Van Specialties Interior Materials

[ohsix]

I have a 2012 E350 EB passenger van which I'd like to replace the interior in from the front seats rearward. I've already removed all the OEM interior, installed dynamat, Quietride Solutions insulation, and 1/8" steel plate on the floor. For the headliner and the walls, I would like to do something like Van Specialties did in this van: https://www.vanspecialties.com/gallery_van/quad/

It looks like "interweave" fabric over some type of semi-rigid panel. Maybe 1/4" plywood? I like the way the window is trimmed out on the driver's side as well. I contacted Van Specialties to see what they might charge and if/when they would be able to work on my van and they are booked until mid-2018.

My question is: has anyone DIY'd something substantially similar to this finish? If so, what materials did you/they use for backing, cushion, and fabric and are there any photos of the process online?

[WAMTB]

Not mine, but this Interior – walls and cabinets – Sprinter Adventure Van is the build I keep referring to while planning mine.

[2xplore]

Not sure it's exactly the same but my interior fabric is close. It's called Marathon and you can buy it directly at Perfect Fit in Seattle or Portland.
http://perfectfit.com/Search.aspx?q=...earchPageNum=1
There are photos in my build thread.


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[ohsix]

Thanks for those links! I ordered Marathon fabric and backing foam from Perfect Fit and ordered the adhesive and respirator mask the person on the Sprinter build used. I looked at the paint gun they used, but Harbor Freight has much cheaper paint guns that I've read will work in other places.

I found a good link on how to build curved interior panels here:
Upholstery: Interior Panels - The Scratch-Built Hot Rod
I'm not sure how I feel about using drywall compound in a vehicle that sees a lot of vibration, but I have worked with fiberglass in the past, so I may try that instead.

[RandallDee]

Sounds like you're all set for the DIY route. I'm assuming you are in the Portland area if you considered VS. No knock on them, but I've used Van Haus in Vancouver for some work and like them a lot. They do small stuff to complete interior builds.

[ohsix]

Originally Posted by RandallDee

Sounds like you're all set for the DIY route. I'm assuming you are in the Portland area if you considered VS. No knock on them, but I've used Van Haus in Vancouver for some work and like them a lot. They do small stuff to complete interior builds.

I'm actually in west Texas. I thought I might take my van up to Oregon to get interior done and see if I could get mgmetalworks to change out my Quigley front end for his parts while there. Given VS' backlog, I'm just going to DIY both the interior and suspension.

[boywonder]

I did similar parts of my interior with various fabrics over thin (and thick!) plywood.

1/8" or 1/4" will work fine.....1/4" may not flex/bend enough for some areas. I used baltic birch.....high quality, lots of plys...I think 1/8" has 3 plys.

I didn't spray any adhesive and it all came out fine using brush on contact cement (I used the high temp stuff from DAP/weldwood called landau top adhesive, about $35/gallon) and headliner spray adhesive in rattlecans.

Both the brush on and rattlecan adhesives are available in non-high temp flavors but I spent the extra $$.....the landau top adhesive is thin...it's meant to be sprayed as well if desired.

Any contact cement and the the rattlecan spray adhesive will stick to each other no problem. The headliner spray sits on top of absorbent fabrics, so it doesn't soak in. I glued down lots of vinyl materials that are not absorbant, on those I brushed the landau top adhesive on both surfaces.

Here is another online source for automotive fabrics, I bought a few things here:

http://www.yourautotrim.com/

As it turns out, there is a local upholstery supply place here that has all this stuff so I ended up buying most supplies there.

[86Scotty]

What's wrong with your Quigley as is?

[Jsweezy]

Originally Posted by RandallDee

Sounds like you're all set for the DIY route. I'm assuming you are in the Portland area if you considered VS. No knock on them, but I've used Van Haus in Vancouver for some work and like them a lot. They do small stuff to complete interior builds.

Sort of staying on topic here. I called the Van Haus to see how much they would charge for a simple ceiling and walls interior and was quoted 3200$. Do you know what Egyptian cotton spiders silk web they are using over there?! Ha ha but seriously, are the materials for interiors really that much or is it mainly labor?

[ohsix]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

What's wrong with your Quigley as is?

To the practical person, absolutely nothing was wrong with it. I bought the van to haul dirt bikes and mountain bikes and maybe occasional use as a tent. Here is how the interior looked when I got it:



That work was done by SMB Texas. The bench seat was moved back and the rear mounting bolts for the seat were just through the floor of the van. The e-track was also secured to the floor of the van. Ford secures the seats to frame cross-members that are substantially stronger than the van floor. My fear was that in an accident, things could rip through the floor and I might have dirt bikes, a bench seat, and possibly bench seat occupants bouncing around the inside of the van.

Since then, I ripped out all of the interior rearward of the front seats and made a 1/8" steel plate floor which is anchored to the frame cross members where the factory seats were bolted down. I've put in 2 reclining Sienna seats in place of the bench seat and have ordered these: https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p...acing+tie+down
so I won't have tie down straps crossing every which way to hold dirt bikes in place. I'll still have tie downs from the rear of the van through the dirt bike frame so bike shouldn't make it to the passenger area in an accident, but the peg tie-downs will make holding the dirt bikes in place much simpler. For the walls and headliner, I just think I'd rather have something cleaner looking than the factory interior with seats removed.

As far as Quigley parts, steering wander is my main complaint. I'd also like to fit 35" tires without fender trimming. A bonus will be better brakes as I acquired a 2013 F250 front axle with larger brakes.