V30CREWCAB
New member
Well you've either been busy working, or too broke to buy more parts! whats the update? you driving it yet?
The Lunchbox Build... 4x4 chevy shorty van
- Thread starter Lunchbox2
- Start date
I've been working my *** off, and it wasn't fun work either.... I swapped a motor and replaced a ton of parts on my daily driver, then gutted the interior to get it all cleaned up and ready to sell. It was either junk the car or put a motor and some other wear items in it and get at least couple grand out of it. The motor is done, the carpet is drying, so hopefully I'll have it all back together in a couple days and have it up for sale. Then I have to do another motor swap in an s10 I have, so I can make a quick flip out of that one too. So I should have another couple grand to throw at the lunchbox in a week or two. I can't wait to get back on the van though, I'm having separation anxiety! lol
villageidiot327
Explorer
The dream is free, hustle sold separately.
You know that's right! I had a budget of $10k and 6 months to get this thing built, and I ALMOST pulled it off.... My video work in the area has ceased for the moment (small-town USA isn't so great for filmmakers), so I have had to make money in other ways. I'd rather do some mechanic work in my garage than go and work for somebody else for $10/hr, as that's about the only kind of work in this area. I can skate by until the van is done and then we will head west. Colorado is calling my name!
chiliVANilli
Adventurer
Hopefully when you get to Colorado you can make it out west to Eagle, 30 mins west of Vail. Tons of great camping, river sports, hiking, mountain biking and we even have 2 breweries in town. Weed is legal if you care. I would love to see that van in person, too.
The plan is to explore the state and figure out where I want to set up shop, so I'll just have to make Eagle one of our stops! Hopefully I can have the van road-worthy in the next 2-3 months and we can hit hit the road by the time the weather is really nice. The green rush is one of the reasons I'm headed that way, so I'll be looking forward to some colorado hospitality! haha
So I've heard! haha I want to live in colorado mainly because of it's more centralized location, but that doesn't mean we won't be traveling to the pacific northwest! I've got friends in the Seattle area, so that's one of our stops at some point for sure.....
Nice work brother, definitely admire the dedication and have enjoyed following the build. I am in the process of rebuilding a 1978 shorty gmc 35 pathfinder. I can sure appreciate all the hard work you've put into her. Please keep us informed how she's coming along, curious how she drives, I'm in the process of fabing front and rear sway bars as I had to deal with some body roll issues.
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Thanks man! It looks like you ended up with a nice set of camper doors as well.... lol I had to take a little break from the van as I ran out of money. I've been hustling though and will be able to get back on it next week, I miss working on the van! I feel ya on the body sway..... Before I put shocks on, I could rock the van back and forth with very little effort, but it barely moves now. I'm hoping I can get away with no sway bars, so we'll see.....
I don't like how far down my transfer case hangs, so I'm going to do a little cutting and welding and tuck that up in there another 4-5 inches, then I can build driveshafts. After that I need to make an E-brake and run brake lines, then I'll FINALLY be able to drive this thing... Stay tuned and keep up the good work on yours, I love these 4x4 shorties!
The top of my T-case sits 1.75" below the floor and it's barely viable from the side, Pathfinder fabricated a very basic bracket which basically hung the case from the floor with 2 bolts through bushings and a side bracket on the left side of the lower case that bolts back to the undercarriage of the van. While I had it all torn down I fabricated a bracket to cradle the whole case along with a similar setup for the tranny as there was nothing supporting it when I got the van. My philosophy is identical to yours, If it's gonna break, it's gonna happen 100 miles from anything and in the worst downpour imaginable, so I tried to go the extra mile and get everything right as I'm running front and rear ARB lockers and have gone completely through the axles, converted to rear disc brakes, replaced all brake, fuel lines with copper nickel lines ect. Again like you I built this van to use and sbuse, and when this project started I was just gonna "get it runnin" and now I'm into this "project" to the tune of 16K and am starting bodywork next week. I mentioned the body roll issues, I aired the rear tires up to 49psi and the fronts to 46.5psi and found that to help tremendously. My springs ended up by application fitting the 69-72 blazer/jimmy (hence "K" van) and we're a 6" lift so my problem was actually at low speed, the van drove fantastic at 65 mph. I've had it out playing and THIS THINGS GOES, I kid you not and I have yet to engage either air locker, I am extremely impressed. And I've had it on some pretty good angles and it feels extremely stable, which was a concern when choosing a lift. Oh yeah, get ready for more thumbs up and smiles and cell phone cameras pointing at you as your driving it. These vans turn heads unlike anything I have driven by far and I've driven some pretty wild rides in my time. Enjoy brother, let us know when she's on the road grabbing attention!
Daaaaaaaaang... It's nice to hear a number from somebody else, now I don't feel so bad for having $10k in mine already! haha I really skimped and scraped, stretching every dollar as far as it would go. I'm hoping I'm under $15k by the time it has paint, bumpers/sliders, batteries, and an interior w/stereo. It helped that I started with a $200 body, but the downside to that is more work for me (bodywork). It's all good though, I got more time than I do money! :sombrero:
What did you do for an E-brake, or do you even have one? I used chevy 2wd calipers on my rear disc conversion, so no internal brake. I haven't really heard of anybody that actually LIKES the caddy calipers (built in e-brake), so I'm trying to decide if I try the TSM manufacturing np205 brake kit, or buy the wilwood spot caliper and make my own? Some guys over on Pirate 4x4 have had good results with the wilwood caliper, so I'm thinking of trying that.
It sounds like you put some thought into yours, with the lockers and everything, so it should be pretty capable. I got a buddy with a mildly built AWD astro van that wants to tag along on a trip this summer, but I worry that he might have trouble trying to follow me. I don't think you'd have any issues though, we just might have to arrange a little wheeling adventure with the shorties!
Sorry, tried to respond and tab keeps crashing and wiping everything out, I'll try again tomorrow brother, I've come up with a pretty good idea for oil and trans temp cooling I'd like to turn you on to but everything deletes when tab crashes. I'll try again tomorrow