Vannin' Community and Forums Forums General Discussion Readers Rides Converting my G20 to RHD and 4x4

I am busy converting my G20 to RHD and I noticed that the engine is offset to the right. I want to move it to the left as I want to use a np205 right hand drop transfer case. Has anybody done anything close to this and if so any help would be appreciated. I have a K5 blazer for the diffs and other parts if necessary.

This is really a bigger job than you want ... every thing is offset to the right .... do you have a right hand dash ?

Did you mean RHD or 4WD?
Or both?

There were quite a few RHD G20's build and sold outside the US. I always just assumed that the drivetrain on the RHDs were offset to the left as a mirror image of the US vans but, judging from the interior photos, the drive train is still offset to the right. Moving the drivetrain over would be a major undertaking.

I am talking about both. I have noticed that the motor is offset by app 2 inches or 50mm from center I want to move everything to the left unfortunately my dash is left hand and I want to convert to right hand. The center console I want to move 4 inches, 100mm to the left so that there is enough space at the brake pedal for the left foot. As I want to convert to 4x4 at the same time I would have to make a new cross member to accommodate for the front diff so moving the drive train will not really be a issue. From the picture above I see that the center console is still the same and there is little space next to the brake pedal. I will be starting to cut and weld this weekend.

Holy cow! That will be a huge project! Definitely post lots of pictures.

Pictures pictures pictures .... PLEASE take pictures of your change over.... the more pictures the better !

You need to document the work involved in the change over to help the next vanner that wants to do this.

I have started to strip the dash and wiring out today. I will take all pictures of all the work that I will be doing on the weekend. First I will be doing the steering. Moving from the left to right that is with the brake booster and pedals then moving the centre console.I will post all pictures of my progress. Thanks to all for the interest.

Is there a right hand fire wall ? Or do you have to keep the left & remount everything ?


The steering under the van may want to wait till you get all your ft end 4x parts......

Here is a thread that converts a G20 to a 4x4, a very well built 4x4 ...

https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/694884/1/4x4-shorty-van

I have seen that post and found it very interesting unfortunately I can not see any of the pictures . I have to cut out the left fire wall and remount on the right hand side to keep the steering and brake pedal the same distance apart as it was on the left side. I will be fitting a left hand car steering box to the right side of the van. Then all open space will be closed with sheet metal. The dashboard will be cut to pieces and modified then recast and a fiber dash made from there. In my country most of the parts are not available so we have to make or import at high cost exchange rate is 13 to 1 then duty's and taxes so it's about a 30 to 1 ratio when get the part.

Yeah photo bucket screwed up alot of threads & us all as all the pic went bye bye.

Today I managed to get the dash, steering column and pedals out. I have stripped the dash bare to see where I will need to cut as it will probably be in 4 to 5 places Tomorrow morning I will start to cut out both sided of the fire wall I will take some pic of the work that has been done. It is moving a lot faster than expected but I have not hit any snags yet but I suppose the will eventually arrive and kick me in the pant's. I ordered a hot plastic staple gun to weld the dash plastic together again. Has anyone used one of these unit's? I have posted a attachment of what I want to achieve.

I am still able to see all of Lunchbox's photos in that thread? I do have the photobucket "fix" thing installed on my browser though. Maybe thats why.

Thanks sorted that out now I am able to see his pictures after installing the fix very interesting. This will be a great help for me to get even more motivated.

Hi So today I cut the fire wall and tunnel and moved the steering across to the right hand side of the van. I have already pick up a few problems but they are not that major. I have temporary tacked the right side of the fire wall in it's position to make sure that the pedals are in the correct position. I have attached some pictures of the work done so far. All places where I have cut still needs to be neatened up before I cut the plates that have to be welded in. Now I need to double check all my work and start closing alt the holes in the fire wall before I start cutting the hood to fit
1) Brake booster stops the hood from closing more cutting on the hood.
2) Windshield wiper motor in the way of the tunnel will have to cut a extra hole for that.
3) Mounting for the top of steering to brace it has a new hole cut in it.
4) Air vent on right side needs to be cut and straightened out as it sits at a angle.

Thanks will post again as I progress I hope the pics are posted in the right place if not please correct me.

