New dude with some questions

i got the wrong kind of brass plugs, so the intake manifold holes are sitting open. what do the ones i need look like, and do you know the sizes? will i hurt anything if i leave the holes open until later this evening?

so the people who had the van before me seemed to do some kind of home depot repairs for the heater hose connectors, or something. i can't find the right size plug or cap for these things. would it be possible to just connect them with a hose? i've already rigged up a plug with a skateboard truck kingpin and some teflon tape, but i don't know what kind of time that's going to buy me. and i've bought a pipe cap from home depot, but it seems like it might be the wrong size/threading. other than that, the heater is out, the console is built, the B&M Quicksilver shifter is bolted to the new console and hopefully in a day or two, i'll have the right length B&M shifter cable, and i'll have this thing back on the road. with an aftermarket shifter like this, it has neutral safety switch and back up light connections. would i need to do anything with those? i remember the stock shifter was just a straight shot from shifter>cable>tranny. would the NSS and light be triggered by the transmission itself?

As I recall, the trans has the connections on the drivers side.

The aftermarket automatic shift cable i bought was the B&M 80835 It will not work, a fast waist of $60.00 and yes you can hook the in and out ports for the heater with a hose . it would act just like it does now. Out and back in.

wahhh?!?! why wouldn't the shift cable work?

manifold plugs:
Should be easy to find, check auto parts stores (maybe in the "Help!" section), check home depot/lowes/ace in the brass pipe fittings section.

a picture would help if you can link one here.

There is no way to fasten the cable to the shifter and hold it in place. i even welded a all thred to the shifter but could not make it work.

i bought a B&M shifter. it comes with a cable that fits the shifter, it's just too short. i was scared the new cable wouldn't connect to the transmission itself. there's brackets and diagrams and everything.

the stock shifter is out and now i have a hole to fill in my dash where the stock shifter was. all suggestions welcome. i was thinking a soda fountain, 6 USB ports, fold out punching bag, or gun holster.

oh, does anyone have an answer on the NSS or the backup light thing? thanks everyone for all the help and answers. i know i've been slacking on the pics, but i'll try to post some up tonight

B&M has a backup & neutral safety switches- look in their catalogue or online for them. The cable can also be had from them in whatever lenght you wish to use. For the hole on the dash=?? Beer tap & cold pony keg in fridge in rear work for ya??

I have the b&m shifter cable #80835 . but the conversation was a broken shifter cable. but now we are talking a b&m shifter and cable . if that is the case then you should have no problem Can the new shifter be installed at the same location as the original shifter was.??? or are you moving the shifter to a new location.??? If the cable is to short i may have a longer one what lenth cable do you have.??? if it is long enough then there should be no problem with the hook up. what you need to know is what is the thred at the end of the cable i'm thinking it's 8 /32 but not sure after you have the thred size then mid west controls is the place to go. http://www.midwestcontrol.com/part_family.php?id=2

after looking at there site i'm thinking 10/32 thred this is that i used it will pin in to the tranny leaver .it pivots . and your shifter rod will thred in to it. it looks like this . http://www.midwestcontrol.com/series.php?id=171

if you can use the old cable route and hold down clamping it would help.

dix wrote: There is no way to fasten the cable to the shifter and hold it in place. i even welded a all thred to the shifter but could not make it work.

Although this might not be addressing the same problem it might help a little. The tabs on my dashboard shifter that hold the cable casing to it broke years ago. To stablize the cable I wrapped the casing to the shifter with bailing wire, and where the cable goes through the floor, I attached a hose clamp to it just above the floor and another one right next to it just below the floor, and haven't had any problems with it in 20 years.

ok, new problem. a few weeks ago, i replaced the positive battery cable, since the old one was cracked at the clamp and not making good contact with the battery all the time. i connected thecable inside the doghouse at the starter relay, then went to connect to the battery. it immediately started trying to crank! i hit the strter relay a few times and tried to connect the cable again and it was fine. i fired it up and drove around the block a few times, got home, turned it off, cranked it back up a couple more times, and had no problems. the next morning i tried to drive it to work and made it just outside of my neighborhood, when the electrical died and the van filled with smelly white smoke. both of the battery cables were melted and the wire inside was burnt and broken in spots. i had a friend help me tow it home and it's been sitting in front of my house since then. so my question is, should i replace the relay switch thing thats attached to the inside of the back of the dog house? i ordered a solenoid, but i've also heard that the solenoid for my van is not part of the starter, it's the relay switch. please help!


