Some of you have been answering my questions lately about my efforts to get my brother's 83 Dodge shorty van running good (again).

When my brother dropped it off a week ago, it had a nasty rattle in the exhaust, idled rough, and got about 10 MPG.

Turns out the catalytic I had installed was getting too much fuel and had melted, clogging the exhaust system (good call Josh!) On top of that, the brass float in the BBD had indeed failed and was making the motor run like crap.

After cutting the old catalytic and muffler out, removing the home-brewed AIR system, and installing the Walker quiet-flow muffler (Thanks Dan!) the van now sounds great. After replacing the float, tuning the carb, replacing the cap rotor and plugs with the good stuff, and adjusting the valves, the van idles quiet and smooth AND it gets 21 inches of vacuum at idle! I adjusted the valves to .012 and .022 hot, and I think it has made a big difference.

The van idles smooth and quiet now and seems to be running very clean since water drips out of the tailpipe as it idles.

Tomorrow I will take it on a longer road test to the junkyard to try and find some of that silver flexible hose for the heated air intake and some of that long round hose for the factory cold air intake.

Speaking of the factory cold air intake, getting that fixed was a sub-project in itself. The van came stock with factory cold air intake, but it was a one barrel. A few years ago I swapped the van to a Super Six and managed to find a van-only offset two barrel air cleaner. Because of the doghouse, slant six vans got special offset air cleaners. Needless to say, Super Six van air cleaners are very rare so finding one was a miracle in itself. However, Mopar stopped making super six vans before it started making van cold air intakes stock.

I wanted to use the super six air cleaner but also the factory cold air intake. Chrysler never made a van air cleaner to do this, so I solved the problem by removing the snorkle from the Super Six air cleaner and the one barrel air cleaner and welding the one barrel air cleaner snorkle to the Super Six air cleaner body. Now I have a one-only van-specific Super Six air cleaner that can attach to the factory van cold air intake hose, built from factory parts. Wheee! I know, not a big deal, but I am pretty proud of it.

When I get the van all finsihed up and washed i will post some pictures, and maybe a video if I can figure out how...


Thanks again for all the help and suggestion! This site and its members is/are awesome!

Good deal. Way to get a good air cleaner. You can get the aluminum air tubing at Schuck's or just about anywhere fine automotive products are sold.

You can put photos and videos on Photobucket and post links on the board.

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Joshua

I guess that means Autozone isn't a place where fine automotive products are sold? They didn't have any when I went in today.

I got a photobucket account, I just haven't tried videos yet. I want to keep the video small so it doesn't take DSL to watch it.

I am anxious for the Holley 2280 Rock gave me to get here. Then I can fine tune that carb and make sure the vacuum advance in the distributor is set up right. Sure is fun to work on a slant again....

Correct. Never buy anything but name-brand oil at AutoZone.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Gee Dan, how do you really feel about Autozone?

Seriously, I only go there because it is the closest place to my house. There is an independent Napa and a Baxter's location a couple miles away form me, so I shop there now.

Quote :"Correct. Never buy anything but name-brand oil at AutoZone."

Funny, that is the only thing I ever buy at our local Auto Zone. It is the only parts store in town that consistently carries Valvoline Syn-Power Max-Life Synthetic

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Real cars don't spin their front wheels, they lift them!

It has a 1976 225 motor out of a Volare I used to own and a 1974 727 transmission that EricW gave me (thanks again!) THe carb is a Holley 2280 that Rock gave me. Thanks!



I redid most the interior myself using stuff I bought at Home Depot and Maaco has painted the van (poorly) twice. It needs a new paint job. The dash cover and wood guage surround I got off e-bay, the vinyl engine cover and drink tray were junkyard scores. The curtains came out of a junked Ford conversion van. New sets of these curtains go for over $200. I paid $16 for these at the yard, then spent about $20 on iron-on backing due to the fabric being nearly sun-rotted, and then had to cut and re-sew some of them to the right size. So for $36 and about six hours of work with my sister I was able to install a full set of curtains to block out the sun and prying eyes.





When I swapped the van to a Super Six, I had to use the van-only air cleaner. Unfortunately, the factory van Super Six air cleaner did not have the correct snorkle to use the factory cold air intake system on the van. So I welded on the snorkle from the original one barrel air cleaner and now the van has a Super Six with cold air intake using all factory parts (except for that cold air intake hose that came off another junked Ford van).





When my brother dropped the van off for me to work on it this time, I discovered the catalytic converter had melted down and disintegrated, clogging the muffler. THe muffler was too loud anyway so I followed SlantSixDan's recommendation and installed a Walker Quiet-Flo muffler designed for a late model Dodge truck with a 318. Here is a video of the muffler installed on the van--first is startup, then a couple revs, then I put it in reverse. You may have to turn your speakers up to hear it.



Thanks for everybody's help getting this thing back up and running! Two years ago it was a non-running hulk with a trashed interior and a dead transmission. Thanks to the advice and help I have gotten here it is now a smooth running van. Couldn't have done it without you guys!

