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The Corona Van (1998 Express Conversion Van)

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Old May 23rd, 2020, 3:12 PM
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Originally Posted by johnt365
...the next weak spot - the intake gasket. ...I had an intake bolt head snap off too. Was an adVANture.
This... This is what concerns me.

Originally Posted by mountainmanjoe
...become the engine.
Nice.

While I am waiting on my new bumper to show up, I decided to clean up the rest of the rear exterior. After pulling the tail light assemblies and the trim above them, I removed the upper trim piece (the one with the 3rd brake light) and found this:




Old May 23rd, 2020, 7:01 PM
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ooof
Old May 23rd, 2020, 8:46 PM
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Have you heard of www.por-15.com ?

I started using it on a Corvette restoration. Unlike paint, you don’t have to get down to bare metal to prep. For frame and suspension I clean it and scuff it up with a scotch brite and then rinse dry and apply.

The gas tank was totally rusted and had pin holes in it. I used their tank sealer kit 15 years ago and no issues to date.

below is what it looks like on the spare tire carrier. This is fiberglass and a rusty strap.

hope it helps.





Last edited by johnt365; May 23rd, 2020 at 8:50 PM.
Old May 24th, 2020, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by mountainmanjoe
ooof
Yes ooof. I was not planning to spend a bunch of time dealing with this, but...

Originally Posted by johnt365
Have you heard of www.por-15.com ? ...I started using it on a Corvette restoration. Unlike paint, you don’t have to get down to bare metal to prep...
Yes and yes. I am a big fan and a long time POR-15 user. I have used it on a wide range of projects over the years. It is a top notch product. Nice job on the Corvette.

Unfortunately I did not have any POR-15 on hand, but I did a small can of (ahem....) another brand rust converting paint... After a good bit of the wire wheel on the angle grinder, I covered it with paint, adhering the "one coat for dirt; two coats for rust" philosophy.




I then covered the area with a layer of seam sealing tape


Ready for the new bumper...


Again, "one coat for dirt, two coats for rust..."



Old May 25th, 2020, 6:02 PM
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So I caught you said you had a serpantine system in garage. Make sure water pump will be driven same direction when you install it. Tossing mine and learn gm was kinda freaky on these things from 92 up
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Old May 26th, 2020, 4:00 AM
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Originally Posted by ray caldwell
So I caught you said you had a serpantine system in garage. Make sure water pump will be driven same direction when you install it. Tossing mine and learn gm was kinda freaky on these things from 92 up
Ray, if I understand you correctly, you are recommending that when installing the serpentine belt, I should install it correctly?
Old May 26th, 2020, 8:19 AM
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Originally Posted by CoronaVan
Ray, if I understand you correctly, you are recommending that when installing the serpentine belt, I should install it correctly?
I ASSumed the 95 had a serpantine system since my 92 does. My 92s water pump rotates counterclockwise as opposed to a pump with a grooved pulley is a clockwise unit.. so, there would be 9 possible variations. Even if you pause before doing it incorrectly at least you know you can only be wrong 7 more times max
Old May 27th, 2020, 1:34 PM
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It is looking like Friday will be the big day for the Corona Van; our 're-inspection", and then on to the registration. Our bumper came today, a cool $181.06 delivered from the eBay.
Here are a few glamour shots of the new bumper in all it's eBay glory...


The bumper came complete with the plastic trim and "some" of the required mounting hardware. Some fasteners had to be re-used


Also, to add that homey (or is it homely?) finishing touch to the interior, this gorgeous
 $16 rug from the Amazon $16 rug from the Amazon
came today as well...



Old May 29th, 2020, 10:42 AM
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Success... The Corona Van is now fully-mission capable and officially registered in Maryland. At the beginning of this thread, I said that the van was "for my teenage son", however, as long as my son is living under my roof, the Corona Van will also be my official "tailgating" vehicle. It's a shame that all the concerts I had tickets to this summer were canceled...

I suppose it gives me time to do that awful lower intake manifold gasket, and do some further operational testing... Maybe I should replace all wear items in the suspension?
Old June 1st, 2020, 12:12 PM
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Drain plug is diy thing unless ya wanna buy a new pan. But easy if you remove burrs and use sealant


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