2003 7.3 cargo van build

[BenJJ-SMB]

After months of lurking on Craigslist I finally found the one and pounced this past week to start my first van build. It is a 2003 Ford e350 7.3 power stroke diesel with 91k miles! It was government owned previously, so was very well maintained.

Sorry for the bad pictures, driveway was too narrow to get a good angle and I backed it all the way up to my garage. Also on mobile and some of the pics came up the wrong direction.

Time to let the fun begin!

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

First goal, remove all the shelving. Easy right?

We are headed up to Yosemite this weekend and I basically had a 2.5 hour window to actually work on it after work. Grabbed my tool set and a coors light and started going to town, mostly just to realize within 5 minutes that there is no way I am going to be able finish and it is going to be way harder than I thought.

Bemerritt stopped by and helped me get one of the shelves out, and then I got about 90% of the way on the front divider. Unfortunately I couldn't get at the last couple bolts because the huge weather guard drawer was in the way. But I can't get the weather guard drawer out because the front divider is in the way....

So I left it there and had to pack for the Yosemite trip.
The van will have to wait sadly.

 

[bemerritt]

Taking out the annoying shelves in a cargo is a right of passage!

 

[shenrie]

congrats man!

we had to do the same thing only the dealer we were working with were so awesome that they were willing to remove some of that stuff for us so we could at least fit an air mattress in the back for the drive home. didn't have near as much stuff in the back as yours though...

try not to think about the van too much over the weekend

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

congrats man!

try not to think about the van too much over the weekend

HAH. If only it were that easy. Really wish I had more time to work on it so I could have driven it out there. Instead I am in my in-laws Toyota Sienna which I secretly am planning to take the captain chairs from.

 

[shenrie]

^^^ lolol, just leave a few folding chairs in there to replace them??

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Finally got some time to work on the van and removed all the shelves! Only had to cut one of the mounting brackets for the weather guard drawer because one of the bolts was physically impossible to access from underneath the car. Also some of the upper brackets holding the side shelves in will be a problem. Pictures attached. If anyone has any good ideas on how to get these off short of cutting/grinding the bolts down I am all ears.

Goal for this weekend will be to remove the current floor and patch all the holes from where the shelves were mounted. Any suggestions on the best way to do that would be appreciated!

Side note: Huge win for the neighbors... I found the reverse speaker and cut the wire so they don't have to listen the beeping every time I back in the driveway.

Also threw in one of my favorite pics from the yosemite trip last weekend. Waterfalls everywhere!

 

[rallypanam]

Welding is best for filling holes.. but also the most complicated.

 

[bemerritt]

Lucky for him he has less than 20 holes and I have a mig welder...

grind, disconnect battery from frame, grind, reconnect battery, paint

Paging Flux to tell us how many holes he had!

I didn't do it this way and in hindsight I wish i did.

 

[bemerritt]

Oh, and have a backing plate, probably copper

 

[rallypanam]

Lucky for him his brother has a welder and plenty of spare time!

 

[bemerritt]

Ha! He missed his window, that penthouse isn't going to rehabilitate itself!

 

[Flux]

Lucky for him he has less than 20 holes and I have a mig welder...

grind, disconnect battery from frame, grind, reconnect battery, paint

Paging Flux to tell us how many holes he had!

I didn't do it this way and in hindsight I wish i did.

about 180-200.........

DO NOT WELD AND GRIND WITHOUT COVERING ANY NEARBY WINDOWS.

Get a magnetic copper backer. Makes the holes fill up easier and quicker

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

about 180-200.........

DO NOT WELD AND GRIND WITHOUT COVERING ANY NEARBY WINDOWS.

Get a magnetic copper backer. Makes the holes fill up easier and quicker

Would nearby windows include the front windows? Don't have any windows in the back

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Had a full day Saturday to work on the van and got quite a bit done. Started by ripping the floor out and and filling the holes. Bemerritt wasn't available to help me weld them so I went a different route. Used JB weld to stick pennies over the holes. The key here was hammering the holes flat prior ti sticking the pennies over them. It was actually really easy to do except for 1 or 2 holes that were not on flat surfaces that couldn't be hammered. Just globbed on some extra JB weld in those cases.

I then moved up to the roof while the JB weld set which had a little rust lining the whole length of the gutters. Wire brushed all the rust off and then sprayed with white rustoleum. Turned out pretty good!

Then went back to the inside to do the floor. I bought 3 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" maple to put down as the base. I pulled off the old rubber mat all in one piece and then laid it on top of the 3 sheets of plywood to trace out the shape I needed. Had to make a few slight modifications to get it all to fit but it went pretty smooth. I also had to cut out a small piece to put under the plastic step cover to raise it high enough to fit with the new floor height.

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Currently the floor is "floating" but I am not sure I like it that way and am thinking of screwing it down through the floor of the van. Any thoughts on this? Also I am not sure what material we want to put on top of the wood yet but that might affect whether or not the wood ultimately gets screwed down.

Anyway next step is to do the bed platform. I listed the giant weather guard drawer on craigslist but am having second thoughts now about using it under the bed platform to store all the camping gear. it is 48" x 30" x 11" and could realistically fit everything we need inside of it while still leaving room under the platform for chairs, EZ-up, and table. Ill grab a pic of it at lunch.

 

[Flux]

I put a few 1/4-20 T-Bolts in my panels. Basically drilled the 1/4" hole through the ply and the van floor. then used a Forstner bit to recess the T-bolt flush with the floor top side. Pound that thing in there. The 1/4-20 screws come up from the bottom and use a "sealing Washer" to keep out moisture. You cut them flush with a hacksaw or if you are lucky you have a nominal length.

I ended up bolting a lot of stuff through, but the T-bolts helped with warping and seams. I also put strips underneath the seams in the detents and screwed them together. Seems to have worked well.

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

I put a few 1/4-20 T-Bolts in my panels. Basically drilled the 1/4" hole through the ply and the van floor. then used a Forstner bit to recess the T-bolt flush with the floor top side. Pound that thing in there. The 1/4-20 screws come up from the bottom and use a "sealing Washer" to keep out moisture. You cut them flush with a hacksaw or if you are lucky you have a nominal length.

I ended up bolting a lot of stuff through, but the T-bolts helped with warping and seams. I also put strips underneath the seams in the detents and screwed them together. Seems to have worked well.

Thanks for the info... I think I will end up doing something similar to this.

 

[86Scotty]

Good start.

:a4:

 

[BenJJ-SMB]

Well floor plan might be changing drastically. In talks with a guy selling a 1995 SMB for a very reasonable price that I could take a bunch of stuff out of, most importantly the poptop.

Still waiting for him to send me some interior pictures and close ups of the canvas on the top but the price he is asking makes this a no brainer even if the only thing I get off of it is the top. Hoping the captain chairs are in decent shape as well.

One question I have which some of you might have an answer to would be if it is possible to take the windows off of that van and cut holes and put them on mine? Has anyone tried that? Is it a ridiculous thing to try?