Glad to see the trans is in a happy place now Reed. Um, whats the red car next to the van? Looks kinda Pinto-ish.... Uh, I may be talking to you later about the Satellite....

Now THAT's what I call a "mini" van! (My buddy's Dad bought a new one like that in '81 and it had small "mini" emblems above the "RAM" emblems on the door.)When I get done "cleaning house" around here I think that's what I am gonna be looking for, to replace a couple of my current vehicles. Can't decide whether I want that or a D 150 again. (what I find, in the condition I'm after, for the price I'd want to pay, would probably make that decision) Nice van, except I like the double doors out back better than the big single one. Of course around here, that big single door's weight is an issue as the van would start to rust; Ive seen too many of them fall off. I guess that isn't the issue out your way as it is around here.

Yes, the red car is a 1971 Ford Pinto. My sister has always wanted one, and with gas prices the way they are a little four cylinder seemed like a good idea, especially since her daily driver right now is a 1990 Riviera with 170,000 miles on it. The Pinto has been retrofitted with Ford's cure for the explosion problem, and otherwise is in very nice shape. I just need to get her one of those signs you see on semis that says "stay back 50 feet."

I do like full-size shorty vans (or regular length vans too). The cargo space is incredible, but the wheelbase is so short that it is extremely easy to maneuver. And Dodge vans weigh in at around 3,000 pounds curb weight, about the same as a Volare or Aspen wagon. Aerodynamics are terrible, but can be improved. If you find a good condition shorty for a good price (not too hard with gas prices), grab it. Often the slant six was mated to a four speed O.D. maual tranny, but there is plenty of room under there for a 5 speed or the AOD swap using the A100 adapter plate.

My brother likes the big rear door for cargo loading purposes. I do agree that loading stuff in the back is easier with one big door rather than two small ones. The double doors seem to get in the way more and the single door does. Surprisingly, this van is very rust free, except around the battery, of course.

Thanks agains everyone!

Hey, love the interior in that van. The great thing about those custom vans is anything goes and the sky is the limit.

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Chuck and the Flying Valiant

Thanks! The interior is actually pretty basic. Indoor/outdoor carpet screwed down to the floor over the Reflectix brand foil insulation. Sides and rear door are just generic Home Depot panelling, so is the roof. The side and cross braces on the roof are necessary to hold up the panelling and the braces are covered with some regular house carpeting. The front door panels are masonite covered with more house carpet since there are hidden speakers in the front doors. That's it. The rest is stock.

If I was going to go wild I would have to break out the gorilla fur and button tucked velour.

If you like custom vans, check out: http://www.showtrux.com/

A happy note to finish this saga:

I delivered the van to my brother last night. It was a 40+ mile drive on the highway to get it to him. I kept track of the gas consumption and as near as I can tell the van got about 20-21 MPG on the highway. Not bad at all! I was even going 60 MPH most of the way.

My brother had indicated that he might sell the van, but has decided to keep it. Yay!

All around a happy ending, and it couldn't have happened without the generosity and helpful advice of all the folks here, especially EricW, Rock, DusterIdiot, SlantSixDan, Emsvitl, and other who contributed but whose names I can't remember right now. Thank you so much for your help!

Also, for those of you interested in how I got this brick of a 3,000 pound vehicle to get 20 MPG, here are the specs as near as I can give them to you:

Motor:
1976 forged crank 225, rebuilt, bored .030 over
stock 1976 cam, advanced 6 degrees
Stock early 70s head, drool tubes, revised combustion chamber
stock 190 degree thermostat
clutch fan from 80s era van
stock van cold air intake
Super Six intake and air cleaner
318 Holley 2280 carb, choke linkage modified to work on a slant six
Distributor is a stock 1973 Valiant distributor, with the following specs:
Distributor tag number: 3755042
Vacuum advance: 8.5R, factory settings start at 7, all in by 14
governor: 15L
Factory base timing = TDC

600 RPM = TDC
750 RPM = TDC
800 RPM = 2BTDC
900 RPM = 8BTDC
1100 RPM = 11BTDC
1350 RPM = 20BTDC
1500 RPM = 22BTDC
1550RPM+ = 22BTDC

I bumped the base timing up to six degrees, but eight degrees pinged a bit.

Exhaust:
stock manifold, 2.5 inch pipe all the way back
walker quiet-flo muffler for a late model dodge 318

tranny:
1974 727, non lockup
accumulator spring removed, line pressure screw backed almost all the way out

rear axle:
don't know size, 3.2 gear ratio

wheels:
factory chrome plated steel "Street Van"/"Little Red Express" rims

Other than that this is a stock shorty van. My whole concept was to build for low RPM torque and it seems to have worked. It cruises at about 2800 RPM doing 60 and has plenty of throttle travel left. Vacuum is 21 inches at idle, and between 10 and 20 cruising.