Doc Brown's Van

[marcel]

Did Doc Browns van actually exist, or was it just a prop made for the movie? I was following one of those Grumman Olsen type trucks the other day, and I didn't think it would be wide enough. In the movie, the car doors were already closed when Doc brought it out by RC. I know the back door area was changed to allow for the ramp door. I don't drive my car very much, less than 250 miles per summer. I trailer it to a couple out of town shows each year. Showing up to a show enclosed in the look alike van would be cool. My car is stock, not a BTTF replica. Any thoughts?

[Flicky]

In the movie Doc doesn't bring the car out with the radio. He is actually in it. The funny part is that the D will not actually be able to open the door if inside. So Doc had to drive in and pull the ramp gate up just to make the dramatic foggy exit for Marty. I guess you could cut out an escape door in the side of the van. You could use it to serve tacos when you are not trailering the car.

I think there are some guys in Nevada that have a Doc van and a D. I think they may be the people that are doing the car show out there that is coming up soon.

Here is a YouTube clip of the first time the Delorean comes out of the van:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLRk4xG-JCI

[marcel]

Thanks for the reply. I stand corrected on how the car emerges from the van. What is the car show that this particular Delorean may be at? This display would be cheaper than sending my car out for a BTTF conversion.

[Flicky]

It must be the Delorean Weekend guys. October 5th to 9th in Las Vegas. There is another Delorean show (Delorean Expo) September 7th to 10th too.

http://www.deloreanweekend.com/

Here is a picture of the van:
http://www.deloreanweekend.com/PastEvents/page21/files/stacks_image_3048.jpg

I know there is someplace where they actually talk about the van. It is not exactly the same as in the movie.

[Jonathan]

In the movie Doc doesn't bring the car out with the radio. He is actually in it. The funny part is that the D will not actually be able to open the door if inside. So Doc had to drive in and pull the ramp gate up just to make the dramatic foggy exit for Marty. I guess you could cut out an escape door in the side of the van. You could use it to serve tacos when you are not trailering the car.

I think there are some guys in Nevada that have a Doc van and a D. I think they may be the people that are doing the car show out there that is coming up soon.

Here is a YouTube clip of the first time the Delorean comes out of the van:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLRk4xG-JCI

I've wondered about that myself at times. Not questioning whether the doors could open while inside the truck, but the backing out part.

Did anyone else happen to notice that the brake lights don't come on in the movie?

You can see the running lights on in the rear (the centre bulb of each taillight), but not the brake lights. You would think that if someone was backing it out of the truck (real life or movie) you would be riding the brake a little bit trying to ease it down slowly. But you never see the brake lights come on. You don't see them come on in the mall chase scene either, even when he takes that corner about halfway through evading the Libyans.

Was there something wrong with the brake lights in the movie car, or did I miss something?

[marcel]

The reverse lights were not on either.

[mluder]

Someone should ask Kevin Pike...

Cheers
Steve

[Timebender]

The reverse lights were not on either.

My reverse lights don't work either- I guess that makes my car movie accurate?

And on Doc's checklist on his clipboard:

1. Get in car and pull it into truck.
2. Raise ramp via some means of remote control.
3. Wait for Marty to show up.
4. Roll down windows on car.
5. Turn on fog machine, making sure interior fills with fog for dramatic effect.
6. Lower ramp and back car out.
7. Get out of car and act disoriented - or may not have to as fog might cause this.

[Peripatetic]

Who's being extra? The guy who builds a toy model set of entire towns to demonstrate his plans? The guy who built a time machine out of a DeLorean just to do it with style?

[Delorean3610]

I always figured Doc was doing a final systems check out of public view, and that the truck had a natural tilt to allow the car to roll back.

[DL4567]

My reverse lights don't work either- I guess that makes my car movie accurate?

And on Doc's checklist on his clipboard:

1. Get in car and pull it into truck.
2. Raise ramp via some means of remote control.
3. Wait for Marty to show up.
4. Roll down windows on car.
5. Turn on fog machine, making sure interior fills with fog for dramatic effect.
6. Lower ramp and back car out.
7. Get out of car and act disoriented - or may not have to as fog might cause this.

:rofl:

[mluder]

So I had a conversation with Mr. Pike.

- He told me the reverse lights and break lights were disconnected for the reveal shot so that you could see more of the car and not be distracted/blinded by them.
- As to how Doc managed to get in the car inside the van... Mr. Z just assumed the audience could make a leap of faith and move on.

So there you go. I guess some of you wont be satisfied but what are you gonna do.

