Astro van cat conversion

[Thefatsquatch]

Now that we have been told we are going too slow.

I got the RH track tensioner out....and by the look of things it has not been out in a loooooooooong time.

Cylinder bore is shot......
It is the same style as the RH one....A GOOD THING

Made a couple phone calls and founds all the materials needed.
A chunk of new DOM cylinder tube.....and the proper seals and back up rings.....
Tomorrow we'll get the cylinder tube cut and machined to length....weld the old end cap into the new tube.

The piston/rod is usable....but the cylinder was about like 20 miles of death valley fire trail.

The LH cylinder having been full of grease is all serviceable.....
The new seal parts look great.......

HERE ARE THE PART NUMBERS FOR THESE BAD BOYS
Used in several of the Thiokol...LMC...DMC TRACK TENSION CYLINDERS
THE V PACKING IS 840601625/N
THE BACKING RING 870601625SD/T
These are available readily online

The backing ring is a solid white polymer
Simply cut it on a 45 or 60 degree angle to allow it to be installed.
The original backer was cut on an angle.

Ok so the next time I see that stub axle and torsion arm, they are no longer welded to the torsion bar. Do you have to cut them out from both sides or something? How did you get it off there?! My torsion bar is bent inside the tube, but I would rather use original one, because the axle studs seem straight. It's either that or buy new 5200 pound torsion axles and a new axle tube.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Getting the torsion bar out is a real Beotch......
I just cut the tube off just inside of the spindle casting so I could save the casting and the spindle...

The original axles are 3500#
At this juncture....you may be better off to look at a pair of the 3500# half axles and then modify the tube end (If the tube is straight)

What has likely happened is that the plastic bushing that fits in the inner edge of the casting (Held in with a spiral snap ring) has worn out...then the rubber cords that are the support have gone away....then the axle heads rearward due to the stress of the track pulling on it.
The piccy shows how the torsion rod has moved back
Piccy shows the plastic split bushing that fits in the spindle casting.

All the stress from the track is the big reason I went with the heavy long bushing set up and the total re-design on my front end.
With your narrower frame, the design I chose will not work....No room to get all the parts in.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

After cutting the spindle arm....I machined the weld off the outside until I could see the crack....then into the press and pushed the stub out.....One came easily with my 20 tone press...The other took a 50 ton to do it.

Then I jigged the casting up using a hub and bearings to get the spindle square with the mill table and did a light cut on the inner edge of the casting to give a place to register the thing.

Set up the boring head off the square hole and bored it to allow a 2" shaft to press in with a 50 ton press...then welded it.

 

[Thefatsquatch]

All VERY helpful information! And the pictures help too. The front ones are shorter that the rest, so I assumed they were 52, while the rest are 36. The only short ones I can find are heavier. 3500 pound ones are way easier to find, but seem to be too long.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

The length was used to regulate the capacity...The longer arm makes the weight carrying capacity less....(More leverage)
Depending on the mfg. and how they build the axle varies a lot.

 

[olympicorange]

hey snowy,.. you are sure one busy cat ,.. keep it up,...

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Thanks....
Just wish my health could keep up with my ambitions .....
The Kidney cancer back in 2012 and the 5-6 strokes that came with that mess really kicked my Azz.
Between the severe fatigue that comes with strokes and the after effects of the drugs....OMG

But I can't leave yet....Got a snow cat to finish.....


I am excited a lot with the S10 BLAZER cabin.
That little beast will give us 5 place seating and a little cubby hole behind the back seat for junk
It has bucket seats up front and the bench in the second row.

With the front cab mounts in the same place as the current pickup cab is located....the rear of the Blazer comes right to the back of the 2100 Frame.....

I am thinking about a Veranda around the back.......

Too soon to firm that idea up much.....but it is on the table.

Another set of tires showed up....

I have an old SNOW CAT SPECIAL TIRE...Gonna cut that sucker up and see how many actual plies are in the tread face and the side walls....
The new tires are 10 ply rated
Face has polyester and steel
The side wall is polyester and nylon

The cat tire does not say whats in it......

