Custom vans are back in style...

Custom vans are back in fashion...

And LS conversions make them that much more fun

In my previous discussion on why/why not to do an LS-conversion a Porsche, the two main arguments that I and others had developed in favor of the conversion was that even an LS1 motor in stock form put out nearly twice the power of a stock 911 motor with a weight advantage of at least 66 pounds. With this being said, I and several others had developed the argument even further that the stock LS1 motor was even more compact and therefore more efficient, both in geometry and performance, than the now-dated, flat-6 configuration that would have originally been found in a Porsche 911 or 930.

This all being said and considered, wouldn’t it be better to take an LS motor, with either forced induction or stock, and retrofit it into an Astro/Safari van rather than try to “massage” a stock V6 that is not only heavier and more space-consuming than an LS, but doesn’t even come close to an LS V8 in terms of cam profiles and head designs? The answer to that question seems obvious when looking at this LS-fitted, ’98 Astro van built by Stan out of Janesville, Wisconsin.

A few things, before the actual LS conversion, to note about this Astro van: the paint and body are clean and they appear bone-stock, which means that an LS-swap would be perfect since nobody would think any differently about the van at first glance. Astro/Safari vans are also mid-sized, which means that the under-space of the van is actually accommodating for even a conventional V8 swap.

Stan has retrofitted his ’98 Astro with an LS1 out of a ’99 Trans Am, along with a 3.73 diff in the back and BFG P255/60R15 treads all the way around. The trans is also out of the ’99 TA, and according to Stan, the only serious tech issue he’s ever had with the van is when he drove it out of state and the mass airflow sensor went out. According to Stan, this was a problem that was fairly easy to fix, since he had saved the correct VIN code that came with the powertrain; a GM dealer in Little Rock, Arkansas was able to identify the VIN and fix/replace the airflow sensor fast enough to get Stan and company back on the road.

Aside from this, Stan’s V8 Astro has had front wheel bearings put in it, along with a new parking brake cable, rear axle housing and brake pads and rotors. According to Stan, the conversion has accumulated a soft 20,000 miles on it since it was finished.

 And this is what seems to be most admirable about Stan’s LS van conversion, that it has V8 power for the streets while maintaining the integrity of the van itself, which of course means a delicate balance between performance and reliability. Like the LS-911 swap that we had discussed in our last entry, Stan’s LS-powered Astro takes-on the competition without being over-the-top. Let’s learn a lesson from his and others’ late-model motor swaps: ratted-out pro street builds aren’t always the best option.

- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (7/12/11)

S. J. A.