Polar Bear 1

[Zaskoda]

Originally Posted by Christopher Thwaites

So did you glue the vynl down? Looks like nice stuff. What's next.....? Headliner?

I didn't and I don't think I will... It lays into place pretty nicely. To "finish" this step of the job, I need to trim out the doors nicely. Then ceiling, then walls. However, I think I'm going to try to do a little wiring before the walls and ceiling go in.

After that, bed, benches, heater, fridge, sink and storage.

[TroySmith80]

looks great! Nice work.

I'm a little bummed to hear that the van is very noisy. That is part of the reason i'm looking to swap out of my VW van. It's horribly loud at highway speed. Even more so than a normal vanagon, because of the engine swap. I was under the impression that the fords were quite a bit quieter due to the body on frame construction, low rpm engines, etc.

[Zaskoda]

Originally Posted by TroySmith80

looks great! Nice work.

I'm a little bummed to hear that the van is very noisy. That is part of the reason i'm looking to swap out of my VW van. It's horribly loud at highway speed. Even more so than a normal vanagon, because of the engine swap. I was under the impression that the fords were quite a bit quieter due to the body on frame construction, low rpm engines, etc.

Don't make a judgement based on Polar Bear! First of all, she's 23 years old. She's was treated rough - to the point where I have warped body mounts welded back into place. There are strange welds all over the body, actually... some of them my doing.

Second, the 4x4 conversion does not include any rubber between the transfer case mount and the frame so all of the vibration from the engine and drive train are currently being transfered into the frame. I don't know how the rig ended up like this, but it seems it makes for a lot of rattling going down the road. The subfloor seems to be absorbing a LOT of this vibration, which is great. I've been running with a near bare metal interior for a long time now.

Third, (appropriately) I have a three speed transmission. Anytime I'm cruising down the highway, my RPMs are very high. The original exhaust was nearly a straight pipe. I bought 2 cats & a quieter muffler. That helped a ton. Still, the engine is at high rev and it's going to make noise. The dog house cover helped a lot with this.

I don't have a very typical Ford.

[TroySmith80]

Well, that is somewhat encouraging. Particularly the lack of insulation in the t-case and the low gearing. I can relate to both of those issues. I installed a heavy duty front transmission mount in my vanagon (much more rigid than the standard mount) and now i get all kinds of vibration noises and even gear mesh noise and whine transmitted through the body. Also, it's low geared and i just put really small tires on it (for lots of snow chain clearance) so now it's geared even lower. Nearly 4,000 rpm to go 65...

I'm only considering Fords with overdrive transmissions! :-)

[Zaskoda]

Originally Posted by TroySmith80

I'm only considering Fords with overdrive transmissions! :-)

Good call... What year range are you looking for? I sure wouldn't mind having on of those 7.3l td with an overdrive.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by Zaskoda

Third, (appropriately) I have a three speed transmission. Anytime I'm cruising down the highway, my RPMs are very high. The original exhaust was nearly a straight pipe. I bought 2 cats & a quieter muffler. That helped a ton. Still, the engine is at high rev and it's going to make noise. The dog house cover helped a lot with this.

I don't have a very typical Ford.

A more modern transmission would be an improvement, or you could add a bolt-on overdrive unit.

http://www.gearvendors.com/4x4f3s.html


Herb

[Zaskoda]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

A more modern transmission would be an improvement, or you could add a bolt-on overdrive unit.

http://www.gearvendors.com/4x4f3s.html


Herb

I want this badly. If I finish up what I want to accomplish on Polar Bear and am confident she's going to be mechanically sound for a while, I might consider getting one. Road trips would become completely different... That's a pretty significant financial investment though.

[TroySmith80]

Originally Posted by Zaskoda

Good call... What year range are you looking for? I sure wouldn't mind having on of those 7.3l td with an overdrive.

That's a good question. I'd like to get the newest i can afford, of course. I'm trying to determine how to spend my budget. My budget will be entirely determined by what i can get out of my VW. It will not be much. Probably $10-15k. So that will most likely land me in a pre-1993 van. I'm pretty solid i think in that i would like to get a van that is already converted to 4x4. I will then build out the interior.
I had considered (am still would if circumstances warranted) UJoint Chris' 4x4 kit. From what i gather it's a great kit and he's a great guy/business. But i just can't see spending that money in a project whose whole budget is as low as mine is. If i buy a van that is already converted, it is much cheaper.

Chris' kit is a good value in my opinion, when compared to alternatives for converting a van that one already owns. But any of those options are still more than buying a van that is already done.

Sooooo, anyway, i'll probably end up with a late 80s or early 90s van. Which is why i am very interested in your build, and any others using the older body style. A 7.3 PS would be beautiful, but not in my budget, and besides that the noise levels concern me.

The biggest question in my mind, is what the differences are when it comes to living with the newer vans vs. the older ones. Primarily in terms of NVH levels and highway cruising comfort.

Anyway, i better shut-up or start my own thread!

[Zaskoda]

If I had it to do over, I'd definitely buy a camper van and convert it to 4x4... Older 4x4s aren't the same as newer ones and I totally underestimated the expense of building out a camper from scratch...

On another note, I installed fog lights yesterday:

[Zaskoda]

It snowed today. Took some pics.