New Member in NJ Astros Rock!!

[Munz]

Hello Everybody,

Im a new member here but not new to vannin. Ive been on vannin.com for about 10 years now (same name) and figured I would cruise over here and see how the other half lives LOL. Im a big *** tro fan and in the process of building a 1986, 2WD, V8 Tune Port Injected, chopped 8" and lowered 2" F / 3" R. Im working in the interior now, Dakota Digital dash so Im looking here to see whats new and custom in the world of Astros.

Great to see all these COOL RIDES!!

(Christopher Munzial) Munz

[offroad safari]

Welcome to the site! I'm have to see pics of your van, i've never seen a chopped astro.

[h2omelon]

Welcome to the site!

[Mr_Bowtie]

Ya pics please!!

[Leeann_93]

Welcome

[astro355]

Yes welcome and...

[96blueastro]

Welcome to the site! Let's see some pics.

[Munz]

Ok here are some pics of Castr8 (TPI Corvette, Astro, V8) so far shes pretty from far but far from pretty LOL but she will get there. I do understand the picture request but I kinda want to keep the entire / full shot on the down low so that when its done it won't be old news. The dash is a little sloppy now because I haven't figured out if or where I want the Heat & A/C controls. I was thinking about moving it to the rear, that would clean up the fire wall real nice but GM did such a good job of stuffing it behind the dash and out of the way so maybe Ill look into an aftermarket Vintage Air set up and integrate it into the existing vent work. I hope this pacifies some of you and again sorry about the close up shots but I've been at this for a while and want it to be fresh when its done.

Thanks for looking,
Munz

[Mr_Bowtie]

Very nice! Can't wait to see it all done. How long is the wait going to be.....

[Munz]

Jeezz BT let the post load LOL,
How long???? lets put it this way, the only way that this van will be street legal is with QQ (antique in NJ) plates and it has to be 25 years old so, SOON!!!! Seriously I will try for the Van Nationals 2010 in NY without paint. All the big stuff is done motor, chop & suspension, I do need to finish shaving the gasshole & door handles so pretty much smaller detail stuff left. But you know how that can be..

[Mr_Bowtie]

Jeezz BT let the post load LOL,

No prob.......

[astro355]

Did you put the Iroc wheels on the front too? What did you do to change the bolt pattern?

[Munz]

Hi Astro 355,
Yes I do have them on the front. I sent them to a company in CA and the drilled the all the holes bigger in the process this took the bolt pattern from 4 3/4'' Camaro size to 5" Astro size then they pressed reduction spacers into the holes so they are now the correct size for the studs then they enlarged the back side of the rim so it fit SNUGLY over the hub.

BTW nice pics in you albums did you hook up that TPI unit yet?

Munz

[astro355]

I wish, I've been too busy lately and its just sitting on my shelf catching dust. Did you splice the harness or replace the dash harness for the wiring of that TPI?

[Munz]

I spliced into the factory engine part of the harness. I didn't do it myself I had http://www.jimsperformance.com in MD do it, he did a good job and it works great but I think if I had to do it again I would consider the stand alone computer and harness set up. I'm not crazy about how the factory harness looks running across my valve cover and now that I've done the digital dash I've kinda been through most of the engine wiring and it could have looked cleaner. And another thing is if I want to put this TPI unit in another vehicle I will have to buy the stand alone set up. On the plus side it was easier to do, it all works well & looks like it's supposed to be that way, the computer in the passenger kick panel is a 1988 IROC Z28 and it still has the ALDL plug under the dash.

[ryan13]

this thing is going to be a monster. have you actually driven it at all with the new motor?

[Munz]

Ryan,

Yes I did drive it after I installed the motor but not much, a trip to a club meeting in S Jersey & back (a little over an hour each way) and around town for a couple of months. (maybe 500 miles) I haven't driven it since the chop because the windshield is just laying in the frame and a few other body mods need to be completed. I wouldn't say its a monster but it definitely has some get up and go, those 4.3 's are not doggish by any means. I think the low end torque of the 4.3 is almost I repeat ALMOST the same as the V8 but the V8 continues to pull quite a bit longer and stronger once it gets going. I might need to look into some rear end work to get more low end torque but then again im not looking to fly around in this thing, I'm looking to go on 4 to 6 hour truckins getting decent mileage at HIGH SPEEDS!! LOL so maybe ill leave it be till the rear blows and we all know that's coming.

[astro355]

Ryan,

Yes I did drive it after I installed the motor but not much, a trip to a club meeting in S Jersey & back (a little over an hour each way) and around town for a couple of months. (maybe 500 miles) I haven't driven it since the chop because the windshield is just laying in the frame and a few other body mods need to be completed. I wouldn't say its a monster but it definitely has some get up and go, those 4.3 's are not doggish by any means. I think the low end torque of the 4.3 is almost I repeat ALMOST the same as the V8 but the V8 continues to pull quite a bit longer and stronger once it gets going. I might need to look into some rear end work to get more low end torque but then again im not looking to fly around in this thing, I'm looking to go on 4 to 6 hour truckins getting decent mileage at HIGH SPEEDS!! LOL so maybe ill leave it be till the rear blows and we all know that's coming.

Ain't that the truth. That's why I am building a 9 inch for my van.

[Munz]

That should hold up to some power!!

[astro355]

That should hold up to some power!!

Hopefully it will hold all of it.