Nola Van Build
In the early spring of 2025 I got a message from someone who got linked through a friend of mine with an inquiry about a potential vehicle build-out. This wasn’t just any vehicle, it was a 1972 Volkswagen Bus. At the time, the whole project seemed too good to be true. She was basically giving me creative freedom with just a few core requests, and her budget was right around what I thought it would cost. She said she would be in contact in a few months and I eagerly waited to hear back. Lo and behold, a little while later she reached back out with confirmation for the project.
I got to work getting the basic design done on the van using SketchUp. The main requests were for a sleeping platform, an area to sit and eat in the mornings, and long drawers that pulled out the rear of the vehicle for potential hosting with her restaurant pop-ups. SketchUp had a very similar VW Bus in their 3D warehouse that allowed me to do a side by side comparison of the build with the vehicle itself, which was a nice visual check on my measurements I had taken as I started the design.
As I worked on this bus I started to learn more about what the vehicle meant to the client. It wasn’t just some purchase by the owner: it was a vehicle that she and her father had purchased together years before and had completely overhauled it inside and out while forming a closer relationship. When her father passed away in 2024, she inherited the vehicle and eventually got it shipped all the way from Puerto Rico up to the PNW. She was allowing me to be a part of this story as she continues to form new memories with her own family.
When the day finally came for the vehicle to be dropped off, another huge aspect of the build came into the light. She asked me if there was a way to put some sort of subfloor down so that she could easily attach a sort of foam flooring. I said, “No problem,..” then quietly suggested “..how about hardwood flooring?” She was intrigued, so I told her I’d send her an estimate which she ended up pulling the trigger on.
I had to pivot a little because now I had to start at the one part of the build I had no original plan for. I got the subfloor down easily enough but did have to add access to the brackets that are built into the main floor of the van. There are T-Bolts that attach to these brackets and hold the original bench seating, which we were planning to keep, to the van. I added in what I would call sight holes into the subfloor I installed, then put small pieces of PVC into the holes so the void between the subfloor and the van floor would be closed off - just in case something small found it’s way into any of the holes in the future.
After getting the subfloor prepared, I then set out to source the flooring. I ended up at GoodWood here in Portland to see what they had in stock. The client and I had decided on walnut for the finish trim so when I saw the reclaimed mahogany sitting on the show floor in the warehouse I could see it coming together right in front of me. The planks were thin and long, which I thought would look best in a space as narrow as a van.
Seeing the flooring gave me the steam to fly through getting the carcass of the cabinetry done. As soon as the cabinetry was attached to the subfloor, I rented a flooring nailer from a place I’m pretty familiar with called Interstate Rentals and got it all done in a day. After a few coats of finish, the color of the mahogany was shining and it was almost time to start the finish work on the cabinetry. I had previously ordered some fresh bench seating brackets from ISPWest and made little recesses in the new flooring that would house the brackets. I modified some carriage bolts into custom T-Nuts that could bridge the longer distance from the van’s main floor to the newly purchased bench brackets. A large piece of walnut was cut to hide the edge of the flooring and act as a big piece of trim, transitioning the green of the van’s exterior color to the red of the mahogany flooring.
a close-up of the bench seat “sight holes” cut into the flooring
The way I built the front facing cabinets was with a bank of three drawers in the center that were flanked by a set of cubbies on either side which would be behind cabinet doors. The cubbies were various shapes and depths in order to accomodate the wheel wells that the cabinet rested on. I ordered a set of locking RV pull handles with a brass finish from Vanlife Outfitters knowing that the color of brass pairs really well with walnut. On each of the drawers and doors with these pull handles installed, I recessed out a little bit of material so fingers could more easily grab the drawer pull.
The cabinets that held the “long drawers” accessed from the rear of the vehicle were built with Vevor 36” drawer slides. They were a product I had used previously and I knew were a great value - they worked perfectly again for this build. The drawers lock open and lock closed simply by flipping the yellow lever. For these drawer faces, I cut a small section out so the yellow locks on the drawers still had room to actuate.
When it came to scribing the sides of the vehicle, I found that the stock leather paneling of the VW Bus was very forgiving. I have done a good deal of scribing so far in my woodworking career, but it is the most difficult when you have no straight reference to go off of. Overall, I was very pleased with the fitting of the face frame and the sleeping platform in reference to the walls of the van. The fold-out of the sleeping platform was attached with a long piano hinge and was built to be partly supported by the top of the forward facing cabinets. This design keeps the piano hinge from taking the bear of the weight when in the fold-down position.
This build was one of the most fun because of the fluidity of the build. Along with the last minute choice to add hardwood flooring, we decided halfway through to instead face the bench seating backwards instead of the stock forward facing orientation. This hugely opened up the floor plan and allowed for the flooring to be highlighted. It also made it so that the fold down part of the sleeping platform could double as the table we originally planned for on the partition wall, making the whole build more inviting for hosting.
My most favorite part of this whole build is the color scheme. The overall color of the van mixed so well with red of the mahogany and the dark brown of the walnut. The brass perfectly accented the walnut finish and the choice of painting some of the small features black helped the whole project mesh into the black interior paneling.
With a limit on budget, my main goal was to make a solid base for the client. The cabinets, flooring, and finish work were where I put the most of the budget and the labor. The sleeping platform was the topper, and the most easily replaceable. In the end, there are small parts of unused space that I would love to add to in the future by simply replacing the sleeping platform. Adding in small storage cubbies accessed through the top of the platform would add to the versatility of the space. There is a small space behind the bench seating that could have a custom cubby for storing quick use items or emergency kits. The fold-out platform could be widened and trim could be added to help add rigidity and elegance.
This dream project turned out to be a dream accomplishment. My thought since I started this woodworking journey has been to build out vehicles. Not to flip Sprinter vans, but to take unique vehicles and build one-off designs into them. This build has showed me that is truly a dream of mine. I get to do so many different aspects of woodworking that I love all in one project and it makes it so every day is a little different from one another throughout the build.
Thank you Natty, for the opportunity and trust. It was a pleasure working with you and I hope to again. Please, if you’re looking for some high-end detail work - check out Natty’s mobile detailing business. She’s not only awesome at what she does, she also brings an electrifying energy to every one of her jobs.
