ihatemybike wrote:what do you use it for?
nothing in particular I just wanted a self substaining power source.
I guess I should post more about the van too huh. I have several posts here on different aspects of my van but not one about just the van so I'll try to combine some of them here.
the van is an '86 Safari with +350,000mi. on the original 4.3 and rear axle. I bought it from the original owner in 1990 who's also a family friend so I know all the history too.
Originaly a custom conversion by Explorer. heres the earliest photo I have.
its allways been maintained well by me. its had three transmissions (sometimes tows a double axle trailer w/car though the mountains), the second that came with a hefty price tag didnt last long. it was then I decided I needed to learn how to rebuild an automatic transmission (If you want it done right...)
years ago I aquired a highly desireable 327 V8 that I pulled out of a '55 chevy durring a resto for partial payment. at the time we didnt know just how special it was. we knew it had the doublehump heads but a few years later I looked up the numbers and its from an early Z-28 and complete including the factory steel crank! its been ready to install for over 10yrs now and I fully expected to have needed it by now but I just havnt had the urge to replace a perfectly good 4.3 and Ive had other projects all along too so the 327 has been ready to roll for a long time now. after the 300,000mi mark I along with the original owner of my van and several friends are really intrested to see just how long this 4.3 will last. I guess the van will join the "V8 club" whenever its ready to.
heres a shot after Id owned it for 10yrs. you can see the roof rack mounts, I used to only put them on as needed. you can almost see where the roof was just starting to fade. I repainted it about a year after this photo, it was getting bad and just starting to rust. that was also the toughest paint job Ive done. mainly the prep work but spraying it wasnt easy either. If I had to do it again I think I would try to find a way to tilt it 45deg. Man what a pain that was (again though, if you want it done right...)
at that time I did learn how unique this factory paint was on these early ones. I watched them mix it up for me. it is a tripple pearl mixture with no metallic and I was really suprised to see him mix in quite a bit of black. I allways thought it was a nice metallic but its three different pearls in there!
this shot is just after I put the second battery but you can see the unussual trans cooler mounting with electric fan on top and the remote filter I added at the time I rebuilt/upgraded the trans. I also have a factory towing package cooler in the front too so it has two external coolers and the factory heat exchanger inside the radiator. and an electric fan behind the radiator I added but it still has the belt driven fan too.
this shot is from a couple of years ago. back when I had just the single solar panel and no roof vent.
my unique rims are factory GMC, the rims themselves are from a '90 Sierra and the center caps are from a '98 Sonoma but they were charcoal Ive painted them black. I also have allways ran sportcar tires but recently I decided to fit BFG all terrain. I mis that exceptional handling and tarmac grip
I dont mis getting stuck and the BFGs have allready proven themselves to me. thats real Georgia red clay mud stuck on them and that stuff is about as slick as it gets let me tell ya.
and heres the roof vent I added earlier this year:
I previously posted the details on that install here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4443
my most recent mod besides upgrading the solar equipment was the front hitch:
some will remember I detailed that install recently here too
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5138
and this is just a neat pic when the skys were awesome
to be cont.
