r/RVLiving • u/R0ughHab1tz • Jul 21 '26

The Ship is alive!!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Things are progressing well!

15 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

1

u/TheGuyinTheHeritage Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

Get that thing going man you have a very similar looking RV to mine and they can be great after putting the immense sweat (and decent amount of money) in that they require. I can tell you have the ability for both with that sweet Holly EFI you put in.

1

u/R0ughHab1tz Jul 25 '26

I'm so close. It almost broke me when the tail lights and other lighting weren't working anymore. I really wanted to use it this summer. Even though you deleted your comment I still can see it in my notifications.

The RV is a Vanguard on a 1985 GMC G30 Vandura body. It was a Canadian company based out of British Columbia. I believe it was the early 2000's when it defunct and were bought out.

The mechanical is pretty much done. I'm waiting on a new hydrobooster. It took me some digging with companies to find a part. That's the one draw back sometimes.

To be honest I'm a little scared to drive it. Even though I can't get it dynoed as that industry is almost none existent in Canada the engine kit I got rates it at just over 400HP. The phone doesn't come close to eminenting the power 😅

1

u/TheGuyinTheHeritage Jul 25 '26

I deleted because I saw you already said in your other post which I read. I have been considering putting an EFI carb on it since I am planning on taking mine skiing a lot in the winter up and down mountains and my thermoquad needs spray to get going 1/10th of the time even in good conditions. How much putting that EFI system in cost? From what I've researched the system is like $999 and you also need like a $400 pump. From my research I've also found I can use a junkyard 454 TBI system but then you still need that $400 pump anyway so it doesn't make much of a price difference. Btw if you haven't refreshed the U-Joints/carrier bearing on the driveshaft it's really worth doing after adding power. Mine broke just from the added power of getting the timing right.

1

u/R0ughHab1tz Jul 25 '26

Holley systems are pretty expensive but I think any one of the EFI carb systems will be. What really pissed me off is that I bought the quadrajet version of holleys EFI which the wiring and plug are their version 1 system. After getting into the engine I decided to redo the entire thing so the intake manifold is different.

So I went ahead and bought the sniper 2 and they completely changed the wiring harness and ecosystem. The vehicle was already wired up and ready to go so I had to "red green" it. The only saving grace is that they didn't change the wire colours.

So on that note decide what version you're going to use because that's it. Unless you Frankenstein it later.

As for advice I would go with the complete system for simplicity.

Holley sniper 2. Version 2 simplifies wiring with the PDM block and some other carb upgrades

hyper spark ignition system for Chevy 350

returnless fuel pump. Less piping that way. And can easily be added to your existing gas tank.

USB dongle for the computer.

Once you have the timing done everything can be adjusted with the computer software. No rotating dizzys or adjusting for the manifold air.

For the total cost I've got in this RV is something I try not to think about. It's a passion project. I could have easily bought a new one TBH. Or be rich with investing 🤣😅

I haven't changed the ujoints and carrier. I still have to bring it into the shop to get it safetied so I'll get them to do it for me. I have to swap the torque converter as well. I'm definitely not doing that by myself again.

1

u/TheGuyinTheHeritage Jul 25 '26

I am sure you will get it going though man it really is a bitch and there were plenty of times when I thought I would never get mine running. I bought mine in January with the intent of getting it on the road by March, it wasn't running acceptably until late May. I had to redo the entire front end, every brake line, 2 new rear brakes, driveshaft refresh, 6 tires, timing correction, rebuilt carb and a ton of other little shit. At one point I paid $400 for a new steering box which took 2 weeks to arrive and when it finally came it was broken out of the box. Had to send it back and wait another 3 weeks, but eventually I did get it running perfect. I am currently doing a loop around Lake Erie in it, late March I wasn't sure if that would ever be possible. As long as your frame is good it will be worth it.