Holy crap! You're digging right in! Looks good so far. Are you planning on moving the engine over too? Or will the tunnel fit without moving it?

I will be moving the engine too. Today I managed to cut some plate and started to tack weld tunnel in position and close big hole that was there. Then a test fit of the cover here are some more pics. As you can see in the pic's there is now more than enough space for the drivers legs. and enough space for the passenger.

I posted a few pics of engine in the tunnel had to take the right side manifold off to fit the tunnel. As you can see now the tunnel ins in the middle of the front seats. today I will spend some time on how I am going to cut the dash and fit it all together again at the moment my head is spinning.

So today I had a bit of time to spare. I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to cut the Dash make or brake I measured all sizes and got to cutting it up.Then fitted it pulled out again and had to cut again. The center console moved 80 mm to the left and fits perfect now I'm waiting for my hot staple gun that was ordered from the States it will probably arrive at the end of the month. I do however have other things that I can carry on with I have to make a new section to fit the clocks in that will take a bit of time.

This is a mock up of what the end result I'm hoping for console sits in the center of the seats it will be a fiber smooth dash in the end. What are your thoughts all ideas welcome. I will have to build up one section of the dash as it sits lower than the other side from the pics posted you can see the holes in the plastic that need to be filled.

WOW ! making alot of progress ... thanks for the pic's on how to ......

Hi I forgot to post a pic the original 1984 van that I purchased before I started this project as it will also be gutted and redone. My rotors for the front axle arrived in the country today so I will be off to collect tomorrow. I am starting to import all the spares that I need eg lights, ignition lock,door locks indicators and the list goes on and on but I will get there.

Are you thinking of moving the side doors as well?
Found this interesting pic on-line of a RHD Chevy in Thailand. First time seeing a Chevy/GM conversion from this generation with the barn doors on the left side. Don't know how well the short door in the front would work for entry/exit.....

(Not my picture, I just borrowed it)

I was hoping this was possible. Is it true you can just swap out the front end from a same era blazer to convert a g20 to 4x4?

CatFish very interesting pic that. I have a slider so no I wont be doing that conversion yet.
nomadgames I have searched the net on 4x4s from what I have seen it is possible but there is a lot of metal fabrication there is a thread on expedition portal that I came across that was very interesting.
Today I cut out some wood and plastic to close the holes for the gauges now I need to fill in with some form of putty and smooth out the take a mold from. Once my staple gun arrives I will be able to get the dash all built up to what is required all I can do now is wait.

got it. i'll have a look, thanks

Yesterday filled all the holes with some form of crappy plaster waited for it to dry got all excited when it was dry and tried to sand it smooth today and the hole damn thing fell to pieces. I will start again tomorrow with different approach think I will try some form of soft putty will post some pics if it is successful.

Hi this weekend I managed to pull a plug off the dash that I closed I will be making a cast off of it during the week. Then I will be able to do a test fit. Good news for me today as my hot staple gun arrived from the States and I will be picking it up tomorrow. So I can now continue to weld the dash together and start fitting the clocks to the right hand side of the van

Hey Overdrive, I'm also in SA (Kempton) and I've been planning a rhd conversion on my G10 Shorty for sometime but only 2wd as I have a K5 Blazer and K30 truck. What did you do with the right chassis leg that twists outward with regards to mounting your steering box? I'd really like to pop around and come see what you've done. Drop me a call/message on 0824640746. On another subject, something you might benefit from, the americans do a cross-over steering conversion on the 4x4's when they lift them instead of a drop pitman arm to eliminate bump steer, this will enable you to keep the steering arm on the left where it is instead of having to engineer something on the right to accomodate the pitman arm. Google/youtube cross-over steering. I also bring in shipments on a monthly basis from the US so you are welcome to share space if you want, my costing with the current exchange rate calculates to a factor of 28 all inclusive landed by me. We do not make use of the supplier's direct shipping as the generally make use of DHL, UPS or Fedex and they just kill the deal. We consolidate freight from various suppliers which enables us to get to the sweet spot between volumetric weight and actual weight which means we get optimal shipping due to the larger volume. Even ebay, who many sellers do not want to sell/ship to "Dark Africa" is not an issue for me as I just send the Ebay item number to my shipping guy and he buys it and pays for it on my behalf and just throws it in my shipment.

