I had a reminder of how quickly time is getting away from me today. It was time to go in for an oil change. Yikes. However, I finally got a work space setup and am happy to be working on the van.
As my first project, I picked up a rusty chrome ladder at a junk yard, stripped it with a grinder, and painted it black. I'm eager to find out how durable the paint turned out. This is my first attempt to turn Chrome black. I hope to do more of this since the theme is black trim on white.
I did wear goggles while grinding, I just forgot while I was quickly posing for a photo. I also did not permanently hang the ladder on the side of the van. After seeing it done on
august's van, I thought about leaving it right there. It might give me better access to my eventual roof design and free up space on the back door for jerry cans. However, the ladder was really engineered for the rear door and I suspect it would be sturdier there. Plus, the only place I can find safe points for mounting it on the side of the van put the ladder right in front of a window. It was either that or block the gas tank door.
Once the weekend finally got here, I decided to start stripping down the inside of the van.
I'm about ready to go through the dash cleaning as much as I can. The more I peel back the layers, the more concerned I get. After pulling up the carpet I noticed the rust damaged patches on the floor at two body mount points. Someone treated the spots with some black paint.
After talking to a mechanic and a body shop about it, I think I'm just going to paint over it and leave it. The two closest body mount points to each patch are healthy. If I get inspired, I might tack on a couple of plates here.
I got more of a scare out of the front left body mount point. It would appear that a bolt has been missing for some time and someone tried welding the bracket.
While the mechanic told me he thinks its fine just how it is, I'm thinking I might try to get a bolt in there. I may not get the gap to close all the way, but I'd feel better with it bolted as tightly as possible regardless.
Meanwhile, I spotted this Sportsmobile in town and almost drowned in my own envious drool...