Thread: Bad Ast Astro Van Build

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Just wondering,why leaf springs?

Originally posted by BigTruckDriver
Just wondering,why leaf springs?

Why not? What would be better? Leaf springs are low maintenance, easy to adjust, easy to maintain and work just as well as a much more expensive and maintenance intensive 4 link installation. I debated on this a lot before I made my decision to go leafs. I wanted a suspension that would be all of the above things without all of the up-keep and tuning headaches that come with a high strung, race inspired suspension and leaf springs fill the bill. The van is targeted primarily as a street driver and, with that in mind, I am not expecting it to outhandle every other vehicle on the road but, it will handle extremely well and, with a bit of shock and spring tuning should be very surprising on the track as well.
Mark

Originally posted by astroracer
Why not? What would be better? Leaf springs are low maintenance, easy to adjust, easy to maintain and work just as well as a much more expensive and maintenance intensive 4 link installation. I debated on this a lot before I made my decision to go leafs. I wanted a suspension that would be all of the above things without all of the up-keep and tuning headaches that come with a high strung, race inspired suspension and leaf springs fill the bill. The van is targeted primarily as a street driver and, with that in mind, I am not expecting it to outhandle every other vehicle on the road but, it will handle extremely well and, with a bit of shock and spring tuning should be very surprising on the track as well.
Mark

If its a street driver, then ya its fine,with all the work being done I was thinking it was a racer not a daily driver.

AS i read this, you must understand.. I have a hell of a cold.

That said..

reading this is making me SICK with jealousy.

congratulations on having the means and the desire to chase your dreams.

I am loving everything I am seeing here. I am really liking that tubing bender you have... looks to do a real nice job. keep up the good work, I will be watchin.

Haven't updated the thread in a while. I was busy over the winter doing a complete makeover on my shop. I added a 26 x 30 addition last fall and that let me get the heated side cleaned out and usable. Paint, cabinets, more lights and hardlines for air were the major changes.
While I was working on the shop I did a drastic "re-think" of BAD AST. It wasn't sitting like I wanted it so I changed a few things...
Here is a quick photshop I did of the van. The stance is accurate and the tires and wheel sizes are to scale. Compare it to the pic at the start of this thread... I like it "more better"...
http://images17.fotki.com/v8/photos/...ngstudy-vi.jpg
The cowl hood is a first blush. I still have a lot of work to do to the hood to extend it back to the windshield like I want it. The scoop is two inches high in this pic but I plan to do a three and a four inch to see what they look like. The Silverado bumper is still kinda stock looking. It will get a re-styling also to slim it up and take some "weight" out of the front end look.
Let me know what you think. I am looking for feedback and constructive criticizm.
I have started rebuilding the front frame. I wasn't at all happy with the weld quality in my 1st attempt so I cut it apart and started re-doing it a week or so ago. You can see some of that work here...
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25020
Mark

Looks good!Hasaanything changed with the power plant?Whats going to push it?

Originally Posted by BigTruckDriver

Looks good!Hasaanything changed with the power plant?Whats going to push it?

I have a 454 that will be going into it. The only thing that has changed is where the motor will sit. My initial designs were done around a 14" rearward and 5" down engine set-back. This was pretty drastic and it wouldn't let me drop the van like I wanted so I have re-thought it. I actually put the BODY where I wanted it, not worrying about engine location. I haven't reconfigured the engine placement yet but it will still have some set-back and set-down... I think getting the whole package lower will help the CG more then just getting the engine/trans low, as my initial designs did.
Mark

After a very uneventful summer I have started work on the van again. I had some major problems with my front suspension designs and had to do them over but, I have worked through that and actually started cutting up the van.
If you want to do some photo shop stuff I took a few pics last night with the tires and wheels set in place. I did a two pic shot of the side of the van to keep the rims in perspective. If you want to merge them into one file give it a shot. I plan to do it when I get some time.
http://images19.fotki.com/v332/photo...MVC016F-vi.jpg
http://images18.fotki.com/v16/photos...MVC017F-vi.jpg
Have fun...

