Converting a 1986 G30 Van for Expeditioning

[arctic cat]

Howdy my name is Ed and I lived in Belton Texas. Retired early with a decent income.  I'm an accomplished overlander with 5 major expeditions/ overlanding under my belt. I have a girlfriend and a service dog so my Jeep and the tenting thru out the desert is becoming a little impractical.   Not ready for an RV as I'm a firm believer that if I need to bring my 40 inch TV with me and cook gourmet steak every night I need to stay home.    So with that said the RV, maybe way later in life.   At one point I wanted to purchased a newer cargo van, but prices are up there and GF and I were not willing to spend that money.    So after pondering a littlebit, we went on GOVT PLANET and place a bid on a 1986 Chevrolet G30, HI- CUBE van.   I never saw the van, except for pictures and we knew it was not running as all the fluids had been drained.   We took the plunge and won the Bid for  $1,000.  That was back in October 2015 and we had been working on this project since them.    So what I'm going to do is going to be posting pictures and explaining from the start of what we had done until we catch up as to what we are currently doing.   This is going to be a low tech built up and we are going to be using some of the equipment that we already owed previous overlanding trip and incorporating on our built.  So here aare a couple of pics of the van from the bidding site.  The van is a G30 2 Wheel drive, with a 6.2 Diesel Engine and TH400 Transmission.   It was an ex US Air Force Van but at some point it was transferred to the US Army in Fort Hood and used Hazmat Response Vehicle.  The Army obviously could not have Air Force Blue so they painted it gray.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

nice, will be watching your progress sounds like a great project, will you be installing the 40 incher above the cab?? welcome

 

[arctic cat]

Here are some pictures of the front interior.  Obviously the van haven't been used in many years :huh:   At this point my girlfriend was thinking Texas Chain Saw Massacre and was somewhat optimistic but I needed to at least start the van.

 

[arctic cat]

nice, will be watching your progress sounds like a great project, will you be installing the 40 incher above the cab?? welcome

Ha Ha Ha no 40 incher, we barely watch TV.

 

[arctic cat]

The van was towed to where we lived.   BTW we live rent free at a storage area.  We have an apartment and I do some security work for the owner so we don't pay anything.  In exchange I stay here for free and this is where I get to work on my stuff.  The great thing about it is I can come and go as I please, so I can take off for several months and still have my place.    Well here is the outside of the van, The Army decided to paint over the Hazmat Response Lettering with some greasy paint that was a pain to remove.    The van was towed to our place and drop there for to work on.   We replaced all the fluids when I mean all the fluids I mean ALL FLUIDS put 2 new batteries and with some starting fluids on hand the van started.   At first it did not run because the transmission fluid was low and was leaking.   The Transmission fluid pan was bended because it was pick up with a forklift.    I took the the pan off and straightened up and while there replace the filter and a new gasket.  Fix That and replenished the fluid and VOILA there it was running around the storage area.

 

[highdesertranger]

never never never ever use starting fluid on a glow plug diesel. did I mention never. if you absolutely find the need to use starting fluid disconnect the glow plug system. anyhow I like your van I want to see more, I love the 6.2/6.5 engines, simple is an understatement. is it a 12v or 24v. I heard the some of the vans were 12v. highdesertranger

 

[arctic cat]

never never never ever use starting fluid on a glow plug diesel.  did I mention never.  if you absolutely find the need to use starting fluid disconnect the glow plug system.   anyhow I like your van I want to see more,  I love the 6.2/6.5 engines,  simple is an understatement.  is it a 12v or 24v.  I heard the some of the vans were 12v.  highdesertranger

It's 12 volt all around.   Unfortunately the glow plug system was completely shut so eventually I replaced all glow plugs and glow plug controller it had been fix since them, but I still have a fuel leak that is letting air in the system.  I found that the Stanadyne 80 fuel filter base is leaking so it's getting overhaul.

 

[arctic cat]

A van this all was not to be without rust.   Some of the major rust spot were replaced by the US Army.   The other ones were repaired by me.   I did not found any major rust spot inside.   I attempted to removed all the rust by actually cutting it completely out and grinding the area to the bare metal.  and used fiberglass to patch the spot.

