1978 G30 Concourse questions on restoration

[rick.springfield]

I recently purchased a 1978 Chevy G30 Concourse I believe.

The original floor plan was scrapped and it's now restored everything inside is portable and new interior floor etc.
The guy did a decent job.

So the engine is the Chevy 400 work horse with a th350 quadrajet 4 barell and 4:10 dually rear end.

My intention was to put a 6.2 aluminum LS and a 6l80e then upgrade the rearend to a 4:10 trutrack. Which I had was looking for the right van to put it in.

However I am really impressed with the 400 in it and ran across a sniper system cheap and a 700r4 be reasonable too.

So since this is now more or less just the Chinook shell. Does it make more sense to keep upgrading with the LS power trane.

Or modernize the 400 upgrade the trans.

I see it's potential with the LS and 6l80e. I have an 86 getaway high top I did a 6.0 4l80 and trutrack 4:10 rearend and it's an awesome ride now.

The Chinook has definitely grown on me. I know the G30 Chevys are rare.

Any input would be great. Where's the value?

The other possibility is the trans is from a AWD Yukon I am putting a Camaro tail shaft housing on so it works 2 WD.
But it's not much more to make it AWD later on.

[68camaro]

Very cool,I don't know anything aboit these unfortunately.

Can you post some pics of interior?

[noluck]

great looking project, one question will the ls get better fuel mileage than the injected 400?

[rick.springfield]

The weight is about 7k I am thinking.

It will actually double power and torque with the LS swap and overall reliability. So MPG should be 17 or so.

But the 400 with a sniper and a 700r4 does the same however I might have to swap cam and heads.

Carbureted it's 240 something HP

The LS swap is more or less proven.
The sniper with 700r4 not proven.

[Scott]

The weight is about 7k I am thinking.
It will actually double power and torque with the LS swap and overall reliability. So MPG should be 17 or so.
But the 400 with a sniper and a 700r4 does the same however I might have to swap cam and heads.
Carbureted it's 240 something HP
The LS swap is more or less proven.
The sniper with 700r4 not proven.

That G30 is a cool setup. Do you have any other pics?

I bet weight will be closer to 9k+ depending on how you outfit it. MPG will probably be closer to 10-12 with EFI and overdrive for a loaded Chinook.

I remember a few decades ago they were rebuilding the 700s to handle decent torque, but I seem to recall that the overdrive was still pretty weak. That could be completely wrong today.

Maybe just stay with the 400/TH350 or do an all-in complete swap like noluck is doing.

Sounds like you know your vans, but personally I don't worry about horsepower. I'd way rather have loads of readily available torque in an RV (e.g., passing and climbing without the engine wailing at high RPM).

[rick.springfield]

So people are doing LS swaps in Chinooks.

What my concern were was preservation or it now just being a van

Would there be more value keeping it

The Chevy 400 for it's age is really impressed me even with the TH350.

I am almost done with the refresh on the 6.2 the 6l80e was just remaned and bullet proofed.

The other thing I can do to the 6.2 is put a towing cam in it the torque would be 2.5x what's in there now.

Reading some other posts. Anybody have input on headers.
The stock manifolds should clear the subframe and it's got dual dynaflows and sounds good. But I was thinking of long tube headers it's a 78 so where I am at it doesn't need cats. However it did put cats on thinking I needed them the mpg did go up and I think gave it a little more power it seems.