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1980 Chevy Van
Owner: Kim Gilbert, Coventry, Connecticut
In 1980 Marty
Sooby bought Utopia brand new from the New Jersey area. He started
to customize the van the next day. In the early 80's it was completed
and it was the most radical van in the North East.
I first saw Utopia
in 1985 at a van run in Connecticut and fell in love with it.
At that time I had a 1972 Dodge van that was chopped and radical
but Utopia was the ultimate radical van. Through the next few
years I would see Utopia at different events in the Northeast
and at various Van Nationals. Then Marty Sooby moved to Texas
and I saw him less often.
In 1998 I saw
an advertisement in a vanning newspaper that Marty was selling
Utopia for a very good price. I flew down to Texas with my son
and picked up Utopia and brought it back to Connecticut. On the
way home I knew I owned something very special because wherever
I stopped I drew a crowd of people who wanted to look at the
van.
I went to as
many van and car shows I could attend before winter set in. The
last show I entered was the Hot Rod Power Tour which started
in Massachusetts and ended in Florida. We went to Massachusetts
and then the next day went to New Jersey. At the end of the day
we left to go back home and on the way the motor started running
hot. Instead of pulling over to check the problem I kept driving
home and when I was eight miles from home we heard some noise
coming from the motor. When I finally pulled over the motor caught
on fire but did not have a fire extinguisher. All I could do
was stand back and watch Utopia burn to the ground. I was so
mad at myself for not pulling over sooner.
When I got Utopia
back home, I called Marty with the bad news and asked him if
he would rebuild Utopia for me. He said he would and I sent the
van down on a flat bed. Four years later and a great deal of
money later I got Utopia back. It has been back for almost two
years and I continue to make it better. I have installed a 900
Watt entertainment system, cd player, dvd player and a 5'"
television mounted in the dash. Just recently, I changed the
motor and tranny. I put in a TCI street fighter transmission
and a brand new GM 502 crate motor with 502 horse power.
I try to attend as many van event and car shows that I can to
show off Utopia. The crowds are bigger then before and Utopia
never looked and ran so good. Hope to see you at a van event
soon.
Kim Gilbert |