Gonna do an autopsy on that corpse......

 

[Snowy Rivers]

CHANGE ORDER..
Got a call this morning.....Fella has a Dead 1998 S10 BLAZER 4 DOOR
Bad FUBAR'D ENGINE...
Been stored in the garage for a few years.....NO MOLD ALA CARTE.....

Complete in every way.....
I can't pass this up for the cats "NEW CABIN"

Got a couple more tires the other day....mounted up yesterday.
Bolted one on the RH side and then went to bolt the left one on.....Wheel. would not go on the studs... ????????????????

Studs were bent from over tightening the nuts in the old screwed up wheels.....
5 new studs and life is good

Will get pics up as soon as I can.

 

[vintagebike]

Four doors good.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssss....4 doors is a very good thing.
Actually they call it a 5 door....Rear gate and hatch

The only down side.....This sucker is WHITE
Gonna have to do some neon green flames or ?????? to make it so ya can see it......

I was a bit hesitant when the guy first called and the price was kicked around.
But some quick calcs and it became really clear that this was a good jump.
Not having to deal with the moldy carpet, headliner and other nasty messes.....

I can just concentrate on getting the body off the frame and onto the cat....
Going to have to modify the lifting rig to get hold of the bigger body.....Should be easy go....
Figure out where the balance point is and go from there.

Right ahead of the front doors where the fenders bolt on is where I anchored the lifting points for the pickup cab.....Probably work for the Blazer cabin too.

The rear point may be a tad more interesting.

Possibly a tube through the rear wheelhouse area and fasten things up to the body and get a loop on each side to hook to.
Gonna take some studying and measuring.....

We are heading off to check out the little rig here in a few hours......I am thinking that this rig should have power windows and door locks
Definitely gonna be a big step up as far as creature comforts goes.......

Sorting out all the electrical stuff will be a bit more interesting than on the old GEN 1 pickup cab.

The extra goodies like the ABS and other unused items will just be abandoned in place......

Basically all we need to run the engine is the hot wire to feed the HEI distributor.....Exterior lights and the HVAC STUFF.

All the OBD2 SENSORS (Lack of) will drive the ECM NUTS......Tough...yank out the SES lamp and the ABS lamp and call it a day.

OMG
This rig could have power seats too....Wooo hooo.....

Just got some pix from the fella with the Blazer
Actually I think he sent them last night.....

OMG
LOOKS TERRIFIC

Cat looking much better with all its feet back on the dirt.
The little 4 door body gonna look sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Depending on the weather .....Getting the Blazer apart will take a bit of time....but well worth the effort.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Deal made on the little white truck.
Real sweet cab for the kitty.
Well appointed too.
The interior needs nothing more than a very quick vacuum to be ready for prime time....

Power everything...Well almost...Seats are manual....which I like.
Windows, locks and mirrors are power
We need a set of those cool Weather tech floor mats to keep the nice blue carpet from getting skunked up.
Truck has been sitting in this garage since 2009..... Immaculate in and out.....

Need to sort out getting the tach and other gauges working with the 406 engine and old school HEI.

Should be a simple trick.....

Gonna get the rig tomorrow morning......

This is gonna be a really sweet cab for the FrankenCat

Sorting out the wiring that we don't need and want gone will take a bit of burning the "Midnight oil" but I am not worried much.

The computer will bitch....tough....

I briefly considered using the Vortec injection...Butttttttttttttttttttttttttt...I want a simple power plant with old school reliability....

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Well now.
Went to get the Blazer......
Stinking beast would not budge.

Rear brakes are stuck tighter than a Bulls azz in fly time.
Caliper pistons have skunked up and as soon as ya tough the brakes they lock up again
Both need to be replaced.....We must have brakes to move it out of the garage and his driveway to the street is steep.
So we dissolved the deal and came home.

Arrrrrrgh.

 

[PJL]

Bummer, that would have looked very nice.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

The deal may not be out of the question.....
Had a talk with the owner last night and offered to change out the calipers.
I found a pair of calipers for $80
Likely not premium quality.....But they will get the thing out of his garage and down the hill onto my trailer.

