Thread: Bad Ast Astro Van Build

Tweet

Nice work Mark shows where theres aill theres a way

Thanks guys.
I haven't posted much in the last two weeks because my dad fell two weeks ago thiis morning and broke both of his wrists and his left hip. He is fine now but we we thinking we were going to lose him a couple of times.... He has more health issues then the breaks and those were actually the least of our worries...
So, between work and the hospital I haven't been out in the shop a lot...
I have gotten some things done in the last few days as the worry about dad has eased so here is what we've been doing.
Saturday was a full day in the shop, I got the trans cooler mounts installed in the lower radiator support. I put in a couple of rivnuts for the isolators to screw into.
http://images60.fotki.com/v778/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
The shroud bolted into the lower isolators.
http://images46.fotki.com/v284/photo...MVC011F-vi.jpg
Once these were installed I could mark and drill for the upper mounts
http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/phot...MVC012F-vi.jpg
The upper brackets bolt to the top of the rad support and carry the rubber expansion plugs that expand into the welded sleeve when the bolt is tightened. Works slick. I have a little tweaking to do to get everything squared up but it works!
http://images108.fotki.com/v1623/pho...MVC009F-vi.jpg
We bolted the drivers seat, brake pedals and throttle pedals into the van to get an idea of how far we were going to have to move the pedals. The throttle pedal was moved about two and half inches and the brake pedal needed to go over 4 inches.
After cutting the brake pedal apart Saturday and making the filler piece I picked away at the throttle and brake pedal mods Sunday and Monday.
Here's a shot of the brake pedal after we cut it in half.
http://images57.fotki.com/v1614/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
Mel sliced out a chunk of 3/8ths plate to use as the filler.
http://images54.fotki.com/v273/photo...MVC016F-vi.jpg
We did a little bending in the arbor press to get the separated pieces to line back up. Here you can see the mis-match created by moving the pedal half 4 inches outboard.
http://images55.fotki.com/v268/photo...MVC015F-vi.jpg
Didn't take much to get them lined up. I re-cut the halves at slight angles to lessen the drop off as the new piece is welded in
http://images46.fotki.com/v274/photo...MVC017F-vi.jpg
All sides of the joints were bevel ground to get more weld into them
http://images16.fotki.com/v383/photo...MVC019F-vi.jpg

Once I got the pieces fit together I fired up the mig and melted everything together.
Fitment before welding. This is how I beveled both sides of the weld joints
http://images12.fotki.com/v335/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
Pretty good fit up
http://images54.fotki.com/v273/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
I cranked the mig up and burned these together in a few minutes.
http://images60.fotki.com/v661/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
I also did a little fill welding to help blend the top edges together.
http://images57.fotki.com/v505/photo...MVC007F-vi.jpg
Once I ground everything down it looked one piece again.
http://images54.fotki.com/v289/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
Mocking the pedals up in the van I think I will move the gas pedal over another 3/4 inch. I am just bending the rod up at the linkage bracket so it isn't hard to do.
http://images52.fotki.com/v638/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
With my size 12 on the pedals. Moving the gas pedal over a bit more will be good.
http://images20.fotki.com/v685/photo...MVC014F-vi.jpg
http://images56.fotki.com/v168/photo...MVC015F-vi.jpg
Thanks for looking.
Mark

Nice I've had to do that before and never bent one either..Afterall you gota be able to stop that thing

You're right Charlie! And steering is important to. i did a bit of that stuff today.
I decided to use the brake pedal bracket from the '95 donor van because it will work with the hydroboost unit with no issues. The '95 had a funky brake light switch. It is a cartridge style that was hung on the pivot with the brake rod. You can see it here.
http://images61.fotki.com/v53/photos...MVC003F-vi.jpg
Of course the '95 had a few more things going on with brake pedal actuation then the '88 did. I don't need the "press brake to shift into gear" solenoid. I don't need the torque converter lockup disconnect. And I don't need the cruise control disconnect... All I need is the brake light switch...
This is the '88 brake light switch. The '95 has a bracket something similar but the '88 switch wouldn't simply swap over.
http://images54.fotki.com/v77/photos...MVC004F-vi.jpg
So, after a little head scratching. I cut the mounting hole off the '88 bracket. Here it is cut out and cleaned up a little.
http://images20.fotki.com/v106/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
This is the '95 bracket. in the lower half of the pick you can see the tab that swings up in line with the large hole in the bracket. This is where the piece from the '88 will weld on.
http://images12.fotki.com/v254/photo...MVC010F-vi.jpg
And spot welded it to the '95 bracket.
http://images14.fotki.com/v1628/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
Problem solved...
I also worked on the steering column and linkage today. I am using the tilt column out of the '95 so I was stripping a lot of unnecessary solenoids and wiring out of the way and cutting off the old shift linkage tab.
Here is a pic of the steering linkage in place.
http://images54.fotki.com/v627/photo...MVC022F-vi.jpg
I trimmed the 1" D shaft at the bottom of the column by about 3/4's of an inch to get the new double U-joint up a bit and make the angle less severe.
Here is a close up of the upper double joint and the rod bearing support.
http://images16.fotki.com/v388/photo...MVC021F-vi.jpg
I have to design and build a bracket to carry the rod bearing. Bolting it to the firewall is probably my best option. I plan to work on that tomorrow a bit.
Dad was doing much better today. He has been moved from critical care to a regular hospital room now so hopefully he is well out of the woods and on his way to a full recovery.
Thanks for looking!
Mark

Mark great work that steering seems tight to me but I know you'll get it..We'er praying for your dad

Happy B-day,Merry Xmass and H-N/YR.Mark-you could get ahold of Skip over at ASV to compere what he did with his R & P conversion on his Safari.His is a well tested/proven conversion given with him flying his balloon all across the country. His user is Smiliesafari.

