'94 Astro w/built 350 & auto trans, blown headgasket. $3000-Slidell,LA

This is not mine, but it belongs to my step-dad. I told him I'd let people know about it, and if there's interest I can get pictures and more details. I figure it might be a good Lemons tow vehicle if you can get it and fix the head gasket.

It's a 1994 Chevy Astro with a 350 small block conversion completed a few years ago. The engine is built for performance with 4-bolt mains, a roller valvetrain, and a somewhat hot cam. My step-dad told me he wishes he'd put in a different cam, as this one was a little too lumpy for its intended use as a work truck/tow vehicle. It's an OBD-I vehicle with TBI, and I think it uses the same stock throttle body from the van's 4.3 V6 but with larger injectors, but I could be mistaken. He worked with a professional tuner to get a good ECU tune for the new engine. It had some issues and he didn't drive it for a while, and then if I recall correctly, he had just recently gotten it running right before it blew a head gasket in November or December. He can give you more details if you're interested.

[Side note: the engine was actually built by the same competent mom-and-pop engine shop that built the slant six in what became my Lemons Dart. They were a small operation, but they knew their shit. After all, that slant six was only built to be a daily driver, but it survived 5 Lemons races with no oiling mods before its compression went to shit due to broken top rings.]

The automatic transmission was built by a different local shop. It's got a Transgo shift kit and a bunch of other work done do it. The van has a 5,000-lb. tow hitch, and he used it to pull his utility trailer.

The van is dark blue, and as I recall, the paint is in fair condition. I believe the clear coat is peeling in some places. It has some kind of aftermarket light bar above the windshield. Apparently it's got a nice stereo. The benches and a lot of the interior trim have been removed, but he still has everything except one of the benches. He told me the van actually has a folding gaucho couch from an RV currently installed in the back; I guess he'd been using it to work at his remote property and sleeping in the back. It has 5 fairly new good tires.

The difficulty is that the van is located on his property in southern Mississippi, about 45 minutes north of Slidell, LA. He had been planning to tow it back to Slidell to fix the head gasket, but then he found a Suburban for cheap and kinda lost interest. He says he wants $3000 for everything, or $2000 if he takes the transmission out of it. Not sure how negotiable those numbers are.

Let me know if this is something you might be interested in, and I can put you in touch with the owner.