Chevy & GMC Vans

Finally after two weeks of being in the shop I picked up my "new" 95 Safari yesterday, couldn't even begin to tell ya how happy I was to be driving it again!

It could've have been on the road today or possibly Tuesday next week, but as I mentioned in another forum here discovered I have a shot radiator support. It's at shop #2 getting my stereo put in and the driver's window motor fixed.

I already have a mobile welder on standby for the rad support...

Stay tuned

Thought I would tell you about my adventure yesterday while working on my "new" van. I tell ya when GM says their trucks are built tough, they aren't just whistling dixie.

If all I was doing was just replacing the bumper bar, I would have been 80% done getting this thing on the road.

I had never ever taken apart the front of a vehicle in my life before, and it was an experience! After getting the bumper off, discovered that the fenders had to come off, GM is sneaky, these were bolted in places I never knew existed. Off came the hood, my able bodied assistant snapped off my antenna so off to the wreckers I go today to get another one.

Thought I could get away with just patching up the rad support panel.. no such luck.. entire bottom was swiss cheese. Took the headlights out and discovered the pots were rusted right out as well, and for that matter so were the horns LOL LOL.

We started at 10:45 am and didn't leave the shop til 7pm at night.. what a day!

A lesson well learned. Us mechanic types have nothing to do with how these vehicles are put together. We're just left to take customer abuse because it takes so long to repair them.

Grover wrote:Thought I could get away with just patching up the rad support panel.. no such luck.. entire bottom was swiss cheese. Took the headlights out and discovered the pots were rusted right out as well, and for that matter so were the horns LOL LOL.

i love salt .. it's so necessary

the above message sponsored by your local aftermarket auto body panel manufacturer

heh when I used to work as a parts guy at a local GM dealersip I used to think the very same thing.. salt is my friend!

Finally! After a week of delays and headaches, I got my rad support from the wreckers patched up and I found a body man through a friend of mine who is gonna weld it back in place today.

I am sooo looking forward to putting this back together and finally being able to get to drive it.

woo hoo!! good news!!!

Finally after 3 weeks of swearing, cursing and snafu's finally got my van put back together yesterday. I still have some minor issues to deal with, but they can wait for now until I earn some more $$. The body guy who welded in the rad support gave me a HUGE break on the price, mainly because I helped him do it... if I had've taken it to a body shop this would have cost me easily $1000.00

It's getting the rear bumper installed today and it should be legal either today or tomorrow!

for future reference window motors are easy to replace you sound capable of having done it yourself. couldnt help but notice, did your able bodied helper who snapped your mirror also lose the peice of "a pillar" in front of your passenger mirror?

Well I probably could have done it myself, but I don't have the proper tool to remove the door trim

The mirror isn't broken it just looks that way.. the little piece you are talking about it's in the van, I lost the screws for it ( gotta open the door to attach it) going to the wreckers today or tomorrow to rectify that.

Had to get the van out of the shop and on the road.. as my E-Test paper for this thing is only good til the 12th of the month.

oops i meant to say snapped off your antenna, not snapped off your mirror...

From what I hear it's a common thing for these antennas to snap.. oh well minor details!

so what parts do you need from a 95 ???

Nothing really just the two screws that fasting the pillar pieces in place.. have no clue what type of screw it was. Might get another radio bezel.. the one I have now was wrecked by duct tape.

Grover wrote:Well I probably could have done it myself, but I don't have the proper tool to remove the door trim :

now you tell me, you mean my phillips head and a big-ass flat screw driver weren't the proper tools? Holy s**t,, I could have done all kinds of irepairable damage!