Ever heard of the band “The Green Fuz” or its eponymous single?
Don’t be ashamed if you said no—even diehard rock n’ rollers might have a tough time digging through their crates of 45s to find it.
That said, decades after The Green Fuz disbanded, its role in the evolution of pop music is now viewed by historians as a stepping stone to the modern punk and garage rock era.
…But musician and hotrodder Kevin Moore already knows all of that.
And he has the van to prove it.
When we spotted this Econoline rumbling into the Summit Racing retail store near Akron, Ohio earlier this summer, we had to run out and get the full scoop—and it didn’t disappoint.
“It’s nicknamed The Green Fuzz,” Kevin explains. “I named it after the song and the little green guy that was on everyone’s shirts in the 1970s.”
Yeah, that backstory alone earned the van a Lot Shots feature.
But even as obscure as the song was, it turns out that the little green cartoon character was an even tougher guy to nail down.
So Kevin did some homework.
“He didn’t have a name,” Kevin jokes. “I contacted the original artist that came up with him, and he never really named him. So I just used the name ‘Green Fuzz’ and made the van around that.”
Yet as amazing as it looks now, the Econoline’s transformation into The Green Fuzz began in a very rough spot.
“It was pretty much a junkyard van from the West Coast when I found it,” Kevin recalls. “I had it shipped out here, my daughter and I stripped it down, and we painted it in my garage.”
And beneath that oh-so-subtle paint job resides a ton of body modifications.
“It’s got a gull-wing fiberglass door, scooped hood, rear window louvers, venturi vent scoop on the roof, side pipes, and Cragar S/S mags,” Kevin chuckles.
“It’s got pretty much everything you need to have on a proper boogie van.”
The modifications are far more than skin deep here, as Kevin describes some of the mechanical upgrades he’s done as well.
“It’s got a stock ’69 302 in it and the original three-speed automatic. I converted it to disc brakes,” he explains. “I raised the back, lowered the front, and it’s got a spoiler kit all the way around.”
And Kevin’s pretty laid back about working in the tight space under the hood too. “If you take the doghouse out, you can get to most everything,” he admits. “But if you need to do a water pump or alternator, you often have to take the grille off and radiator out.”
And Kevin makes sure to put those mechanicals to good use. “It’s done 50,000 miles since the build, so it’s full of rock chips and dings because I drive it all over the country,” Kevin smiles. “It’s been to Canada, Mexico, East Coast, West Coast…I drive it, a lot.”
It seems like all that work’s paid off too. In addition to being driven pretty much everywhere, the van’s picked up quite a few admirers along the way. “It’s won the Van Nationals four times,” he grins.
As alluded to earlier, Kevin’s a diehard car guy and has a fleet of other classic rides—include a 1964 Mercury Marauder and a 1951 Mercury lead sled.
And we’re especially excited to hear about his current project with a 1959 Mercury two-door hardtop that’s primed for a modern Ford Coyote engine and a 10-speed transmission swap.
Suffice it to say, Kevin’s a busy guy so we didn’t want to steal much more of his time, but we did want to hear how he got into hotrodding to begin with.
“It’s just a hobby,” he explains. “My dad brought me up into it, so I followed it just like he had.”
…And if that sentiment doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy, maybe the van’s shag interior will.
Special thanks to Summit Racing’s Patrick Miller for his help with this article.
Comments