WOOHOOO! Got my first drop visor and my first venturi vent for my very first chevy van. Im a proud poppa. And also just put on a set of 12 wide on back and skinny 7s on the front.

Oh NO! He's got the fever.....

Sounds cool how bout some pics ...

Im gona work on gettin pics reall soon. On the road rite now and lookin for.stuff so when i get home ill have parts to work on.

DON'T YA LOVE THE ENTHUSIASM OF A NEW VANNER.....YEP GOT THE FEVER

Congrats buddy

Thanks. Yep got the fever.

Yup, He's addicted!

I sure am and lovin every minute of it. Cant wait to finnally meet some of you guys one day.

Come on up to Ohio vanner...big vannin e"van"t coming up !

I wish i could. Evangaline still needs a lil work before i take her on a trip that far. I really want to head to the keys for that show but i dont know yet. If not, i will deff be doin some cruising by next spring. I wish we could arrange a show up here in north florida near tallahassee or panama city.

i got a chance to mount the visor and install the venturi vent today. WOOOHOOO now i just need to figure out how to post pics on here

Cool

beforeafter

Alright you got pics up.Nice ride.

Looks good!

thanks.

new insulation

Hooked on vannin worked for me! :-)

Yeppers, HE IS HOOKED !

Very nice!!!

Nice job. keep the pics coming!

looks like a vanners van for sure, the Fever won't Hurt ya, but it has a Good Fun to $$$ ratio.

Is that the name of the van ?

Thanks guys. Well i did name her Evangaline but maybe i should change it to fever. What do you guys think? Ive been lucky so far. Just got the visor for 60.00, the wheels for 65.00, traded for that new venturi vent(love that thing), 33.00 for the insalation. I think i want a nice set of side pipes next.

Thinkin about putting a solid slider on. What do you guys think?

Agree 100%...will look killer !... ..I hate glass..

Yeah i was lookin at yours and i like the clean panel look

Great to see another Chevy van being brought back to life!
In the meantime you could tint the windows. Black glass looks way better then clear glass IMO.

I just done 5 percent i think. It was the darkest i could find. Made a big diff in looks and the inside tempature

Lol glass haters.

Looking good.Those wide rear tires look sweet.Keep up the good work.

How did that sliding door clear the rear tires on that without an extender arm ?

That door is not open the whole way, that's how [more opening room on a non shorty]

WHO YEAH ! for the "non shorty"

Thanks lukester. Im workin on a "SUPER SECRET" hinge system for the side door to do a gullwing. It still opens about half way but i really want a gullwing and for you window haters im gona be makin it a solid door.

LOL! I've always felt a little [pun intended] sad for the shorty guys

I figured "non shorty" was a better term to use without sounding like we were bragging, LOL!

Super Secret gullwing hinges huh? I'm soon doing mine and was going to use the J&J style but maybe I need to wait until the secret is out.

If the bottom of the door is rust free and solid.
Some welding needs to be dome to remove the slider hardware.
re skinning the top of the door would not be too bad to do......
Too bad you are so far away.

I have a decent solid door here that needs a good home.....

........Wookee

Im goin thru Md. today. How much do you want for it

Maybe.

25.00 and I am right off of I95......

PM me and I can give you my cell number.......
I will only be around my puter fora little longer today.....

........Wookee

I sent u a pm

We dont have to brag just look at the pic's....

Well thanks to my new friend Wookee who i had the pleasure of meeting today looks like evangaline is gona be a panel. He hooked me up with a good solid slider and was nice enuff to load it up and bring it out to me. Thanks again wookee.

You are welcome.......

.....Wookee

True vanner Joe is,thats great .

Saweet! Congrats!

Yes he is..................

HOLY CRAP I ALMOST DIED TODAY. I was in orlando pickin up another load of boats and i stepped on a 6 foot rattle snake. You never SEEN someone move so fast! Geeeeeezzzzzzz! 3Weeks ago i stepped on a cottonmouth. Gods tryin to tell me somthin

Man your freekin me out just talkin about it...guess that's why I suffer up north here in the snow belt....glad your OK man..

Man this thing was HUGE! When i was younger i used to go hunt them and sell them live to diff places until they outlawed it. Ive lived in Fl. all my life and you just dont see them that big to often. I have to admit, i think i peed a lil when i realized what happined. You never know. So keep your heads down and watch where you step if you come down here. When i was a kid, i lived in south florida and they pulled a 36 foot anaconda out from under my neighbors house. Took 6 men to hold it. Like a damn jungle down here. Didnt help that when they filmed tarzan they let half the animals get lose and go wild.

