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    Page 39 of 44 FirstFirst ... 29 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 LastLast
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    1. #761
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks! I'm getting excited as well! Just ordered some parts I need for the GV unit. I'll be rolling the engine into the shop and getting it mated to the trans. I am putting the chassis together for the last time! I still have a lot to do but this is doable for a running van this year!
      I will be hitting this real hard this winter.
      Thanks for watching!
      Mark

      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/


    2. #762
      Join Date
      Mar 2018
      Location
      la mesa, CA
      Posts
      237
      Quote Originally Posted by astroracer View Post
      Thanks! I'm getting excited as well! Just ordered some parts I need for the GV unit. I'll be rolling the engine into the shop and getting it mated to the trans. I am putting the chassis together for the last time! I still have a lot to do but this is doable for a running van this year!
      I will be hitting this real hard this winter.
      Thanks for watching!
      Mark
      Well, I spent the better part of the day reading this. Damn this is a rad build. Keep up the hard work. Can't wait to see it finished.
      Follow my Instagram
      And my build on here
      check out Opentracker Racing Products

    3. #763
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Thank You Sir, I hope your time was worth the read. This has been a long time coming and I hope to have it rolling and running this year. it won't be done of course but I sure would like it to be drivable...
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    4. #764
      Join Date
      Mar 2018
      Location
      la mesa, CA
      Posts
      237
      Quote Originally Posted by astroracer View Post
      Thank You Sir, I hope your time was worth the read. This has been a long time coming and I hope to have it rolling and running this year. it won't be done of course but I sure would like it to be drivable...
      Mark
      Most definitely is, super inspirational!
      Follow my Instagram
      And my build on here
      check out Opentracker Racing Products

    5. #765
      Join Date
      Jul 2006
      Location
      Chesapeake, VA
      Posts
      605
      Cool! Good to see some new action on this one!
      Cars are meant to be driven.

      John B

    6. #766
      Join Date
      Apr 2001
      Location
      The Netherlands
      Posts
      1,509
      Country Flag: Netherlands
      Good to see you are still at it Mark! It's about time to get it on the road ;-)
      1st 2nd
      Pro-Touring outside the USA !
      Martin's Camaro Page

    7. #767
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks guys! It does feel pretty good to be working on this in earnest again. I have been picking away at things but now it's time to get to work.
      One change I am making on the fly here is adding a Vintage Air system to the build. I wasn't planning on doing AC but it sure is nice to have it and I know I will regret not going that route when this is drivable.
      Does anyone have a suggestion for pulleys that won't break the bank? Right now I have a bunch of v-belt stuff on there that is just piece-mealed together. I don't need a 3,000 dollar set-up. Just something that will run all of the accessories and look like it belongs. I'm looking at Alan Grove pulleys right now. They seem to have everything I need and the cost isn't stupid... I am designing an AC compressor bracket that I can fab, just need to get the pulleys sorted out so I can get the placement nailed down.



      Any used stuff out there that I need to take off your hands?
      Thanks
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    8. #768
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Another hurdle to jump over. I ordered a bunch of gaskets and seals for the GV unit I have, trying to get it installed before the engine/trans goes in. Anyway this unit is not going to cut it behind the 509. I talked with Dave at GV and he filled me in on the old J style OD units... They were not intended to go behind any kind of HP or Torq input. He said the 509 will shred the unit about the first time you hit it hard... Not good news. I put the unit on eBay last night at 8pm. It sold this morning, buy it now, at about 9am. 13 hrs. and it is gone... I will be calling Dave today to get the new unit on the way.
      The big problem with this unit is the size of the output shaft. The slip yoke that came with the unit is 1.38 inches in diameter.
      The TH400 output is on the right...

