Vanning.com logo
Boxdin
Site Navigation


Advertisements
Recent Posts
Good day
by lukester - March 28th 2024 12:26 pm
Crazy mods
by MufflerMan Mike - March 28th 2024 9:38 am
Lew Greger
by MufflerMan Mike - March 27th 2024 5:15 pm
1987 G20 Gypsy
by SDMickey - March 25th 2024 9:39 pm
Featured Links


Thread Like Summary
1986LSVAN, Dyno_Dave, Fly_Low, frscke1
Total Likes: 10
Original Post (Thread Starter)
1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786165 12/11/2021 3:20 AM
by Fly_Low
Fly_Low
[Linked Image]

My partner Ellie and I got this beauty a little over a year ago and have loved it every minute since- well maybe not the many, many minutes it sat in shops in three different states over the first several months. Bought it for $5500 in September of 2021 with 95.5k miles on the odometer. Was trying to buy a van to convert into a camper starting in May and found it a total nightmare trying to find the right one. We were second in line for two different vans and didn't get either so when this one showed up on autotrader we decided to take a look. After seeing it in person we had to pull the trigger. We definitely weren't looking to go the "vintage" route, but since the bones of the van were in such great shape we took the gamble. Well lady luck wasn't necessarily on our side and we were plagued with all of the issues of a van that had basically been undriven for about 6 years. We'd fix one gremlin and then another would pop up. So far we've replaced the radiator, alternator, spark plugs & rotor, oil sender, did a carb tune up & choke thermostat replacement, front and rear brake jobs & new lines, emergency brake cable, heater core, new set of tires, and topped it off with a transmission rebuild. As my gearhead friend Greg says "You gotta pay for cool!" Since the rebuild in early April she hasn't had a single shop visit except for the yearly inspection. Have driven about 8000 miles and can't wait to drive that many more times over.

The specs on the exterior:
- 1985 G20 High-top Conversion by Esquire, Inc.
- 235/75/15 Firestone Destination AT2 (including spare)
- 15" American Racing Baja Wheels
- Airlift 5810 Rear Suspension
- Dual Chrome Tips
- Chrome Bumper Guards (put them on last week)
- NOS Chieftan Fog Lamps (installed in Oct)
- Ziebart undercoating (for better or worse)
- I replaced the black rubber trim with "chrome" door trim, including around the bug shield
- Vantech Rack with custom fabricated beams supporting four 100w Renogy solar panels
- 2 sets of Malone Kayak Racks mounted on sides of cargo rack
- Generic Maxxair fan copy with a rain cover
- Leekooloo back-up camera tapped into reverse light
Liked Replies
Re: 1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786166 Dec 11th a 03:41 AM
by Fly_Low
Fly_Low
Here's some pics of how it looked when we bought it. We felt bad gutting it, but it wasn't as perfect as it appeared to be. There were some leaks from the moon roofs that stained the headliner, as well as a few mouse nests and stains in the billowy parts of the headliner. The fabric on the walls was starting to separate too. I sold the rear seats, bench, and curtains to a guy in western Mass. It was a really tough decision, but I had no place to store them. They were all in perfect shape for sure. Otherwise all of the light fixtures, the chrome outlet and ash tray have made it into the camper build. Kept the original step plate too. One of the quickest and easiest cosmetic upgrades was replacing the old stripping around the high-top screws. The original white was so beat and never matched it in the first place, even when it was new. In that last pic you can also see a little tip of the venturi vent. Unlike the seats, I had room to hold on to that! Now that we have the camper we can focus on getting the boogie van of our dreams- been definitely been bit by the van bug! Fun side note- the door panels and walls all had the same serial written in marker by the conversion company- "#4420" and believe me that van is definitely "4" 420 so i know that we were meant to be together! devil.
2 members like this
Re: 1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786169 Dec 11th a 04:26 AM
by Fly_Low
Fly_Low
Interior:
#1- Fold down table that fits our coleman stove. Table and door covered in oil cloth for easy clean-up/waterproofness. Shoe rack that fills in stairwell when door is closed. 6 gal Gray water and 6 gal Clean water tank and coleman stove stored upright under the sink
#2- Replaced the oem belts with dark green Wesco belts so now the passenger chair swivels all the way around with no hinderance. The steering wheel stops the driver side. Grant Formula GT Steering Wheel. LVP flooring.
#3- 14" bar sink. Full-sized faucet with pull-down spray head. Whale Gusher foot pump. Pop-up table from our old travel trailer.
#4- Used wine boxes for overhead storage. The board on the left flips up to make a full-length bed for me. There is a 120v outlet that I have hardwired to the inverter and the on/off at the bottom there.
#5- View from driver side back. Cedar plank ceiling with puck leds on a dimmer.
#6- Bookshelf, and cubby shelves for clothes.
#7- Decided to do a cargo net instead of more shelving on the passenger side. Made the cabinet across the back for more storage.
#8- View from out of the back to the front
#9- We used a peruvian textile we had for a headliner. Working CB
#10- OG Chevy mats
1 member likes this
Re: 1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786168 Dec 11th a 04:00 AM
by Fly_Low
Fly_Low
A few pics of the conversion process. The kilmat made a huge difference. The van is quieter than our Subaru Forester, for sure. We used havelock wool insulation. Not that it'll make too much of a difference with more windows than a skyscraper. haha We do have insulshine inserts we made for the windows and used them last winter camping in Delaware and they definitely help. There are two 200ah AGM batteries with a 40amp MPPT Renogy Rover and 2200w inverter. I used a kreg kit to make all of the cabinets and for the bed framing. Definitely made everything way easier and stronger. Pic 9 shows the fridge. It's a 50L IndelB. I made a cart on 1/2" casters and used some leftover insulation to make a box help with the fridge efficiency. We can either pull the fridge out of the door and access it, or we can open the top part of the counter and get into from the top. Pic 10 shows a utensil holder on the left counter, and a spice holder on the right side.
1 member likes this
Re: 1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786170 Dec 11th a 04:44 AM
by frscke1
frscke1
NICE BUILD ! !
1 member likes this
Re: 1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786193 Dec 11th a 07:21 PM
by SDMickey
SDMickey
Nice work. Van looks great.
1 member likes this
Re: 1985 Chevy G20 Custom Camper #786196 Dec 11th a 09:10 PM
by lukester
lukester
Nice van.
1 member likes this
Donate


Upcoming Events
discovery
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 17 guests, and 6 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
TheDrunkenGunsmith, Jac, LOVclassics, ZenMuffin, Milkman530
12724 Registered Users
Top Posters (30 Days)
SDMickey 129
CatFish 25
frscke1 25
Wedgy 21
Forum Statistics
Forums68
Topics35,746
Posts537,916
Members12,725
Most Online177
May 8th, 2013

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4