Just doing my part to get rid of another unwanted window in a van........LOL

.........Wookee

Yup..when we get 2 feet of snow I stoke the fire and get another beer...guess we all have diff. obstacles to overcome..but I do bitch about the long cold winters..

Long winters dont bite the hell out of ya just to leave u for dead.lol. I geuss its the curse of adam and eve.

LOL

All us window haters thank you for doing your part.

River, watch your step.
We have noticed a lot more snakes in our area.We have had 5 in the yard already this year,and summers not even close to being over.Last year we only saw 3 for the whole summer.

Yeah, I think he's telling you to watch where the heck you are walking Glad you didn't get bit.

Thanks again wookee. Hope to give some good pics in the near future of the change over from window to panel "SUPER SECRET HINGES".

O beleive me, ill be lookin down a lot more. Yeah ive noticed theyve been movin a lot more than normal. Probly wouldve taken 3 shots from my 22 to kill this big bastard. Geeeeeezzzzzz it still creeps me out!

Well if you are going to do it, do it right & lets make some money...

This was a 5 for $5... 5 hit with a sledge for $5....

That poor van.

well i finnally got to go to the boneyard this weekend. i went to see what i could find but had to get another radiator. mine blew a pin hole on the way to panama city. no prob tho. mine was a single row for the 250 six and i found a nice three row for a v8 that fit nicely. also scored a cool pop up sunroof and found an older conversion van to get an extended slider. now i can slide my door past those wide 12s on the back. WOOHOO!

Sounds like a great day at the bone yard !

Good idea

I finnaly figured out why my van is getting almost 30 mpg. I uncovered the factoey sticker under the hood that says it has a 3.07 gear ratio. So now im lookin to find a good 5 speed standard to replace my 3 on the tree. Should get over 30 then. WOOOHOOO!

 Evangeline did a lil work yesterday pulling our new 1949 spartan royal mansion home. she did good and didnt complain at all.

COOL! Nice looking trailer. More pics please!

i will post some pics this weekend when i get back home. got to run to wisconsin and minnesota real quick. this is my wife and mine retirement project. this will be our home in just a few years.

Cool! Thanks!

only had to pull it about 15 miles but the tires are like over 10 years old. one tire blew as soon as i stopped in my yard.LOL. It said"THATS IT. NO MORE".

Sweet. Once you get it fixed up, you need to polish the exterior. Then you will have to strip the paint off your van, polish it to match the trailer, and clear coat it!

I thought about it reed. That would look sweet

Yes..cool trailer, can't wait to see more pics !

I cant wait to get started on it.

Nice trailer & the van pulling it looks real sweet to.

Thanks. She done real good pullin it. Im glad i put the air shocks on tho. That trailer is tongue heavy.

Well i finally picked out the paint for my new paint job. I dont know if i should show a sample now or wait till after i do all the body mods. I cant find the wing i want so im gona build one. I plan on doin some cool stuff with the tail lights and rear doors and a bunch of other stuff INCLUDING my super secret gulwing hinges. Still workin on those but i will bring somthing cool to the playground. Truck on truckers!

Cool..looking forward to pics !

Hope i can send some soon.

That's one hell of a post. All that cool stuff and you are keeping it a secret?

You're just MEAN!

Mmwaaaahaaaahaaa. lol

Finnaly gettin home this weekend. Gona get to work on the old girl again. Starting on the inside and hope to get the bed and panels in. I promise pics this time.

woo hoo can't wait to see pics

I cant wait to get home and get to work. Got a lot to do in a short time.

Well i got home sat mornin and didnt get to do anything i wanted to on my van due to workin under the hood all weekend. Couldnt get the dang thing to idle at all. Almost yanked that 250 out to stick my 350 in it. But i found the problem. For some reason someone hooked up full time vaccum to the vaccum advance and two of the rubber vaccum block off caps rotted and fell off. So now ive got it burnin the tires off and it idles. So maybe next trip home i can start on the interior and pull a 360 and tranny for draggonastro. WOOOHOOO!

