Back in the game

[rockbender]

So the table will be clear to play some ping pong in a week or so?

[rallypanam]

It's about damned time.

[WhitH]

No kidding! I feel like you put us all on the shelf along with your van. Stings a bit...glad this is back to life and you're pushing on.

[Abitibi]

That's a lot of work Scotty! Are you saving most of it for winter months? And I sure hear you about other projects and responsibilities getting in the way. I had made a deal with my wife where I'd give her a day for house projects in exchange of a day for van project...

Keep it coming, looks good and like the futon idea! Why can't you just ad a flip up panel at the end to extend the bed length, you could easily gain another 12-18" depending how tall is your bench...

Cheers
David

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Abitibi

That's a lot of work Scotty! Are you saving most of it for winter months? And I sure hear you about other projects and responsibilities getting in the way. I had made a deal with my wife where I'd give her a day for house projects in exchange of a day for van project...

Keep it coming, looks good and like the futon idea! Why can't you just ad a flip up panel at the end to extend the bed length, you could easily gain another 12-18" depending how tall is your bench...

Cheers
David

Sent from my SGP511 using Tapatalk

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about it but the interior will be awhile. Still planning.

Originally Posted by rockbender

So the table will be clear to play some ping pong in a week or so?

Of course, a real quality piece that table is!

Originally Posted by rallypanam

It's about damned time.

Yeah, yeah........come help.

Originally Posted by WhitH

No kidding! I feel like you put us all on the shelf along with your van. Stings a bit...glad this is back to life and you're pushing on.

Na, fancy vacations getting in the way and all. I'm sandblasting this afternoon!

[Unimat]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Na, I'm gonna try it myself first. Maybe AAA will tow me out there after I give up with the front axle removed?

Van problem.........

Actually, I have a silver vehicle problem lately

Silver BMW 530 (sold but not gone)
Silver BMW 330 (from my cold, dead hands)
Silver (and gray, etc.) Winnebago
Silver Toyota 4runner (from HER cold, dead hands)
Silver e350

Sheesh. I wonder what the neighbors think.

Actually we're wishing you would buy something black!

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Unimat

Actually we're wishing you would buy something black!

Ha! Well, one of those silver BMWs is gone and lately I'm driving a primered black Westy. Also, there's a yellow VW Beetle in the driveway to break things up. It may sound like I have 10 cars in my driveway but actually only 2. The rest are in the garage or building out back. I'm sure it doesn't sound that way though.

UPDATE: The sandblasting continues. Imagine a movie where people are crossing the Sahara and getting their vehicles and everything else completely covered in sand. I think there was a scene like this in "The English Patient". Well, that's my garage right now. Very messy.

[REF]

Deja vu......[emoji133]


'03 Ford E350 7.3L Diesel
SMB RB50
Quigley 4X4
CCV top

[86Scotty]

So, where were we. Hmmm, I believe I've cleaned, vacuumed and blown sand and silt out of my shop about 5 times now. I hung drop cloths all around the van but sand creeps, and creeps, and creeps.

Things I've learned, completely rehabbing an EB van from below is something I will never do to this level again. It's an absolutely slippery slope once you start cleaning stuff. It's hard to leave that one piece alone.

I have removed everything from underneath except the engine, sandblasted it all, then painstakingly degreased it all, then metal prepped it all and then POR15'd it all. POR15 is a 3 step process and a long, drawn out one to do right.

Money shots







So, after 100 hours or so of work over the past month or more I have gotten back to where I intended to start, installing MGMetalworks 4x conversion kit.

Also, stripped and POR15'd are both axles and all little tiddly bits.







New Atlas springs from Chris at Ujoint

[86Scotty]

Oh, by the way, that's silver POR15 sprayed on the under body and black POR15 brushed on the frame and everything else. I had never sprayed it. I had some left over from Glider's van and I thinned it to the minimum spec and sprayed until I ran out. It looks a little uneven but doesn't matter, it's never going to get seen really.

Moving on, In the last few days I got the brackets mounted, rear axle all back in with new Fox's, tranny and T-case in