This Retired Nuclear Fallout Van Was Turned Into an Epic Off-Road Camper

This 1953 Ford Vanette started life as a nuclear fallout response rig. Loaded with lead-lined walls and Geiger counters, it was made to investigate ground zero after an atomic detonation. Fortunately, it was never deployed on such a mission and ended up having a few interesting careers after being sold at a military surplus auction. Now, it’s a unique and extremely cool off-road camper rig.

This episode of CARISMA follows the van’s current owner: Scott Birdsall. Birdsall’s a master fabricator, pro racer, and owner of the hot rod shop Chuckles Garage in Santa Rosa, California. As you can see from the diverse range of cars parked in the background of this video, he’s a man of varied tastes. He ended up building the van up for a customer, and ultimately, buying it back himself and turning it into his vision for the ultimate off-grid adventure rig.

After the Cold War cooled off and the Vanette was allowed to stand down, it ended up having a life as a mobile recording studio before being converted to off-road exploration duty. It looks like it spent more than a few years hibernating between owners, and certainly looked very different at each stage of its life.

But today, it’s Birdsall’s bugout rig, powered by a 5.9-liter Cummins diesel engine with an ATS Aurora turbo and MBRP four-inch exhaust. New axles, Ford Super Duty leaf springs, and Bilstein remote reservoir shocks keep the thing smooth over rough terrain and a bamboo-woodwork interior with bunk beds and heated floors make it feel like a “nice Tahoe cabin” on the inside.

“People say I have a car problem, but it’s not a problem because I’ve got five employees in there,” Birdsall says. “It supports them and their families. I get to go to work and do what everyone else does in their free time. Like they work a 40-hour week and they think, oh, I can’t wait to go home on the weekend and work on my race car, work on my hot rod, or whatever they own. I get to do it all day long.”.

Birdsall’s origin story is inspiring, and his automotive successes are impressive. Hillclimb racing, land-speed record running, SEMA builds, he and his shop have done some very cool things in the car world. But even in a garage packed with race cars, BMWs, Porsches, and Supras, this wacky nuke van stands out. Heck, I can’t imagine a harder car to lose in a parking lot.

If you enjoyed this video, give the rest of the CARISMA catalog a look. Last month, we shared the story of Annie the hot rod granny and her love for smokey burnouts. That and more are on The Drive’s YouTube channel now.

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