Chevy & GMC Vans

probably cant see the hundred or so dents in the tan portion, lights falling out, peeling paint, ripped headliner, cracked window, broken door handles, carpet full of oil, radiator leak, bypassed power steering pump, plugged heater core, oil pan leak, inoperable slider, ripped upolstry, missing exhaust system, broken hood release, bent bumpers, no A/C .........

The van was used as a parts hauler for years by a local company and was abused badly. but it is rust free and has a class3 hitch installed, the transmission is brand new and I installed it and put new tires on.

I have a 4x4 ouput shaft and tailpiece for the transmission along with a 208 tranfer case I could install. I also have a good rebuldable 5.7 from my suburban sitting in the garage. So I am thinking if I repurpose the van and use up some of the spare parts I have laying around it might make sense.

scotter wrote:

This is cool looking, I whole heartily support this project.

Seems like you have the skill set as well as the shop space and parts available, so a project like this should not be all that bad to do. I would look for an AWD subframe for the conversion. It will give you the option of using the stock front diff and suspension and just doing a 4" lift up front. Plus the transfer case will have the correct cross member to sit on. If you decide to do a solid axle swap the AWD subframe will allow more room under the engine as their is no cross member in the way. The rear lift will be straight forward in either case.

For a you build box here is some of the components you will need.Really it is the same things for a trailer if you think about it.The cap corners,roof bows,roof caps are the same.When I looked at it the same companies offer those.If it was me,I would temporary weld a square tube x-brace to keep the sides from moving(behind the b pillar) and a square tube weld a brace side to side(inside on the floor behind the seats) and from the front sub frame to the rear bumper(inside on top of the rear frame on the floor).

I would think to weld the frame section/box/floor pan/ from another cube van onto the rear of the sub frame of a Astro might be easier having the box already built and turning the Astro into a full frame at the same time.That way you would cut off the Astro cab just behind the rear mount of the sub frame and x-brace temporary square brace side to side the cab behind the b-pillar keeping it square and from moving around.You would need to go shopping with a tape measure at the junk yard for the width of the frame(compared to the Astro sub frame) and the width of the Astro cab vs any opening found at the front of the cube van box.I did something very much like this when I sub'ed and tub a Monza with frame ties.The front of the frame welded to the frame just behind the a-frames had a square flat pc that made up for the difference in how wide there are.

The third possibility is you will see in the for sale section a motor home based on a Astro chassis and only for sale really cheap.This of course would be the easiest and might be the cheapest in the long run.I wasn't sure you saw that and is the only reason for bring onto this thread.

Here is a link for the component parts if you build your own box:


http://www.tjtrailers.com/store/body-co ... posts.html

as long as your starting from scratch, as far as the rear is going, I'ld extend the rear a little farther, leg room or storage space..... maybe 2 feet or so........ a couple rv windows and or roof vent for ventilation wouldn't hurt either....

with scrap down.... you might as well put to use if possible....

rear folding rear seat/bed from full sized bed, would be good for bed, either turn sideways behind drivers seat or squeezed in across van.....

Well I had to replace the fuelpump and filter tonight as it went ka-put earlier in the day. Got it done, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

While I was in the shop I took some time to take a closer look at how the van is constructed and took a few measurements. I am even more inclined to pursue this now. I think what I'll do is just behind the front doors where the side glass starts I'll make the cut. I'll custom build the new box about 2 inches wider than the stock body at this point and take it back as far as the outside radius of the back doors. I'll keep the floor and fill in the step well where the slider is right now. The new cieling hieght in the box will be about 5'-8" and I will put a bunkbed on the back wall. the front doors will be the only ones I'll keep but will have a roof hatch in the box section near the beds. the rest of the area will be for equipment and I will build a little tailgate at the back to slide stuff in from under the lower bunk. My brother inlaw's family runs a rv dealership and can get me some nice slider windows and any other accessories I may need. If everything comes together the way it is in my mind I'll then work on a 4x4 conversion and make it a real expedition capable rig.

Sounds awesome, post lots of pics.

Well I Scrapped the van te other day after I found coolant in the oil. The van just wasn't worth repairing anymore and my wife was really frustrated so I sold the new tires and traded the van for credit at a local scrap yard (I have several other projects that I'm in need of parts for) . I'm not sure If I'll get another Astro or not I have a 1 ton dodge van and I bought a Grand Am for my wife to replace the Astro.

So no radio van for now ...

scotter wrote:Well I Scrapped the van te other day after I found coolant in the oil. The van just wasn't worth repairing anymore and my wife was really frustrated so I sold the new tires and traded the van for credit at a local scrap yard (I have several other projects that I'm in need of parts for) . I'm not sure If I'll get another Astro or not I have a 1 ton dodge van and I bought a Grand Am for my wife to replace the Astro.

So no radio van for now ...

Major let down...... I was getting excited waiting for the project to begin! Man... Weren't you going to drop a V8 in it anyhow?! Why so quick to scrap? #-o

did you at least pull your new trans before scrapping it....?

No I did not pull the trans. - I traded the whole van minus the wheels/tires for parts at a local parts yard. I do a lot of business with them and they know the trans is new and will sell it. I tried for two weeks and no one wanted it and I had to get the van gone quick because I did not have any place for it.

There is a very good chance I'll get another Astro (4x4) at some point .....

scotter wrote:Well I Scrapped the van te other day after I found coolant in the oil....

I thought you were going to put the 5.7 in it....

anyway know what you mean, wife is tired of my collection of vans, parts and RV too... hoping to find a couple acres to play on next year.... park the RV in the middle, pick up a cheap pole building to store things in and not hear complaints.

glad I held on to my 88 as long as I did (couple months longer than I had planned to) but rear end came in handy last week... still planning on scrapping it while scrap is up a little, but not until I pull a lot more spare parts off it... I only wish it looked as good underneath as the body looked....

Well i went to the salvage yard last weekend looking for some parts for my newly aquired Z24 and visited the van :-({|= and found it has been picked over extensively which means it's doing its part to keep some other on the road =D>