WOOOHOOO!...SWEET

Lol man if aint one thing its another. Got to go home again this weekend "BUT" still didnt get to start on the interior. Ive run down the battery 3 times tryin to get it cranked in the mornings. But once i get it cranked it does good for the rest of the day. I think i need a new fuel pump. Seems like its loosing its prime after it sets over nite. But i did get new front shocks, new fog lights and new brakes. Geuss ill get a new batt and fuel pump next trip home.
Also have a new problem. My engine is running to cool. Had to use the heater for the first time and its not gettin hot just warm. Earlier this year i blew the radiator. So i pulled the single row radiator for the six banger and got a 3 row for a v8. Geuss it could be worse.lol

doesnt using the heater cools down the motor...takes the heat away from the rad and sends it thru the heater core & out the window....have done this in the desert a few times...
You might check the thermostat its letting cold coolant thru before it heats up...

The size of the radiator should not effect the temperature the engine runs at or the heat. The thermostat controls what what temperature the engine is. And the heater core controls the temperature of the heat. If you don't have any heat I would start by checking these things.

The stat has allot of control over the heat the heater puts out.
The bigger rad adds the the volume of water you will have to help keep the engine cool.......
My 69 6 had a 190 stat in it from the factory.

......Wookee

Well when i bought the van i used the heater a couple times and it would burn you out. Thats with the old radiator and it had no thermastat. When i put in the new radiator i also put in a new thermostat. I think it was a 180

its not much but here is what i done latley. painted the grill and bumper and found a nice set of chrome fog lights

Anyone have an air dam for the front? I want one without flares.

Is that the headlight bezel I sent? Nice fit & repaint...The van looks new again...WOOOHOOOO

Yep. Man i really appreciate it.

I likes...

Doesnt that ft end look CHERRY..Oh that is nice....
Friction the little guys dont carry my knifes....I DO...

I couldnt take that silver grill anymore. Needed some color.lol

I like it so much I just may do the 92...its black & white anyway why not a little more black...how did you prep the plastic for paint?

I just sanded it with 220 then went over it wit a scotch brite pad to kinda smooth it out and clean it

Thank you kindly...

No prob

If your grill is in good shape and not dry rotted like mine is then you can probly just scuff it real good with the scotchbrite.

A little weathered..the black is gray in some places

So how many screws to remove the 3 pc grill?

Probly 10. Not real sure. Yours is a lil diff than mine.

So did the bike you are setting on in your signature shrink after riding it in the rain ?

.........Wookee

No but it did throw me down and kick my a$$ at about 20mph

WOOOHOOOO

Didnt feel to WOOOHOOO when it dug a six inch long gash in my forearm to the bone. My pride hurt pretty good to.lol. I had an audience!

Bummer...

Chics dig scars rite!

Yes.........big time

River,your van is looking real good.

Thanks luke. You gettin to work on yours any?

Did you hold a Safety Meeting BEFORE you did this?

Ummmmmm......... I plead the 5th!

You should give it back to the little person you stole it from

I bought that for ME! The problem is when i souped it up. Itll run 40mph without NOS

Some people are just into pain and aggravation.........

.......Wookee

Nah..after it kicked my but i parked it.lol

I think i found the new engine for my van. Im gona do a lil more research but as of rite now im sold on it. Its a 4.2 twin cam inline six in the nee trailblazers. You can check em out on youtube under "4200 vortec". I wish i could post links. Guy had a 51 chevy pickup with this setup that Hauls A$$. Theres another video that looks like a chevyII wagon with this setup and its just AWESOME!

SCORE!!! Pickin up my new parts tomorrow. Gettin a louvered hood,fender flares,and a lighted lund visor. Im also gettin a wing and air dam that ill have to go back and get once he gets it out of storage.
WOOOHOOO!!!!

WOOHOOOO!!!! the fun begins

Yep! Cant wait

nice score River! Cant wait to see it all installed on the van!

Thanks. Ive been trying really hard to keep this low budget and stick to that 70's look. So far so good.

congrats on the van goodies

Picked up my parts today. Ill try to post pics tomorrow.

its not much but here are some pics of the fender flares and the louvered hood. i just stuck them on with tape to get a pic. still need to sand them an paint em.

Looks good in the back. Need wider wheels in the front IMO!

Lookin good !....

Coming alone very nicely...makes me wanna be working on the outside and not the inside of mine. When is it going to paint.
cheers

Looks Good

WOOOHOOO!

I plan on doin 10" wide front and back.
Hopefully get to paint it next summer.

