The Tan Hot Dog Build - Page 32

larrie · 10-08-2016, 03:28 PM

You may want to consider aluminum or steel strut channel stead of 80/20. The reason I like it is because it is stronger allows connections from both sides and parts can be gotten locally at any electrical supply house.

Jsweezy · 10-08-2016, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larrie

You may want to consider aluminum or steel strut channel stead of 80/20. The reason I like it is because it is stronger allows connections from both sides and parts can be gotten locally at any electrical supply house.

I had seen you mention this stuff before but am having a hard time seeing how I could make a frame out of it for some reason. Ill add that to the list of things to research.

Flux · 10-08-2016, 10:24 PM

I'm with ya. I never thought I'd learn so much about axles and solar panels and marine grade flooring and insulation and soundproofing and V-10's and suspensions and.........

Anyway, I bet you could do a really sweet fold up bunk. If you need any design help, let me know, I could throw together some 3D cad for ya. My van has the same AC unit and such to work around. I too plan on using T-Slots or 8020 for my interior stuff too, and a rack as well. thanks MG!!

carringb · 10-08-2016, 10:59 PM

I use strut too. We installed $55-mllion of it up the street from you, so it's kinda become my default building material. Building frames is super easy using the correct connecting hardware. I bought a porta-band for easy cutting and use red scotch brite wheels for deburring.

ranchero · 10-14-2016, 11:51 AM

Hey Josh - what did you use for alignment specs for your front end after the MG swap? I'm building my front end with all new parts and want to get it rough an ready before I slide it under the van.

Thanks
Steve

Jsweezy · 10-14-2016, 01:08 PM

Ranchero -

Well as far as getting the axle ready, I literally just pulled it off the pallet, put the wheels on and rolled it under. Everything stayed exactly the same was as it was when they pulled it off the truck.

The only other thing we did was position the axle under the van as close to as center as possible, using the van body as a guide. MG checked it with a couple rulers after we got it on and it looked close enough. So we figured if it was off the only real way to tell would be with an alignment machine. After going to les schwab and having them ask me why I was there we confirmed that it wasn't so either this kit is really that simple or we were dead on. Or both...

Jsweezy · 10-14-2016, 01:30 PM

Ok, so as you can tell my frustration level is still at an all time high with the previous work that was done on this wiener. Thank goodness I am a gluten for punishment because this van has given me the business.

The last couple things I had to do before I wouldn't have to crawl under this van for anything other than routine maintenance is the front driveshaft and the exhaust.

The exhaust was sorta solved by getting MGs old 5.4l Quadvan exhaust. Obviously the 5 speed is bigger than the 4 so I need to get it adjusted for a better fit but even now its a huge improvement over the previous exhaust. No joke I have even picked up 2mpg more than I was getting before according to the scan gauge which is still probably a big fat liar.

So other than taking the van to a shop at my convenience for an exhaust tweak all I had left to do was get the front drive shaft modified to fit the newer ford axle. Coming from an older dana 44 to a newer dana 60 meant adding a conversion joint to the front and then lengthening it because of the lift that was added. Of course it couldn't be that simple (cheap) because for whatever reason the CV joint had been messed with in a way that even the driveshaft shop didnt understand.

For whatever reason it had been ground down at some point and they nicked the shaft part sticking up and it was causing the joint to feel funny.

Exhibit A -

Either way I am super happy with the service I received from the Driveline Service of Portland. They had my axle in and out in 3 days and I told them it was in no way shape or form urgent for me to get it back which means they can probably pump them out if need me. When I arrived there are stairs leading up to the building which isn't an issue for me because I am so agile but the individuals that came out to greet me insisted I take the longer way around through the shop so I didn't have to hop up stairs. They then proceeded to show me around through the shop and didn't just rush me through like most places would and everyone back there working took the time to say hello but also didn't stop working (which as a customer I like to see). Once at the front they were helpful and pretty accurate on the quote for the finished product, they even went out and measured for me just to double check that I wasn't wrong. Then after we were all finished up with the quote and what not I was surprised to find out that the individual actually helping me was the president of the company, don't see that very often.

Bottom line...
Before -

After -

ranchero · 10-15-2016, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsweezy

Ranchero -

Well as far as getting the axle ready, I literally just pulled it off the pallet, put the wheels on and rolled it under. Everything stayed exactly the same was as it was when they pulled it off the truck.

The only other thing we did was position the axle under the van as close to as center as possible, using the van body as a guide. MG checked it with a couple rulers after we got it on and it looked close enough. So we figured if it was off the only real way to tell would be with an alignment machine. After going to les schwab and having them ask me why I was there we confirmed that it wasn't so either this kit is really that simple or we were dead on. Or both...

Thanks Josh!

Jsweezy · 10-15-2016, 09:32 AM

Ranchero - No problem, helping people out is the whole reason I made this in the first place because obviously its not to show off how cool my van is ha ha.

Jsweezy · 10-15-2016, 09:38 AM

I got the front driveline installed yesterday and one of the issues I ran into was the oil filter lines. So I moved them around a little bit and figured out the easiest way to move the out of the way was to simply zip tie them to a spot on the crossmember. I made a big loop with the zip tie so they are still able to move freely, just not in harms way.

Before -

After -

I also wanted to let all of you soon to be MG kit DIYers that I am running the bare bones suspension right now. As I have mentioned before I am a minimalist and what I have found is that without the sway bar and steering stabilizer my van rides just as good. Very small differences that I felt didn't make the van any better or worse with or without them. If your going to be towing alot or your rig is heavy you may find things otherwise but I am enjoying the lack of anything but mandatory suspension stuff.

I really need to swap out that final rusty drag link to clean everything up, and yesterday I found out that joint is on its way out anyway when I pulled it off the pitman arm so thats whats up next I suppose.