Cheers
Steve

[marcel]

Life and work have gotten in my way for the last couple of months. I have been looking and researching for the proper van I will need for my car hauler. These Chevrolet P-30 and Grumman Olsen vans come in various lengths. Does someone know of an expert I can talk to about the proper one needed? Is there a prop master around that was involved with building the van for the movie?
I'm mostly needing to find out the year and length that I need to look for. I know the van was not a Grumman Olsen, but I use the term to describe it, because they seem more popular than the Chevy or GMC type.

I'm only going to build it once, so I want to do it right.

My wife has given me a pretty healthy budget for this build, so I should act on it before she changes her mind.

[marcel]

64457644566445564458Well, I started this thread just over 3 years ago. I’m pleased to say that I found a van and spent 1 1/2 years converting it over into a Doc Brown replica van. A lot of effort was made to make the back end as movie correct as we could. Now all I need is some car shows to take it to.

[Timeless]

That's awesome! Great work. :cheers:

[er1c]

LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Extremely well done........

[Bitsyncmaster]

Did anyone else happen to notice that the brake lights don't come on in the movie?

I think it was BTTF 2 that I noticed the front drivers side door had a red lens and the passenger side was correct with the amber lens.

[DL4567]

64457644566445564458Well, I started this thread just over 3 years ago. I’m pleased to say that I found a van and spent 1 1/2 years converting it over into a Doc Brown replica van. A lot of effort was made to make the back end as movie correct as we could. Now all I need is some car shows to take it to.

Incredible!!! Please post more pics if you can!

[Michael]

You would shut down ANY car show with that set up. Prople would goose step over the batmobile and K.I.T.T. and a slew of Ferraris to get a better view of that awesome display.

[er1c]

Keeping in mind the earlier posts, how do you get the car in and out of it without the ability to get in and out of it ? Ohhh as I type that I think if you just drag it on and off ?

[BladeBronson]

That's great. Does the car actually fit in the truck? Can you confirm that the doors can't open when it's inside?

[marcel]

You would shut down ANY car show with that set up. Prople would goose step over the batmobile and K.I.T.T. and a slew of Ferraris to get a better view of that awesome display.

Thank you for the kind words. I assume that means you like it.

[marcel]

That's great. Does the car actually fit in the truck? Can you confirm that the doors can't open when it's inside?

The car does fit in the truck. Those Grumman vans come in a variety of lengths, and I still don’t know how they determine the lengths. And I can confirm that the doors can not fully open when in the van. I figured it out on paper before I bought it and it should’ve fit. But, we couldn’t get the car over to the right side far enough. And then we forgot to take into account the vans sliding door pockets. So, no , you can’t open the car door when inside the van. So I had to install a floor mounted winch to pull it in and out with. Lucky for me that my car is a manual, so we put it in neutral when winching it.

[marcel]

Here are a few more pics of my replica van. A floor mounted winch is used to pull the car in.
The plutonium box is just the original vans glove box, just modified to look like the real deal. I spent too much time on that feature, but the kids (and nerds) will love it.
As we built it, we coined and often used the term WWDD. (What Would Doc Do?). So we labeled all the dashboard switches with the same labeller that he used on the flux capacitor.
If someone could explain to me how can I prevent the photos from coming up sideways, I’d appreciate that. I’m using my I phone, instead of a home computer. .644896449064491644926449364494

[EngineerGuY]

Here are a few more pics of my replica van. A floor mounted winch is used to pull the car in.
The plutonium box is just the original vans glove box, just modified to look like the real deal. I spent too much time on that feature, but the kids (and nerds) will love it.
As we built it, we coined and often used the term WWDD. (What Would Doc Do?). So we labeled all the dashboard switches with the same labeller that he used on the flux capacitor.
If someone could explain to me how can I prevent the photos from coming up sideways, I’d appreciate that. I’m using my I phone, instead of a home computer. .644896449064491644926449364494

Looks AMAZING!!! Anymore updates on this?

[marcel]

Looks AMAZING!!! Anymore updates on this?

No new updates as we haven’t had any car shows to take it to yet.

[EngineerGuY]

No new updates as we haven’t had any car shows to take it to yet.

There was a few car shows here over the summer when Covid #'s were a lot less. My buddies Delorean was obviously a big hit. I can't imagine rolling up with Docs van hahaha people would lose their minds!

[EngineerGuY]

Bill/Patrick Shea and their Doc Brown Van recently. This gorgeous van will be featured in the upcoming Discovery Channel 4 episode documentary in 2021!

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