KUV Quigley Westy Pop top build

[jimmyrig]

Carried over from expo-

Thought you all would enjoy this ( not SMB) but / Last year I scored a low mile E350 Quigley Converted Cutaway Van (17K ) Good ole wasteful Uncle Sam. The guys in the shop called it the Mullet Van. It served as our shop runner for some time while I decided what direction to go with the build. Many years ago a father and son posted on EP about converting a plumber van to a camper. They traveled the Pan American for a couple of years in this setup. I knew one day I would try to tackle something similar. Fast forward and another member of the forum built a beautiful Agile converted Pop Top version. I was inspired by his build. The Vruck was destined for a flatbed Four-wheel Camper, but a wrecked plumber body van was posted locally. Looks like the Mullet was destined for far off grid plumbing repairs.
Ultimately the plan is to sell the package when complete. I build camper vans for a living and have been dying to do this buildout. So if you are in the market let me know as we can still customize the interior. Full CNC cut and CAD designed cabinetry

No pictures where taken from the original dually setup the Cutaway was built.





The new plumber body resting on the chassis







A trip all the way to Truckee sourced us a nice clean and ready Westy Pop top.







So many hours of cutting and welding to get it ready for conversion. Departure chop, roof cutout, and walls re-enforced with thin wall box tubing. This will provide some structure back to the KUV body after hacking it apart. Also the one side compartment was sacrificed for a side entry. The ribs in the walls will also provide a stand off so we can insulate and panel the interior











Test fit and trimming to get the VW pop top on

[boywonder]

Very cool.......


Do you have good canvas or do you have to fabricate that?

[jimmyrig]

Brand new VW canvas in the bag came with the top along with the original

[doublevan2]

Awesome concept and potential build ! Educate me on "KUV" full name ? Keep it coming !

[SteelheadJones]

https://www.knapheide.com/kuv-bodies

Maybe Knapheide Utility Van?

[doublevan2]

Thats it - thanks !

[jimmyrig]

They cost as much as a van almost lol- I go lucky and found one connected to a van with blown engine and trans. The rear doors were damaged so part of the reason I was okay with chopping the rear lower box to give it the overland cool kid taper

[SteelheadJones]

Gotta say, I love this project. The combo of internal and external storage plus a poptop? So much win.

[shenrie]

Very cool build! I love that the box has built in flares that strongly resemble the bushwackers.

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by SteelheadJones

Gotta say, I love this project. The combo of internal and external storage plus a poptop? So much win.

I agree completely. The exterior storage has always intrigued me - especially since Kris (Member KDB) shared his build...really drawn to that format, and his end result was phenomenal !
Given the same platform, it would be very interesting (probably overwhelming) to hear all the creative ideas & suggestions the collective knowledge here could contribute with respect to layout and utilization of compartments.

***Post #179 & 197 sealed the concept for me!
https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...-23058-18.html

I'll be following this venture as well, excited to see how it develops.