You can run a fully revesed 8 inch wheel in the front.
That will fill the flares nicely....

.......Wookee

Yeah but i think i want the same wide tires all around. Ive got a picture in my head of what itll look like. Should look good

Oh great now the voices in your head show pictures to you........LOL

........Wookee

Yep. And we take long walks on the beach to.

Wookee....your voices don't have pictures????

I think i want sell the louverd hood. Anybody want it? Just dont think is what i want

Well ive been home since wed.and didnt get to do anything on THE FEVER(New name) but i did partialy sell my 75 honda cb750 super sport. Now ive got this super cool lil 79 honda 185 twin star. Almost like a street legal mini bike. Been playin with it for a couple days. Its for sale to if anyones interested. Fun lil bike. Just had a new black paint job and new seat. Ill try to post pics later. WOOOHOOO! LOL

We need

Sounds like a cool lil ride.Its gotta be more comfortable then that little pocket bike.

man, i read every page and still no super secret gull door setup, vans looking good!!

Yeah i actually sold that pocket bike. And im still workin on the hinges. Just havent had much time lately.

where did ya get the front visor? been thinking about one of those and a rear wing on mine

Found it on craigslist. Ive got a lund visor and louvered hood for sale

here is a pic of the lil motorcycle i just got.

It's in pretty nice shape. You meet the nicest people on a Honda!

Just had a new paint job and seat recovered. I mite just keep it to throw on the back of the van to take with me

That's pretty sweet.I was thinking it was more like a trail bike.Does it have the clutch less 5 speed trans?

that bike would be perfect to get around a campround when VAN camping

is the lund visor a low profile one?

Skip

No it has the regular clutch.

The visor is the flat style with the lights in it

Not havin a good time rite now. My van is for sale if anyone is interested. 1980 with 65,000 original miles. $2,500

I sent you a

Say it ain't so river...I've been trying to follow your lead. Hope all works out and if you do have to sell you can get back to it someday.

Thanks friction. Ill get another one day. Just have more important things to deal with. You know how it goes sometimes.

Geuss i should change the name of this thread now huh.
:-(

Sorry to hear that. Hope all works out for you.

It's like to me loosing a best friend. Til you find another one better!!!

Richard

I seen your ad on craigslist.I guess your pretty serious about this.I just want to say hang in there buddy.I'm hoping things will work out for you and you can keep your van.Remember Vanners for Vanners is only a few weeks away if it hasn't sold by then I really hope you can make it.



Luke

Thanks luke. I wish i could but just wont have the money or time. I was really lookin forward to some van traveling this year. Thems the breaks i geuss.

Really sorry to hear you are selling your van.......

........Wookee

Thanks wookee. It hurts a lil but ill get another one day.

Hey guys. Still truckin. Hope everybodys doin good. Still got my van. Think im gona keep her.

Sorry I didn't get back to ya this afternoon.Phone battery died,anyway I wanted to say back.

Glad to hear ya still got your van.Maybe you can make our next vannin? 1st weekend in March in White Springs.

Yeah its been a while...how ya doing ?

Doin good. Had a few people come to look at my van and more and more i noticed how much i would miss my van. So with that i decided that im gona keep her and keep on truckin. May even make it to the nats this year. Gettin her all tuned up rite now to get ready for bike week in march. Gona camp in the van while we are there and cruise down the beach. WOOOHOOO!!!

Welcome back !

Thanks Highway. Hows your new mopar comin along?

Got her running and doing a little here and there but not much money to play with this time of year...

I know what you mean there.

Since ive decided to keep my ol girl im really tearing into it now. Got bumpers, mirrors, new chrome grill, and am gona build a bigger six banger. Gona build a 292 with a lil cam and a two pot intake and split header. Doin body work in hopes to get it sprayed soon in some funky color. Ill post pics soon.

Good to see ya back around River...saw your van and extras on GL and if I had the $$$ it would be in PA right now... and you'd be a Vannless Vanner.

Well im keepin her for a long time. But i still have that louvered hood and the lund visor up for grabs if any one wants them.

Glad to see your keeping the van. I'll look forward to the updates!