      I guess this is taken care of. Waiting on the new unit I have plenty to do to use up the time...
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    9. #769
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      The old GV unit is gone. UPS picked it up an hour ago. With it paid for I just ordered the new unit. Dave at Gear Vendors said it will be about a week getting it built and packaged to ship. Waiting is a good thing as it forces me to do other things that should be done ahead of bolting this thing to the trans.
      I worked on the trans itself this afternoon. Putting on a deep sump pan that I picked up at a swap meet. The new pan is an inch deeper then the rusty stocker and I had to order the extension for the filter pick up tube. I made a spacer for the filter bolt today. I turned the spacer out on the lathe. Faced it off to shine it up and bored it out for 5/16ths bolt to pass through it and cut it down to about an inch long. It will bolt between the filter and the valve body. The pan is like brand new. A little dusty but it has never had fluid sitting in it...
      Need to order 1" long bolts for the new pan as the stock ones are to short. McMaster Carr here I come!














      It's getting there! Pulling together all of the fasteners seems to be a full time job! During the build and mock ups I have been getting by with an odd assortment of bolts and nuts but, now that it is going together for the last time I am finding a lot of stuff I need to order!
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    10. #770
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Just to keep continuity in the thread I am reposting the water pump thing here as well.

      Like the title says the water pump has zero outlets for plumbing the heater or by-pass hoses...


      The pump was on the motor when I picked it up, figured to re-use but that's not possible with no heater attachmants available. I will need the suction side for the heater and the by-pass hose is a good thing right? Options with this pump? Drill and tap? Bite it and buy a new pump? I went with a new pump...
      Mark

      - - - Updated - - -

      The is some trans work in this thread as well so it IS pertinent to the thread.

      New pump came in from Summit. I went with cast iron so I have some work to do.



      This one has some real nice heater and bypass hose fittings on it. Should work just fine

      I have also been working out all the fittings I am going to need. I ordered almost 400 bucks worth of -4, -6, -10, & -12 Push-Lok hose and fittings yesterday as well. Pipe plugs, bolts for the trans pan, etc., etc. I knew this day was coming so I have the money. Kind of exciting to be at this point!

      I also worked on the deep sump pan. Drilled and tapped for the temp sender.
      This is the spot. I am putting it at the back of the pan and deep enough that it should never be uncovered.

      Spot faced and pre drilled.

      Ran a tap drill in for the 1/8th pipe tap.

      All done!



      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    11. #771
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Waiting for parts to come in I got some stuff done today. Mostly cleaning, picking up and putting stuff away. I cleaned up the new water pump, washed it down with Wax & Grease Remover, masked it off and shot a couple of coats of etching primer on it. I'll let that set for about an hour then top coat it with the VHT Ceramic brake paint in silver. That will make it look just like cast aluminum and will keep it from taking stains.



      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    12. #772
      Join Date
      Oct 2018
      Location
      Phoenix, AZ
      Posts
      584
      Country Flag: United States
      I purchased a CVF Racing serpentine setup after a great conversation with them at SEMA. They offered an all-in-one kit that had the AC compressor, water pump, and alternator too. I had them do my Vintage air order at the same time so nothing was duplicated and it all matched. Real world performance remains to be seen, but initial impression/reviews seems really solid. They have a ton of options no matter what and are usually on the lower end of pricing.
      '95 F-150 track ready street beast
      Want more projects/photos? Check my Instagram

    13. #773
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks! I have checked out their set ups and really like the prices but this van requires everything to be mounted low on the engine. The CVF kits all put the AC compressor up high on the drivers side.
      Over the last week I think I have gotten everything sorted out as far as pulleys go. I just got a chrome plated press on PS pump pulley that matches the rest of them so I am going to stay with the V-Belt set up I have.
      I am designing an AC compressor bracket similar to the Alan Grove piece. I have to raise the compressor up a couple of inches and move it outboard a bit to clear the frame crossmember and also make room for the lower radiator hose. You would think building a van I would have tons of room for everything but that just isn't the case...
      I've been following you truck thread, very nice work! Keep at it! it reminds me so much of this Astro build it's not funny. Everything has to be fabricated!
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    14. #774
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      I got the new water pump painted yesterday.

      Bolted it up and tried the pulleys on for size... Guess what, yea... The old pump shaft was 5/8th's. The new one is 3/4. Now the pulley won't fit. Is that par for the course or what?

