everyone else uses which I can't blame them because I have the same plans if I had ever purchased a van it's beautiful. I remember back in 77 there was a magazine called van and pick up magazine that featured a Dodge van call the Spanish galleon I fell in love with a theme and the look of the van this brings back memories how I wanted to as a kid buy a van fix it up and run away to California and live in my van. Lol!!!!

Awesome. So glad this van is still around

Great place to show Princess Leia how well your light sabre works.

AWESOME!!! I love old vans, especially custom vans like this.

A work of art. Who wouldn't want to own a van like that?

When the late 70's was cool, man, look at Leia and luke, the paint, airbrush masterwork here. When I was young I was offered a book about the Van culture, how they'll probably become the new limo etc… With pics of some of the most coolest custom vans in it, I can't recall if this one was in, but I remember a 6 wheel exactly as this one called 'Harem', all candy red with a 'boudoir' interior, all sofas and beds, custom engraved mirrors and the airbrush was stunning as well. It's cool to see this one 'live' on video.

vintage & spectacular time capsule 🍺✌

When a complete nerd builds something cool. Love that super clean and simple interior, very well done.

I love it! Not only a real beauty, but also good and useful design. Everything done right!

These van in the 60 threw the early 80s were the best. This custom van were the best. I had one of my own and love it. Van rallies were the best of times. Most just can’t afford to do this with vans anymore. But it was fun while it last. I sold mind and still miss it until this day. It was really sharp 1973 dodge with a custom paint and interior. What a party vehicle

Luke, I am your father.....or.... No...I am your father...

this is so beautiful

Dark side is powerful, but we've seen which one stands out everytime... Great van,craftsmanship, scenery, amazing paint and murals... sir, May the force be with yous!!!

I remember seeing this van at events when I was a kid.

The Deathstar on the side isn't from episode 4, it's from 6. It's still under construction. The one in episode 4 was complete.

Like old rims like this, not the new big ones.

Man I bet LoneStar and Barf would go apeshit over this sweet ride!!👍🏻 Also I’m pretty sure Dethklok would tour in this😂😂

I think I saw this at the World of Wheels once when I was little! cool to see it still going strong.

Danny from Counts Kustoms would go bananas over this van...

dude this is the coolest thing ive seen for along time... a built 360 with 400 hp? i wonder if the power goes to the back 4 wheels or what.. but damn thats cool the [paintjob is sick

Ive lived in garden grove California for for 30yrs and ive never seen this awesome van before.

Miss the old cool vans . Had some great times in a few .

This is friggen Outstanding Tom. Brought g-kids to int/l auto show last wk-end only to see more of pretty much the same ho-hum but pricier machines. Had this unique chariot been there would've attracted the most looks & hits. Enjoy it as I'm sure you are. Cheers!

**I live In A Van Down By The River**

Buddy of mine had a tradesman 200 when I was in high school. Spent a lot of lunches in it in the parking lot. Had one of those pop up vents on top to let all the smoke out. Nice interior too. Popular customs in the 70's

What is amazing is its classic built in the day looks like it was built last year .i come across old worn out costume vans in back yards and such and only Imagin when they where first painted .

Luke, get in the van. I am your father. Join me and we can cruise the galaxy as father and son.

A van like this and no shag carpeting come on man

That's not a 'van'...it's a work of art. Really beautiful one too. God knows I'd love to have that kind of tandem 70's van but I don't think you can find them anymore. Thanks for letting us see how you roll.

This is officially the most badass van I've ever seen. I don't even like Star Wars but it's still badass.

id like to know who did the conversion work on the inside its lovely..... Id like to get one done.

Remove the water bed and replace with foam and you would probably lose lots of dead weight. I would also do it all out in LED.

this has got to be the most 70s thing ive ever seen, dude a waterbed in the back woooooooo dang

@ 3:47 This air cooled snak tray is over-the-top. Pure NASA innovative stuff. Right out of a science fiction movie. Nice

Wait... Was this the van that appeared on "The Ray Raynor Show", back in the day?

"I can burn the tires for 200feet" ....the question would be how many of them?

I'm just glad that Van's like this still exist customed out to the max😎

WOW! I was expecting the interior to be a mix of fake wood, tweed , and shag carpeting. Not the case here. Super awesome!

Awesome job, Tom. The paint work and attention to detail is very impressive. I bet you got a ton of trophies at home.

Nice van but you should of done all barbarella!

You need solar panels on the roof to run your inside stuff. Amazing Van for the years it was built!!! Reminds me of being a teenager and trying to do anything to modify your ride. Way too go on keeping her intact!!!

A masterpiece ,in the world of vans, not an overnight, sensation ,thought and time.