He is very receptive...
He also decided to pull the calipers off ...thinking that he could clean them up and get them freed up....

That vehicle model has had issues with that style of caliper seazing up......
Sitting since 2009 has likely allowed the pistons to corrode badly.

So at present I am somewhat optimistic that we may move ahead.

Yesterday was not a good day....not even.....

I did not want to leave with the guy holding the $$$$ and the rig and not really having a plan.
Guy seems like a straight up fella.....but I like to be careful......

Thankfully it is only about 30 miles to get there.
If we do move ahead and go with replacing the calipers.... I want to go prepared with all the tools needed......
Everything else seems fine.....so....A quicky bolt on of the fresh calipers ...bleed out the air.....good to go..

Should have info in a day or so......
Until then....we sit tight.....

If time had been on our side we could have done this yesterday.....but..not the case....and the closest parts house only had premium calipers with pads. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Way more $$ than I was willing to cough up.....
Just needs to move the rig less than 100 feet down the drive...onto the street and then square it up with my trailer....

Not a deal where the new parts are going to have any long term benefit....

 

[m1west]

The deal may not be out of the question.....
Had a talk with the owner last night and offered to change out the calipers.
I found a pair of calipers for $80
Likely not premium quality.....But they will get the thing out of his garage and down the hill onto my trailer.

He is very receptive...
He also decided to pull the calipers off ...thinking that he could clean them up and get them freed up....

That vehicle model has had issues with that style of caliper seazing up......
Sitting since 2009 has likely allowed the pistons to corrode badly.

So at present I am somewhat optimistic that we may move ahead.

Yesterday was not a good day....not even.....

I did not want to leave with the guy holding the $$$$ and the rig and not really having a plan.
Guy seems like a straight up fella.....but I like to be careful......

Thankfully it is only about 30 miles to get there.
If we do move ahead and go with replacing the calipers.... I want to go prepared with all the tools needed......
Everything else seems fine.....so....A quicky bolt on of the fresh calipers ...bleed out the air.....good to go..

Should have info in a day or so......
Until then....we sit tight.....

If time had been on our side we could have done this yesterday.....but..not the case....and the closest parts house only had premium calipers with pads. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Way more $$ than I was willing to cough up.....
Just needs to move the rig less than 100 feet down the drive...onto the street and then square it up with my trailer....

Not a deal where the new parts are going to have any long term benefit....

Does the emergency brake work? I once drove from SF to LA with and emergency brake because parts were not available. You should be able to get it down the driveway.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

The E brake was stuck on too.....We were able to get that loose...As soon as ya stomped the pedal it would stick again.
We were not getting any help on this one....For sure

I just do not want to take any chances with safety....The drive is steep...Cars parked on the street and slow careful maneuvering is needed.

I am somewhat confident that this deal may still come together......
Just need to let the guy fool around for a day of two and he said he would call me....

AS I mentioned....If this was on flat ground ...we could have shoved it around, stuffed a block under the wheel to hold it....then winch it on the trailer (Come Along)

But that nasty driveway angle just makes it a no go without brakes.....

I have not given up as yet...but the ball is in the owners court for the next couple days.

We shall see.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Just got a text from the guy with the S10 BLAZER

He decided to go buy the calipers and get things done.....
We are shooting for a Weds. pickup.

 

[western auto]

throw that shit in park and drag it down the hill hahahaha

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT NUMBER.

Hard to look cool in a nice neighborhood when ya do stuff like that...
I think the old fella would have been pissed if I pulled that stunt and left the black marks down the aggregate drive.

The way it's going will be fine.....Just a tad more traveling..
BUT WORTH IT.
This little rig is so clean....
Soft cushy seats.....nice carpet.
Woooo hoooo

 

[western auto]

if its just the rears vice grip the line , open the bleeder and smack them free and roll on front brakes/ either way looks like you got it sorted, should make for a much better and comfortable finished product

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Out here in the sticks....almost anything goes.....Get the tractor and a chain...or the skid steer....

