GMC Savana AWD De-Conversion (Dodge Ram replacement)

[occasionaldirt]

So, my 2003 Dodge 109" was killed while parked on the street. The perpetrator was texting and "swerved to miss a cat"... last of the 109's and very rare having the 5.2 v8 and 4-speed auto (99% of 109's were V6 & 3-speed), last off the line & pieced together - I've not seen another.

 

[occasionaldirt]

I spent 2 years de-converting, removing stripes, removing interior bull****, painting, removing seats & building custom couch that converts to queen bed, adding house batteries, etc , she killed all that in a second...

 

[bdog1]

Wow! Sorry to see this.

 

[occasionaldirt]

With zero options for a short wheelbase replacement van I began shopping for a regular wheelbase AWD replacement - reluctantly... shorty's are the **** on jeep roads. I picked the AWD GM van as the next best option and began searching, nation-wide.. 3 months later I located a 1-owner 2004 conversion van with 60k miles - I like factory vans, but most used passenger are conversion vans.. worked at a conversion van outfit at one point & know what their idea of quality is.. I am ok with this knowing I will be re-working the wiring & slowly replace drywall screws with stainless hardware. Bang for the camper buck, conversion vans are great - already paneled, carpeted, insulated, etc The van I purchased came with the G80 locker and 3.73 gears, driver & passenger side doors, and also factory rear air - not an option all years.




With running boards and stripes remove:


And, with 16" wheels replaced with 2013 Sierra wheels & 265-70-r17 Michelin at2 tires:

 

[occasionaldirt]

So far I've added the rear view camera replacement 3rd brake light and passenger seat swivel... my wife could not touch the floor boards with the swivel, so I took the seat base to a local welder & had it cut down 2" and welded - now original height with swivel installed.






The swivel base from Discount Vans didn't quite line up.. I found pressing the seat base which is quite flexible a better option to drilling new mounting holes. I needed the seat during the 1 week wait for welding guy, so grabbed another base from the junk yard to be modified - it was from a 99 van, a bit different shape but all holes and clearances checked out, so in it went after a coat of spray paint. Lucky that the power & heat wiring was long enough, though took a few tries at routing to figure it out - lengthening the wires was last option, but not necessary. EDIT: note the 2 bright drill spots about 1" apart on side edge of the swivel plate... these are to clear the rivets on the GM seat sliders, 2 on each side, so the seat will sit flush. Could have drilled clear thru or used washers for clearance - but only about 1/8" clearance is needed & the seat was already way up there (before I decided to have the pedestal cut down).

 

[occasionaldirt]

Take my dachshunds on trips most of the time.. mtn biking, hiking, etc.. so, needed a vent fan to keep the van cool for 2-3 hour intervals while on the trail. I chose the 6" diameter vanair vent fan & decided to 'test' it indefinitely in the rear window before committing to cutting the roof - plus removing the conversion headliner and lights looked like a hassle. I ordered a 24x48 piece of 1/4" UV tinted plastic from e-plastics.com - rated for windows. Fan mounted in the window looks factory and really cools the van down with front windows cracked. I also removed all door/wall/ceiling panels and installed r15 fiberglass.

 

[boardrider247]

:sombrero:

 

[Mwilliamshs]

5.2 and 4 speed...do you mean it had a manual transmission? If so I've definitely not seen another!

Sweet looking little Dodge. Saddened by your loss.

Nice lookin' GMC and MUCH better without the ground-effects, stripes and ugly rims. You have good taste.

 

[Brad Kilby]

I recently saw a Dodge van here locally with a factory manual trans. Kinda cool.

 

[occasionaldirt]

McWilliams - not a manual transmission - 4spd auto. 99.9% of 109" dodge vans shipped with 6cyl/3spd autos, useless in the hills out here. The GMC is better in every way, other than length!

 

[Abe Froman]

Sorry for your loss. Dodge vans were the most awesome of the OG american vans. I loved my 86 b250.
Your new van is nice. I think the express/savanna is a more modern (better) looking van than the e-series in general.
Great color, and the new wheels are a drastic improvement over the blingy ones!
Vent in the rear "glass" looks great and is a good location.

 

[86cj]

With zero options for a short wheelbase replacement van I began shopping for a regular wheelbase AWD replacement - reluctantly... shorty's are the **** on jeep roads. I picked the AWD GM van as the next best option and began searching, nation-wide.. 3 months later I located a 1-owner 2004 conversion van with 60k miles - I like factory vans, but most used passenger are conversion vans.. worked at a conversion van outfit at one point & know what their idea of quality is.. I am ok with this knowing I will be re-working the wiring & slowly replace drywall screws with stainless hardware. Bang for the camper buck, conversion vans are great - already paneled, carpeted, insulated, etc The van I purchased came with the G80 locker and 3.73 gears, driver & passenger side doors, and also factory rear air - not an option all years.




With running boards and stripes remove:


And, with 16" wheels replaced with 2013 Sierra wheels & 265-70-r17 Michelin at2 tires:

Good score on the AWD Van w/ 3:73 posi and a great color, the doors on both sides must be perfect for camping. It looks like your front torsion bars may be cranked up a bit already, looks nice.
I like the that the aftermarket side windows stay in the stamped window area on your van, it seals rust better and looks good.
.
Occasionaldirt,
Your thread is a great example of what could be the best way to find one of the GM AWD 1500 Van's used and get it into the backcountry, Alot of Conversion vans were AWD. The Conversion companies could factory order stuff you can't, like doors on both sides and windows that open on all side doors,wiring upgrades, etc........

 

[occasionaldirt]

Mud Flaps. OEM GMC from GMpartsonline.com:


R13 Fiberglass over factory & reflectix:


Removable, soft-sided yet rigid storage, about $50. Movable, removable. 2 of us, we each have our own behind seat - slid between front seats when parked & pass seat rotated around. Most likely temporary until I build wall-mount & door-mount closets. A bit bulky with 2 of them, so we split just 1 of them unless on a trip which requires additional gear:

 

[occasionaldirt]

Cooler & Water mount

I really liked the size of the Yeti Roadmate cooler, so designed a mounting area to accommodate & worked 3 gallons of water storage adjacent. The cooler has the Yeti hose adapter & a brass faucet for draining. The loaded Yeti and 3 gal of h2o weigh in somewhere above 50lbs, more than I want airborne inside the van - I repurposed the removable conversion seat base on the driver's side, this allows for very secure attachment & quick release feature to remove the entire setup in 30 seconds to make way for large items. Still working on the hold down for the Water Brick container. The container is ok to freeze.

 

[oPAULo]

Beautiful rig! Did you modify you rear side doors to open fully like that? Mine only go 90 degrees although it appears the hinges would allow more.