GMC Jacke's van

So I took off the Large 18" flex fan five blade... bought thsi six blade flex fan. Much better and safer... the other fan sat about an 1 1/2 inches about the height of the radiator! Danger was all around me!! Next I install the new radiator!

I think you will find that with a new re-cored radiator you will not need an extra electric fan, they block more air than they aid in cooling.  Try it without the electric fan, just a standard sized engine fan on the pulley for whatever engine you have, 350 Chevy small block? They usually had an 18" or 19" 5-blade fans. You can add a fan shroud that just goes over the top, look on eBay, universal and cheap, for protection but I think you will find you don't open the doghouse very often with the engine running once you get everything tinkered with...(I know about Doni's extra small fan for cool down odor)  Enjoy following your posts and progress on your van, the bumpers are very nice!  BTW, your parking light lens look faded in the pictures?  Nice new deep amber ones are available, cheap on eBay....And ask Doni about the rewire trick at the headlight switch so they stay on when the headlights are light newer vehicles if it hasn't been done so already!

looks to me she put a hamburger fan on her bellypan,,,,,,thats not to be confused for a radiator fan,,,,these vans suffer badly from heat soak,,,,you shut the engine off and the heat got nowhere to go,,,,so it boils the gas in the carburetor,,,,you get that gas smell,,,it floods the engine,,,,it heats up the starter solenoid so all you get is a click,,,,if it does start, you got a cloud of black smoke out of the exhaust,,,,if you park anywhere,,,you get that gas smell,,,,that really makes people very unhappy at the fast food places sitting outside trying to eat,,,you cant even eat in your van with that smell,,,,on the road, other benefits are it keeps the doghouse, and therefor you,,,,,cooler,,,,it helps out the radiator if the temperature gauge rises,,,especially if you are stuck in traffic,,,,,because,,,,,if you aint movin, you aint coolin with the fine cooling systems on our vans,,,,so everyone needs a Hamburger fan,,,,,,the bigger the better,,,,,,,and a ceiling fan timer works really good to set it and forget it when you  park the van so you dont forget to turn it off and it kills your battery,,,,,,,lets shoot the engine with  a temp gauge  and see how hot it actually gets, not what the coolant temperature is,,,,,,

Vantasia wrote:I think you will find that with a new re-cored radiator you will not need an extra electric fan, they block more air than they aid in cooling.  Try it without the electric fan, just a standard sized engine fan on the pulley for whatever engine you have, 350 Chevy small block? They usually had an 18" or 19" 5-blade fans.  You can add a fan shroud that just goes over the top, look on eBay, universal and cheap, for protection but I think you will find you don't open the doghouse very often with the engine running once you get everything tinkered with...(I know about Doni's extra small fan for cool down odor)  Enjoy following your posts and progress on your van, the bumpers are very nice!  BTW, your parking light lens look faded in the pictures?  Nice new deep amber ones are available, cheap on eBay....And ask Doni about the rewire trick at the headlight switch so they stay on when the headlights are light newer vehicles if it hasn't been done so already!

Yes, I have replaced those old front amber turn signals. I need to update the van picture. I also got new red tail lights, Don showed me the new LED ones, at the Old car swap meet, but the guy had left, ... I had already bought the red ones, anyway. Not sure if I want that LED look. But they are very bright and nice.
I believe he mentioned that once about the turn signals & wiring. I would like them to be on.
Yes, my new radiator core will be great, but I also have that belly pan 16" "hamburger fan" attached pointed up at a 45 degree angle toward the radiator, picked it up at that swap meet, with the guys help. I want to be prepared for any heat issues & gas smell. I wondered about that old 5 blade fan, it looked different. I think it just came with the Camaro motor. I really like your van it is very cool. I will be working agin on the van and getting closer and closer to completion. More posts coming soon.

So, I need to change my emergency brake handle and cable. Because I changed the doghouse and radiator to 2nd gen set up, now the e-brake cable rubs the side of the radiator. I have the correct 2nd gen brake handle/doghouse and the cable that was on the 2nd gen van. I have never changed a brake cable, so any instructions to help would be great. I believe I can replace it, just how to begin? I have the doghouse off and the radiator out... so its all open. NEXT...

Well,,,,,,I dont know that the parking brake handle is the problem,,,,,,the cable needs to go from the handle to the driveshaft,,,,and it has 2 plastic wheels along the way  that route the cable away from everything. To get the cable off the handle, you need to loosen it at the rear of the transmission,,,maybe pull the pin out, then pull the handle up a little and push the cable up into it until the ball on the end of the cable comes out of the end of the handle,,,,,maybe Russell had to modify his, but he did not have that big radiator,,,,,

I am changing the handle so the bolt pattern matches the doghouse. It sounds like I may route the cable away from everything. The cable I got from the 2nd gen is much longer so I have enough cable to route. Hopefully, since this cable came from the same van that the radiator came out of it will work... I will see how hard it is to remove that original handle first, LOL it looks like it will be a bear!
Thanks for the help. I'll be working this weekend for sure! You know that production line mentality of mine...

