The Lunchbox Build... 4x4 chevy shorty van
- Thread starter Lunchbox2
- Start date
Thanks for the encouragement man! I've had more than a few sleepless nights thinking about all of the work I still have to do, WHO'S BRIGHT IDEA WAS THIS TO BUILD A 4X4 VAN?!! hahaha I was kinda freaking out last week when all of the rain was coming down and I couldn't get anything done. I feel much better now, having enjoyed a good day of sunshine with my son, and sleeping in til 9am 2 days in a row..... I'm anxious to get back to it on monday. When I see that first spark from the MIG welder, we will officially know it's time to boogie!
I saw this old picture hanging on the shop walls yesterday.... It's a 4-door s10 I helped him build back in 2000, BEFORE the actual 4-doors came out. We used a bravada from behind the rear doors forward, the back of a single cab truck, an actual 4-door roofskin and rear doors from a 4-door truck (brand-new from the GM dealer). The guys at the dealership thought we were crazy when we came in to order the parts. "You guys will never get that built" they said.... ha... not only did he build it, but it had nicer door gaps than the factory trucks. We lengthened the frame and put a full-size stepside bed on it as well. It really needed some huge wheels and bags, then it would've made a bigger splash at the time. It still made it into mini-truckin magazine though! Just an old junkyard build....
Arctic Travelller
Adventurer
Subscribed, and I'm a Ford guy :bike_rider:
I won't hold that against you.... :sombrero:
My guy who's setting up my Dana 60 calls me at 10:30pm tonight...."Uhhhh... these parts don't work man, something's wrong. I don't have any shims in it and it's already bottomed out..." I jump on the Dana 60 bible, and have him grab a caliper and start taking measurements.... It turns out that Summit Racing sent me a 4.56 and up carrier and I needed a 4.10 and down!
So I call Summit, and dude's like..... "Ya man, that's definitely a 4.56 and up carrier... I'll tell you what, box that thing back up and have it ready for the UPS man on Thursday. I'm sending the correct one out to you right now, it'll be there in 2 days...."
This whole interaction took about 8 minutes, and I went from pissed-off to happy as a clam. I'm behind 2 days on getting my diff built, but at least it's still getting done this week! Well done Summit Racing, your customer service kicks ***.....
So I call Summit, and dude's like..... "Ya man, that's definitely a 4.56 and up carrier... I'll tell you what, box that thing back up and have it ready for the UPS man on Thursday. I'm sending the correct one out to you right now, it'll be there in 2 days...."
This whole interaction took about 8 minutes, and I went from pissed-off to happy as a clam. I'm behind 2 days on getting my diff built, but at least it's still getting done this week! Well done Summit Racing, your customer service kicks ***.....
Perfect outlook. **** happens, even to the best of companies, so I don't get too hot over that. What really matters is how it's handled when it does go south. A lot of places would have played the "box it up, send it back, and we'll ship out another one when the wrong one gets here" or " we'll put a hold on your credit card for the new one till the old one gets back", or some variation. As a retail business, sometimes sucking it up and eating one will earn you 4 more via word of mouth good will. I live about 35 minutes from Summit. It's like Candy Land for gear heads in there, and I've never been treated bad.
I would be in trouble if I lived THAT close, I wouldn't be able to pass the place without stopping! lol
justcuz
Explorer
I see the exhaust manifolds on the original van engine are tubing. If they are in good shape I would reuse them. The cast iron ones on the TBI engines have a habit of cracking and are difficult to get on once removed.
Nice progress, looking forward to the van with the axles under it!
Nice progress, looking forward to the van with the axles under it!
The original motor is a 4.3....
The 350 only has 43k miles on it, and it's all in pretty good shape stillHAHA :coffeedrink:
I did some wrenching for my buddy the first few days of this week... I figured if his work got done sooner, my van gets in the shop sooner, so I got to work and pounded out a few jobs for him. While he was building trannies though, I started putting together a crossmember...
I even tried laying a bead down for the first time in 8 years..... I think I'm going to spend a couple hours practicing and weld this whole thing up myself, nothing better than the satisfaction of knowing you did everything you could in a build...
I even tried laying a bead down for the first time in 8 years..... I think I'm going to spend a couple hours practicing and weld this whole thing up myself, nothing better than the satisfaction of knowing you did everything you could in a build...
My dana 60 is done, so I'm headed over to pick that up tonight. That was a $100 bill well-spent!
Here's the man... thanks Brad! Now if I can just have enough restraint to NOT buy the LT1 388 stroker that's sitting on the other side of that 6.0 liter. My camaro is going to have to wait, THAT'S not going to be a cheap build....
Here's the man... thanks Brad! Now if I can just have enough restraint to NOT buy the LT1 388 stroker that's sitting on the other side of that 6.0 liter. My camaro is going to have to wait, THAT'S not going to be a cheap build....
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