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Jul 31, 2012 16:54:24 GMT
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I have a desire for a weekend van that I could chuck a double airbed in the back of, bikes on the back and a canoe on the roof. In an ideal world i'd like a VR6 T4 but as we all know, scene tax is a killer So something comfy and easy to drive with LPG potential is the menu of the day. Does anybody know anything about the V6 yank dayvans? Should I forget the idea?
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Last Edit: Jul 31, 2012 16:59:07 GMT by ianfearn
Vauxhall Omega V6 Estate
Landrover Defender 300Tdi
Ford Puma (winter smoker)
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Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
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Jul 31, 2012 17:00:26 GMT
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I just got one! Although mine's a 'full size' 3/4 ton Chevy G20 - it does have the 4.3 V6 in it, it's not exactly a speed machine but it's happy cruising at 60-65 (it'll happily cruise faster than that, but I don't think my wallet will take it in terms of fuel economy!!). So far it seems to be doing ~20mpg on shortish (20 miles or so) journeys - I'm off to France in it on Sunday, fully laden with 3 kids, luggage, 5 bikes and other assorted curse word, I'm hoping it will still pull 20mpg! lol I love it! It's pretty simple to work on, you've just got to watch out for rust.... I've got a thread in 'readers rides' about it - 1993 Chevy G20 Dayvan
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Last Edit: Jul 31, 2012 17:01:02 GMT by Mr S
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
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Jul 31, 2012 17:04:58 GMT
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Yo Bladerunner, its your van that's inspired me!
Looking forward to your France trip report. Best of luck.
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Vauxhall Omega V6 Estate
Landrover Defender 300Tdi
Ford Puma (winter smoker)
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Jul 31, 2012 18:02:03 GMT
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fieldy
Part of things
Posts: 474
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I have been around Yanks for a few years now and bought a Chevy Astro, '95, a couple of years back for my family. I was given some advice from a great freind who had a few and it goes as follows:-
The 4.3 'Vortec' engine is the engine to have. You will know it is a vortec as when you open the bonnet, it will say it in big letters on the air box. This engine was shared accross multiple vehicles of the time and is fantastic. I used to get 30mpg on a run to Devon and did this a few times. Low 20's around town.
The best and most relibale model, apparently, is the 'Non-Digital' dashes. I don't know of any horror stories of any digital dashes, but the 'Dial' dashed vans, which are later models, are great.
Mine was a '95 'Brougham' model. It had a manual bed in the back and four captains chairs. It was actually J spec which made the TV useless.
I found mine had a small 'roll' in the bends as you'd expect, but not un-pleasent. You may find yourself sitting at a slight angle, but you get used to it, it's only slightly.
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stuey
Posted a lot
ram thruster 4000
Posts: 1,010
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I have a 84 chevy g20 dayvan with the 6.2 diesel engine its not the fastest but weve have some great camping trips in it and I would well recomend them! heres our camping ghetto in norfolk last year- we put our bikes inside it (I had 5 bmx's in there) and theres plenty of roof space for racks for canoes etc...
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1987 fiat 126-nearly actually done! 1972 beetle - lawn art 2003 z4 daily-new wheels a comin! 2008 R56 Mini cooper "mental Mickey"
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I'd love to know how you guys are getting such good fuel consumption out of bloomin' great vans when I get worse MPG than that with pretty much same running gear in a sedan.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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Of all the Euro V6 motors i've had, 22-23mpg was about the norm. I could never get anywhere close to 30mpg even on a long run in my old Xantia V6. I was thinking 17mpg on LPG equates to 'sensible' running costs. I've not been put off yet.
Perhaps its time to run the idea past the Bank of Missus......
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Vauxhall Omega V6 Estate
Landrover Defender 300Tdi
Ford Puma (winter smoker)
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Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
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Feel free to come and drive the van to corroborate my findings - drive it like there's an eggshell between your foot and the throttle and what I say is what I get! I suspect that if I booted it around, I'd get somewhere in the region of 15mpg. FWIW, my '75 K5 Blazer (6.6 with a 600cfm Edelbrock performer) gets about 8mpg. Maybe 12 on a very steady sub 60mph run!! I also once got a smidge over 30mpg out of my '96 Lexus LS400 on a <70mph run to Bournemouth and back, and more recently 44mpg out of my dads 1.8 Cavalier when I went about 70 miles to fetch the windscreen for the Chevy. Maybe I'm just an economical driver. That allied to the fact that I don't commute in any car (so don't really get stuck in traffic....) equates to good MPGs yo! And all figures are measured tankfull to tankfull Back on track, how cool are these two!??
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Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
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Mine is pre-vortec and is a bit off tune and does around 14 mpg on gas and 17 on petrol. that gives about an equivalent of 26mpg price wise on gas. Over 60mph cruising makes it sup heavily though.
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'83 GTM Coupe. 4A-GE Powered '00 GTM Libra Auto. Ick. '71 Detomaso Pantera. Current Resto '89 GMC Safari Tow/Kip bus '05 SAAB 9-3 Daily '71 Siva Moonbug. Not even contemplating resto yet.
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Here's a couple of pics of mine. On a run at about 70mph i'm getting 28-30mpg and around town i'm getting 22-24mpg.
