Chevy & GMC Vans

Wisconsin plates eh? i am from West Bend myself i currently live in Eugene Oregon but its good to see some fellow cheese heads on the forum sometimes. keep that thing out of Fon Du Lac they will pull you over for loud exhaust and actually asked im my van had the stock engine once, which it did just not stock exhaust.

Stan,
It IS tight! Block hugger headers had to be "modified" to fit and the radiator mount support had to be "massaged" along with the actual aluminum radiator itself. Still looking for the "right" lower radiator hose so I don't have to revert to a flex type hose.....By V-8 mount plates, I mean the square plates the bolt to the side of the Gen III blocks to allow standard small block engine mounts. Most folks use the plates to mount "regular" 350 type mounts. I didn't see what mounts you used to mount the LS1 to the Astro subframe. Your swap is the way I want to go, no offense to the LT-1 crew here, they have fine units. However the power of the LS engines is remarkable and trouble-free. Example: a Camaro or Firebird with a 350 LT-1 will run "around" low 14's in stock trim (for the most part, I know there are exceptions). The same car with an LS1 will run about a full second quicker AND get 2-3 MPG better fuel economy while doing it, and THAT'S a big deal these days! The 5.3 and 6.0 versions of the Gen III (as well as 5.7) are out there now at more reasonable prices, and they will only get cheaper as they become more plentiful. They make considerable more torque than a 350 and depending on the version, more horsepower as well. My engine in the '39 is the Aluminum head/cast iron block truck version of the 6.0, but I refer to it as an LS2 most of the time because few people know what an LQ4 is! LOL! It has less camshaft but a taller long runner intake and makes GOBS of torque, more than the LS1 or LS2 and can easily be "tweaked" for more! We re-calibrated the computer for more fuel and different parameters that the computer folks can explain far better than I can, added the headers and cold air pkg. He figured approx. 400 hp, (it is 325 stock) conservatively, and over 450 ft. lbs of torque from 2000 RPM to over 4800 RPM and bumped the limiter to 6000 RPM and eliminated the top speed governor. Clearly, if he is even close to the power levels he predicted (he does this for a living in Texas and has considerable experience) it should push my little 3100 pound sedan along pretty well! My 3000 pound LS1 Corvette would run 12.70/108-109 get 26-28 MPG on road trips and run 170 mph if anyone wanted to go that fast and was so mild that my Grandmother could drive it! This car has more gear (3.55) and more torque and more H.P. and only 100 or so pounds more weight! Not as areodynamic as a Corvette, so it won't see those speeds, but still, the anticipation is killing me!! With the 4L80E trans I'll have much better low gear than the Corvette and an overdrive that should have the engine around 2000 RPM at 80mph! Have to convert the speedo to electronic. Anyway those are my ideas and opinions, with many years of thought and experience. Hope the car meets expectations..Should know if very few weeks...Need more time to work on it! LOL!! Plan to install a hitch and tow my Harley around some behind it!
Stan, LOVED the BSA's!!

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Stan,
I can't open the attachments at work, but if you are talking about flat plates, that's what I used, except mine are aluminum, and they are available commercially. ls1.com (I think it is) has all kinds of swap info. They helped me a great deal with my Gen III swap. You might give them a try. I'll look whe I get home tonight to see if can find the info on my computer guy.....Of course it remains to be seen how well he did!! Can't wait to finish the '39 and start on the Astro!! Whoo Hoo!!

Nice work Stan!

I haven't done any engine swaps but from other posts from engine swaps I like your idea of pulling the entire subframe with the engine/trans intact instead of trying to just pull the engine out from the front with the subframe intact. What I don't understand is why you put rollers underneath your front wheels. Wouldn't the front wheels roll on their own?

Nevermind, I see that you needed to move the subframe out sideways.

Southern wrote:Nevermind, I see that you needed to move the subframe out sideways.

LOL, Yep and I already had the roller plates sitting around anyway.

stan, nice job. A V* swap is in my future

I saw your pics of your BSA - very nice- Here is a honda 450 i built for Vintage MX

ScottS wrote:stan, nice job. A V* swap is in my future

I saw your pics of your BSA - very nice- Here is a honda 450 i built for Vintage MX

Good lookin ride. I assume you're a pretty strong person to MX that much scoot.

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Sell it?What the specs on it?Would you consider fabbing some mounts to sell to other people for a 2 wd?Absolutly amazing looking van you have there Stan,any vidio's?If you do decide to sell it,Let me know how much.....