Big day yesterday. Went to the pic-n-pull and got a sweet solid slide door and could have got two rear doors with no windows but decided to get two popouts for the doors i already have. Also got 2 chrome visors for the front doors, a full chrome grill assembly from a 79 chevy that really shouldnt have been in there. That van was sweet. And also found a nice slider extender if anyone needs one. Its not chrome but seems to be in nice workin order. Lastly i stoped and FINNALY got two new 295-50's for the back.
Got the new popouts installed today and have been spending the past couple of hours tryin to strip the vinyl wrap that was on the slide door. It came off of a local radio station van. Bout got it wooped so maybe i can get it on the van today if the rain lets up. Ill try to post some pics a lil later today.
WOOHOOO!!!

Big day yesterday. Went to the pic-n-pull and got a sweet solid slide door and could have got two rear doors with no windows but decided to get two popouts for the doors i already have. Also got 2 chrome visors for the front doors, a full chrome grill assembly from a 79 chevy that really shouldnt have been in there. That van was sweet. And also found a nice slider extender if anyone needs one. Its not chrome but seems to be in nice workin order. Lastly i stoped and FINNALY got two new 295-50's for the back.
Got the new popouts installed today and have been spending the past couple of hours tryin to strip the vinyl wrap that was on the slide door. It came off of a local radio station van. Bout got it wooped so maybe i can get it on the van today if the rain lets up. Ill try to post some pics a lil later today.
WOOHOOO!!!

Anyone know where i can order all the window channel weather strip?

i think LMC has it now.

I seen where they have the rubber door seals but i need the felt that goes in the window channel

Any auto glass shop should have it or be able to get it.

it aint much but heres what i done latley. got the popouts from the pick n pull and found a brand new grill in the box for dirt cheap.

still thinking pop outs here you'll love them...but I can't find tinted and don't want to spend the money twice... I really like the grill. u gonna go chrome on the rest ?

i tinted mine before i put them in.
i think i mite stay with the black and chrome for now. gona try a few things but im pretty certain ill stay with the black

Well if every thing pans out ill have some cool new pics for you guys around first of the week. Some new shiny stuff is all im gona say for now. Tease? I think so. Mwaaahaaaaaahaaaa!

i know, but i wont spoil it for ya

I havent told you what im gettin on the way home. You know part but not all. Ill tell ya later. MwahaaaahaaaaaHAAAAAHAAAAAHEEEEHAAAAHAAA.LOL

Oh yeah. WooHoo!

Lol yeehaw

commin together nice

oooh, i like surprises!

Thanks Mrhoney. My wifes been pretty cool so far until i put the chrome ladies on the new popouts.lol

well i went to the pic-n-pull today with my wife and found some nice swivel captain seats out of a dodge van but pulled the swivel bases out of a chevy. i found another slider extender. also got a new couch that folds into a bed. also got some good weather strip for the window channels. even my wife helped turn wrenches and get dirty. gona try to post pics in a day or two

Thats a good wifey ya got there helpin ya out

Yeah shes a pretty cool chic. I think ill hang on to her for a while.

out with the old.....
in with the new....

got the new pipes on today. almost got them hooked up and damned if it didnt rain on my parade.

Looking good ! .....should have did the seats last ...you could have worked on them in the van in the rain.....

looks Freakin SUHWEET! i cant wait to see it in person! What do you plan to do with the big ole dent in the fender?

thanks HIGHWAY. There wasnt any rain in sight until it come poorin down.lol

Thanks Chris.i geuss thats the next thing to tackle. kind of a big job cuttin all the spot welds and gettin everything straight behind the fender. not to mention ive got to cut one off of another van.

Yup ...thats always how it goes.. I hear yeah man !

I like the old seats you took out kinda cool looking

lil rain never hurt anyone though. got rite back out there and layed in the wet sand and hooked it up

i liked em to but the wife wasnt comfy. ill find some cool wheels and make man cave chairs with them

Yeah, the new ones are the ticket for comfort no doubt

she picked those out in the junkyard. we mustve went thru twenty vans before she found those. worked out to because my van is blue and silver on the inside. feels totaly diff in there now when im driving

As mentioned ..they look "GREAT".....I'm sure it's a major improvement.....Congrats to your wife !

thanks highway. feels good to be back out there workin on it again. i havent gotten to post pics of progress in a while. tomorrow we are loading up the triumph in the back and headin down to daytona for the last few days of bikeweek. itll be the first long trip in her since i bought her and drove 250 mile home in her

Have a safe trip U 2 and enjoy........

thanks bud. hope to get pictures of the old girl cruisin on the beach.

