DONE! :bounce: We filled all the fluids, installed a new exhaust and started her up only to find her running like crap. I managed to cross the plug wires for cylinders 3 and 5. Much better after that but still not right. Found a couple spark plug boots that had come loose from the plugs while instal...

Welcome!

Wow! Very cool and ambitious. Looking forward to more!

Since you are not into video editing, etc. there is no big reason for you to spend the extra dough on an Apple. They are known to do that stuff very well. MS Office is for Windows. Apple would use OpenOffice but it can read Ms Office files. I have never had an Apple but I know they are awesome but u...

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:Excellent! Wish I had your engine swap abilities.

Please! With the stuff you have fabricated an engine swap would be a breeze!

kings-x59 wrote:Lock, the amount of stuff you can do in one or two days just absolutely blows me away

That's funny you say that. I was just discussing with my kid that this project is taking forever.

Almost! We can see the light. This weekends punch list included installing a vette 2-4 servo, rear transmission seal. Our goal was to use the existing y-pipe\catalytic converter combo with the 92 5.7 manifolds. The pic shows how close it was. Only needed a little persuasion. Rolled the subframe back...

Well, if wanting my beloved Astro to last means I have smaller cahonies, then so be it. It's my only vehicle after all. I hear ya on that. Even though I built my 93 specifically to do nasty things in the woods I hate every time it gets hurt. Sometimes wish I didn't. It was a pretty mint grandmas va...

The tires on the red van in those pics were Dunlops. I did not like them at all on the street and they wore out fast. I actually like ProComps. Cheaper than most, 50K warranty and the van steers and rides on regular roads really nice. The ones on the green van may be Coopers. I'm not sure. It wasn't...

Driving ability. Touche! It's more like "Going where no van has gone before!". Never mind the halfshafts. It's the rest of the suspension I'm really speaking of. The tie rods, idlers arms, ball joints, etc. they wear out very quickly. The idler arms REAL quick. Last time I did work on the ...

I can't see shafts breaking due to angle. It's not structural component, it just drives the wheel. JUST drives the wheel? That is a pretty naive statement. There is a lot of torque there when you are trying to climb over something. I have snapped more than one halfshaft that way along with my drive...

Body lift and tires to match the lift is the most practical lift for these vans. Cranking the torsion bars are not the answer IMO. Next step is solid axles.

Preventative mostly. Afterward I was able to setup the front end the way it was before I did any lift.

Welcome! We love pics!

I have a set and i took them out and did more body lift instead. The geometry is SEVERELY angled when the bars are cranked that far. As for the mushy ride. I have not experienced that problem. Or at the very least I didn't expect the world of the torsion bar setup. Might be a matter of using better ...