Hope your Dad is doing better.

Just wondering if you could roll the rack forward a little take angel from top and put some on the bottom joint??

That's the plan Charlie. The rack is already rolled forward A LOT from the original Corvette orientation so another 10 or 15 degrees shouldn't make much of a difference as far as the rack is concerned. I will get the support bearing mounted before I make a decision but right now I think I will be re-doing the rack mounting brackets a bit.
Mark

Here you go Charlie!
I did a bit of re-engineering on the steering rack brackets. I added angled towers to the existing brackets to kick the rack angle forward another 25 degrees... This really opened up the upper u-joint angle and also added some angle to the lower joint. Really eased the turn down to the rack and now the steering action is smooth and consistant.
This is a shot of the initial set-up. The initial tip was right at 10 degrees from verticle. The protractor shows where it will end up.
http://images61.fotki.com/v440/photo...MVC002F-vi.jpg
Here are some pics of how I set the rack up to maintain the centerline in vehicle and get the additional tip. I set up a jig on the welding bench and located the body of the rack with some clamped on angles. This let me rotate the rack around it's own centerline to maintain the location in the van.
http://images16.fotki.com/v387/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
http://images57.fotki.com/v496/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
With the rack installed back in the van you can see the amount of additional tip really helped the u-joints open up and work as thet should. Compare this pic with the first one in this post...
http://images57.fotki.com/v1613/phot...MVC010F-vi.jpg
I can turn the steering by hand using the middle of the upper u-joint. It needs to be held in place by a bracket and I am designing that as I right this. It will bolt to the firewall and carry the rod end to support the upper joint.
http://images56.fotki.com/v1602/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
I also need to order another piece of the DD shafting... Now that I have the position optimized the original one I cut of is 3/4's of an inch to short... It works for mock up but i want a longer stick in there when it comes time for driving...
I am planning to make the rod bearing bracket out of 1/8" plate. Is that heavy enough? Any input? I don't think this bearing will see a lot of torque, it just supports the upper end of the DD shaft to keep the Double U-joint from flopping around.
Thank
Mark

for the bearing suport i use D.O.M tube tap it for 3/4 use that for the stalk . if stand off of the frame abit hi i tri angle it with 1/8 but i would be ok for a mount on a race car at 1/8 steel for a stand off i would move up to 3/16 to 1/4 hard to be over kill here if the mount fails and u joint fall off the shaft . i use a spade bit to drill in wells in to the shafts so the set screws anchor in the shaft

Mark I used to have to roll the racks toward the rear on the cars I built so when I seen your it caught my eye right away good cure looks great.

Thanks Pat, thanks Charlie.
Pat, I wanted to keep the support bearing attached to the body. I am concerned with body roll binding the joint. With it attached to the body any roll will only affect the lower joint which doesn't really care, it is hardly working at this point.
I just spent all day designing and bulding a bracket for the upper steering shaft support.
I started with a piece of 1 x 2" C channel. Drilled it out for the 3/4" rod end and tightened it in place.
http://images55.fotki.com/v1604/phot...MVC003F-vi.jpg
I clamped a piece of tubing, vertically, to the rail so I had something to help hold the C channel where I needed it. Another c clamp and a piece of 1/4" stock got me what I needed.
After I had the "target" situated I took a few measurements and came up with a side plate design. This is done in card stock and it fits perfectly
http://images52.fotki.com/v1566/phot...MVC004F-vi.jpg
The front of the firewall on the van is about 18 degrees from verticle so there is a bit of a slope to the rear of the plates.
After cutting the side plates out of a chunk of 10 ga. I added a few holes with a 1" rotobroach.
http://images57.fotki.com/v505/photo...MVC010F-vi.jpg
Both side plates ready to go.
http://images43.fotki.com/v679/photo...MVC013F-vi.jpg
Here is one held in position.
http://images20.fotki.com/v685/photo...MVC014F-vi.jpg
I made mounting plates out of the same 10 ga the side plates are made from. Drilling for 3/8th's bolts.
http://images51.fotki.com/v424/photo...MVC002F-vi.jpg
One side welded and bolted in place.
http://images56.fotki.com/v371/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
The whole thing welded up and bolted down. Now I can slot the rod end hole to give me some side to side slip to sweeten up the steering angle.
http://images55.fotki.com/v1618/phot...MVC009F-vi.jpg
With a little bit of adjustment this rig will work great! Once everything is adjusted and working smooth I plan to add a plate inside the firewall to give the bracket more structure. Although I didn't see an issue with flex I don't want it to be an issue down the road.
Mark

yes a big surface backer plate is a must . you have No load on it now add tires engine and van weight will make things move were you think there ok now . if you have to do some fast working on the streering wheel that can add alot of TQ to the mix. one of the joint companys i used borg they worked it out to show how much shear someone can generate with a stander size streering wheel in there hand it was a eye opener

Thanks Pat, I know what you are saying so I will keep my eye on this stuff after the van is down and rolling. I think i will add a top plate to the bracket also just to tie the front and rear together better.

I got out in the shop early this morning. Getting the support bearing lined up was on my mind. It wasn't difficult. I redrilled the mounting holes in the firewall to the inside by about 5/8th's of an inch and the steering works great!
Really can't see any difference on the outside but you can see the old holes on the interior shots.
http://images46.fotki.com/v4/photos/...MVC001F-vi.jpg
Looking a bit from the front.
http://images61.fotki.com/v536/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
Inside shot. I am fabbing a backing plate to go in here
http://images61.fotki.com/v443/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
Here is the backing plate with all of the holes drilled. The pattern is the white piece and this is what the plate will look like when done.
http://images59.fotki.com/v255/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
Thanks for the comments, your help is appreciated.
Mark