Your van is looking sweet man.Love the side pipes.Great job.I gotta see that bad boy in person one day.Enjoy your self's at bike week.

thanks luke.

hows it sound with the side pipes now?

I had a 93 GMC that i smashed a fender up on, they totaled it because of the work to replace the fender. some good bits and some tranny fluid to keep the bit lubed and you'll be fine. Take some beach pics for sure!

I noticed you grabbed the beer and left the van sit out in the rain... and you sure are taring into it.
Everything looks great River and I ain't gonna try and keep up any more.

it sounds ok chris. the six i have has a factory split manifold so i run true duals. after i make this run to daytona and back this weekend maybe theyll be burnt out a lil better.

thanks vanplan. lol wouldnt you grab the beer and run to. those PBR's are hard to come by in the south.lol

yup, glass packs sound best after 500 miles and a few good whacks with a rubber mallet.

well im back from daytona. made it down and back without one single issue. With a 1,000 lbs of bike tools and a big bottle of Evan Willams whiskey in the back, we got 17mpg. sad to say i didnt get a chance to get a pic of her riding on the white sands of the historical daytona beach. one day though. this was my last year for bikeweek. to many A-hole cops and IDIOTS on two wheels. ill just stick to curvey two lane back roads and small get togethers here and there. on the way back i decided to see what the old girl was worth so i hit I-10 and run 75 for a 100 miles and she done great. been a good ol van so far.

Welcome home...glad all went well !

Went there 2 yrs ago....



Over the bridge and onto the beach...

ive been on that very beach with a semi,bike, car and gocart but not my van. cool to imagine that there have been world land speed records made on that sand and the daytona speedway born on that sand

I have my little pc of history....

I've been there

Sand as soft as silk....

and to think, i just moved from 80 miles from there to 1100 miles from there! Lol. I got my dually stuck in that sand.

one more lil thing done to the ol girl today. grabbed anothe twenty dollar bumper for the rear.before. after

Nice bumper

well after my 500 mile shake down run to see if my ol girl is ready, ive decided to do the next big change. with a 1,000 lbs int he back and running a averege of 70 on the interstate i got 17mpg. so to improve on that i am going to be doing a change from a 3 speed standard on the colum to a 5 speed with over drive in the floor. i plan to take a lot of pics and document every thing so that if anyone wants to do this they will have all the info they need. currently i have a 3.07 rear gear ratio with a 250 intergrated head 2barrel carb. my 3 speed has a low first and second gear but when i shift to 3rd its a huge RPM drop. the down side of this trans is that at 55 or 60 mph i cant down shift or ill hand grenade the engine. so with the 5 speed ill have better driveability and gas mileage. ireally want to run to the NATS this year and this seems to be the next big improvement. i want to fix the banged up front fender and get the solid slider door on but at this point the 200 bucks i spend on doin the tranny will save a lot of money in gas and allow my motor to not work so hard.
seems to be the best thing at this point. dont ya think?

Anyone know anything about the 4.2 dohc inline six thats in the new trailblazers. Ive been lookin at maybe doin a swap to one but id like some input on them before i comitt to it. Ive got a good deal on a whole trailblazer with only 68,000 miles on it. It was wrecked in the rear. Ive seen videos of people puttin these in older cars and trucks with turbos and man those things will haul ass.

Anybody?

got out there amd got busy today. i have the 250 six banger in my van and it has WAY to much crap on the motor. so i started takin every thing off that it doesnt need in order to run good. my valve cover gasket was pooring oil out so while i had it off i modified it a lil. it had 4 steel tubes that ran from the exhaust manifold to the valve covers and another steel tube that connected between these to boxes that were on top of each end of the valve cover. in short i just ripped all the emissions crap off that didnt do anything to begin with

so if anyone has this motor and wants to do this let me know. i can tell you what to do

Don't do the trail blazer thing!! I hated mine. Left for Daytona bike week with small enclosed trailer and my roadking in the back and the POS couldn't fight its way out of a paper bag. Went back (after 45 mins. of driving) and got the truck with a 4.3 and smooth sailing at 70-75 MPH 17 MPG average pulling the hills on rt 77 etc!

Sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.Your van is really coming along nicely.

that looks much less cluttered. I was wondering when you were gonna replace that back bumper! If you make it up here a week or so early for the nats, we can pull out/replace that fender at the shop. what ever happened to the flares? You may have told me, seems i have a touch of old-timers lately.

so the trailblazer motor has no ass? that sucks.lol well ill stick with what i know will pull a load. ill just go ahead with the 5 speed then.
chris i have flares but i dont think they look rite with skinnies up front. i may be wrong. i may go ahead with em anyway

So how does it run now that all that junk is off of it? Thinking of doing the same to mine. Nice to meet ya last week!

