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Tidy Tabby · 05-08-2017, 07:51 AM

When it rains it pours I guess. After replacing the lift pump and testing the injection pump, the glow plug controller failed. So I replaced the controller and relay with a later model setup, but it requires updated glow plugs as the heat cycle is much shorter. Now those are on order, and hopefully we can get this puppy out of my driveway for a little while.

Interior-wise we removed the sink, oven/range and kitchen cabinets and one wall at the shower. Damn if they didn't run that nasty carpet all underneath there, and there is no way for me to get to the broken taillight wire with the shower in place. Gotta borrow a fish tape and a hook pole and hopefully fish a new wire up from below and just abandon the damaged wire in place. Sorry for the lack of pictures, the cabinetry was so rotted and far gone we were able to pull most of it apart with our hands, meaning I didn't want to handle my camera. Lots of nesting material stuffed in there, as well but nothing still living in it.

Tidy Tabby · 05-15-2017, 07:56 AM

Well I'm stumped at this point. Lift pump, fuel filters & rubber lines replaced, system pressure tested and no air found, glow plugs, GP controller & relay all replaced. Batteries good. Will start but will not run. All that's left is the injection pump and that is too big of a job for me.

cruzn57 · 06-26-2017, 08:56 PM

I have searching for specs for 1982 chevy trans van,
anyone give me a ballpark figure of the weight of a running Transvan motorhome?
looking at a dead one, and need to see what size trailer/ truck I need to haul it home.

Thanks

please continue, as I read every page of this post!

likestoparty · 09-28-2017, 10:57 PM

I'm celebrating one month of resurrecting my TranStar, a 1980 model with a Dodge CB300 front end. Too many stories already that I'm certain every TranStar/Trans Van owner can relate to, but I've got it tamed with relatively little pain (metaphorical pain, I'll get into this later). Here's the deets:
*24,000 original miles
*7.2L 440-3 big block
*$500!
*2 previous owners, original owner lived in it in a trailer park and sold it to that guy who used it as a storage shed for Dodge truck parts.
*Purchased in startable, but not stoppable condition.
*floors and everything made of particle board swollen, soft and rotten. Demolition at about 50% complete.
*Had not moved in 15 years, purchased with all 7 original bias ply tires in terrible but inflatable shape.
*original Onan genset not included, now in the guy's front yard where it will probably for for the next 15 years. :(
*nesting material galore, too gross to detail
*PO sliced the main harness at the Dodge/Champion borderline, murder to reconnect.

Once I got it home I rebuilt the Thermoquad carb to no avail and ended up buying a new one. New: alternator, VR, brake booster and suddenly it purrs like a kitten, powerful as Hell, and now stops when commanded to. About to tackle replacing the entire braking system, all parts already procured, and laying in new floor panels, basically reconstructing the closet area that also houses the furnace and water heater, both in terrible shape and departing. Electrical system is in shockingly good condition with the exception of everything that sat still under the hood for the better part of 30 years.

I live in Seattle where rain is king, so I removed the terribly leaky frozen rooftop AC unit and installed a skylight in place. Learning to speak RV and Dodge commercial van simultaneously.

But! The hardest parts are over and I'm falling in love with it again!

Attached photos of it before I coaxed it home and started the restoration.

likestoparty · 09-28-2017, 11:05 PM

So far, mechanical restoration has costed about $800. The worst cost arose from putting my foot through a very soft spot in the flooring and slicing my leg open badly on the rustiest screw I could have conjured in my imagination. 5 stitches on a wound that needed 10 and a wasted evening I could have been working on it.

Anyway, now it's a month later and we're both in much better shape.

JollyCamper · 09-29-2017, 05:56 AM

Cool class B! Jealous of the diesel. The 6.2 got a bad rap, but they are a good engine and can be efficient, you just won't win any races! If you open up the exhaust and turn up the pump, it will help moving that heavy beast.

likestoparty · 09-29-2017, 03:19 PM

It's actually a 7.2 gas sucker 440! It also came with 20 gallons of 17+ year old gasoline that looked like it needed to drink more water, if you know what I mean. Orange and pungent to the max.

Houndog1178 · 11-04-2017, 06:25 PM

Getting ready to pull the trigger in a week or two on an 86 Chevy Transtar with a 350 in it. 28,000 original miles and an 80 year old guy is the original owner. He says nothing wrong with it other then needing a cleaning and the alternator belt replaced, which he has the new one just needs to be put on. Only wants $2,000. Ill post when I bring it home.

Tidy Tabby · 11-07-2017, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houndog1178

Getting ready to pull the trigger in a week or two on an 86 Chevy Transtar with a 350 in it. 28,000 original miles and an 80 year old guy is the original owner. He says nothing wrong with it other then needing a cleaning and the alternator belt replaced, which he has the new one just needs to be put on. Only wants $2,000. Ill post when I bring it home.

Good luck with it!

schu1gar · 04-21-2018, 03:31 PM

I just found one of these, an 82 Chevy, but the ceiling is all warped and headliner coming loose. I am not sure how to remove the upper cupboards without damaging worse than they are. How are they fastened to the wall? The bottom part? Any help is much appreciated.
Thank You,
Gary

schu1gar · 04-21-2018, 03:46 PM

Not sure of the length, my wife wants something to take the grandkids camping. She was looking for a trailer, but she is not the trailer pulling type. The price was right on the Transtar.
Gary

timkustom · 04-23-2018, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schu1gar

I just found one of these, an 82 Chevy, but the ceiling is all warped and headliner coming loose. I am not sure how to remove the upper cupboards without damaging worse than they are. How are they fastened to the wall? The bottom part? Any help is much appreciated.
Thank You,
Gary

I have the same rig and it has the same issue. These rigs have a steel frame between the bonded aluminum outer skin and the glued on paneling with some spray foam insulation in the middle. My cabinets have a fill panel that covers most of the screws.

Really my plan is to not remove any cabinets if possible, cut out the sagging car type headliner material, scrape out the dead foam backer to clean the headliner board as good as possible. Then I'll put some more screws in to get the headliner board more solid to the frame. Then glue new material in and put some fresh trim on the sides. I have some pix of how these go together on my other drive. I'll see if I can find and post.

Tidy Tabby · 05-02-2018, 12:30 PM

So for reasons, I am going to pick up another one of these, this time an ‘84, and slightly longer at 23-1/2’ but same diesel engine, 1/2 as many miles, 1/4 of the leaks (and resultant interior damage) plus includes the generator and all appliances and overall in a lot better shape. So the one that started this thread, due to extensive chassis rust and missing irreplaceable parts will become a parts vehicle and the new one will rise from the ashes.

likestoparty · 05-02-2018, 11:30 PM

Hey, congratulations on your reacquistion! I'm definitely curious to see pictures of the interior, love to see what Champion was doing by '84.

Mine is a 1980, the interior was unsalvageable so I removed everything from the bathroom forward, including the floor panels that became dangerously brittle. The bottom of the shell structure has U-shaped channels for the 3/4" plywood to slip right in and anchor to the body from underneath.

So, now it's a blank canvas and interested in what the design engineers already came up with for layout before I reinvent too many wheels.