Hi I do not have a problem with the right chassis leg as both of mine are straight as far as I know only the g10 has a curve on the right according to the manual that I have. I am first finishing the right hand drive then I will do the 4x4 conversion all my drawings have been sent in for laser cutting and bending. I am busy with the dash at the moment but I've been extremely busy this week so very little time to work on the van. I picked up my hot staple gun yesterday so it is all systems go again. I will be posting more pics on the weekend.

So today I cut the clock part of the dash and stapled it together and fitted the plug to the left side of the dash. I checked the size and when I pull a mold it will fit perfect. As you can see in the pics the air con controller will move to the left side of the clocks held it in place with the help from my assistant so that I could take a pic. Now I have to level the complete dash from one side to the other so that it sits straight and fill in all the gaps. I am pretty happy with the progress so far. Need to cut some more masonite for the left side of the dash to get a perfect curve and more cutting and stapling till i'm happy then I will pull a plug from that.

I wish I could say "I could do that" ...but I cant even come close to your work .


What is this "hot staple gun" you talk about ?

Hi frscke1 Answer to your question on plastic bumpers or dash basically anything that is a thick plastic it can be joined together and still be flexible with these staples I have posted some pic so you can see how it work. you insert a staple into the ends and it generate a lot of heat and you melt it into the plastic with a slight turn just before you finish. When it has cooled down you can snip the ends off. And thanks for the info on your transmission and transfer case.

That's a cool tool, or hot?

Hot! LOL

Eastwood makes one.

Eastwood

The only difference between this one and Eastwood is the color and $100.00 in price. Black vs yellow don't care about the color care about the price. Works like dream.

Received a 2 part foam mix and paint on latex mix for the last part of the dashboard. I will be building up the right side of the dash then start filling in the holes for the final fit. If all goes well I can pull a plug from the existing dash for final casting . After that the 4x4 conversion will start. Will post more pic on progress soon.

So today made a mold for the left hand side of the dash. Got some sculpting clay to fit the right hand side only to find that it did not fit .Had to re cut the clocks and air con section app 10mm and re staple together again. started fitting some of the parts and now buy shaping dash to smooth right side with a bit of contour. I will post more pics during the weekend.

Just a quick up date trying to mirror the last piece of the dash was a failure. I tried to make one out of silicone but it was to soft to hold its form then tried out of smooth- on dragon skin failed again it was to thick to turn inside out. Now I am busy making a mirror image of it out of sculpting clay will takes some pic and post later I have now removed the body of the K5 Blazer and have easy access to the axles will boost pics of that to.

So did not do to bad on the mirror with sculpting clay Now I built a box around the part and fill it with a 2 part dense foam waiting for it to cool down before I remove it. Here are a few pics to give an idea of what I'm doing and a pic of the blazer chassis.

Success I managed to make a fiber glass mold of the mirror image now just to cut and modify to fit in the van one step closer will be continuing on the week end to try to fill all the open spaces that need to be closed. That is the bottom sides of the dash.

The progress your making is so cool .... cant wait till you start the 4x part of your conversion .....

Lots of work. Thanks for letting us watch.

Thanks to all for the positive comments I myself can't wait for the 4x4 part to start.

Well yesterday I found out that the fiber glassing was all in vane. So I used a different approach I started to fill the right side of the dash with a 2 part foam cut and stapled more of the dash. With a heat gun I managed to bend the end if the plastic to form the last piece at the end. Then cut some short strips of the left over dash and stapled them to the bottom piece. No I am busy shaping the foam to get all the contours that are needed so that every thing fits and looks uniform. Did a temp mock up and took some pics. Next week I will start to measure the front of the van for the correct size plate for the start of the 4X4 so that I will not need to have all the do overs that I have had with the dash. As you can see from the one pic both dashes next to each other mirrored as close as possible.

