Chevy & GMC Vans

hey guys its been awhile, but I got some updates on the diesel build that I had started.


Parts list now include:
1999 GMC Safari,
1980 GMC K-5 frame swap,
1994 6BT Cummins turbo diesel,
1996 47RE auto trans (Dodge),
1979 Ford NP205 iron transfer case,
1978 F- Dana-60 High pinnion front,
1990 Dana 70HD rear,
6" lift springs up front,
DIY- rear flip shakles 4" lift/3" blocks rear,
DIY- rear disk brake kit for the 70HD,
325/85R16 = 38/13.00-16
1Ton sway bars, panhard bars, Ladder bars on the way.

Wow! Do we maybe get captions?... How about some more shots of the frame & body mounts.

How far back does the Cummins sit? Do you have to modify the doghouse? Is there room for a radiator and fan up front?

This is a cool project!

Love! Need lots more pics and details.

I agree, we need captions and more pics. Looks good so far.

mdmead wrote:Wow! Do we maybe get captions?... How about some more shots of the frame & body mounts.

How far back does the Cummins sit? Do you have to modify the doghouse? Is there room for a radiator and fan up front?

This is a cool project!

Well let me answer like this- The K-5 frame needed to be cut down over 4" on both front and rear to fit under the van. Also you must get it as far forward in the front wheel wells, then move the rear axle back to center the rear end. I'll post up some early on pictures and try to give the best details I can.
We used the factory mounting locations from the van, and just made supports up to them in the front and center. We re-used the factory body/sub-frame mounts in those points. The rear was made from 1/2" plate steel then bolted to the unibody rails then mounted to the K-5 frame in its factory spots over the rear diff. I am re-thinking this setup in the rear because the weight of the van has put a good bow in that plate steel. I will be boxing that mounting cross in to keep this from happening again.



For the very front body/core mounts I cut the sub-frame up so to retain the factory bumper mounts. I welded the to the top of a 2"x6" 1/4" thick box that I used as the front most cross member in the K-5 frame.




The engine is a real shoe horn type a deal, I will have to modify the radiator core support so that it will set into it more. A set of FAL 15" electric fans are going on cooling duty.

On the body I did forget to mention that I had to cut the floor from the dog house to right under the gas pedel. My engine is what is known as a P-pump motor. It has a very large mechanical pump that hangs off the left(drivers) side. It"s the thing with all the tubes coming out of it right under the brake master. If I had gone with a later model engine it would have had a VE pump that is much smaller but needs an ECU to run it. Well as it turns out that the pump will sit about 3/4" inside the van right under the pedels, so I will need to address this down the road. I did not need to cut into the dog house seat but I was not thinking at that time. Good thing for me I good friends with a great body guy.

The ONLY way this is possible is the Full size truck frame that the van now rides on.

Thanks for the additional info!

Again, cool project!

I was doing a write up over on (AS.com) and Competition diesel .com so I will try not to run on to badly here. I see that some of you surf both sites, so look it over there too under ('99 Crazy lifted Monster Safari). I went into a lot more details on that first write-up. I'll stick more to the highlights for now.

That's super-sick BGO!

That's awesome.

This is great but in all fairness you didn't swap them into an Astro...You swapped an Astro body onto a truck frame. Personally I would have recessed the frame into the body so the body sits down lower and hides the fact there is a truck frame under it. To me seeing a truck frame under a vehicle that doesn't normally have one looks too redneck. Makes me think of the Neon on a truck frame.

But...doing it the way you did DRAMATICALLY increases towing capacity! Plus the suspension parts are all off the shelf items. I would imagine the flex in the Astro body normally found while wheeling, will be mostly gone now as well. Kudos for all the work! I know it was/is a TON of work. Can't wait to see it finished and please throw some full side and action shots on here as well!

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:This is great but in all fairness you didn't swap them into an Astro...You swapped an Astro body onto a truck frame. Personally I would have recessed the frame into the body so the body sits down lower and hides the fact there is a truck frame under it. To me seeing a truck frame under a vehicle that doesn't normally have one looks too redneck. Makes me think of the Neon on a truck frame.

But...doing it the way you did DRAMATICALLY increases towing capacity! Plus the suspension parts are all off the shelf items. I would imagine the flex in the Astro body normally found while wheeling, will be mostly gone now as well. Kudos for all the work! I know it was/is a TON of work. Can't wait to see it finished and please throw some full side and action shots on here as well!

We all rednecks down here ... YEA HAW------- No, but really the frame has to sit like that because the engine is so tall. I already dropped it down so far that I had to get 6" lift springs just to clear the oil pan. Actually the frame on my Z71 shows just as much if not more. In the game of strength a uni body is great for cars, but should have never been used in a van capable of what the astro/safari was. No frame = a big station wagon. Even the little S10s and Jeep Wranglers had frames, a Jeep Cherokee, Caravan no frame = big wagon. But don't worry, the step bars and giant 5" side pipes cover all of the exposed frame. Here was just an early ex. after my buddy grabbed up a 5" smoke stack off a tractor he was working on.

Here are some early side shots.