 

[highdesertranger]

that should be the box type filter. I would replace the whole assembly with a Racor filter assembly. like this one, http://www.adiesel.com/store/RAC-230R2.html . highdesertranger

 

[arctic cat]

that should be the box type filter.  I would replace the whole assembly with a Racor filter assembly.  like this one,   http://www.adiesel.com/store/RAC-230R2.html .  highdesertranger

That is the plan if the rebuilt don't work/  There is a guy locally that rebuilt infector pumps and filter bases and claimed that those box filter are not all that bad, because the military let their vehicle for longer time and some times they used questionable fuel, the gasket and the O ring dried out.   so he is going to check it and see if he can work on it.  If not a racor filter is in order.   There is also an issued with the injector pump that need to be work out. I expect those issued to be solved withing the next 2 weeks

 

[arctic cat]

PAINT:  Painting the van was a must.   So we mull a little bit about colors.   Because of the nature of the intended use of the van we want it the van to be painted in such a way that if were to be scratch or needed to be repaired that we should be able to do the job by ourselves.   I was in the military and also served in as an LEO before.  So I know the things that catch a LEO eyes.   Nothing against hippies as we are all hippies in our own special way, but I have been to Oregon and I had seen some of the vans they were driving and they do get a lot of unwanted attention.   The attention that we don't want.   So we decided to restore the van to it original colors, Air Force Blue or official color name "Strata Blue.    Just like any other branch of service, the US Air Force used to paint their field vehicle with a more Tactical Blue back in the old days.   That "blue" just like the OD Green or Desert Tan in tactical vehicles was designed in such a way that a it could be repainted in the field as needed.   So we chose to paint the vehicle "strata blue"   Luckily there is an outfit out Rapco Parts Company out of Bowie Texas  and we purchased the paint and applied ourselves with our compressor and spray gun.  It was all fun and we took our time sanding and painting.

 

[arctic cat]

We replaced the standard seal beams with Halogen lights with H4 bulbs.   We change the rear taillight housing that was completely rusted with a more modern and brighter LED.   Also we replaced and every side lens cover with newer ones and to add visibility place some reflective tape in the rear of the van.   We decided to keep the 16.5 8 bolt pattern rims so we purchased a missing hub cap that we found in ebay to complete the set of four. Since this pictures we also replace the rear work lights for LED type.  We did kept the roof area gray in color in order to keep the van somewhat cooler.   Keep in mind this van were very bare and they did not came equipped with Air Conditioning. That is all for tonight I must go to sleep

 

[flying kurbmaster]

good job so far, looks great, can you access the back from the cab?

 

[arctic cat]

good job so far, looks great, can you access the back from the cab?

Yes, but a partition with a small entrance is been built.  Here is a picture.

 

[msbarth]

I have the older (1984) sister of your van.  She has the handicap school bus body and is a 350 chevy.  W have made her into a camper and really enjoy her.

 

[highdesertranger]

nice work, keep the pics coming. highdesertranger

 

[arctic cat]

SLEEPING AREA:  A lot of you set your sleeping area inside the van and pull a trailer with personal stuff.  Like I explained before I have gear and equipment from previous EXPO/Overlanding trip and we are planning to incorporate some of that gear into my project.   So with that said we own a MY POD which is a fiberglass trailer that have a full size bed inside.  the original bed was just a mattress and to that we added a 3 in memory foam topper and another protective topper.  To be honest is much more comfortable than the bed inside my apartment.   The POD have LED light and inside and outside.  It also have a Fantastic fan that create this tunnel breeze inside the trailer.  We have a pair of memory foam pillows inside that make sleeping a breeze and small cabinet to put extra sheet or other things.  The trailer dry weight is 600 lbs.   To add storage we purchased a tongue tool box for the front of the trailer and a spare.    The trailer run on either electric or 12 volts.    When the trailer is connected to the towing vehicle the battery get a trickle charge from the towing unit.   But when is park it get charge from an 80 watt solar panels.    So we are no reinventing the wheel on this department so trailer is it. we love it :heart:

 

[Gary68]

looks good but no teardrop for me,my spine is just not that good
b.t.w. highdesertranger is a pro mech with a fetish for 6.2/6.5,listen to what he says,he is the best mechanic on the site

 

[iplayguitarintheshower]

That thing is badass. never seen a cube van before. Id like to see one a little bigger for a full bathroom/kitchen/bed combo

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard the forums Arctic Cat!
As you know by now , you came to the right place for help with your project.
Great score on the cube van , the army's loss is your.....future home !
WOW Cat that little trailer is cool !
We sure will know who you are when we see those two rigs pull up .