Halyeah

Seems it runs a lil better. LOT easier to work around for sure.

And it was good to meet you as well.

The hardest part was the two lil boxes. They are spot welded on. If you take and clean around them youll see the spot welds. Use a grinder and hit those welds a lil then you can take a hamer and chisel and knock em loose.
There are 4 steel tube that run from the manifold into those boxes. I unbolted them to get them out then cut the tubes off of the fitting that goes into the manifold. Went to the hardware and found 4 short bolts the have the same head size as the fittings. Put the bolt into the fiting and weld around the head(unless you can find plugs to block off the holes). This pretty much eliminates all that crap. Block off the hole in the bottom of the breather which used to be hooked to the steel line that run off the two boxes.
To fill the two holes in the valve cover, go to the parts house and you can get a grommet to put on the rear hole so you can put your pcv valve back in and you can get a oil filler cap to fit the front. If you have any probs call me

well i havent gotten to do much to Evangeline latley but go to lowes and fishing. at my old house 2 years ago i had a 3 car 2 story garage. sold that and a year later got married for the first time and until last week didnt have anything but a hole riddled tin roof and a dirt floor to work in. now ive got a decent lil 12 x 16 barn that i can get my tools in out of the weather. hopefully get my flairs on this weekend.pics to follow soon.

Well hurry up and get it done...I may be looking for one.

Well as much as i wanted and planed on goin to that nats this year, looks like ill have to wait. With my type of job and youngins i need to look at the bigger picture. Have almost been tempted to sell my sweet Evangeline to catch up on bills but she is a member of my life and family at this point. So ill have to buckle down and hopefully make the nats next year. Until then even though most of you wont see me at evants doesent mean im not vannin. I plan on a lot of weekend nomad trips in my girl with wife and kids.

Family first brother !...

That sucks to hear brother, take care of that family and we'll see you down the road!

My van maybe up for sale soon. I found a older model shorty id rather have.

sounds cool got any pics ?

not yet. Im gona try to ride over and look at it tomorrow. Its a 1975 shorty panel with a v8. It was a one owner van. Sounds like its in pretty good shape. The big problem is convicing my wife to let me get it.lol

Just go get it and wait for a good rain to bring it home...LOOK honey my van shrunk.

Yeah ummmm.... No.lol

Good Luck

Put a ribbon on it and tell her its for her....

Good luck! Hope she lets you get it. Im going through a similar situation myself.

Oh man River ...you got one of them kinda wives.... ....I have always brought it home first and then given her a couple day's to get used to it.... after all these years of marriage she just expects the unexpected.....

well just a week ago i handed over my check book. so she sees it before i do. as much as i want this ill have to let it pass. so if anybody wants it there is a 1975 chevy van for 900 bucks in the panama city fl craigslist ads

Well tomorrow will be a sad day. Ive decided to let go of my sweet Evangaline. The new owner will come take her away from me.
Im tired of struggling month to month with bills and so this was one of those things i had to do. This will pay off one of my bills. So i geuss ill be rolling out my old 70 chevy C-10 and get it back on the road. Ill be vanless for atleast a year if everything works out rite. Once the bills are payed off ill start over from scratch with another van. Ill miss her. She has been loyal and trustworthy every mile.

You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. Doesn't make it any better though.

That sucks! Last time we talked i thought you were keepin her? Sell the truck! Seriously though, i hope you keep checking in on the forum here and keep in touch with us all. You'll have another van soon enough. Good luck brother.

Sorry the van has to go but hey, did U say 70 C-10...very cool !...Come on over to c10forum.com I'm Pro/StreetPete over there and theres lots of cool old trucks River......

Cool. Ill have to check that out pete. Ive got the 70 c-10 and a 72 c-20

Great I'll be lookin for ya !!

Have you got a old chevy?

Yeah, 83 C-10 short bed tubed with 31x18.50x15 rubber Ford 9" with a 406 small block and 700R4 trans,,,red with grey interior .....

Wow. Sounds nice

You should post a pic of in off topic.

