Turbo 616 powered Astro Van build
Turbo 616 powered Astro Van build
so, some developments-
I have been in New Venture gearbox mania. I sourced a NV3500 gearbox out of a 1994 chevy 1500 6 banger, and in the process of finding the correct gearbox, also grabbed a 1999 NV1500 out of a 99 S10 4 banger.
The original purpose was I couldn't find a non 4x4 NV3500, so was looking for a possible tailcone swap candidate, but it turns out they can't really share that part between the two gearboxes. However, keeping it around as it looks suspiciously close to an OM60x bell pattern.
Starters on the correct side, though a bit too low. Worth hanging onto and taking a look down the line. Maybe an s10 with the NV1500 would be an good swap candidate for other families of benz motors.
Returning to the 3500, I lucked out looking at a 4x4 gearbox and transfer case, the guy turned out to have a 2wd sitting under a work bench unadvertised with about 100k on it.
here are a few pics of the gearboxes-
s10 on the left, 1500 on the right (with the correct 6 and 8 cyl bell pattern I need)
notice the different locations for the shifters. One of the other reasons for grabbing the s10 gearbox was moving the shifter back if I need to, but I don't think its possible or necessary. We will see soon enough-
The NV3500 has an external slave like the T5, but its clear on the opposite side of the bell under the starter, so some re-routing will have to occur if I swap gearboxes. Looking on the van, there appears to be enough room, interesting location for it though
Also another development is I mounted these huge tires. we will see if it can turn. The size difference is not small.
Looks like it might be a little tight in the front-