Tardis

[larrie]

Will be using a combination of existing seat anchor positions and new ones to mount the rear passenger seats. Had a fabricator build 3"x3"x1/8" mounting plates with nuts welded to them. These will be tek screwed to the underside of the floor so that the seats can be easily unbolted when needed.

[larrie]

It is amazing how much detail needs to be thought through when putting the interior together. As the old saying goes "a place for everything and everything in its palace."

Have been stuck on insulation placement and wall covering. Wanted a simple and inexpensive way to do it. Settled on a mix of wood and fabric over the insulation. Now just need to install it. Am thinking about using 1-1/2" rigid on the lower walls and Refletix on the upper walls by the windows and pillars.

Have started the cabinet design. First one to be built will be the kitchen counter as it is the most complex. Am thinking about these latches for the drawers. Picking up the plywood later this week.

The hardest part is dragging myself outside in the cold, wet and the damp of the Pacific NW. Have moved an electric heater into the rig so I can stay a little warmer while I move existing wiring around and take measurements. The goal is to go camping for a few days after the new year.

[larrie]

Like B350 in MN have been getting cranky and irritable because of the cold weather, rain and snow was keeping me from working on the van. Have even gotten to the point where I was thinking about building a taller shop so I could work on the van inside.

Today was warmer and dry so I could get back to work. The first thing I did was to cut up the baltic birch plywood for the kitchen counter and drawers. It is all stacked and labeled waiting for the insulation to go in.



The next thing was to index the plywood floor to the insulation below. The reason for this is to align the holes I made in the insulation directly above the factory seat anchor bolt locations. The first part of the alignment was to verify that the holes in the insulation were directly over the factory anchor bolts. Then set the floor plywood into position and drill several holes in the corners through the plywood and into the insulation. Nails were inserted in the holes as work progressed to keep the plywood and insulation aligned.



Then pull the plywood and insulation out of the van and set the insulation on top of the plywood aligning them by reinserting the nails into the holes.



Once everything is aligned apply spray-paint into the holes in the insulation. The paint shows up on the correct side of the plywood.





The reason to locate the mounting points is to use them for cabinet anchors and others for seat anchors. The paint spots show the anchor locations so holes can be drilled after figuring out cabinet and seat locations.

[Otter]

Genius! This stuff is laborious but you're persisting, even in our crappy weather. Wish I had a nice dry garage to offer you. It's dry, but full of stuff. One day...

I also like your mounting plates above. We're following similar paths. Maybe we could talk down the line.

[larrie]

Laborious is the right term for sure. Be glad to meet and exchange ideas.

[larrie]

Got the kitchen cabinet floor indexed/aligned and in position today before it started snowing. The paint trick to mark the factory mounting holes worked as planned, see above. The holes in the cabinet floor matched perfectly to the factory mounting points. The five 7/16" bolts should keep it in place.

[rallypanam]

Nice!





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[larrie]

Am looking for some designs to supporting an under floor water tank between the frame rails behind the rear axel. B350 had some good photos of his support system. Did a shearch and did not get any results. If anyone has done this can you post your designs or point me to the your build thread. Thanks.

[Jsweezy]

How big of a tank? What if you just got the crossmembers and straps that ford uses on their 55gallon tank? Heck maybe even turn a 55 gallon fuel tank into a 55gallon water tank... might just not be potable for a little while ha ha

[larrie]

Am hoping for 15 to 20 gallons. Have not measured the space between the spare tire and axel yet. Interesting idea about using the fuel tank straps. IIRC fuel tank straps are curved at the edges. Water tanks have square edges. Am sure the fuel tank would rust with water in it.