Chevy & GMC Vans

Here is my project I started. I got a good deal on a LT1/T56 6 speed transmission and nearly every component from a 1996 WS6 Trans Am. So I decided it needed to go into a van. I put an ad on craigslist looking for a 95 or newer astro/safari, and a lady sold me her 1996 Safari for $300 because it needed front tires, and an outer tie rod end. Here it is when i picked it up a couple weeks ago...



She hadnt drivin it in over a year due to the tie rod end. So I charged up the battery and it fired right up and ran great!! It drove good too, other than the loud clunk when you turned, due to the tierod end.

Got it in the garage and started checking everything out. Its a really straight van. It has 130k miles...



Time to start ripping it apart.. I made some adapters to squeeze the pinch welds on the sides of the van so I had somewhere to put my jackstands, then started takin stuff apart..




then started dropping the subframe...



Got er outta there...





I tack welded a couple old casters to the tranny crossmember so I could roll the subframe out from under the van..



Here is the clutch pedal that I installed into the van. There wasnt much room up under the dash. I had to move the fusepanel, and do some cutting on some brackets, but its in there and looks like its going to work great. I used the factory WS6 hydraulic master cylinder...




Here is the LT1 and 6 speed mounted onto the subframe. Had to cut away some of the crossmember next to the oil pan to make room for the AC compressor. Also had to cut the tranny crossmember to accept the T56 tranny...




Im waiting on a few parts to come in and then I will be able to mount the engine/trans/subframe back into the van. The wiring is my current headache...



Slowly but surely!!! I will post some updates when I get a chance to work on it again...

Great start and pics, projects like this are fun to follow along, good luck with the rest of the build

How is it some of you guys find such great deals on vans?! I'd kill to find a decent $300 van around here!

Oh, and a great start on your project! Can't wait to see the next update.

AMAZING coincidence, TAWD77--I'm putting an LT1/T56 combo in my Astro van right away as well! To my knowledge, your van and my van will be the first two vans which have received T56 transmissions. Do you know of any others?

I've had my 1992 LT EXT for nearly 10 years now, with an L98 TPI V-8 and 700R4 from a 1989 Firebird. It just didn't have quite the horsepower I hoped for, and I've really missed shifting my own gears. I've purchased the engine and transmission now, and they're sitting on my garage floor, waiting for my attention and various parts to complete the project. Mine is:

LT1 396 all-forged stroker.
T56 with 2.66 first gear and 0.50 overdrive 6th gear. I've installed a shifter relocation kit which moves the shifter forward on the transmission.

Are you going to use offset motor mounts to move the engine forward in the engine bay? I used a set with my L98 which had the distributor at the back of the engine. That allowed you to keep the stock transmission location and stock transmission crossmember location--not important since we are both going to use the T56. I just don't know if you need to move the engine forward to clear the doghouse, particularly since the LT1 has the Optispark at the front of the engine instead of the rear distributor. Have you figured that out yet?

Have you figured out yet where the shifter will come through the floor?

I didn't want to take the van out of service for weeks (or maybe months), so I bought a cheap parts van and will install the drive train on the subframe and then move it into the van when it's done.

Let me know how the project is going! I'm looking forward to hearing back on progress. I'll gladly help with intel from my knowledge of V8 swaps into Astro vans, if that will help you.

SS Astro wrote:AMAZING coincidence, TAWD77--I'm putting an LT1/T56 combo in my Astro van right away as well! To my knowledge, your van and my van will be the first two vans which have received T56 transmissions. Do you know of any others?

I've had my 1992 LT EXT for nearly 10 years now, with an L98 TPI V-8 and 700R4 from a 1989 Firebird. It just didn't have quite the horsepower I hoped for, and I've really missed shifting my own gears. I've purchased the engine and transmission now, and they're sitting on my garage floor, waiting for my attention and various parts to complete the project. Mine is:

LT1 396 all-forged stroker.
T56 with 2.66 first gear and 0.50 overdrive 6th gear. I've installed a shifter relocation kit which moves the shifter forward on the transmission.

Are you going to use offset motor mounts to move the engine forward in the engine bay? I used a set with my L98 which had the distributor at the back of the engine. That allowed you to keep the stock transmission location and stock transmission crossmember location--not important since we are both going to use the T56. I just don't know if you need to move the engine forward to clear the doghouse, particularly since the LT1 has the Optispark at the front of the engine instead of the rear distributor. Have you figured that out yet?