JackeFriend wrote:

Vantasia wrote:I think you will find that with a new re-cored radiator you will not need an extra electric fan, they block more air than they aid in cooling.  Try it without the electric fan, just a standard sized engine fan on the pulley for whatever engine you have, 350 Chevy small block? They usually had an 18" or 19" 5-blade fans.  You can add a fan shroud that just goes over the top, look on eBay, universal and cheap, for protection but I think you will find you don't open the doghouse very often with the engine running once you get everything tinkered with...(I know about Doni's extra small fan for cool down odor)  Enjoy following your posts and progress on your van, the bumpers are very nice!  BTW, your parking light lens look faded in the pictures?  Nice new deep amber ones are available, cheap on eBay....And ask Doni about the rewire trick at the headlight switch so they stay on when the headlights are light newer vehicles if it hasn't been done so already!

Yes, I have replaced those old front amber turn signals. I need to update the van picture. I also got new red tail lights, Don showed me the new LED ones, at the Old car swap meet, but the guy had left, ... I had already bought the red ones, anyway. Not sure if I want that LED look. But they are very bright and nice.
I believe he mentioned that once about the turn signals & wiring. I would like them to be on.
Yes, my new radiator core will be great, but I also have that belly pan 16" "hamburger fan" attached pointed up at a 45 degree angle toward the radiator, picked it up at that swap meet, with the guys help. I want to be prepared for any heat issues & gas smell. I wondered about that old 5 blade fan, it looked different. I think it just came with the Camaro motor. I really like your van it is very cool. I will be working agin on the van and getting closer and closer to completion. More posts coming soon.

Easy solution for gas smell! Use gas deodorant from Jegs and other sources, works great, comes in many flavors, I used Raspberry, nasty odor is gone and it smells like a scented candle when you do smell it, but its greatly reduced.  Has no effect on performance and a bottle lasts for several tank fills.  They use this at drag races for the nasty nitro smell...I think I posted this before, but try some!   Read the overview tab. I only use a few cap fulls per tank, works and lasts longer than they say.... http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchResultsPageCmd?Ntt=fuel+fragrnace&requestYear=&storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&year=&make=&model=&submodel=&engine=&Nrpp=&No=&persistYmm=false

donivan65 wrote:Well,,,,,,I dont know that the parking brake handle is the problem,,,,,,the cable needs to go from the handle to the driveshaft,,,,and it has 2 plastic wheels along the way  that route the cable away from everything. To get the cable off the handle, you need to loosen it at the rear of the transmission,,,maybe pull the pin out, then pull the handle up a little and push the cable up into it until the ball on the end of the cable comes out of the end of the handle,,,,,maybe Russell had to modify his, but he did not have that big radiator,,,,,

BTW, if your plastic pulleys are shot, you can get metal ones that are almost an exact match from industrial supply places and online. They are called wire rope pulleys, look here, there are several sizes... http://www.mcmaster.com/#rope-pulleys/=14e732x

Vantasia wrote:

donivan65 wrote:Well,,,,,,I dont know that the parking brake handle is the problem,,,,,,the cable needs to go from the handle to the driveshaft,,,,and it has 2 plastic wheels along the way  that route the cable away from everything. To get the cable off the handle, you need to loosen it at the rear of the transmission,,,maybe pull the pin out, then pull the handle up a little and push the cable up into it until the ball on the end of the cable comes out of the end of the handle,,,,,maybe Russell had to modify his, but he did not have that big radiator,,,,,

BTW, if your plastic pulleys are shot, you can get metal ones that are almost an exact match from industrial supply places and online.  They are called wire rope pulleys, look here, there are several sizes...    http://www.mcmaster.com/#rope-pulleys/=14e732x

Thanks, great resource. I have not really invetigated the pully's I can only see one upfront. It seems good, but I will check as those rope-pulleys are very cost effective!

Some vehicles dont even use wheels to divert the cable around things,,,,,they just kind of use a tough tie wrap,,,,,,like a coat hanger or a tough S hook, to guide the cable along the frame,,,,,,,I think I am gonna call those vans the 1 1/2 Gens,,,,,,a 1st Gen with 2nd Gen parts, that dont fit unless you highly modify them, the vans that shops wont work on because they dont know what they are looking at,,,,,,,

I got to work on the van E-brake project today. Took about 2 hours but I changed out the brake handle for the 2nd gen version. Changed out the short brake cable for the longer cable out of the 2nd gen (which the radiator came from). Adjusted the cable so I had plenty of handle, routed the longer cable away from the side of the radiator. Drilled two hole in the floor, as the 2nd gen E brake handle had to bolts attached to a plate, rather that the threaded end like the 1st gen. Measured for my seats to assure the doghouse was even on each side to accommodate those babies... soon very soon. Then put in the radiator, next I will get the doghouse secured, tomorrow, I am feeling accomplished!

