Thread: 1985 Astro V8 "Ole Yellar" Project Van

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I own a 1985 Astro high top van that is being build exclusively for the main purpose of a tow van for my vendor trailer.

Some backround about my business to better explain the purpose of this build.I own a traveling fleamarket business that I run a circuit leaving one larger set up in the same multi date location(Winnebago motor home and 12' duel wheel trailer) and travel to single date fleamarkets with Ole Yellar and the smaller vendor trailer.The stuff I sell is from the larger set up is salvage foods and from the vendor trailer snack foods.Yeah I knew someone would ask.

The ole Yellar Astro van is a high top van that is a 1985.It came from a guy in KY that was using it to vend ice cream.



Of course the bell and the decals had to go.....



The engines in these Astro's are 4.3 V6's and to their own right some of them are pretty stout.This one in the van is the only yr built that is a carb'ed version and was the first yr Astro's where built.I bought this van for two reasons.First the feature of the high top allows me to stack up product cases in the back for back stock of snack foods where there will be a cage separating the front from the back and it has somewhat of a grandfathered emissions requirement.The other reason was it is a "shortie" version allowing me to back the trailer into tight spaces and save on rental market spaces.

I have been apart of a web site that deals exclusively in Astro/Safari vans for many,many yrs.There are guys that have done V8 conversions there and it is one of the easiest V8 swaps anyone could do.Guys there have done anywhere from 305 V8's to a friend of mine in Canada that did a 5" body lift and outfitted his 1997 Safari with a Ram-Jet 502 without cutting the body at all.

Certainly there are many advantages of a V8 conversion and yeah I have to admit the hot rodder/drag racer part of me is also a factor.

So to install a TBI V8 into this van means you need to get the engine,the wiring harness,computer,and some mods to plug and play and that is mainly because this van is a carbed version.I was looking for a low mileage engine and while I was shopping I bought the conversion engine mounts for a fellow member on that web site that was built by a company called "Jags That Run".



You can see where these mounts move the bolt locations for a V8 2" forward.

So along came a sale of a donor 1989 Astro the had a V8 conversion done already and a blown up tranny which I bought that was located in Indiana and I dolly towed it back to Roch,NY.The van had a crate 1995 5.7 TBI that came out of a rear end crashed pick-up truck.The engine has less than 30,000 confirmed miles on it.



These V8's really do fit as if GM intended them to to be put there.






I cut some patch panels out of the donor van before sending it to the junk yard and we took the engine,tranny,and sub frame out of it so I could use the sub frame for build up for Ole Yellar.Also I want to do a 3" body lift to make service on the V8 tons easier.I'll get into the body lift alittle later through.



Hang on while I submit this part of the thread and then continue.....