sasktrini’s 1985 Chevrolet Van

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 08:It's been a while, but here is a project that is necessary, and I'm really glad I've got such a burly van for this. All summer long, I've been travelling back and forth to Calgary trying to get my '64 Econoline back on the road for a trip back home. Now, as summer is coming to an end, the best answer for me is to tow it home. This van had a trailer hitch, but it was chopped off before I bought the van. So this project is a little more involved than just bolting on a hitch.

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 08: Initial InspectionOkay. I put patches in, though welds were not cleaned up. Hoping that the garage would accept that there is more bodywork in the future of this van, including finishing with body filler and paint. The one mechanical issue I identified was in the parking brake cable at the front that was badly corroded. I took the vehicle in, requesting they use the supplied cable to correct a certain deficiency they would find. Had a little chit-chat with the manager about my intentions for the van. Asked them to also repair the spare tire.Oh yes... one other bonus acquisition I made was a set of newer Silverado / Astro rims in trade for the partial set of Rally wheels the van came with, straight up. One tire didn't hold air. Now you're caught up.Here's the result: SGI Inspection: 105.00 Replace Front Park Brake Cable: 1*92.88 (that's labour... I provided the new part, later realized that there was still repairs required for the park brake system, but they did it anyway) Shop supplies: 19.95 TOTAL AFTER TAXES, $234.36Oh, and the spare was beyond repair.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ITEMS REQUIRED FOR CERTIFICATION... (IMHO, they were tedious, some worthy, but some just plain stupid) Rear view mirror loose (tightened the set screw a couple turns... there are two fullsize external mirrors though) Passenger Seatbelt frayed (salvaged one... okay) RH Wiper torn (replaced with new set) Engine Cover not attached at bottom (never seen one bolted to the floor, just latched to the firewall... wtf... cleaned threads, purchased bolts) LF Interior Door Handle not attached (my bad... was removing speaker, had to get in, forgot to install retainer back on handle... big deal) LH High Beam Out (okay... didn't know... replaced) RH Back Up lamp out (okay... replaced) Body Repair Panels need upgraded welding and grind (okay... not good enough for "work-in-progress" status) All Wheel Lug Nuts are improper except for 1 (doh... different rims, require Acorn nuts... done) Steering Pitman Arm has freeplay (couldn't figure it out initially, but he explained the wear was in the ball end of the arm. I decided I couldn't do that myself) LF Brake Hose Cracked (Okay... didn't know... replaced) Left Rear Park Brake Cable Seized (but they still barely installed the front cable... repaired cable with lotsa WD40) LF Brake Rotor Too Thin... Replace (Recommend both... Other Right at Min) (Okay... didn't know... replaced both) LR Brake Wheel Cylinder Leaking (Okay... didn't know... replaced both) Alternator Belt Worn Out ... Replace (Okay... replaced) Leak At Power Steering Pump (Okay... didn't know... replaced pressure line) Requires Battery Holddown (I knew this one, but didn't tend to it... replaced with salvaged tray and holddown) Wheel Alignment (Of course it needs a wheel alignment... I can't dispute that, and a garage needs to make money.)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 08: ReinspectionI'm glad they found what they did about the brakes... but I had no idea there was a problem judging from their response before the inspection... while I was at it, I flushed the lines. But they are being really anal about some of these details. Reinspection is free within 30 days, so that's what I did. I have cleaned all the welds meticulously on the floor, looked for pinholes there... Still plan on exterior body work.Returning for the reinspection, I admitted that if they had issue with the welds, that I would approve seam sealing... even had a caulking gun and tube in the van when I left it. If they would find the other repairs okay otherwise, I needed their shop to repair the pitman arm and do the wheel alignment.. in that order. Why? I'm not going to pay for a wheel alignment if they are going to fail the inspection anyway...It's been two weeks, and when I called to say "what's the status", the guy says "I'm just waiting to hear from the welder". I stated that I never authorized that kind of work, but rather the solution discussed above, and he said "you said 'seam sealer', I didn't." Agreeing to call me right back, it still hasn't happened. No callback today either so far. I hate letting other people wrench on my vehicles! I'm ready to let the van fail, take the time to hide all the repairs, rather than admit to replacing rust with steel (I thought that was the proper thing to do), and take it to a different shop for a brand new inspection. I'd rather spend another $100 on an inspection than lord knows how much for a welder!I'm just steaming!Primarily for new brake parts (rotors, cylinders, pads, hose) PS hose, lug nuts, a spare, and an Alt Belt, parts here were around $300 if my memory serves me correctly.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Well, after talking to the manager, he's talking about around a hundred bucks for welding repair on the exterior patches (I personally focussed more on the floor, so this isn't too bad), the pitman arm replacement, and the wheel alignment, totalling around $400. I told him if the other repairs weren't up to his standard, I didn't want anything done. We talked through the checklist of repairs I made and of the replaced parts left in the van as proof. I expect the van to be legal by week's end.SO: $500 for van $235 for initial work $300 for parts for certification $400 for final inspection parts and workMy $500 van is now at about $1,500 - OOPS! I better sell some vehicles soon! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Door Adjustment and RustI didn't take any pics of door adjustments, but the drivers door was dropped at the back, and it had pinched at the fender. Basically, loosening off the lower hinge from the kick panel, and enlisting a helper to lift up on the handle, I was able to get this door adjusted properly. The lock pin has been fixed in place by someone's hack, welding in a few fender washers for an easy fix. I'll get it right... add it to the "things to do later" list. For the slider, I temporarily lowered the pin at the back of the door to get it to close easier for now.

