My first project vehicle

[That One Guy]

Marked and cut the dash for the new gauges because none of mine worked. Still working on the sheet metal, those 4 cost me about 120 bucks. I thought it was a pretty fair price for nice looking, good quality gauges. Now I need 130 dollars for the tach, and 130 for the speedometer. Tach first, so I can tune the carb. Hopefully the sending unit in the gas tank is fine. The water temp and oil pres came with new ones, so they should work perfect. The water temp gauge is a little low in that pic, they are supposed to conform to the curvature of the dash.

 

[New River KTM]

VanCharger 4x4 conversion

If you're really interested in converting to 4x4 then I'd recommend talking with Gordon at http://www.pathfinder-vans.com/index.html he is providing replacemetn parts for the Pathfinder Conversions done when your Van was a baby. Gordon has provided me all the parts to restore my E-250 van front end.

 

[Keyblazer]

Looks like a great start!
If budget is a big issue, I would start with a locking diff.
If you are doing the diff, I would fwd calculate what size tire you want, and do a ratio swap. 33" would not really need it, but 35's or larger would.
You would be shocked how far you can get with a locker and 33" tires!
I used my 2wd suburban for years as my basecamp...
Like this trip to Death Valley..

Mind you.... when you do get stuck, you are way deep in!

 

[That One Guy]

If you're really interested in converting to 4x4 then I'd recommend talking with Gordon at http://www.pathfinder-vans.com/index.html he is providing replacemetn parts for the Pathfinder Conversions done when your Van was a baby. Gordon has provided me all the parts to restore my E-250 van front end.

Does that mean that he doesn't have ALL of the parts needed for a full conversion? Because I'm going to get my axles from another truck, steering box and leafs I can do on my own too. It's just all the rest of it that I need.

 

[That One Guy]

Looks like a great start!
If budget is a big issue, I would start with a locking diff.
If you are doing the diff, I would fwd calculate what size tire you want, and do a ratio swap. 33" would not really need it, but 35's or larger would.
You would be shocked how far you can get with a locker and 33" tires!
I used my 2wd suburban for years as my basecamp...
Like this trip to Death Valley..
Mind you.... when you do get stuck, you are way deep in!

Thanks! If I was going to keep the original rear axle, that would definitely be the first thing on the list, but I'm not. I was thinking I wanted 35's, and forgot what axle ratio I chose (5.10 I think?) I dont ever plan on going more than 80 in it, but then again I don't want it screaming when I am doing 80. That's really impressive though, what you did with your Sub, being a 2wd. Does 5.10 sound right?

 

[RocKrawler]

Thanks! If I was going to keep the original rear axle, that would definitely be the first thing on the list, but I'm not. I was thinking I wanted 35's, and forgot what axle ratio I chose (5.10 I think?) I dont ever plan on going more than 80 in it, but then again I don't want it screaming when I am doing 80. That's really impressive though, what you did with your Sub, being a 2wd. Does 5.10 sound right?

With a 35" tire you generally want to go 4.10 (non overdrive transmission) to 4.56 ratio (transmission with overdrive) in most cases with a V8 - there are exceptions to this rule, but in most cases it works great with the RPM's a stock or mild V8 can turn on the highway. Smaller trucks with 4cyl engines can turn the higher RPM's and Toyotas commonly use 5.29's with that size tire, and Suzukis go even higher (with stock power plants).

 

[That One Guy]

With a 35" tire you generally want to go 4.10 (non overdrive transmission) to 4.56 ratio (transmission with overdrive) in most cases with a V8 - there are exceptions to this rule, but in most cases it works great with the RPM's a stock or mild V8 can turn on the highway. Smaller trucks with 4cyl engines can turn the higher RPM's and Toyotas commonly use 5.29's with that size tire, and Suzukis go even higher (with stock power plants).

I think I meant 4.10, but it's been a while since I figured it out. Thanks for the help! Gears to tire size ratio stuff is too confusing for me.

 

[tommudd]

I'll give you some inspiration
these pictures were taken in 81 or 82 when we went to Bike Week in Daytona, only ones I could find tonight
we built the vans back in 78-79 lots of fun times

 

[1sweetvan]

There's a 1977 Tradesmen 300 4x4 on CL Seattle for $1250.

 

[That One Guy]

I'll give you some inspiration
these pictures were taken in 81 or 82 when we went to Bike Week in Daytona, only ones I could find tonight
we built the vans back in 78-79 lots of fun times

Those are really cool! What did you guys do for axles?

 

[That One Guy]

FINALLY got some of my materials. Work can finally begin on my roof rack! But this is gonna go a little slow, at $1.80 a foot. The frame of it alone is over 100ft. And then there's the expanded steel and paint still to buy.

 

[Keyblazer]

Inspiration....
http://moparbvans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sportsmans&action=display&thread=39&page=1

 

[tommudd]

Those are really cool! What did you guys do for axles?

started out with 44s and such and all of them ended up on 60s by the time it was done , also started out with 31s and ended up on 38s and 40s

 

[That One Guy]

[/U]ommudd;828367]started out with 44s and such and all of them ended up on 60s by the time it was done , also started out with 31s and ended up on 38s and 40s

Why did you switch to 60s? I was planning on 44s and thought they'd be enough.

 

[That One Guy]

Inspiration....
http://moparbvans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sportsmans&action=display&thread=39&page=1

Those are so cool! That grey one at the top with the hurricane wheels is EXACTLY how I want mine to look. Maybe an inch higher. That thing is BEAUTIFUL.