City scapes require a tad more finesses ya know

I do not want to booger up the rolling chassis if it can be helped.

The nice clean 4x4 frame with the running gear will bring good $$$$$.....

Yes indeed.
The comfort is gonna be into the 10 scale......I remember the old Spryte I ran....Plastic seats....zero creature comforts.....and noisy.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Well now

I was supposed to hear yesterday about the 98 blazer....Nothing.

Thinking we are going to return to the 85 that's down the road 3 miles. Far less hassle and sooooooo close to home.


I did not burn that bridge....so it's just a text message away and we can get going on that.

Seems the ignition keys are MIA.....Owner found the title.....

Going to have to pop the steering wheel off and pull the ignition lock cylinder out.....New one is $18 at autozone.
Anyway.
Nothing more at present....
When we start this phase I will get pics and info.......

 

[m1west]

Well now

I was supposed to hear yesterday about the 98 blazer....Nothing.

Thinking we are going to return to the 85 that's down the road 3 miles. Far less hassle and sooooooo close to home.


I did not burn that bridge....so it's just a text message away and we can get going on that.

Seems the ignition keys are MIA.....Owner found the title.....

Going to have to pop the steering wheel off and pull the ignition lock cylinder out.....New one is $18 at autozone.
Anyway.
Nothing more at present....
When we start this phase I will get pics and info.......

Got free towing with your auto insurance, if not add it on and use it.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I checked that out...
Vehicle MUST be registered to me...have current license plates .....The ins folks figured this game out.

I have towing, and have had for years.
Ah well.

Not sure wassssup with the owner..
I text him yesterday and asked If he would like me to come over and help with getting the brake calipers on and bled out.

He never responded.

Ah well.

Time to move on....

 

[m1west]

I checked that out...
Vehicle MUST be registered to me...have current license plates .....The ins folks figured this game out.

I have towing, and have had for years.
Ah well.

Not sure wassssup with the owner..
I text him yesterday and asked If he would like me to come over and help with getting the brake calipers on and bled out.

He never responded.

Ah well.

Time to move on....

150' of 1"x1"x1/8" sq tube- $200.00. or so
3- 4'x 8' sheets of 20 ga. aluminum $200.00 or so
1- 4'x 8' sheet of lexan for the windows- $ 200.00 or so
Hinges and handles $200.00 or so.
paint $ 100.00 or so
expendables/ hardware $ 150.00 or so
There you have it for around $1000.00 - $1400.00 guesstimate, you could have already built a cab that matches the machine with the time you have already spent looking for donor vehicles. I know I am harping but believe its your best option.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

YEAH......I KNOW.

Just a gluten for punishment....

Well....We shall see.
I have a couple more possibilities......
If they fall on their butt.....We may well got the fab route.

I just did not want to have to build the cab....

I have time to snoop.....Without a place to build anything indoors.....makes it a summer time thing only....

 

[m1west]

YEAH......I KNOW.

Just a gluten for punishment....

Well....We shall see.
I have a couple more possibilities......
If they fall on their butt.....We may well got the fab route.

I just did not want to have to build the cab....

I have time to snoop.....Without a place to build anything indoors.....makes it a summer time thing only....

The pictures I saw from your shop, a little re arranging and it looks doable over the winter. It would weigh practically nothing until you put the lexan in. Make removable floor plates from some 16 ga. aluminum and you would be styling with something that looks factory. Then over time insulate it etc. I would do a cab over design. good visibility and it leaves room for a rear deck to haul things.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Actually my shop is far smaller than it looks
the rollup door is a 6 footer.
The lathe and mill take up all of the space on the one end.

Welding cant be done inside.
The bulk of the space downstairs is a 1000 sq ft apartment that was my folks and now we rent it out.
Welding would likely set the place on fire.....NOT GOOD

Ahhh yess.

My kingdom for a nice shop.
24' x 36' would be sweet with a 12 foot door.

 

[m1west]

Just work on it on nice days and cover it outside. You likely only need 15 nice days over the winter.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Ahhh yess

15 nice days in NW Oregon.....Woooohooo....thats a stretch