Chevy & GMC Vans

okay...this has been bugging me ever since i saw exterior pics of it done... :-k
just exactly how hard is it to swap the barn doors to dutch doors on pre-95's? it looks like the lowers are pretty straight forward, remove pins and hang, but the hatch has me confuzzled...would i have to cut and weld a top section to allow for the hinges on the hatch? or would it just be a matter of 'massaging' the metal flat and bolting them on with some support from behind? of course, a degree of difficulty is always in the eye of the person performing the work, but i have cut and created walk-throughs on mini's before, so cutting and welding wouldn't be too difficult...or any pics of the inside hinges of the hatch would be helpful too...

It`s even easier than that.......

First remove your old barn doors.

Then get two people to hold the upper door level, and in position, up against the body, making sure that all the gaps are perfectly even all round. Mark where the hinge pins need to go through the roof and drill those 6.5mm holes, bolting the hinges to the roof, check again that the top door swings open nicely and even.

The lower doors easily mount onto the hinges at the sides with new pins.

The only welding needed is to mount the side latches for the upper door onto the body, you will have to weld on a plate to mount them at the correct distance to catch the upper door.

These are the only pics that I have of my rear door swap, because I completed it before I had a digital camera years ago......

Someone else here had some really bitchin` pictures of a "Dutch Door Swap", I hope that they can be-retrieved from the AS.com archives.......?

Anyone....? > this is your Mission to retrieve those files and post them here......

you're right!!! that IS way easier...i think i feel a conversion coming on...thank you for the info and pics...

It was Matt Conrad that made the Great post at the old AS site, with very detailed pictures. Unfortunately they were all butchered when I went to retrieve them for our Valuable ASV site here.

I pm`ed him, and hopefully he will repost them here, > then they need to be preserved in the Technical section, because they should be regarded as "Quality Information".

I

If'n you go to http://www.astrosafari.com, you'll find them there. All the old topics have been archived.

If you're serious about doing this swap, I have a complete set on my parts van. I'll make you a good deal, and you'll have everything that you need. I can help pull everything, or you're welcome to do it yourself.

I'm about 50 miles north-east of Columbus, Ohio.

CaptSquid wrote:If'n you go to http://www.astrosafari.com, you'll find them there. All the old topics have been archived.

But unfortunately, the data uploaded to the "old ikonboard archive" is the corrupted data from AFTER the first AS crash, so the info and data that was lost in that crash was NOT recovered. That includes mattconrads entire swap thread. The thread is there, but the info is gone.

CaptSquid wrote:If'n you go to http://www.astrosafari.com, you'll find them there. All the old topics have been archived.

( sarcastic ) Yeah do what Squiddy said, go to "ass" waste 1/2 an hour looking for the butchered dutch door swap post that is missing 99% of the pictures..... It will be a great help. >> NOT !......

yeah, i had tried the topic on the other site, but it doesn't even pull up one pic on my computer, just a bunch of replies...however the pics above are exactly what i needed to know what to do...there aren't very many astros of any year around here, and i was under the impression the rear hatch hinges were hidden inside the roof (hey, i'm short and can't see!!)

i appreciate the offer of the doors, but i am in the middle of an engine swap right now, and i'm just working to get it running first...i got my van in dec. and it was sitting 2 years because of a blown head gasket and broken timing chain...if you still have the doors once it's running and rolling again, i'll check with you...

Roy,,you got any pics of your dutch doors and what are you asking for them ?

Right now they are buried in a snow drift, LOL. I'll get some pics when it thaws out. I don't remember any rust or dents on them. The hatch has the reflective looking privacy glass tint.
The interior panels aren't perfect, but could be salvaged IMO. They are on my '93 LT parts van, and it will be leaving by the end of summer along with (shame) 2 other parts vans that are being used to store parts.

The only thing "wrong" with them is a light scratch on the glass that should buff out from a bad wiper and the dome light switch in the (left?) shock doesn't work. I installed a sealed starter button in the top of the licence plate housing to pop the hatch because the "key" didn't work. You can't see it unless you are only 3' tall.

I'd like to see the buyer get all of the wiring, seals, latches and switches out of the van so there will be no additional parts to find. It's getting junked anyway. (I plan to pull the doors and keep them)

As for price, I haven't really thought about it. Maybe around $250 if the buyer pulls everything themselves (I'll help and provide tools as needed), but honestly, I love to trade for stuff. Motors, trans, a set of wheels and tires, small block parts, a G80 rear end, etc. I'm easy.

Hey guys, i will try and find where it went and post the info. if it is all gone i will do another write up on this, i know info is valuable when i try and find it and hopefully it will help.

Hey Roy,,that's a good price for your area. I'm going to hold off for now. To much going on now to even be talking about dutch doors.lol

mattconrad wrote:Hey guys, i will try and find where it went and post the info. if it is all gone i will do another write up on this, i know info is valuable when i try and find it and hopefully it will help.

Thanks Matt, If your able to post that, we'll make sure the info gets stored safely.

p.s Thanks for posting those pics you had Darren