Sprinter vans, for all their commercial utility, are some of the most boring and odd vehicles on the road, with narrow boxy bodies and high roofs. But for Ron Weaver and his staff at Automotive Design and Fabrication in San Fernando, they are nothing less than a block of stone in the hands of Michelangelo. Think that is a wild overstatement? Consider what they did to a run-of-the-mill Sprinter for Twain’s Kuttin Up, a mobile barbershop owned by Twain Taylor of Los Angeles. Gone is the stark metal interior, replaced with a fancy, leather-padded barber chair, multiple TV monitors, an elaborate sound system, a liquor decanter with crystal glasses, a champagne bucket and all the shelves, bins and hutches a master barber could want. “Anything you can dream of putting in a Sprinter we can do,” said Weaver, 56, a San Fernando Valley native who has spent a lifetime designing, building and racing cars. The San Fernando Valley has long been linked to aerospace and other industrial manufacturing. But within its borders are found specialty, low-volume manufacturers like Automotive Design that serve niche markets. The staff of 24 has converted the Mercedes-Benz vehicles into display trucks, mobile medical labs, limousines, luxury vans and campers, just to name a few jobs. A recent visit to Weaver’s shop – located in a non-descript building with no signage in an industrial stretch of First Street – had the staff at work on multiple vehicles: the mobile barbershop, a van for transporting large pieces of artwork and a combination marketing/party bus for a distributor of e-cigarettes that will have an LED light show and DJ booth. Available in the U.S. market since the early 2000s, the Sprinter lends itself well to modification because of its chassis and large interior that allows for creativity with design, Weaver said. Indeed, despite its awkward shape, the vehicle has proven so popular that Ford Motor Co. introduced a similar vehicle called the Transit van that became available at U.S. dealerships this summer. Joe Molina is president of JMPR Inc., a Woodland Hills public relations firm with luxury auto clients, including Airstream Inc. in Jackson Center, Ohio, which also does Sprinter conversions. He said Southern California is a strong market for these vehicles from a corporate client perspective for at least one good reason – congestion on area freeways. The Sprinters are spacious enough that executives can have meetings either in person, or by phone or video conference while stuck on the 405 or 10 freeways. Pulling up in a van also just looks less ostentatious than arriving in a 40-foot stretch limousine. “What gives more of a business image?” Molina noted. “It certainly isn’t a party limo.” Referral business The Automotive Design staff, which includes Weaver’s brother, Ray, and son, Jeremiah, can work on up to 10 vehicles at a time. They operate in a 20,000-square-foot shop that includes separate stations for assembly, metal fabrication, woodworking and upholstery. The company gets most of its work through referrals from about 15 Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the western and southwestern U.S. Plain Sprinter passenger vans start at about $40,000 and come in three models with two different wheelbases, the distance between the center of the front tires and rear tires. One model comes with an extended body. The Sprinter typically gets 20 miles per gallon and can seat up to 12 passengers. An average year sees about 250 vans completed with the cost running from $10,000 on the low end up to $250,000. Staff has been trained by the German carmaker on what it can and cannot do with the Sprinter. The interior design can vary depending on the demands of the client, which might range from a contractor needing lots of bins and storage space to personal vehicles that are reflection of the owner’s personality. “They have a lot of fun designing their own (vehicles),” Weaver said. “It’s a blank palette to design an interior they want.” Automotive Design has transformed the vans into a venue for tailgaters with a propane grill installed in the back; for motorsports enthusiasts with a station to transport and repair dirt bikes; and for show dog owners with five kennels, wood floors, mini-fridge and microwave. Weaver already had decades of car experience when he started doing Sprinter conversions in 2005. Prior to that, when the company was still known as RW Automotive, he had been building vehicles used in feature films such as “Tucker,” TV series that included sitcom “Home Improvement” and for racing. When that market softened, he turned to doing upgrades on the Ford Excursion SUV until that model was discontinued in 2005. He then picked the Sprinter as his next modification project. New competition “It was the perfect chassis to build a luxury vehicle,” Weaver said. “We’ve been doing it ever since.” Automotive Design, however, has not cornered the market when it comes to Sprinter conversions. There are other companies such as Bespoke Coachworks, in Van Nuys and El Kapitan in Westminster doing the same work. Yet, Weaver does not consider these to be competitors. “We can only do so much,” he added. “We have our niche and take care of our dealers.” The conversion market is going so strong that Galpin Auto Sports, the customization division of Galpin Motors Inc. in North Hills, is getting into modifying the Ford Transit van. Galpin has built one concept vehicle and is now working on a second that will showcase its capacity, said Brandon Boeckmann, operations manager. The modified Transit will have TVs, a surround sound system, home theater, wooden floors, a partition between the driver and the back area, and a bench seat in the rear. “You are getting everything (that’s in a Sprinter) and maybe even a little bit more from Ford,” Boeckmann boasted. Weaver, however, isn’t all that concerned about the Transit given the Sprinter’s pedigree. “I’m sure they will capture their end of the market,” he said. “Mercedes is still a Mercedes and is a desired model.”