1987 Cargo

My van is a 1987 Cargo van that I bought to use for my bathtub refinishing business. I started a year ago contemplating what new vehicle I wanted for my business and came up with a Toyota cargo van as my best option. Heard nothing but good things about them. Shortly after my decision, I discovered white cargo van sitting on a side street with a for sale sign that had obviously been sitting a while. The owner said it needed a head gasket, and I bought it without being able to start it or anything. During this time, I discovered another van abandoned at some nearby apartments. The owner of the apartment wanted it gone, and DMV had no record of it... so all at once I had two vans- a project and one for parts. My lovely girlfriend is the mechanic of the household, so we set forth on the Great Van Repair Adventure! Long story short..... head rebuild, (hmmmm, a quart of oil every 150 miles?) subsequent block rebuild. Ooops! the thrust washer goes in THAT way?! (won't say who did it, but not us). Shave the head and block AGAIN. One head removal, two engine removals, several miscellaneous parts, a paint job, custom tri fold bed, and nine months later our maiden voyage on our honeymoon for two weeks in Arizona. Was the van cursed? 2000 mile trip planned eight months ago, the only glitch was the distributor slipped and threw the timing off a bit. No problem, we knew how to work on that thing by then! We lived in that van for two weeks together and it was great!