2wd to 4wd 95 chevy van conversion

anyone done this?.....
tranny, t-case for right side drop diffs, spedo, crossmember, mounts, driveshafts?

what will work?


 
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I always thought the front end of the van chassis and the p/u were virtually the same parts? I have seen 4x4 vans so we know it CAN be done, right? Seems like it would be a pretty straight forward swap except the driveshaft would have to be a custom fab being way shorter than a truck.
I like the idea! If ya break down in the woods you can just step to the back of the van, make a sandwich and take a nap. Well, that's what I would do.  

actually the newer vans don't even have a frame,
the drive shafts from a suburban are a perfect match...

here's some of what I have done


hacked off the crossmember enough to clear the differential, this pic isn't the final product...



I built the front and rear spring perches from plate and tube steel..









and the tranny crossmember..









built a custom steeing link with a solid stock bar, dom tubing, and a 1t tre on high steer crossover knuckles...






a 241 t-case right side drop was used to take care of the spedo problems along with a 4L60E I rebuild in house and installed a 4l60ehd-2 transgo shift kit.



gm 14 bolt full floater in the rear with 4.56 gears and 33" tires..



got a good start on the exhaust today also..




the lift is around 7"... it'll be headed out for a test drive tomorrow..

 
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here's some more pics...







 
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wow very nice work!!!!! so thats why u havn't been on much huh lol .... but whats the loop around the front driveshaft for? how did the steering turn out? i wanna do crossover steering on my K5 real soon  
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

the loop just ended up getting left for strength and charactor... lol we thought it looked cool, I'm gonna hang a small t-case skid off of it when I get some free time.

the project took me and my brother a week and a half to do between other work,

the steering is awesome... I thought it would be the easiest way to do it and I love the crossover on the jeep. we're gonna build another high steer crossover for my brother's suburban.. only draw back is, I don't think the stock sway bar is gonna work with it.

I think it's a bit high tho... about 7" on 33's.

what do you think?  
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yeah ive been lookin at the front end of my K5 and noticed that the sway bar is gonna be in the way of the crossover steering, im probabley just gonna get rid of the bar anyways...... the van does look a bit tall but did u need to go that high? maybe some wider tires would finish off the look but either way that is some awesome work    
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

Great work MudB8, very nice fabrication work.  I agree though, looks a little high, maybe some 35s?  

Geo450racer:
yeah ive been lookin at the front end of my K5 and noticed that the sway bar is gonna be in the way of the crossover steering, im probabley just gonna get rid of the bar anyways...... the van does look a bit tall but did u need to go that high? maybe some wider tires would finish off the look but either way that is some awesome work  

the front springs are skyjacker 6" that have been laying around, the rear ended up with a 2" add a leaf and 6" blocks to match it.. so that's just how it ended up. I build the 4L60E with a transgo -2 shift kit, the diffs are 4.56's, so in the intrests of making the tranny live, as it's also a tow rig, 35's are out of the question, I have some 4" springs we might put under it.... it's not settling as much as I figured it would.  
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Great work! I love this!  
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97 3/4ton Burb Slowly making Progress