Chevy & GMC Vans

97Cargo - That thing is badazz.

The past couple of days I did some minor interior work on my working prototype camper setup, moving the bed to fill in the back area of the cabin. Thread here.

timelessbeing wrote:Any plans to "improve" the Express?

No, But if I come across a 2500 AWD... Hmmm

The Express replaces my 2001 Econoline 150, I needed the heavier running gear and to get rid of the rust bucket Ford. I don't know what's up with Fords but they seem to attract rust like flies to... well you get it. Here in Southern New Jersey we don't get that much snow so there is not a lot of salt used on the roads so you would think rust would not be an issue but Fords just seem to be rust prone. The Astro is six years older than my Ford was and has no rust to speak of.

my dads 99 ford E350 had some bad rust starting....the rockers were bubbling pretty good, and the sill below the rear doors was gone....only the top plate remained and it was swiss cheese.....then again, the truck did haul a ton of salt (it was a Culligan water softener truck)



as for my van....it got hit last week...again....
someone decided that they could go straight from the left turn only lane and drove into the side of the van. van needs a repaint on the front bumper and left fender and the running board needs minor work and a repaint (not cracked, but it does have some chips and scrapes in the fiberglass).

Filled up with gas today...average for that tank was 11.67 mpg but I did plow a couple times with it.

Well she went down the road today
Guy came yesterday afternoon and we took her out for a ride he handed me the cash when we got back and asked if he could leave her in the yard for "a few days" while he was getting the paperwork done. She was gone this afternoon when I got home.

I asked him what plans he had and he said he wanted to make her into an "Armageddon Survival" van. I showed him a picture of 97 Cargo Crawlers rig and he said Yeah Baby! The site will probably be getting a new member from South Jersey

I am on my second one and I would just like to say.... I hate doing these outside door levers!! The old ones have these pins that work their way up and make them hard to remove.

Yesterday I got my "new to me" summer tires mounted. Then decided the new tires looked great but the rims looked like crap. A couple years ago 3 of my wheels were badly oxidized so I did a quick job sanding off all the oxidation and painted them. I noticed last fall that the paint was chipping and they were looking dull. So with it being slow at work today I made a quick trip to the hardware store for wetsandpaper, primer, paint and clear.



I scooped some of wifeys craft paint and tried my hand at painting in the GMC logo but it was streaky and lumpy and overall I wasnt happy with it. But once I hit them with a coat of clear they turned out great.




Am I the only one who gets excited about new tires ?? I bought these Michelin LTX M/S 215/70/16 off Kijiji and I think it was a great deal. I priced the tires new and it would be over $800 cdn for them here in Toronto or if I drove to Buffalo it would be appx $650. I bought these for $450 mounted, balanced and they took my old Yokohamas. The guy only sells tires with 90% + treadwear remaining. He's local to the Toronto Area so if you are looking for tires PM me and I can dig up his info.





here's a pic from last fall with the rims painted silver and the old tires. I cant decide if I prefer the GMC logo painted red or not ?!?

Looks very sharp and I like the red accents.

timelessbeing wrote:Looks very sharp and I like the red accents.

X2, nice job.

Good job......I like the red letters, too. I get excited about new tires also. I really like my T/A Radials.

thx for the compliments guys. I am going to put 250-300 miles on them today. I am taking the family to a Maple Syrup festival, then probably head down to Niagara Falls to see some old freinds. Hope to find some greasy back roads between here and there and see if they perform as good as they look.

New idler arms and noticed I need oil cooler lines and front axle seals. Debating whether to sell her or not and get something that gets 30 mpg or better.

Finally swapped out my Heater Control Valve. WOW, what a difference in heat it makes.

Needless to say, the rest of this winter will be MEGA toasty.

97CargoCrawler, please more info on your towing mirror installation.

Purchased it today

1994 awd astro, 200k miles. Cold front/rear ac. kinda worried about the high miles, but for a cheap van to take up in the mountains, I think it will serve my needs.