While I am waiting for the last part of the dash as it is time consuming I have started measuring the front of the van for the 4x4 conversion to get all the exact measurements to have the plates cut and bent. Then it will be of to the profile cutter for them to cut and bend. I am looking at installing a NP205 transfer case mated to a 4L80E with a right hand drop for the front axle. I will be using a 3.73 ratio's anyone else have some input on the combination that I want to use it would be greatly appreciated.Will post pics as soon as I get steel back.
Rear axle 12 bolt. corporate.
Front axle 10 bolt corporate.
4L80E transmission.
NP205 right hand drop twin stick shift
Still undecided about the motor. ?????

All plates were measured and ordered they will be ready for collection next week then I will start with the 4x4 conversion the engine hoist will also arrive. I will also be moving the engine to the centre of the van with a new crossmember. I will be taking a lot of pictures of all of the mods

Just a quick update. I have not disappeared still waiting for the profile cutters to finnish my plates still working on perfecting the dash before I pull a plug. I don't want to bore with more pics of the same thing will post pics again when the dash is ready for the the plug and final mold. As soon as I have the plates I will post of the 4x4 conversion.

Hi to all following this post still waiting for the steel but I have been assured that it will be ready next week. Almost finished with the dash some small touch up's to do and ready to pull a plug. Here is a pic to see what it will look like now.

Any progress is good progress.
I do have a question.
Will moving the engine to the center cause you some driveshaft alignment problems?
While the rear axles are the same side to side I thought the pinion was offset to be inline with the trans/engine?
Correct me if I'm wrong on this....

CatFish I will be using a rear end from a K5 Blazer so there will be no problem. I will have to use a spacer for the rear end as it is app 1 1/2 inches narrower than the stock rear axle on both sides. Or just a bigger offset on the rims to compensate.

Cat the engine can sit any where .... if the engine/tranny sits on a 4 deg angle the rear diff has to be set at the same angle w/in 1 deg. I see a wheelie van in the future ..... takin the weight off the ft will make it easy to lift into a wheel stand.

Oh yeah, I read that about the K5 drive train, but had forgot.
It was BC this morning. (Before-Coffee)

Today I managed to pick up the steel plates for the front axle so this weekend I will be starting to measure for the springs and the distances. I will post some pictures of all the work that I will be doing.

This weekend I have been measuring front end to find center of my van so that I can measure the distance from left to right to drill holes to bolt the plate where it is needed. I will have to machine spacers for the springs as they have been bent slightly wider than intended. I will be bolting everything together first before I do any welding to make sure that all is exact. I posted some pics of the plates of what I intend to achieve some input will also be welcome. I will post of all progress. If anyone is interested in the measurements I will post them too as all the sites I have been to I have not seen one with any measurements.

So yesterday I measured the blazer front axle distances and the front of the G20 and started drilling some of the holes for a pre fit. Only to find out that the front is not 100% flat where GM welded the 2 front legs to the plate they have pulled somewhat.The gap on the left side is app 3mm and he gap on the right is app 5mm the center is flat so I will have to get some bigger bolts and see if I can pull it flat. The front bolt on the bottom of the frame is also off on the left side about 15mm after drilling and fitting about 10 times it is bolted down one hole will need to be moved about 2mm. Last trial fit then It can be tack welded then removed for final welding and drilling then fitted permanent. Progress is a bit slower now but at least it is moving.

4 Wheel Systems in Salt Lake City welded a 2" heavy walled tube to the ft & attached the shackles to that. The same pl you have the plates welded. Ill get a few pic's if you like.

The 2 lower channels is the level they welded the bar to the "frame", it gives the van a 2" body lift & they put a 1" block under the leaf springs. Total 3" & with that I am able to put 35" tires under with no rub when I turn.



If you look at the bottom of the bumper you see the shackles, they look like they are attached to the bumper, right behind the bumper is where the bar is welded on.




Its a pretty strong design as I have had this #9350 van 6 ft in the air !

It has also done 270 miles of the Baja 1000 as a chase truck in 03.

Thanks for the pics they will definitely help you have just helped me to solve my problem. What did they do to the rear of the leaf spring? Yes more pic would be more than welcome thanks again for the input.

1/2" thick steel extended shackles, dont wimp out on the thickness of the plate used to make the shackles as this a support point of the van.



Here is the block under the spring pak ..