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rust Repair: Floor It was cold, and the engine didn't want to start without a boost... (350's typically need to be plugged in for easy starts - I still haven't check the block ID, but it's another hopeful hint that I got more engine than I bargained for). Anyway, except for the gaping rust holes making the ride really noisy, the van was awesome on the freeway and in the city! No mechanical concerns! I can concentrate just on the rust issues, and take it for the inspection!NOTE: cleaned the battery connections... good to go!

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rust Repair: Rockers

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 08: Here we go... I finally made a deal on my dream van... a '64 Econoline! In order to make some room for the '64 to become my cool personal ride. I intend to sell my '85 Vandura Shorty and '85 Cavalier. That means you should watch my garage for updates on my projects! Primarily, I'll be finishing up the rust repair and bodywork to get them back into good shape for sale.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the inside, it's clear as daylight that I have to repair those cracks. There's no insulation or anything to catch fire, but I'll have to do something about the window gasket... maybe for now, I'll loosen off the window frame in those areas so I can reshape and weld the cracks. Don't want to mess with the window seal, but I'll figure it out. I know the proper repair would be to remove the window first, and I may just do that.

So it's now March 2009, and I am rebuilding the Q-Jet (parts soaking in carb cleaner right now), and mapping out the vacuum lines once and for all!  Once that's done, I'll adjust the timing, and all should be good!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tacked along the top and started down both vertical seams at the same time, making sure that the tacks were cool enough to allow the new tacks to be made closer together... this made it easier to bring the patch along the contour without low spots. Once I got to the bottom flange, I hit the spots and then filled in the gaps between the tacks! Yeah, I could've ground back to more clean metal... less fire hazard... very important!

I should have known it was too good to be true... after realizing my bargain find was too narrow for the frame rails, I had to exchange it for a larger one. This one is Buyers Products, supposed to be part of the Reese offerings, but maybe just not finished to have the esthetically nice welds you'd expect from a Reese... this one put me out $100 as it was recently on sale for that price... goes for $150.

So far I have cut and welded in patches over the passenger side rear wheel well. Though I am a novice welder, I found my Lincoln much easier to operate this day, even bridging gaps from less-than-perfect patch cutting. Maybe too because I am not laying on the floor all screwed up like on my car, that I am managing this welding task much better. Everything is working the FIRST time I try! It'll be a couple days before I do anymore welding, but I can make up new patches. Then it will be a "cut and zap" operation next time!

