Bruce the van was purchased in TN in 2011 by me for $1200. It's a 1988 Chevy G20, Explorer conversion. It has always been in TN and has very little rust. Has roughly 90-100k miles. Have replaced the tranny twice and the engine once. Entire suspension, brakes, etc. have been replaced over the years (been a mechanic since 2003). This van has been all over the country multiple times a year since 2011.

Needless to say, since Bruce is a member of the family, we keep him going. He has a straight body and I gutted/reupholstered/updated the entire interior earlier this year. Seats remain un-upholstered.

I have two issues that I want to fix, and I need help.

1. The engine I installed a couple of years ago was from a truck. Somehow I mixed up the tubes and dipsticks and ended up breaking the dipstick off, which I had to retrieve from the oil pan. I can't seem to find a van with the dipstick and tube that I need. Parts diagrams are super iffy on this. Any suggestions? Anyone with photos of how it's attached?

2. The transmission I installed a few weeks ago has a bad torque converter (I think). There was a shudder when shifting into OD when I was on a road trip earlier this week and I ended up unplugging OD for the remainder of the drive (2k+ miles). Is this just as simple as replacing the TC?

 

Also wondering what type of gear to put in to fix a speedo that's 10-15mph over the faster you go.

 

Bump.

 

Aw man, you get overdrive?

 

I've been using without, wondering if just a TC will fix it.