When I had the whole van, 9350 lbs, 6 ft in the air came down on the ft driver tire ... ripped the shock mount right off the frame, it came back home draggin the shock ....lol

When I had them reattached I had them welded but good ! The bilstien shock held up, bottomed out & the van wanted more. The bilstien didnt bend, crush or leak. In fact its still on the van 10 yrs later.

Live & learn, if it breaks make it stronger.



ADRENALIN BY THE GALLON ! !

WOW! Thanks a mill for the pic's I hope you don't mind if I take ideas of what has been done on your conversion and use them.

Your more than welcome to use any ideas....


As long as you continue posting pic's so others can see how to do it.

I haven't had much time to do anything been to busy building Chevy box's for my customers as the are all getting ready for the holidays and they all want to work on their cars. I will post again as soon as I have a bit of time to do some work on the Van. I am still waiting for my hoist so that I can remove the engine.

This weekend I managed to remove my front and rear axles and springs from the K5. I am still looking if I may be able to use more of the spring housings to make the installation easier. I have found that the channel that was bent for me is a little bit to wide so I will need to machine spacers for the front springs. I have ordered a new lock set for the van so I only need one key, New door lock switches and new electric window switches and side marker lights they will be here on Wednesday. I have also decided to go for a Gen VI 454 motor that was also order but will only be here some time in the new year. Then it will have to be rebuilt as it comes from one of the wrecker yards in the States. The holidays in our country are almost here so I will have some extra time to work on my van. Hopefully most of the conversion will be done on the front and rear suspension. I am still waiting for the hoist looks like I will have to go and buy my own so that I can remove the engine and existing front suspension.

Hi all I am back to carry on with my conversion. I eventually received my engine hoist and am able to remove the existing engine. All our industries are now up and running so I am able to order the last pieces of steel for the front springs. Being a conversion from left to right I could not close the hood properly as the brake reservoir was a little bit tall so it had to be machined 6mm down which was completed this weekend refitted and the hood closes properly. With the motor removed I can now take out the existing suspension to make the last few brackets for the front. A few pics

Hi removed existing front suspension on the van and started installing front axle. Then found out that the front holes on the bracket was about 20 mm out and the front wheels where not sitting in the middle of the wheel arch. Had to remove the front brackets and re drill the holes as you can see in the pics. The front wheels are as close as damn to the center of the wheel arch now making the rear spring brackets was a bit of a challenge as the unibody is welded right where the bracket is supposed to go. I have tack welded every thing on the one side to see what it will look like and see that I will need to make some changes. I will keep updating on progress where i can. A few pic's.

Bummer yesterday installed the rear axle only to find the rear spring perches are different from the original vans. As I was some what stupid and not thinking I destroyed the perches . I managed to get the axle in temporary only to find out that when I bolted the wheels on they would not turn as they were catching on the inside of the vans wheel arch. I will need spacers to bring the wheels out. I ordered 2 inch wheel spacers and 2 new spring perches from the States so they will arrive in about 2 weeks time then I will be able to continue with my project.

Hi to all again I did not stop my project. I was waiting for my motor and box to arrive before I can continue with my project and it finally did. It is a 1997 454 Vortec and a 4L80E trans with the computer and all I now just have to figure out the wiring,. I also managed to get hold of a set of Dana 44 knuckles that I have started to machine to get ready for the van. I will be rebuilding the 454 and the 4L80E transmission with a short shaft so that I can bolt it to my transfer case. when all is done I want to install once as it is going to be quite a tight fit some pics below

Glad to see you again ! ! !

Gotta love the big block

Just a quick update.

Thanks frscke1 taken your advise on the Big Block. They say there is no substitute for cubic inches.

Yesterday spent the whole day trying to sort out the wiring of the ecu for the motor. I did not realize that there was so many wires I will be removing most of the emission stuff that is on the motor and see if i can get the ecu reprogrammed to operate on a lot less wires. I have managed to sort out the transmission wiring so far. I will need to order a new crank sensor and a mass air flow sensor will do that on Monday and hopefully have it in 2 weeks time. We have a long week end coming up next week and then I will be doing all the stone chip on the unibody of the van. Will keep on posting pics of the progress.

