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Anyone interested in the seat belt re-webbing: They came out great! Sorry no before pics, but they were your standard dirty, frayed, 20+yr old grey ones that you had to feed back in cause the retraction was too old and too tired. Now they look and work great. There's a few websites I found...

Removed spare tire carrier. Not sure if that space will be a water tank, fuel tank, or under floor storage but it’s gone now. Reverse drill press in action! I used an aggressive flap disc to grind the rivets down, then drilled them out with a 1/4” bit, then a 1/2” bit, then an air chisel to...

Body mounts. “This job sucks, at least it’s not raining. Oh look, it’s starting to rain.” I will preface this post with a note to ask yourself, do I really need to change my body mounts?? Cause maybe a little rust is ok… I had one bolt that had already broke itself, and one that...

New headlights, new marker lights, new grille! The headlights and markers (with switchback LEDs) came from vantageoptics and the grille is no-name chinesium special from eBay. Install was fairly easy- markers/turnsignals are just a straightforward swap, and they come with a new turn signal...

Decided to relocate the wiring harness that goes to the rear of the van to the inside of the walls so it wont interfere with future build-out. Didn't really take many pictures... We disconnected the taillights, dome light, etc and then de-loomed the whole thing. We removed the rigid plastic...

Sometimes “nothing” is what there is to see. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

After much trial and error, cutting, drilling, grinding, and a bit of welding I'm happy to say that Bill is now sporting twp PRP seats on two Ironcloud swivel bases. In hindsight it would have probably been easier to reupholster the factory seats (and add heating and cooling) than re-engineer...

4x4 Bill!! The van is back from Quadvan. It’s huge- rock sliders/steps have moved way up the list. I forgot to do the before tape measure, but now the top of the wheel wells are just above 42”. Total height is 9’7” It drives better than it ever did, turns way tighter, and is awesome...

I’m hopping he’s just enjoying nature and dogs on an extended trip with no internet… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is my van earlier today- left in the very capable hands of John at Quadvan!!! Very exciting times, can’t wait to see 4x4 Bill on 35’s!!!

ExpoMike I’m pretty sure I would’ve put it off to one side so I could fit a small solar panel next to it, but that ship sailed when they cut the hole out for me… oh well, it was a hefty discount. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First high top van project completed! Had to install an exhaust fan. I say had to, because I planned on not dealing with the fan until much later when I could decide where solar panels and other roof related things would be located, as well as get a better plan for where inside roof things...

Bill is much taller now! Courtesy of Tufport Canada

Almost forgot - the rear end on my van is a semi-float Dana 60, not ideal for taking a heavy van off-road, and there are very few limited slip or locking options for the diff. I went to Hooper Rear Ends and now have a rebuilt 2005 Sterling 10.5 with a TrueTrac that will be installed when the...

The bare metal was cleaned with POR15 cleaner/degreaser, then POR15 metal prep, then brushed on gray POR15 After POR15 it was time for new seam sealer. We scuffed up the shiny new POR15 and then used two tubes of SEM#39777 High Build Self Leveling seam sealer (ends above the windshield and...

2025 Drip rails had surface rust and the seam sealer had seen better days. Needed to fix this in order before the planned on high top gets installed. Various wires wheels were used to clean out the old seam sealer and rust. The tool that worked the best though was an old rounded off...

Excited to start the build of this van and to share the journey with anyone interested. Bill is a 2003 E350 with a 7.3L diesel! Formerly a fleet service vehicle for Sysco Foods in Washington. I'm not one for naming vehicles, but this van came with a name- If anyone knows what Bill's might...

Assuming you’ve got a laptop computer (although I feel like I remember a post a long while back that said most or all of this thread you do via smart phone?). You would need an external usb CD/DVD drive, can be had from Amazon for around $20, or around $30 from BestBuy or Walmart if you don’t...

If you ever find yourself in LA I'd love the opportunity to turn those CDs into a USB drive or an online album for you - I have a large gravel driveway that's currently occupied by a friend in his camper van and there's plenty of room for another for a night or two... (I realize Los Angeles...

You're welcome; that quote just resonated with me. I too base where I want to go by how few people I might find there, prefer dogs to crowds, and hate generator noise. Thank you for sharing your journeys, one day I will work less and explore more and maybe I'll be fortunate enough to share with...