Maniak's 4x4 Van Tow Rig...

[jd4242]

Not only 3/4 ton.. its 4x4 conversion by Pathfinder..

BUT.. I'm pretty sure the 2wd ones were coil spring too..

~Mark

love the motor colors ,crazy looking but what do you mean it was a conversion by pathfinder?

 

[FROADER]

love the motor colors ,crazy looking but what do you mean it was a conversion by pathfinder?

Vans have never come 4x4 from the factory. Pathfinder is a company that does/used to do 4x4 conversions on vans.

 

[dkchrist]

Quigley does them still now check it out

4x4 Vans

Edit:FROADER beat me to the punch

 

[Maniak]

Exactly.. Pathfinder Equipment Co. existed until around 1992. There is a another company with a similar name that is run by Gordon.. He sells replacement parts etc for the pathfinder vans..

http://www.pathfinder-vans.com/html/about_us.html

~Mark

 

[jd4242]

Vans have never come 4x4 from the factory. Pathfinder is a company that does/used to do 4x4 conversions on vans.

what really, i always wanted a 4x4 van for hunting/camping or long beach fishing trips.haha yea i had no clue what he meant thought it had a Nissan pathfinder 4x4 under it!!

 

[Maniak]

Sure you have the fuel pump in the right way ?

I got a chance to work on the Van again.. The fuel pump is on the right way.. I've just never seen one with the gold part on top.. but its right...

~Mark

 

[Maniak]

Its alive

Installed the motor over the weekend, broke in the cam today...

Still have a bunch to go, but it runs...



~Mark

 

[jd4242]

bad ass my friend bad ass
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[jlsparky7]

Awesome. Brings new meaning to the term "van"

 

[Maniak]

Well, I drove the van a couple days.. and found that the trans is having issues...

the 1-2 shift takes over 3 seconds when under load.. and the 2-3 shift flashes at least 1000 rpms before it shifts.

I pulled the trans out.. and its heading to the trans shop in the morning..

Amazingly, it fits in a honda civic trunk with lots of room to spare.

Pic of it in there with the seats folded down part way.

~Mark

 

[dkchrist]

C6 right? That is a lot of weight in the civic. Stock rebuild or something better for the trans?

 

[Maniak]

Not "planning" on anything special. The trans repair wasn't in the budget. I'll see what "little" upgrades they can do that I can afford. One I'm thinking of is a 13" low stall converter to help cut down heat buildup. That 460 should have enough torque to compensate for the lower stall speed.

btw.. yes, that c6 is heavy.. The car did squat when we dropped it in (its actually behind the rear wheels).

The only other upgrade I was "thinking" of was twin sticking the np205, but I don't think I need to spend the money there.. Manual hubs and transmission upgrades seem like more reasonable places to spend the money.

Besides.. I have only about 6 weeks to get this done, along with a couple other little projects before the Oct truckhaven run.

~Mark

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

sounds good mark keep up good work

 

[Maniak]

Just a quick update..

After the motor was built and installed I was able to test the transmission..

1-2 shift was very very very slow and the 2-3 had a wicked flare.

I took it in to be rebuilt and turns out someone had tried to modify the VB before and didn't do it right. Soo, I have a new VB.

The trans still isn't perfect but they want me to drive it a few hundred miles before I bring it back for them to tweak the VB some more.

Also, I did my first fuel mileage check. I filled the rear tank, drove it for 2 days and then refilled it. Indicated 146 miles at 17.4 gallons. Thats 8.3ish mpg.

I did a stopwatch check at 60mph to see how far off my speedo is and it looks like it is reading 5% slow. I'll be using a GPS later today to see how far off it really is. If it really is 5% off I'm getting 8.8mpg..

Either way.. That tells me that the 22 gallon tank just ain't gonna cut it. I was thinking of a 33 gallon Bronco tank, but I'm leaning more towards a new '79 f-100 tank (38 gallon extra capacity tank).. Rockauto has the tank/sending unit shipped for < $250.

I still have some things to do.. like get power to the powered vent in the back.. and I have a switch or 2 I need to figure out what they do (they light up when I turn them on, but I don't see anything happening anywhere)..

I also need to get some real gauges in there. I'm going to start with water temp and trans temp.

Oh yea, my new Transmission cooler should be here soon.. its a 45,000 btu cooler (23x11x1.5).

and of course, I have to advertise the 460

Its getting really close to being ready for the truckhaven run in 6 weeks..

oh yea.. I need to replace the front hubs.. Looks like the auto hubs are shot.. I want manuals anyway..

~Mark

 

[IZwack]

Are you going to keep it white to reflect as much of the sun as possible? Or are you going to give in and paint it ... light green perhaps?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i love that! not only is it a 4x4, not only dose it have a fuel loving big block! but its a hotel on wheels!

 

[Maniak]

I don't think it will stay white.. It will at least get primer on it.. I have a few little rust spots to take care of (that is a new experience for me)..

The white paint that is on it now is really oxidized. If you wipe your hand on it, your hand turns white.. So that paint will need to be replaced/covered..

And Yes, I wouldn't mind having the entire van Burns Green.. But that may be a little expensive..

I just got back from using a GPS and my stopwatch method was dead on.. The speedo is 5% off.. and the odometer looks like 4% (maybe 5%, but its hard to tell on only a 10 mile quick drive).

That means I've been driving 65-70mph and got 8.8mpg.. I plan on driving 62-65 so that "should" help the mileage get up to 9 mph Either way, its a gas love motor .

During my little test drive I stomped on it doing 50mph (had to get up to speed for the freeway) and it actually gets up a moves. . and it sure feels like it out accelerates the little 160hp explorer I think I should take it to the track, just to see what it will do..

~Mark

 

[Maniak]

oh yea.. I need to replace the front hubs.. Looks like the auto hubs are shot.. I want manuals anyway..

Well, Slap Me Thrice and Hand Me to Me Mama.

Turns out my automatic hubs were working because you have to manually rotate the outside of it. I thought they were auto hubs because they didn't have the little bar to turn in the center.. turns out you turn the entire outside part..

I tested them today.. 4x4 and hubs work just fine..

~Mark

 

[Tbars4]

...Now you need to take them off, take some pictures and share with the rest of us...

 

[Maniak]

Well, here is a pic of the Hub on the van... This is the 1st time I've seen hubs like this.. I still haven't figured out who made these yet..

And.. new parts came in for the Van today..

New 45,000 btu trans cooler and external trans filter.

The new cooler is about twice as thick and much bigger than the old cooler.

~Mark