PAGE: INFO - Last Updated 1: Intro - May 08 2: Rust Repair: Floor - February 08 3: Rust Repair: Rockers - February 08 4: Door Adjustment and Rust - February 08 5: The Out-of-Province Inspection - May 08 6: Tow Hitch and Tune-up - March 09-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 08: Initial InspectionOkay. I put patches in, though welds were not cleaned up. Hoping that the garage would accept that there is more bodywork in the future of this van, including finishing with body filler and paint. The one mechanical issue I identified was in the parking brake cable at the front that was badly corroded. I took the vehicle in, requesting they use the supplied cable to correct a certain deficiency they would find. Had a little chit-chat with the manager about my intentions for the van. Asked them to also repair the spare tire.Oh yes... one other bonus acquisition I made was a set of newer Silverado / Astro rims in trade for the partial set of Rally wheels the van came with, straight up. One tire didn't hold air. Now you're caught up.Here's the result: SGI Inspection: 105.00 Replace Front Park Brake Cable: 1*92.88 (that's labour... I provided the new part, later realized that there was still repairs required for the park brake system, but they did it anyway) Shop supplies: 19.95 TOTAL AFTER TAXES, $234.36Oh, and the spare was beyond repair.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ITEMS REQUIRED FOR CERTIFICATION... (IMHO, they were tedious, some worthy, but some just plain stupid) Rear view mirror loose (tightened the set screw a couple turns... there are two fullsize external mirrors though) Passenger Seatbelt frayed (salvaged one... okay) RH Wiper torn (replaced with new set) Engine Cover not attached at bottom (never seen one bolted to the floor, just latched to the firewall... wtf... cleaned threads, purchased bolts) LF Interior Door Handle not attached (my bad... was removing speaker, had to get in, forgot to install retainer back on handle... big deal) LH High Beam Out (okay... didn't know... replaced) RH Back Up lamp out (okay... replaced) Body Repair Panels need upgraded welding and grind (okay... not good enough for "work-in-progress" status) All Wheel Lug Nuts are improper except for 1 (doh... different rims, require Acorn nuts... done) Steering Pitman Arm has freeplay (couldn't figure it out initially, but he explained the wear was in the ball end of the arm. I decided I couldn't do that myself) LF Brake Hose Cracked (Okay... didn't know... replaced) Left Rear Park Brake Cable Seized (but they still barely installed the front cable... repaired cable with lotsa WD40) LF Brake Rotor Too Thin... Replace (Recommend both... Other Right at Min) (Okay... didn't know... replaced both) LR Brake Wheel Cylinder Leaking (Okay... didn't know... replaced both) Alternator Belt Worn Out ... Replace (Okay... replaced) Leak At Power Steering Pump (Okay... didn't know... replaced pressure line) Requires Battery Holddown (I knew this one, but didn't tend to it... replaced with salvaged tray and holddown) Wheel Alignment (Of course it needs a wheel alignment... I can't dispute that, and a garage needs to make money.)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 08: ReinspectionI'm glad they found what they did about the brakes... but I had no idea there was a problem judging from their response before the inspection... while I was at it, I flushed the lines. But they are being really anal about some of these details. Reinspection is free within 30 days, so that's what I did. I have cleaned all the welds meticulously on the floor, looked for pinholes there... Still plan on exterior body work.Returning for the reinspection, I admitted that if they had issue with the welds, that I would approve seam sealing... even had a caulking gun and tube in the van when I left it. If they would find the other repairs okay otherwise, I needed their shop to repair the pitman arm and do the wheel alignment.. in that order. Why? I'm not going to pay for a wheel alignment if they are going to fail the inspection anyway...It's been two weeks, and when I called to say "what's the status", the guy says "I'm just waiting to hear from the welder". I stated that I never authorized that kind of work, but rather the solution discussed above, and he said "you said 'seam sealer', I didn't." Agreeing to call me right back, it still hasn't happened. No callback today either so far. I hate letting other people wrench on my vehicles! I'm ready to let the van fail, take the time to hide all the repairs, rather than admit to replacing rust with steel (I thought that was the proper thing to do), and take it to a different shop for a brand new inspection. I'd rather spend another $100 on an inspection than lord knows how much for a welder!I'm just steaming!Primarily for new brake parts (rotors, cylinders, pads, hose) PS hose, lug nuts, a spare, and an Alt Belt, parts here were around $300 if my memory serves me correctly.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Well, after talking to the manager, he's talking about around a hundred bucks for welding repair on the exterior patches (I personally focussed more on the floor, so this isn't too bad), the pitman arm replacement, and the wheel alignment, totalling around $400. I told him if the other repairs weren't up to his standard, I didn't want anything done. We talked through the checklist of repairs I made and of the replaced parts left in the van as proof. I expect the van to be legal by week's end.SO: $500 for van $235 for initial work $300 for parts for certification $400 for final inspection parts and workMy $500 van is now at about $1,500 - OOPS! I better sell some vehicles soon! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was wondering... what are those two bars that obstruct the window? Security measure? No. If someone wanted in, they'd break the other window and flip the lock. The custom company put channels to protect and pretty up the door linkage. Why wouldn't they bend new linkage to go under the window? So I have a mission to do just that.