p.s. some jerkass also hit and ran my van in front of my house last week. insurance is covering it under the uninsured driver thing. does anyone have any leads on a good rear bumper and/or metal fab guys in texas?

there was a guy here that said he was using a bumper straighten and rechrome service in dallas. I asked for the details but I’m still waiting.

rad. i called a junkyard out in Seguin and the old man said they have some old vans out there. i might go check it out on tuesday. let me know if you want me to keep my eye open for something

I have a rear bumper core that needs to be straightened and painted or chromed .Pm me if interested

so, i returned the solenoid and traded it for a starter relay. came home and installed that and then decided to hook up the battery and fire it up. no blinkers, no lights, won't start. i figured there was more electrical damage than i thought. i decided to take the battery to the store where i bought it, just to rule that out. turns out, when i melted the cables, i fried the battery as well. the guy replaced it for free. i hooked it up, and with a little bit of starter fluid, the van cranked first try!!! i turned it off and got back under the van to make sure no wires were touching the exhaust or anything, and saw that the only thing that was seriously damaged from the melting incident was the old speedo cable. the gauges don't work anyways, so i decided to disconnect it. i don't know if a melted speedo cable could damage the tranny or possibly spin around and damage nearby wires. anyway, i started the van back up and took it for a spin around the block. and here's some photos that i promised you guys ages ago.






Here's the new shifter and console. i'm going to round off the edges and cover the console in guitar amp tolex












one of my favorite bands. they get front window sticker real estate




and here's the not so pretty.


no serious damage, but it's just lame. the body was in such great shape

Shifter and tunnel look great!
As far as looks the bumpers on the dodges had a little to be desired anyway.big ouch on the sheetmetal ,but alot of it will pull out, access to a stud gun would be a big help there.

this van has the very desirable sportsman trim across the dash. all the pieces are nice to have so do not toss the shifter bezel as its a major part of the set. 4 pieces i think in total.

time do do some home work from what i understand this chevy s 10 bumper does fit up and looks good but i don't know what mods you will have to do. look on craigslist for a used one. http://autoplicity.com/products/71798-westin_66001_surestep_universal_style_rear_bumper.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Chevrolet-S10-71798GSMakeModelFitment&utm_campaign=GSMakeModelFitment&adtype=pla&kw=&utm_term=&adpos=1o4&network=g&gclid=CKfDxqPanbQCFYZM4AodvUQAcg

Thanks for the suggestion on the bumper. i'll keep my eyes open. i drove to work and back today and it's running pretty great. the only new problem is that my brake lights don't work. the hazards and the blinkers work in the back, but no brake lights!. i went to check the brake light switch (which i recently replaced) and noticed one of the wires going into it looked loose. i went to push it onto the switch and it pretty much crumbled in my hand. is there a simple fix for this? perhaps a new connector that i can just splice onto the old wires, or do i have to trace it back through electrical tape hell? i AM planning on replacing everything with a Rebel Wire kit when i get a chance, but until then, i'd like to have brake lights. By the way, which wiring kit would be the right number of circuits for our vans?

supernaut wrote:and here's the not so pretty.

Dang. And here all along, I thought that was just the way they came from the factory. Mine had an identical wrinkle when I got it.

that is a good lookin’ van! like those wheels too.

I’ve seen dinosaur jr. a couple times, most recent was at stubb’s w/ built to spill. but, the other day it came up on shuffle, on a itunes playlist. I overheard my wife “I HATE THIS MUSIC” and then she turned the whole thing off… I later removed all J. Mascis from the playlist. it sorta sucked.

i had no idea about that show until way after it happened and someone mentioned it. i love built to spill as well. i did manage to see dino jr twice this year, and j mascis solo twice last year. my wife puts up with it, since my 5 year old son and i are both waaay into j mascis, lou barlow, and all of their respective bands. let's meet up some time and have a beer and talk van