Chevy & GMC Vans

astrozam wrote:

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:So what's the plan Bob?

Yea, what he said...

I'm with them! ^^^^^

Glad you got her running!

If I get enough $$$$ for my ford e-150 I'll go with a V8 and a camper inside. needs body work along drivers side rocker. brakes complete, exhaust. a little at a time, one rotor this month another next month. that's the bad about being on fixed income

yesterday
98:replaced front brake hoses and blew fuel line above tank

today
97:drove to work to get parts to fix 98

yesterday:
98: replaced fuel feed line above tank without dropping tank
replaced drive side shoes and hardware

today:
97: drove to work
98: finished rear brakes

Lambs Hill in a 1987 5 speed 4x4 Chevy Astro Van .

Double checked my wiring and got it running properly today.
Took the boys for a ride after dark, and blasted up Lambs Hill as fast as she could go in 3rd gear.
I think its about a 19% grade. Listen !
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QGvwgPyQcQ[/youtube]

replaced the upper fan shroud, couldn't find anyone who sells the lower, was a real ordeal as the lower would break if you looked at it wrong ...also cut off all the rusted bolts holding the broken battery tray on...need to pick up some new hardware this week, but painted the new one and set it in place...

2 days ago, I had the drivers side rocker under the drivers door repairted. It had a growing rust bubble for about 6 months, so I took it to the body shop. Body guy cut out the old metal (a 6 inch by 2 inch patch), cleaned out the clogged drain holes, sealed the metal on the inside of the rocker, and put on a metal patch with metal to metaql epoxy (he recommended it due to welding causing oxidation which promotes rust (which the rockers on these vans seem to be prone to, as the undercarriage of my van is still super clean). Its not a perfect patch (feels a little wavy) but I'm happy considering I no longer have to worry aobut putting my foot through the rocker.

As for the toro, I found out the underbody is crusty (has a hole in the frame on the dogleg in front of the rear wheel), rockers are rough, and it needs fenders.
My dad bought a rust free 1968 with 455 and disc brakes from oregon. It should be here in about 1.5 weeks. It needs a fuel pump and a fender, but is otherwise nice and appears well cared for.
I am keeping the 66 and will be working on it over the next few years. None of the repairs will be show quality, but I hope to end up with a semi nice drivable car. My mechanic said its not horrible for being almost 50 years old, and should be easy to keep roadable for many years.
He got it running this week. He found out the coil, coil wire, and condenser were shot. Replaced those and it came to life. The plugs are fouled, wires are ancient, and the carb needs a rebuild, but it will fire right up. We tried bleeding the brakes last week, and a line blew (no surprise), so it is getting all new brake lines.

replaced the battery cable to the starter...cleaned it out, removed the driveshaft and pulled the l/f wheel off so i can get it sealed to hold air long enough to tow it to the exhaust shop for all new pipe...

d3athm3talh3ad wrote:to the exhaust shop for all new pipe...

Love the sound of that...

Brake Fluid was looking a little dark, decided to flush the fluid, Im always impressed how good this simple one man bleeder works.

bolted on the l/f wheel now that it holds air, bought some bolts for the battery tray, j-hooks and a hold down for the battery...had the battery tested and it's shot, as i figured it would be, got some prices on batteries and will look at getting one when it gets back from the exhaust shop...

installed the battery tray...re-zip tied up the harness, removed a bunch of clips, wire ties, velcro and misc. stuff the previous owner added to the ceiling/walls....started straightening the floorboard in the rear with a jack and piece of 4x4...unfortunately work vans get used as work vans...

towed the van to the exhaust shop with no incidents...it vibrates like crazy, most likely due to the tires flat spotted from sitting so long, but they're dry rotting so replacements have been added to the to-do list, and i'm thinking i may go ahead and replace the idler arms as it wiggles a little too, they didn't look bad, but i might as well do them before getting it aligned...

found out the s-10 exhaust manifolds won't work that were on the replacement engine as the pipe will be hitting a motor mount, and the right manifold that was on the van originally is warped, probably from when the original engine blew a head gasket and the previous owner ran it hot...ordered one off ebay as no yards here have one, gonna be another week or so before the new exhaust is done...in the down time, got some pipe and steel to make a c-notch with when it gets back, and made a 9 wire harness for a pancake switch...

I put the Astro-mino away for the winter in my friends storage building yesterday. Monday I will switch the insurance to the $500 '03 LT AWD and drive it this winter,,,,, hopefully