I started with a Pontiac Transport December 2007... That turned into a lot of work.. I received the Transport from a friend as he didn't want to crush it.. The Trans had gone out.. So the picture story begins...

First we rebuilt a Heavy Duty 3800 SC trans for the van using a newer pump and the structural side pan( aluminum )
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/DSC02723.jpg
we didn't get very far with this one after the rebuild.. It was nothing we did, we had a small leak with the trans and later discovered that the case had a hair line fracture.. So the trans came out again...

After this I decided to rebuild the Original... Come to find out it had been through a rebuild, and a poor one at that.. The Pump failed and thats what took out the rest of the trans.. In any even I got another pump and had a complete rebuild kit for it... as well I replaced the 4th hub/Input, and the Reverse reaction drum with a hardened unit... The Output shaft was replaced as well.. Funny part is that this was a 3.06 Ratio trans but it had the 3.33 HD Diff in it... someone didn't pay attention to what they were putting into this rebuild.. Here is the trans in pieces..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/THM%204T60-E/4T60-EVanOriginal021.jpg

All buttoned up with the HD diff cover..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/THM%204T60-E/4T60-EVanOriginal027.jpg
Good thing was the trans functioned exactly as it should have... Its been over 1 year with 0 issues..

Moving on... Later I went into the motor to do the lower intake gaskets and decided to install a ported Lower Intake on the old warhorse 3800...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/Transport18Rockerinstall019.jpg

To complement the ported lower intake I decided to install a set of Yella Terra 1.8 roller rockers for a series I 3800... This makes the lift roughly .460, not much of anything for change in duration... Simply pushing the valve further open( stock springs are fine with these ) and reducing friction a little further..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/Transport18Rockerinstall010.jpg

The engine ran really good with this set up, but sadly with the miles and abuse that it had( van has a rough story )... The bottom end got tired and started to drop oil pressure.. Developed a slight Knock at hot idle..

I had made the decision to replace the engine with a newer 3800 as the older ones were high mileage units and they seemed to want a premium for them.. so out the entire powertrain came... sub frame and all..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/Vanengineswap018.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/Vanengineswap022.jpg


This is the L26 Series III NA Motor.. 2006 from a Buick Lucerne.. In this pic its installed on the Sub Frame.. I was doing lot of fitting to make sure parts would work.. The engine has a a bit of a cam, nothing radical... .517 Intake and .498 exhaust with more duration on the exhaust side... with this it has LS6 Valve springs and comp cam valve locks... It also has a Ported lower intake and the intake ports on the heads are kissed to get rid of the step between the intake and head port.. we also used the newer style delphi alternator and bracket.. The dog bone bracket is from a 1997 Grand Prix with a 3800.. The oil filter adapter is also from a W body, this was the only location I could install the adapter due to the location of the PS pump and the front mount under the oil pan..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/L26%20Series%20III/Vanengineswap048.jpg

Mostly installed..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/L26%20Series%20III/Vanengineswap093.jpg

I did finish the install and had to rework the air box a bit... But it functions and will function until I decide what to do with the intake system on this van.. Little tight under the hood...LOL

Here is a quick Video, van is not intended to be fast... just to be a fun more car like experience..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/th_TransportRunaround.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/1995%20Pontiac%20Transport/?action=view&current=TransportRunaround.flv)

The Van also has been upgraded to the OBD2 PCM.. the PCM is from a 97 Olds LS and we flashed it with a 1997 Bonneville tune tinkered with the fueling a tad( we still have a little ways to go yet )... Then used the 97 Grad Prix GT Trans tables as it used the 4T60E and 3.29 gears... we did this as I have a 4T60E and 3.33 gears.... So far so good.. we also have it set to shift at 5800 Rpms.. and fuel cut off at 6000.. Later when we feel we have the tuning right we might change it to a 6000 Rpm shift and a 6200 fuel cut off..

so far I have driven the van better than 1000 miles with this set up... My mileage has been between 22 and 27 Mpg...

I must be nuts to bring this Transport back to life... But for some reason i really like this van.. It has some suspension mods like the 1" rear sway bar, has poly bushings, stiffer front springs and will have stiffer rear springs soon.. It drives and handles better than it should... and I do use the van for hauling and moving stuff.. Picked up an engine and Trans last week...LOL... The old Dust Buster is just too handy to get rid of...LOL

WOW!! Nice..

Thanks.. That just some of what has been done to the van.. When they are free they are easier to mod without feeling bad about it...LOL:)

Excellent work...I like the sound...

Yeah the sound is due to the Magnaflow Cat and Magnaflow Muffy.. I need to tone it down a hair tho.. I have actually managed to get the mileage down to 19 Mpg.. a heavy right foot will do that tho:smokin:

Little Update...

Been about 1500 Miles now.. Van runs good and has plenty of power for what I consider a good sized vehicle.. It has shocked a few people..

But when I did the swap I decided due to the can I wanted to go with a 3.33 performance gear ratio.. It turns out this is as much of an overkill as it was with the older 3800 series engines.. The older units shifted at 5200... This one will do 6000 Rpms easily.. But even around town its not hard to hit 4000 Rpms...

So I am seriously thinking of going back to a 3.06 Ratio as the engine seems to produce good torque in the lower revs.. It has no issues in Lockup at 28 Mph, just tugs right along and picks up speed.. Cam is good from 1000-5500 Rpms.. This should get me better MPG's and lower revs on the highway..

Hey JR,

Gotta be one heck of a fooler when some of those snobs try to get around you in traffic!

Reminds me of the old days and a 69 Caddy I drove with a 472cid high compression.

You sure are a hybrid of Automotive Forum and 3800PRO.com!!! Keep baffling those unbelievers about our "dustbusters"!! KEV

I have surprised a few... Nothing spectacular by any means... I have received a few What The ........ Looks from people... Its funny when you pull out into traffic only to see people jump over to the left lane only to have a Minivan run off leaving them with no reason for changing lanes... I like secrets... The OE badge on the fender does say 3800, just doesn't say which one or whats in it..:smokin:

Yeah the van has been a long time in the making.. Not done with it either.. I need to get the Areoforce installed in it so I can keep an eye on it to help tinker with fueling as well as watching KR.. I think we can add 3-5 more degrees of timing to the 2 we already added to the base bin file..

Thanks Kev