Followup on the Arlen Ness van.......

At the end of my post on Arlen Ness' "Harley Hauler" van (see two posts down), I wondered if Arlen still owned the van (Ness has a propensity to keep all his personal custom vehicles), and also wondered where it was today.

Well, I got an Email from "Al", and he added a little more info, and sent the following pictures for me. Thank you Al, it was most appreciated!

" Rich,
Long time reader of your blog. Also been hung up on Ness Ford van for years. Here is what I have been able to find out(true or not, who the fuck knows....). Van left alone till sometime in the late 80's or early 90's, thats when it was re-shoed,had some more body mods done(re-radiused the wheel wells and new mirrors) and painted red. Not long after it was sold to a Ness employee who still owns it. Enjoy the pics. Al "

As Al mentioned, you can clearly see the new wheels/tires, the re-done flares, and the ground effect panel that occupies the side pipe's old location.

I also notice too, that it's also re-lettered Arlen Ness Las Vegas. From the background in the picture, it sure looks like it's parked in front of Arlen's Vegas store, on the Boulder Hwy., right across from the Bouder Station casino. I know a gal who used to work there, maybe I'll ask her if she has any info.

Another set of narrow tanks..........

.......for a very wealthy European magazine editor. He wanted to retain and utilize the tank mounts on his OEM frame.

Arlen Ness' "Harley Hauler"

In the same April '83 issue of Truckin' magazine that I pulled Stan Betz's shop El Camino painted by Von Dutch (check back down the posts to see it), they also featured Arlen Ness' custom '77 E100 van, which he called the "Harley Hauler". Calling this van "custom" is an understatement, and featured mods done by a varitable "whos who" in the rod and custom field.

Good thing Ness was still building diggers, because you couldn't have gotten anything else in the back! When this van was shot, it already had 55,000 mi. of hauling bikes around to shows, on it's modifications - a testament to the craftsmanship of all the people involved with the project.

For starters, Ness took the van down south to the absolute master of the top chop, Dick Dean. Dean removed a straight 6" of roof height. Then, Arlen hauled it back to the Bay Area, where Rod Powell stepped the frame 8", and sectioned the body another 6".

Arlen himself, along with Bob "Mun" Munroe handled all the interior modifications to the dash, "doghouse", door panels, seats, and all the related components like the gauges, steering column, garnish moldings, and the factory A/C unit to fit the new low body profile.

From there, it went to Jack Hagerman to get its hood louvered. Next, it was shipped to Kenny West's shop in Fresno, where its rear door panels were louvered, the metal flares were constructed, and a power sunroof section from a Thunderbird was grafted into the front roof panel.

After all the mods were done (all in steel, mind you), Ness sent it to Paul McElly in Hayward for the bodywork and paint. Anybody that knows anything about doing a black finish knows how much time, blocking, and sweat it took to get that super modified body to the point of painting it. The least little flaw under black paint sticks out like a rubber pee-pee. This van was flawless when Jeff McCann and Dick DeBenedict did their pinstriping and gold leafing on it. Of course, Danny Grey handled the entire custom interior.

To round out the package, Arlen added Western Wheel Turbo Vector rims with the recesses blacked out, BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires, and a set of Hooker headers and sidepipes in black ceramic.

The article never mentioned an overall height for the van, but with Arlen standing next to it, it looks to be less than 5' tall overall. Wow! I wonder where this van is now, or if Arlen still has it? Anybody know?

Bob Tronolone

You might not recognize the name Bob Tronolone. But, readers of Bikernet.com will recognize him as "Bob T", the contributor of many articles and those fantastic old motorcycle photos over there. Keith Ball and Bob T go back a long ways, and have ridden together for years.

Bob T left the Marines in '71, and he proceeded to buy a Harley Servicar that he fully tricked out, including a long Dick Allen springer. Bob rode that around for a while, then sold it and decided to get himself a new Superglide.

Here's Bob T in 1977, on his chopped Superglide......

Bob T bought his '73 FX Superglide new, and proceeded over the next 4-odd years to change it around a little. He bobbed both fenders, and hardtailed the frame. Next, he added a US Mag 12 spoke rear wheel w/a Performance Machine brake, and swapped out the 19" front for a 21" rim, and kept the FX's hub and disc brake. The front end is stock lenght, with polished sliders.

The engine stayed pretty stock, with the addition of Sifton solid lifters, and an earlier 7" round air cleaner. Bob T made his own exhaust, and added MCM mufflers. The transmission was filled with Andrews gears, and Bob did the ratchet top jockey shift/foot clutch setup, and added a D&D kicker cover. Bob lost the cast inner/outer primaries, and used a Phase III belt drive with a Phase III cast alternator cover.

Other notable parts on this bike are the early tool box, speedo, horn, and '47 tail lamp. Cheat'ah supplied the seat, and Dennis Weitzel made the 32" sissy bar. Bob also added full braided oil and brake lines, and an oil cooler. Paint was done by Don Fadden at Custom House, and Ron Tessensohn did the tank's murals.

Bob T still owns this bike, and it's kept in very roadworthy condition.

Here's Bob T, 33 years later, on his Twin Cam Dyna. A little greyer (hey, aren't we all?), but still putting down the miles.

Photo courtesy of Bob T

Always trust a man..........

.........who has his business products tattooed on himself , in the form of sleeves!

Mr. Bert Baker - a dedicated rider, and builder of the best transmissions, transmission replacement parts, and related components for Big Twins and Sportys in the world.

And, the nicest guy in the business, too!

Photo courtesy of Bikernet.com