I have eventually had some time to work on the van again. All the wiring in the above post has been sorted out I managed to connect a scanner on to the motor and found out that it is a 1999 gen VI so I am happy about that. I have managed to stone chip the unibody removed the gas tank cleaned it up and it got a coat of stone chip too. All fuel lines have been cleaned up and polished. I will be installing the motor end of the week to get everything lined up and will be manufacturing the motor mounts to mount the motor more to the left hand side of the van. I am happy with the progress so far only about a year left to go. I will continue to post and document all that has been done. Got rims from a Tahoe to fit on the van only to find the offset is to positive now I will have to get a new set with a negative offset

Hi to all today was the big day to trial fit the 454 first tried to get to complete motor in with all accessories eg air con pump, power steering unit and all it did not work. Pulled it all out again removed all accessories and then tried again only to find that the hoist cant go in deep enough. Removed air intake system and tried again. Eventually got the motor in and put everything back to see if it all fits in and happiness is all fit the motor now fits smack bang in the middle. I might have to move the motor a little more to the left hand side of the van as we did not have time to check fit the exhaust manifolds. I'm pretty happy with the fit so far. I have one question for frscke1. Can you please tell me what is the distance from your motor to the radiator? As I might have to move the motor forward or I have to cut a section out of my van as the 4l80E is catching on the unibody where the cross member goes. Here are a couple pics

Just remember your doing a G20 the cross member was for a 350.

You may have to move it. It is a tight fit on a G30.

From the end of harmonic bal to the rad is 9" ...



The clutch fan to the rad is 1.5 "




The oil cooler lines are crap. I replaced the hose with blue hydraulic hose, much tougher.

Thanks for the info and pics it will definitely help. I will need to make a cross member at the moment the motor is way back. I will have to move it to the front of the van. My motor now sits in the middle of the van and possibly too far back remember it is left to right hand drive and from 2x4 to 4x4 so I can't use the original cross member.

Thanks again for the pic frscke1. I have just checked on the motor and I will have to drop it about a 1" move it more to the left about a 1" and 2" forward and then it will be perfect. Now need to get to the steel yard and pickup more steel to fabricate the new motor mounts and crossmember. Then I need to fabricate for the transfer case.Thanks to all for the input and especially to frscke1 will update soon again.

Swap to electric fans, then you will have all kinds of room!

I am sitting with app 12" from the harmonic balancer to the radiator and want to move it more to the front . I also need the space inside the van to put the cover on without any restriction. I will have a look into your suggestion and see if it would be a better option.

Hi I would just like to give a special thanks to tuner4life for sending me those tail lights for my van. They arrived today and it is Christmas in July for me.

Hi to All
It's been a while since I posted. Did some work yesterday and today managed to get some steel cut and welded for the front blocks and managed to get some aluminium billets machined to fit under the axles on the front I put about a 30 mm block and on the back was 103 mm. I had to compensate for the extra steel that was in the front app 12 mm. It has lifted the van almost to a perfect position for me. I would like to thank frscke1 for the Ideas that was done on his van as the pics really gave me a starting point. I had to get new rims as the offset was incorrect so I went with a -12 offset. I will be moving the motor to the position I need in the next few days and will post more pics. Here are a few of the progress so far. Welding still has to be cleaned to make it all neat. All work done so far is purely for correct height and fitment it will all be removed when it all fits together and neatened up and the reassembled properly.

WOW way to go .. much stronger ... Lets go off road & race !

very cool,great work,you really know your stuff !

Thanks to all for the comments.
Quick update managed to move the motor to the correct position only to find I have to cut a piece of the rail to fit the power steering unit. I need to unbolt engine mounts and lift the motor to get the exhaust manifold in, I found that out after I mounted everything in place. The space is very tight once motor and box is in. It all fits very tight but it fits. now I will be able to continue to complete the undercarriage and start with the new piping for the brakes and the fuel lines. Just a quick pic of the engine mount pretty bullet proof.

Not much room with that 454 in there ..... just enough room for perfection !

Very very tight but it will be well worth it . I will have to go to electric fans as suggested by tuner4life as the motor sits to low for a standard fan.