I still have fond memories of my first $300 car a '64 Catalina, baby blue.  Now
a days when you buy a beater for your kids they start out at $2,500.00.

beekeep

i am not an expert -- we had no money and i worked for sewers and they
distributed used paint once a year on a saturday for $1-3 a gallon -- i
helped so mine was free (grabbed all the enamel i was allowed)

i have talked to a few people about painting my van (still original paint --  
got it in alberta but has rusted so badly my son calls it the girraffe) so
use some chromium primer first once you have got all the rust out that has
probably crept down from the roof

on a newer van, if you want it to last, undercoat it, and i myself would use
army paint, farm paint, or maintenance machine paint -- price would be the
factor for me but you probably have some money, so get what you like --  
doesn't matter they are all overkill -- but i would be partial to army paint
because if you ever sell it the hunters will love it. AND i would put a
couple of rear convex mirrors on it, a conversion roof to suit your needs
since you have a rusty one i'd replace it unless you are a hobbit, but if i
was going to that trouble i'd get a class 3 hitch, winch, and also move up
to 4x4 since i'm impartial to them ;-) -- great backwoods camper even if it
has a full time commercial job -- and great for moving sheds and broken down
trucks

i have decided to get the "shed" (77 gmc 350 van) out of hibernation for a
while -- had to use it again to push the 86 d150 home again -- ontario
plates -- yes it was not properly licenced but that has never stopped me
yet -- i know it is a gm but i am starting to wonder if the d150 needs a
more serious job -- my ex suggested there may be engine parts missing for
all we know and i am not going to pay for this -- if it needs that much work
i am going in myself come spring and i can't wait that long for
transportation

rach