      So! What to do?
      Get out the step drill man!

      Chucked the drill into the drill press and ran a dummy hole into a sacrificial piece of wood. Then used the 5/8th's step on the drill to locate the pulley and clamp it down while I screwed it to the wood to keep it from moving.

      Ran the step drill in to the 3/4" step and it was done.

      Did the same thing with the spacer

      and now it all goes together like it was supposed to.


      I have all of the pulleys now and am working on a bracket design to get the AC compressor mounted underneath the alternator. I don't want to make the bracket until I get the engine and trans in place. Just to confirm the placement. I have a TON of parts coming in this week, the Over Drive was shipped Friday so this is starting to come together.
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    15. #775
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Got a pile of boxes today. Fittings and hoses.

      Swapped out the adapters on the trans for these push-loks.


      -10 heater fittings. These are equivalent to the 5/8th's hose usually plugged in here. This is the draw side to the heater core.

      -12 heater fittings are equal to the 3/4 inch hose used here. This is the suction side which draws the water from the heater core.

      I moved the fitting I took out of the pump up to the intake for the by-pass hose.

      All of the new brackets will be satin black and I will be blasting the pulleys and painting them satin black as well.

      I think that will look better then the chrome, what do you think?
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    16. #776
      Join Date
      Nov 2006
      Location
      Ma.
      Posts
      5,567
      Country Flag: United States
      It looks great your moving along nice.
      Wayne
      Car FINALLY home !!!!!! lol
      Project FNQUIK https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...ghlight=FNQUIK

    17. #777
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      Thank You Sir!
      The new GV unit comes in today! I want to have the trans ready to go tonight. Setting up the OD adapter should go pretty quick. Getting the converter bolted up is the last big thing before engine/trans marriage. I plan to have the engine and trans in place this weekend.
      I knew there was a lot to do and I have been thrown a few curve balls. The little things are what takes the time and getting them right just adds to it.
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    18. #778
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      It's Here! I got home before it was dropped off so I was puttering in the shop when it got here. I had started putting the trans pan on but, while I was getting the fasteners around to do that, I remembered I also have to bolt the shift linkage bracket to the pan. I was digging out the box that is in when the UPS truck pulled in.
      He had my stuff and a package for Mom. Mom's was a new monitor for her pacemaker so I took that over and set that up. Delivered all of the mail and fixed a soap dish that Mom had broken (she breaks a lot of this stuff... I've fixed one spoon holder three times...) By the time I got the overdrive unboxed I was getting pretty cold. I grabbed the instructions and headed into the house to warm up and do some reading...
      Didn't get anything at all done that I wanted to but that's how this is going so far...
      Here are some pics.







      Notice the size difference between the new output and the old one I just sold?

      Old one.


      This was my repair project for the parental unit...
      The hands were broken right straight across the palms. Some superglue and careful re-fitting and you would never know...
      Thanks for looking.
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    19. #779
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      PROGRESS!
      Didn't have much time in the shop this afternoon but it was enough to get some stuff done. I had to modify the shifter bracket to fit with the cast pan. Trimmed off a couple lumps and bumps, de-burred, degreased and shot on a coat of paint. The pan is bolted up and I got the extension for the overdrive bolted on and the adapter shimmed in place. The instructions called for .000 to 0.015 gap at the adapter. I ended up with 0.007 so I'll call that good.
      I'll pick up a couple quarts of Dexron tomorrow to get the converter half filled so I can bolt the trans on. The blasting cabinet will get the engine, frame and alternator brackets cleaned up so I can get those painted. Should be able to get the engine/trans set in place Saturday afternoon if I hit it hard.





      Thanks for lookin' at my junk!
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    20. #780
      Join Date
      Nov 2006
      Location
      Ma.
      Posts
      5,567
      Country Flag: United States
      You made some nice progress. Will the GV unit split thee gears it self or only when you do it? Nice!
      Wayne
      Car FINALLY home !!!!!! lol
      Project FNQUIK https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...ghlight=FNQUIK

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