Well i couldnt do it. Just couldnt sell her. So she is still with me for a while. Even my wife sais she was glad i didnt sell it. Evangaline is part of my family and part of me. The kid that was gona buy it aint so happy tho.

I'm glad to hear you kept her.

You can always let her sit for awhile until you can get back to her, but take it from me it hurts to let a van you love go. Keep on keepin on brother, i knew ya'd keep her

Don't forget the ad...
http://panamacity.craigslist.org/cto/3030788157.html

Yea,I still miss my ole 73

it just kept eating at me all day. then out of nowhere my brother and mom show up to grill some burgers and they helped me realize how much i love the old girl. i just couldnt imagine it not being here anymore. so now its back to work.

Good to hear ! ....I still miss my white chevy shorty...

Will do

Hell, i miss your white chevy shorty,

I miss 7 out of 9 of the Astros ive owned, my 89 ford and my 79 dodge. If i only had a barn!

That was a nice van

Glad you're keeping it. I miss my old '76 GMC and she was far from a nice van, good running gear though. Just keep plugging away at it when you have the time.

i just read this entire topic. So many ups and downs!! Glad you are keeping it for now. Such a cool van.

Thanks. Yeah ive had a few hard times but for some reason just never do let her go. Maybe its just ment to be.lol

If all works out ill be doing a t-5 5 speed swap into my old girl soon. Finnally located a good trans and had a hour long conversation with another vanner from florida. Told him about vanning.com so maybe we will see him on here soon. He has a lt1 in his astro with a ton of work that he has done to it.

Sounds cool.
aren't you glad you kept Evangaline

Sweet! Im glad to hear progress is happening.

Yeah. I wouldve really missed her. I cant wait to see how this things gona run with that five speed. Should get great gas mileage to. Plus later on im gona swap to an older model head so that i can change to a diff intake and carb. Kinda thought about doing a throttle body setup. First things first though

IF it is a clean swap an older head with the separate intake exhaust will run way better.
I dropped qa 69 6 in my 77 van that had the modular head 6 originally.
It was almost like swapping in a v/8. Very noticeable difference in power and low end torque.

Good to hear you are keeping her.

Call me next time you are passing through this way.

.......Wookee

Ive been reading up on it and if i go with a 194 head on my 250 it bumps the compression up a pretty good bit. I hate the carb thats on this thing now and i dont like not having the option of changing intakes. May go ahead and change the cam while im at it. With all that being done and having that 5 speed it should cruise nicely

Evangeline is getting new wheels and finnaly getting the 5 speed T-5 tranny. Hope to post pics of the full swap in a few weeks.
Hope eveyone has a great and safe Independence day and to all who are making the trip to the nats, i hope all have a safe and great time. Ill see you next year no matter what.
Happy 4Th everyone.

Just posted my van for sale in the classifieds. Things just not goin to good around my house. I know it looks like i dont know what i wanna do but have had some tough crap to deal with and hard choices to make like this one. Hopefully in a couple years i can get another one. I will miss it.

Sorry to hear that River Rat

Call me brother. . .

well she is gone now. sold her yesterday. missing her already. hopefully ill find another one next year if everything works out

but congrats

thanks Wizard. it was a hard choice to make. almost backed out of the deal like i did twice before. hope the kid takes care of her. i cant replace her. but i will get another.

Hope he takes care of it,I know that was a hard decision to make

he just sent me a text saying he was sending it to Virginia to a custom car builder for a complete overhaul. so thats good news.

Just heard about this sell, CONGRATS MAN ! I know how hard this was for you, but now you can get a FORD !

Say it ain't soooo...but I know ya gotta do whats ya gotta do. don't be a stranger.

O i wont. After everything is takin care of i want to find a early. Maybe a chevy, maybe a dodge or a ford. Im not picky. I like them all.

Ask him if he's going to leave it a straight drive or change it over to auto, I'd love to have a full straight drive changeover. When you get everything worked out, let me know, I'm sure we can all pull together and find you another affordable cruiser.

Ok. Ive got my eye on a few boneyards. Just waiting to get everything cleared up. My next one will be a lil hotrod. I want to build a rear engine v8 early

That sounds like a cool plan

congrats on the sale, but sorry to hear it's gone...hopefully we'll have another vanner in the mix..

I'm glad to hear you found her a good home.

A late model Caddy with a Northstar, they made a version based on the Grand Am size body, the whole driveline would pop right in and be the right width.

Thats exactly what i was thinkin