Permafrost
New member
After Lurking for a while I thought I’d share my mess of a project.
I acquired this gem of a junker last summer. While I’d likened to own one for some time; AWD vans bring an abhorrent premium in my area and I abnegated myself to never locate one reasonably priced that was not unreasonably worn out. The old adage, when you aren’t looking, something rears its ugly head, and this is no exception to ugly…
A friend texted me one afternoon inquiring if I knew anyone that would be willing to take his neighbors old van away, cheap. How Cheap is Cheap I replied…?
After a hairy-eye ball, a very sketchy test-drive, and zero negotiation, cumulated in me being the new owner of a well tattered ’03 Savana 1500 AWD.
All for a paltry sum of less than one monetary comma place! Sporting new snow tires and a loose set of all-seasons in the back, I was set to sell the tires for more than the price tag of the van alone.
Unlike many on this forum, my use for this is not a camper van, or an expo rig. it’s not even a daily driver, It’s a utility tow pig for sno-go’s and boats. We have a couple of remote cabins that are only accessible by boat or snowmachine. Having the van is absolutely perfect for this. Our gear and the dog stays dry, warm, and secure for the road-system access to the landings and trailheads.
Previous life as a painting and contractors van, it was a little rough on the inside to say the least. The drywall dust, ashes, butts, spilled paint and mud equaled a depth measured in inches matted to the floors.
My wife instructed me to drive it straight to the dump and leave it…!
Before too much energy spent on cosmetics, I needed to address a plethora of mechanical issues. 160K registering on the timekeeper, the venerable 5.3 seemed to run well, didn’t mark its territory or fog for mosquitoes, if anything I had a donor LS… The PO stated a trans rebuild at some point in its life span, fluid was bright, and it shifted through the gears without hesitation. I had something to work with anyway, the rest is elementary…
A major issue was it would not hold park, she was a roller! After a basic inspection I spied a broken CV axle. I suspected as such on the terrifying test drive by the noise emitting from the front end… The CV tripod had long since vacated the housing and the shaft was free to bang about within the cup.
The poor van had endured some years of neglect and disrepair.
I replaced:
Both CV axles
Both front wheel bearing assemblies
All four ball-joints
Inner sockets and outer tie-rod ends, both sides
Both front brake hoses
All four brake rotors and pads
Fan clutch and serpentine belt
That got it safe(er) to drive anyhow… and in the process it got an oil change and diff services, fuel, oil and air filters.
Next was to address the catastrophic condition of the interior. I pretty much gutted it; seats, dash, door panels, and flooring, all had to come out for a thorough cleaning and some refurb. The floor was not rusted through, but a healthy layer of scale was removed, treated and painted.
I’m terrible about taking pictures but both seats got new bottom foam and factory covers, along with some cheapie Cabelas covers for additional protection.
I acquired this gem of a junker last summer. While I’d likened to own one for some time; AWD vans bring an abhorrent premium in my area and I abnegated myself to never locate one reasonably priced that was not unreasonably worn out. The old adage, when you aren’t looking, something rears its ugly head, and this is no exception to ugly…
A friend texted me one afternoon inquiring if I knew anyone that would be willing to take his neighbors old van away, cheap. How Cheap is Cheap I replied…?
After a hairy-eye ball, a very sketchy test-drive, and zero negotiation, cumulated in me being the new owner of a well tattered ’03 Savana 1500 AWD.
All for a paltry sum of less than one monetary comma place! Sporting new snow tires and a loose set of all-seasons in the back, I was set to sell the tires for more than the price tag of the van alone.
Unlike many on this forum, my use for this is not a camper van, or an expo rig. it’s not even a daily driver, It’s a utility tow pig for sno-go’s and boats. We have a couple of remote cabins that are only accessible by boat or snowmachine. Having the van is absolutely perfect for this. Our gear and the dog stays dry, warm, and secure for the road-system access to the landings and trailheads.
Previous life as a painting and contractors van, it was a little rough on the inside to say the least. The drywall dust, ashes, butts, spilled paint and mud equaled a depth measured in inches matted to the floors.
My wife instructed me to drive it straight to the dump and leave it…!
Before too much energy spent on cosmetics, I needed to address a plethora of mechanical issues. 160K registering on the timekeeper, the venerable 5.3 seemed to run well, didn’t mark its territory or fog for mosquitoes, if anything I had a donor LS… The PO stated a trans rebuild at some point in its life span, fluid was bright, and it shifted through the gears without hesitation. I had something to work with anyway, the rest is elementary…
A major issue was it would not hold park, she was a roller! After a basic inspection I spied a broken CV axle. I suspected as such on the terrifying test drive by the noise emitting from the front end… The CV tripod had long since vacated the housing and the shaft was free to bang about within the cup.
The poor van had endured some years of neglect and disrepair.
I replaced:
Both CV axles
Both front wheel bearing assemblies
All four ball-joints
Inner sockets and outer tie-rod ends, both sides
Both front brake hoses
All four brake rotors and pads
Fan clutch and serpentine belt
That got it safe(er) to drive anyhow… and in the process it got an oil change and diff services, fuel, oil and air filters.
Next was to address the catastrophic condition of the interior. I pretty much gutted it; seats, dash, door panels, and flooring, all had to come out for a thorough cleaning and some refurb. The floor was not rusted through, but a healthy layer of scale was removed, treated and painted.
I’m terrible about taking pictures but both seats got new bottom foam and factory covers, along with some cheapie Cabelas covers for additional protection.