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BLUE RIDGE RUNNERS AUTO SHOW 7-9th September 2018 just 2 miles off J23 M5 (between Pawlett and West Huntspill, Somerset) For more details PM me or email me Show@blueridgerunners.co.uk
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Official US Govt. figures for the Chevy Astro are 15mpg city, 20 mpg highway as rated by the EPA. That's for a 1991 4.3 V6 2WD "passenger van". Those are US gallons. However US EPA figures are known to be a bit "hopeful" in real world so I always take the US gallon figure and assume thats what the thing will do on UK gallons with 100K miles on it and 20 years of variable maintenance. The official EPA site has user submitted data put the Astro 2WD Passenger Van as 17.7 MPG (again US gallons) If you get a 1996 Astro with the Vortec V6, 4 speed overdrive auto, 2WD "passenger van" the city figure is 15 mpg with 19mpg highway. Overall avg 16 mpg. User data is overall 16.6mpg. But you might get 40+ MPG if you are lucky and all your journeys are down hill with a following wind
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Last Edit: Aug 2, 2012 16:17:13 GMT by akku
1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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my old van miss it pulled the caravan great at 75 mph lmao
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It always makes me whenever you ask about a big engine motor the most frequent response is always about fuel consumption. So lets assume I can accept the mpg and concentrate on the MUCH more important stuff....! So: Overall refinement (i drove a 4x4 one as a hire car a few years ago in the states and it droned like mad on the highway) Parts availability Viable cruising speed (whenever i see these things on the motorway they always seem to be doing about 55mph) General reliability issues Anything to specifically look out for when buying??
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Vauxhall Omega V6 Estate
Landrover Defender 300Tdi
Ford Puma (winter smoker)
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Can't say for the vortec engine but mine is really quiet on the motorway. Most parts are really quite cheap and very available. I use usautomotive mostly. 60 mph on the motorway because mpg drops off dramatically above that. Interior trim falls apart. Look for chassis rot around the back suspension. Early headlights are log. Gearboxes aren't the strongest, same goes for the diff. There are quite a few buyers guides out there to test them. They will tow a lot on paper but will struggle up hills fully loaded in overdrive if you do, plus the gearboxes are prone to overheating when towing a lot. Get one with the longer rear overhang not a shorty. Sparkplugs are a git to change. Doorhandles snap often. New engines are ridiculously cheap if you get them from plant suppliers as they are used in cranes etc.
That do ya?
Edit: Mine cost under a grand, is now 23 years old and has done 196000 miles.
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'83 GTM Coupe. 4A-GE Powered '00 GTM Libra Auto. Ick. '71 Detomaso Pantera. Current Resto '89 GMC Safari Tow/Kip bus '05 SAAB 9-3 Daily '71 Siva Moonbug. Not even contemplating resto yet.
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Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
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It always makes me whenever you ask about a big engine motor the most frequent response is always about fuel consumption. So lets assume I can accept the mpg and concentrate on the MUCH more important stuff....! So: Overall refinement (i drove a 4x4 one as a hire car a few years ago in the states and it droned like mad on the highway) Parts availability Viable cruising speed (whenever I see these things on the motorway they always seem to be doing about 55mph) General reliability issues Anything to specifically look out for when buying?? The main thing to look out for is rot, rot and rot! Mechanically they are pretty simple, the V8s are pretty bulletproof, and as the Chevy V6 is derived from the small block V8, I suspect it will also be pretty sturdy. Pop round and have a look at mine when I'm back from France if you like mate, just drop me a PM and I'll take you out for a spin in it. It's pretty quiet, and like others say, I can see that cruising above 60mph would kill the mpg!! P.S. Mine does 370 miles per thimbleful of fuel ;D ;D ;D
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Last Edit: Aug 2, 2012 20:04:17 GMT by Mr S
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
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Dunno if its an old wives' tale but I was told the thing is not to engage OD when towing to prolong the life of the box.
Heat build up is an issue but you can install an accessory trans cooler and fan if you think this is going to be an issue
Regular fluid changes with the right ATF will also prolong transmission life.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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BLUE RIDGE RUNNERS AUTO SHOW 7-9th September 2018 just 2 miles off J23 M5 (between Pawlett and West Huntspill, Somerset) For more details PM me or email me Show@blueridgerunners.co.uk
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Viable cruising speed (whenever I see these things on the motorway they always seem to be doing about 55mph) Saw a Ford one going the other way on the motorway a few days ago, he was in the fast lane tramping along pretty good. I suspect the slow speed is usually to keep the MPG sensible, a petrol Transit will go over 90mph but it does about 10mpg while doing it I found. Dunno if its an old wives' tale but I was told the thing is not to engage OD when towing to prolong the life of the box. Heat build up is an issue but you can install an accessory trans cooler and fan if you think this is going to be an issue Regular fluid changes with the right ATF will also prolong transmission life. Most of the import auto 4x4s I've had have instructions in them to turn the OD off while towing.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
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Not that it's a very exciting addition to the thread, but I've just filled up after doing 70 local miles (no journey more than 10 miles, some less than 1) and I've used 4 (UK) gallons precisely. So that's 17.5 MPG. Told you it wasn't exciting! Road-trip to France tomorrow should be more exciting though
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Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
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