I bought a hot rod E83W van in 1973, in Salisbury, Rhodesia. The previous owner had swapped out the tiny 4 cylinder flathead motor in favor of a 283 Chevy V-8 and Powerglide automatic transmission, along with the Chevy rear axle. The cable-operated brakes had been converted to hydraulic, but were still terrible, and it had about 6" of play in the steering wheel, as the worn out steering box struggled to deal with more engine weight and wider tires. The body didn't weigh much, so with most of the weight low and a wide rear axle and Konis, body roll was minimal, and handling was actually pretty good. A 'sleeper' in the truest sense, with Jaguar mufflers, it was quiet, unlike the loud, cammed 4 cylinder cars that it always beat. There were many scary moments, and foolish decisions, but death is an old wives' tale when you're 19.