Have you figured out yet where the shifter will come through the floor?

I didn't want to take the van out of service for weeks (or maybe months), so I bought a cheap parts van and will install the drive train on the subframe and then move it into the van when it's done.

Let me know how the project is going! I'm looking forward to hearing back on progress. I'll gladly help with intel from my knowledge of V8 swaps into Astro vans, if that will help you.

Hi, Yeah I scoured the internet and couldnt find another astro/safari that had a T56 tranny. The shifter is going to be too far back between the seats, so I will be using some type of linkage system to move it forward. Not exactly sure how I will do it yet. I used the offset mounts that move the engine forward. So the rear of the motor should be very close to where the rear of the 4.3 sat. The transmission is the same length and same output spline as the 4l60e that was in it, so no driveshaft mods will be needed. The t56 tranny mount was about 2 inches further back, and the t56 needed dropped down some, so I had to cut up the crossmember, and add a mount to the rear side to reach the tranny mount location.

There is a reinforcement rib on the floorboard that I think is going to be directly in the way of the shifter. So I think that will be my next obstacle.

Have you started on your swap yet? Do you have any pictures? I love to see other peoples projects!

You are my new idol. Nice.

This is awesome! I can't wait to see more pictures!

Great swap...lookin forward to lots of pics. This is going to be a good one.

Thanks for your reply, tawd77. I have the engine and transmission, ready to install, and the parts van from which I removed the subframe, and have just started acquiring other parts. I'll rebuild the front end and add some other handling-enhancing goods while I'm at it.

I tried to attach some photos but the web site says the "board attachment quota has been reached." I have some intel on a shifter you'll be interested in. It moves the shifter location forward about 10 inches, to the location of that flat plate you can see on top of the T56 case. It's built by Keisler Engineering. I think it's about $200.00 to $250.00. http://www.keislerauto.com 865/609-8187.

I expect the shifter will still be too far to the right, though. In the 1980s, and possibly up to 1991, there were some Astro vans with a 5-speed, a weak transmission unsuited to our type of horsepower. The shifter hardware bolted to the outside of the transmission offset the shifter about 7 inches to the left, toward the driver's seat. Early on, I thought of adapting that shifter to the T56, but I felt it would be more trouble than it was worth. I'll just bend the lever over to the left. Seems like I read the 80s F-bodies had a bellhousing that tilted the transmission toward the driver to get the shifter to reach the right place. Anybody wanna chip in????

I'm really glad to hear the driveshaft is the proper length and spline for the transmission. Once I get the engine set up on the subframe and all the accessories installed, it sounds like I could complete the install in just a few days.

Tawd77, keep me posted on progress! I'll send photos when the system will let me.

By the way, everybody, I'm looking for some LONG TUBE headers with 1-3/4 primaries and suitable to the LT1 D-ports (exhaust ports), and ceramic coated, and priced so they won't break the bank. Any recommendations?

Thanks, Jim

SS Astro wrote:Thanks for your reply, tawd77. I have the engine and transmission, ready to install, and the parts van from which I removed the subframe, and have just started acquiring other parts. I'll rebuild the front end and add some other handling-enhancing goods while I'm at it.

I tried to attach some photos but the web site says the "board attachment quota has been reached." I have some intel on a shifter you'll be interested in. It moves the shifter location forward about 10 inches, to the location of that flat plate you can see on top of the T56 case. It's built by Keisler Engineering. I think it's about $200.00 to $250.00. http://www.keislerauto.com 865/609-8187.

I expect the shifter will still be too far to the right, though. In the 1980s, and possibly up to 1991, there were some Astro vans with a 5-speed, a weak transmission unsuited to our type of horsepower. The shifter hardware bolted to the outside of the transmission offset the shifter about 7 inches to the left, toward the driver's seat. Early on, I thought of adapting that shifter to the T56, but I felt it would be more trouble than it was worth. I'll just bend the lever over to the left. Seems like I read the 80s F-bodies had a bellhousing that tilted the transmission toward the driver to get the shifter to reach the right place. Anybody wanna chip in????

I'm really glad to hear the driveshaft is the proper length and spline for the transmission. Once I get the engine set up on the subframe and all the accessories installed, it sounds like I could complete the install in just a few days.

Tawd77, keep me posted on progress! I'll send photos when the system will let me.

By the way, everybody, I'm looking for some LONG TUBE headers with 1-3/4 primaries and suitable to the LT1 D-ports (exhaust ports), and ceramic coated, and priced so they won't break the bank. Any recommendations?