Here is a pic of the interior after I got all of the plastic and carpet pulled out.
http://images19.fotki.com/v315/photo...MVC011F-vi.jpg
And here is one after I had both wheel wells and part of the floor removed.
http://images18.fotki.com/v16/photos...1se0612-vi.jpg
I had a tough time starting the cuts... It seemed such a shame to cut it up. I was amazed at how clean this thing was. Even the bottom side is clean! I have never had the opportunity to work on a vehicle that was as rust free as this one is... Usually I am cutting out RUSTY parts... It really is a pleasure to work on something like this and not raise a cloud of dust.
Mark

I get real excited about your project, knowing the amount of engineering you are doing to the suspension. then I see your photoshops, and am reminded it is...

a mini van..

heh heh. To each his own.

Please keep the updates coming!

Not much to update but the van is back in the yard minus motor, trans and fuel tank. It looks pretty forelorn sitting in the driveway.
I spent last weekend cleaning and straightening in the shop. And sorting magazines. I have too many old car mags...
Anyway, I hope to get most everything cleaned and straightened by this weekend so I can put my truck to bed for the winter and get busy on the van.
First up will be stripping both front and rear suspensions out of her and building a body cart/rotisserie. I'll keep you updated.
Mark

Just curious what your plans were for the front wheel houses. I've been involved with a few Astro build ups and it always seams to be a lack of front wheelhouse room when lowering these things. I have a shop Astro for hauling parts and trailer that has been lowered 2" with spindles and springover, it will bottom out easily. Do you plan on tubbing the front as well? Keep the photos coming.

I plan to re-work the front wheel houses also. Once I get the front suspension built I will install the cradle and cycle the suspension through jounce, rebound and right and left steer. I will only remove as much as is necessary to get about a half inch of clearance at the extreme tire positions.
I also plan to have "soft" contact surfaces where the tire will not see any sharp edges. Cutting out the original wheel house and re-using it is the plan with pieces added to get it where it needs to be.
Mark

Well, I have gotten a few things done on the computer the past week or so. I had to rebuild my big computer at and lost a lot of data in the process. I think it was a good thing though as I found a few more mistakes on my part...
After a big hiccup with geometry points earlier this year I have finally gotten the data where it needs to be. After plotting all of my spindle points from the actual parts I found my first design wasn't as far off as I had thought. It was off but only by 1/4" or so and not the 2" I had previously thought. I spent the last couple of days verifying my points are correct and redesigning the upper and lower control arms.
Here are a few pics of my 3D Data.
http://images19.fotki.com/v26/photos...rtsusp2-vi.jpg
http://images16.fotki.com/v31/photos...rtsusp3-vi.jpg
http://images19.fotki.com/v353/photo...rtsusp4-vi.jpg
Everything looks good right now. I need to rebuild the motion file to check clearances but this suspension isn't far off from the original so I'm not real concerned...
I also need to rebuild the front cradle and rear frame but those are pretty straight forward now that the front is complete.
Thanks for looking,
Mark

Can you believe it's been over 5 years since I started working on this van? Lots has happened from then till now. Layoffs, new jobs, massive O.T. and life I guess...
If there is any interest I can post up some of the build pics... I finally got this van off the computer and onto the jig tables. Starting the work in ernest on Memorial day weekend we have the chassis and front suspension 90% complete and the van is a gutted hulk sitting on the hoist waiting for the chassis to be stuffed into it.
Here are a few pics as she sits right now.
http://images50.fotki.com/v1526/phot...MVC021F-vi.jpg

http://images15.fotki.com/v235/photo...MVC010F-vi.jpg

http://images110.fotki.com/v109/phot...MVC011F-vi.jpg\

http://images24.fotki.com/v764/photo...MVC019F-vi.jpg

Thanks for looking at all of my stuff.
Mark