At-A-Girl, Jacke!!! Get-Er-Done!

Thanks I will for sure... here are those beautiful seats!!

Classy!

Had some time this weekend to work on the doghouse conversion, cut off the old tunnel and welded everything and grinded, grinded & grinded. My friend helped me as I had not welded in 20 years. I did pretty good for an amateur, I was told, by a really nice person.
Got help from Rich with my running lights later and tail light set up! I now have the amber lights on when driving, much nicer. He also helped me trouble shoot the rear tail light issue, kept blowing fuses. That was a faulty switch! Everything is fine no problems.



Next week working on the doghouse to floor attachment. Then seats must go in... hmmm, I started with seats, now just getting to them soon?
Funny how a domino effect hits anytime one project starts, another surely will follow. This was a bit too many projects... even for me.

Jacke, looks like you handled it just fine, with a little help from your friends. Congrats, you've got a handle on it!!!

Them seats are purdy

I am interested in the addition of a windshield washer set-up for my '64 van. I wanted to see where the reservoir bottle goes? I would need to cut two holes in the outside for the nozzles. The inside wall has the holes.
Can anyone give me some information. I purchased a used washer set up, still need the nozzles.
Not sure how difficult the adding of the windshield washer may be as well?
Thanks

I don't have one on my '64, just clean the windshield every few weeks at home with windex.  If you don't drive in winter sleet where its a must have to see, I'd live without it...That being said, it wouldn't be hard to add a washer set-up.  You can get a dual split single nozzle like used on VW's and mount it in the center so you only need one hole and easier to get to. If you google chevy van images, you can find plenty of pics where you can see the two nozzle locations.  On 2nd gens, the plastic water tank went under the dash over the fuse box in a metal bracket. I have seen some added ones in the doghouse but then you need to run a lot of hose, but you will get warm water! 1st Gens had a plastic water bagthat hung under the dash, I think on the pass side. See pics below. Autozone type stores sell a nice little electric pump, all you need is some tubing and a push button switch you can add anywhere unless you want to try to find a dual wiper control/washer switch with the button in the center of the knob, but they are costly NOS.  I'd just mount a small button switch under or in the dash to turn it on.  I did this to an old VW once to replace the spare tire air pressure line they used for the window washer!  Here's a 2nd Gen showing the nozzles:



And here's a 1st Gen with nozzles:



Water tanks and bag:

Thanks very much! You are right, I most likely can live without it... I just need MORE projects...LOL
I saw the items listed didn't know where the bag went? Looks like the dark ages. I will use Windex.

JackeFriend wrote:Thanks very much! You are right, I most likely can live without it... I just need MORE projects...LOL
I saw the items listed didn't know where the bag went? Looks like the dark ages. I will use Windex.

Yeah back in the day, no one had window washers and the gas station guy would wash your windows for you!

So, I am gonna try a new project... rear windows into swing out for air flow. I have seen it done on the site by a few people. I have never done this type of project. I am not sure of anything... accept I am not sure? what I am doing.
Donivan is giving me some pop out glass to get the thing started,,, I bought frames which I thought were the correct ones, now maybe not? Hmmm here is the beginning of the mess. The glass is out of the frames... now how to make them work? Gonna cut the frames down to size then...TBD next week

looks like she has got 4th Gen chrome frames that the glass is just glued in without a rubber gasket,,,,,,,and of course,,,,,way too big to fit our 1st and 2nd Gen doors,,,,,so the frame needs to be cut down,,,,,,she has stationary windows,,,,those go IN the door frame,,,,Pop Out windows are bigger and go ON the frame,,,,,,but Pop Out frames are pretty hard to find in good condition, so we use the frame off a 3rd Gen, which are  Swing Out windows, cut it down to fit a Pop Out glass

HOWEVER,,,,,,I see that there is no latch on her  frame and it is mounted by drilling a hole in the glass,,,,,,,it looks like  too much trouble to make 4th Gen frames fit a 1st Gen,,,,,,,,,I guess she can go and try get her glass cut to fit after I drop off a sample Pop Out frame for her to copy,,,,,But if there are no hinges on her frame,,,,,it is,,,,,,,,,,,USELESS

That hard plastic jug is for a 2nd Gen. This 1st Gen washer kit came up on eBay once. It would be so nice to have all this stuff new like that! My van came with this option but the bag is pretty stiff these days. Jacke, did the washer you bought come with a bag or a jug?



Nice of the seller to post this shot of the instructions. Complete with dimensions showing where to drill the holes for the nozzles! (Same for both sides, I presume.)
Click for larger view:


These are "clips" that hold the nozzle in the hole. I think it also acts as a clamp to hold the hose onto the nozzle.
Click for larger view:

These are also used to mount the Chevrolet script on the rear cargo door if you've got a door that doesn't have the slot to access nuts on the backside. That's how mine came.