Thanks, Jim

Jim,

Your right about the bellhousings on the Astro 5 speeds where tilted toward the driver's side.When another member did this thread about the ultimate 5 speed build,I asked him about a Lakewood bellhousing for it and he replied they didn't offer one the Astro style type. Safety being one of my goals.........if anyone is considering dumping the clutch at any kind of high RPM,I suggest aleast a scatter shield of some sort.

This is going to be a great one to watch. I only have one suggestion and that is, if this motor hasn't been run recently, I'd go ahead and change out the water pump. They can be a real pain to get on and off an LT1 after all the acc. are bolted on.
Good luck with the install.

1Gary wrote:

SS Astro wrote:Thanks for your reply, tawd77. I have the engine and transmission, ready to install, and the parts van from which I removed the subframe, and have just started acquiring other parts. I'll rebuild the front end and add some other handling-enhancing goods while I'm at it.

I tried to attach some photos but the web site says the "board attachment quota has been reached." I have some intel on a shifter you'll be interested in. It moves the shifter location forward about 10 inches, to the location of that flat plate you can see on top of the T56 case. It's built by Keisler Engineering. I think it's about $200.00 to $250.00. http://www.keislerauto.com 865/609-8187.

I expect the shifter will still be too far to the right, though. In the 1980s, and possibly up to 1991, there were some Astro vans with a 5-speed, a weak transmission unsuited to our type of horsepower. The shifter hardware bolted to the outside of the transmission offset the shifter about 7 inches to the left, toward the driver's seat. Early on, I thought of adapting that shifter to the T56, but I felt it would be more trouble than it was worth. I'll just bend the lever over to the left. Seems like I read the 80s F-bodies had a bellhousing that tilted the transmission toward the driver to get the shifter to reach the right place. Anybody wanna chip in????

I'm really glad to hear the driveshaft is the proper length and spline for the transmission. Once I get the engine set up on the subframe and all the accessories installed, it sounds like I could complete the install in just a few days.

Tawd77, keep me posted on progress! I'll send photos when the system will let me.

By the way, everybody, I'm looking for some LONG TUBE headers with 1-3/4 primaries and suitable to the LT1 D-ports (exhaust ports), and ceramic coated, and priced so they won't break the bank. Any recommendations?

Thanks, Jim

Jim,

Your right about the bellhousings on the Astro 5 speeds where tilted toward the driver's side.When another member did this thread about the ultimate 5 speed build,I asked him about a Lakewood bellhousing for it and he replied they didn't offer one the Astro style type. Safety being one of my goals.........if anyone is considering dumping the clutch at any kind of high RPM,I suggest aleast a scatter shield of some sort.

Actually Gary, as above, it is the F-body bellhousing that has a 17 degree counter clockwise spin, The T-5 Astro bellhousing is straight up, and is the Ford pattern (similar to the old top loader), not the GM pattern (like a saganaw) used in the F-body cars. The Astro bell and trans are one-off odd balls that were not used in any other vehicles. I have these parts in storage and plan to offer them for sale soon.

As for dumping the clutch, the T5 will explode in a vehicle this heavy if abused.

Yepper-I was mistaken about the tilt on Astro bellhousings. #-o

1Gary wrote:Yepper-I was mistaken about the tilt on Astro bellhousings. #-o

Your penalty is to buy one, and as luck would have it.....

tawd77---

Did you get your van on the road? Did you figure out how far back the shifter would come through the floor? I still haven't measured carefully to see where the shifter will come through though it should be pretty close to the right location.

I'm starting on my LT1/T56 switch next week. I'll follow the same route you did--build the new engine/transmission combo on the subframe outside of the van, then lower the van onto the finished work.

Did you figure out how far back in the floor the shifter would come through the floor? I still haven't measured carefully to see where the shifter will be, though it should be pretty close to the right location.

Which motor mounts did you use on the LT1--the original V6 mounts or the LT1? I can't see well enough from your photos. I'm pretty sure there's only one way which will work. I wish I could just lay out the two engines side by side and answer the obvious questions, but the project is 80 miles away from where I am right now and I hoped to order some new mounts.

I'm going with all-urethane motor & tranny mounts, urethane suspension bushings, and dropping the body directly onto the subframe for an extra 3/4" of lowering. I hope it doesn't transmit too much noise, though I've heard of others that followed the same route and said there were no bad effects.

Let us know how the project is going!

Jim