It fits, but one tool I was missing for this installation was a 9/16"drill bit for the forward mounting holes. The hitch came with a spring and wire to be used for threading bolts through blind holes, as a van has unibody construction and the frame rails are practically inaccessible. So I will have to continue this project on another day.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I haven't really paid any attention to the van's drivetrain... To this point, I've only had to look after the requirements for the Out-of-Province inspection. In the next few days, I'll have to freshen up the fluids and check the tranny. I don't even know if I have a tranny cooler on the van, but I suspect there is. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In October, I put it to the test, and it was a rough trip... not because of the hitch, but the van ran terribly!  I messed with the timing, as I had no power under load.  I ended up staying the night at a truck stop half way, to figure the whole mess out.  It didn't help that I never repaired the missing vacuum lines from the day I got the van... it ran okay... but when I went to check the timing, I found that the rubber fuel line feeding the pump was badly ruptured!

I tacked along the top and started down both vertical seams at the same time, making sure that the tacks were cool enough to allow the new tacks to be made closer together... this made it easier to bring the patch along the contour without low spots. Once I got to the bottom flange, I hit the spots and then filled in the gaps between the tacks! Yeah, I could've ground back to more clean metal... less fire hazard... very important!

Up front, the dash is clean, and I lifted up the doghouse to see the condition of the engine. I was told it's a V6, but it's actually a V8 and sounds good! Lots of vacuum lines, so it may be a 305, but I could read "350" on one of the valve covers, so I don't know... I'm going to try to get the casting number off the block. Underneath, the tranny looked like it may have had some leaks... It has a Quadrajet, A/C and I think it has a 12-bolt rear axle with a TH350. I'm told the powertrain is solid as it's last voyage was from Vancouver, over the Rockies to Saskatoon.

So far I have cut and welded in patches over the passenger side rear wheel well. Though I am a novice welder, I found my Lincoln much easier to operate this day, even bridging gaps from less-than-perfect patch cutting. Maybe too because I am not laying on the floor all screwed up like on my car, that I am managing this welding task much better. Everything is working the FIRST time I try! It'll be a couple days before I do anymore welding, but I can make up new patches. Then it will be a "cut and zap" operation next time!

So it's now March 2009, and I am rebuilding the Q-Jet (parts soaking in carb cleaner right now), and mapping out the vacuum lines once and for all!  Once that's done, I'll adjust the timing, and all should be good!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it's now March 2009, and I am rebuilding the Q-Jet (parts soaking in carb cleaner right now), and mapping out the vacuum lines once and for all!  Once that's done, I'll adjust the timing, and all should be good!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it's now March 2009, and I am rebuilding the Q-Jet (parts soaking in carb cleaner right now), and mapping out the vacuum lines once and for all!  Once that's done, I'll adjust the timing, and all should be good!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------