Chevy & GMC Vans

Hi, my name is John and I'm from Dover, PA, USA. I was refered to this website by a member who has the user name "BLAZER". The reason I joined this site is because my grandfather has a 1986 Chevy Astro van, 2wd with a V6 and an automatic transmission that he is giving to me. the van was originally bought by my parents, who custom ordered it from GM with the body and frame coated in a rust protector on the bare metal before the paint was applied (I'm not sure what it's called). The van currently has seven-hundred and fifty-thousand(750,000) miles on it, and all those miles are on the original engine that has never been replaced or rebuilt. I've climbed all over the van to check the condition of it and I didn't even find a speck of rust anywhere (not bad for a 25 year old van that spent half of it's life as a daily driver in Pennsylvania, and the other half as a daily driver in West Virginia). My current plans for the van are... rebuild the V6 with a forged steel rotating assembly, forged aluminum dished pistons, high flow cylinder heads, a performance camshaft, a multi-point EFI conversion, custom exhaust headers, twin turbochargers, dual exhaust with dual (fart can) mufflers, a 6speed manual transmission, a custom built 9 inch ford rear axle, a performance air ride suspension, a functional hood scoop, a aftermarket "tuner car" spoiler, custom paint, repaint the factory wheels the same color as the van, re-chrome the deep dish beauty rings on the wheels, and some other things I can't think of right now. Oh and for all of you who want pics, I'm having my aunt who lives with my grandfather take some pics with her camera and e-mail them to me so please be patient. Thank you all for your time and have a nice day.

That's 1,207,008 kms. @%$#ing incredible! That is a true testament to the durability of these vehicles.
I sure could have used a rust coating here in BC. Got any photos?

Anyway, welcome to the forum!

I like your plans but honestly you could build a v8 for way less than a v6 with the type of mods you are talking about. You will spend less have more power and get better mileage than a super hot v6.

Just a thought that also being a carb motor you could put a carved v8 with a supercharger and still get decent mileage if you used small primarys on the carb

Welcome to ASV!

Hi John.....Welcome to the site. That's quite a list. There will be a bunch of us watching.

Wow, Now thats a post #1!!
Those are some pretty aggressive objectives!
Got some cash stashed? Lol.
The V6 sounds wicked. I love the tweaked up 4.3!
Go For It, Keep us posted and take lottsa pix!!

Welcome Aboard Fellow Astronut!

FYI, I think the 86 4.3 block might be a 2 pce rear main seal with flat hydraulic lifters, if that matters to you.

Maybe I'm weird, but it seems a shame to tear apart a rust free, good running, high mileage vehicle. Personally, I'd keep maintaining it and see just how far it can go.

Would you be interested in selling it?

Not that I'm allowed anymore vans at the moment.

ihatemybike wrote:Maybe I'm weird, but it seems a shame to tear apart a rust free, good running, high mileage vehicle. Personally, I'd keep maintaining it and see just how far it can go.

Would you be interested in selling it?

Not that I'm allowed anymore vans at the moment.

Well, I'll answer your post in order...

1. the transmission has already been replaced a few times and the trans that's in it now (out of a 92 Astro has a blown front oil seal). So I need to either pull the trans and replace the seal or just get new transmission.

2. not really cause it holds a lot of sentimental value to me. It was the van I was brought home from the hospital in when I was born(April 10th, 1989). that was almost 22 years ago... Man I feel old


As a side note...
I was thinking about installing an LS1 V8 with a 6speed manual transmission as an alternative to the V6 build but I'm still on the fence as to which one to go with.

Another side note...
my aunt is taking the pic's today and Emailing them to me so please be patient.

Try for a million-mile Astro.

Tada... As promised I have the pic's. Now if you are all wondering... the white/ beige paint was done by my father about 12 years ago (the original color was blue). Also you probably noticed the drivers side headlight is pushed back into the body a little further the the other... well about 13 years ago my mom was driving home from work one night and hit a patch of ice, spun out, and hit the bank. the van only had minor body damage, no frame damage (other than the radiator core support had been pushed in on driver's side, but nothing that harmed the integrity of the van). my dad never reported it cause it wasn't that bad, he just went to the junk yard and got another grille, hood, ect.