Ford E450 4x4...

[xracer144]

I installed my Bushwacker fender flares today. From across the shop they look awesome. The finish on them is good. They are pretty flimsy though. One good whack on a cold day and they will be Gonzo Alonzo. The fit is ok. On the left side they cut the portion of the flare that wraps into the fenderwell too short. I had to drill the mounting hole right at the edge of the flare material to utilize the factory mounting hole and anchor. The right side was ok. I'll leave them on till they break or get ripped off.

I really expected more for $250.

 

[xracer144]

There is not much meat holding this flare on. I sure hate to have to drill more holes in a perfectly good panel. I'll see how I feel later as the rig gets mobile.

 

[xracer144]

It took alot longer than I had anticipated to install the Dynamat on the floor of the chassis. The way the Dynamat comes packaged it is all folded up. If you purchase old stock (like I did to save 50%) the folds leave ridges in the material. They dont really want to come out. Even with heating and rolling with a roofing hand roller it was a struggle to get them to mostly flatten out. Once the rubber mat was reinstalled it was a non issue.

I made templates of any areas that needed multiple cuts. Once warm the Dynamat is way too sticky to put in place and remove to trim. It all worked out pretty well. I reinstalled the interior and the chassis is mobile now again.

 

[xracer144]

My new headlights arrived today. I swapped out the old 6054 halogen sealed units for some clear housings with the replaceable H4 bulbs. I decided to go with the Piaa Xtreme white bulbs. What a huge difference over stock. I didnt do a side by side test because I knew the Piaa's would be better, but i didnt expect them to be that much better. I expect that I will have to lower the aim of the headlights to compensate for the additional brightness, but they will still rock on high beam.

I also picked up some Husky liner floor mats. They look like a good product. The should be able to contain all the assorted race track sand, mud, grass, etc. It will make clean ups way easier.

Next step i think is the stereo install for the cab. I got some JL 6x8's for the doors, and a 12" JL w6 sub. I want to do a slot ported box under the passenger seat. Not sure where the amp will go yet.

I ordered some LLumar security film for the side windows. I hope to install it when the door speakers are going in.

 

[Silverado]

Does the DynaMat actually make a difference? I know the stuff is expensive and figured I would ask.:sombrero:

 

[xracer144]

Does Dynamat make a difference...I sure hope so considering the amount of time and effort I put in. I haven't taken the chassis out for a sound test so I can't really say for sure. This is what I could tell you though. There was a noticeable difference in the sound when a tool was dropped on the uncovered metal floor panel as compared to the side that was covered with the Dynamat. The sound changed from a metallic sound, for lack of a better term, to more of a thud. Any of the single wall floor panels, like the ones in the foot well area, will no longer resonate as they did under normal driving. I don't think that the Dynamat insulates from sound as much as it prevents some panels from resonating as much and making sound in the first place and changes the pitch of the sound coming from the other panels. If I'm not happy with the Dynamat alone, I could add some 2 side foil insulation material down the road.

 

[xracer144]

I had LLumar window security film installed today. In case you have never seen the product in action, you can check it out in this video.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6rAZJxRNM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6rAZJxRNM[/ame]
I actually had all my work vans done. In theory, this appears to be an awesome idea. I had a light tint installed as well. I didn't want to go to dark with the tint. Alot of the time we are backing the race trailer into tight places at the track or in the woods after dark. I don't want to limit my vision any more than I had to just to get the look of tinted windows. I guess I could always roll the window down but nothing worse than filling the motorhome with mosquitoes just before bed time.

While we had the doors apart, I decided to add some additional sound proofing and insulation to the cab doors with some reflective foil bubble insulation. I made a template out of the old poly barrier that comes on the door from the factory. It went quickly and the materials were cheap. It will be better than the old 6 mil poly for sure. I

I got some JL 6x8 door speakers. With all the rushing around dealing with the work vans and the LLumar guy, I forgot them at home. I was going to go back to the shop and install them tonight, but Supercross is on Speed. I'll put them in tomorrow.

 

[sarconcepts]

where did you get the Llumar installed? I tried to have it installed here in Oregon, but couldn't find anybody that could install it. I could easily fit it into one of our future canada trips. I don't know why it's not offered or more common here in USA,

 

[xracer144]

I had the LLumar installed by Executive Tint in Winnipeg. He did a good job, it went pretty quickly and the price was reasonable.

I snapped this comparison picture yesterday when I had the 4x4 outside. Next to it is my e350 work van. It has the 9600 gvw package and oversized tires on it so it sits about 1-2 inches taller than the other regular e350 vans we have. I don't know which front end I like better. The classy look of the chrome (if an e350 could ever really be classy) or the tough look of the black.

 

[xracer144]

This picture right here has helped me to determine that my body will be aluminum without any type of roof cutout or raised area. The last thing I would want is to have the top of my camper fly off in an accident.

 

[xracer144]

We decided to lay out potential floor plans on out living room floor. Once all the living room furniture was stacked in the dining room, we used painters masking tape to translate some of your drawings into a full scale pattern on the carpet. I was gonna do this in the shop, but my wife suggested we do it in the house. It was much more comfortable crawling around on the carpet than it would have been on a plywood floor that I figured I would mock up in the shop. Not only is she cute, she has some good ideas! We watched Daytona supercross on TV while we worked.

 

[Cat Jockey]

Excellent platform. I'm a little jealous as my cutaway chassis I have to work with is only an E-350 and a quarter century older than yours. If you run into some issues with weight, I know Ford put out a E-550 for a short period of years, sometime after 2002 I think? Might be some easy running gear/suspension swaps with limited or no frame work.

I am obviously biased, but I think a Ford E-series cutaway chassis has great potential and some benefits over the F-series chassis (like more living cabin space for frame length), even for world travel if built properly.

 

[xracer144]

We need to make a decision on the length, interior height (which will dictate overall height) and size of the front sleeping or entertainment area (depending on the depth chosen)

This is a crude mock up of where a 17' box will end. The rear over hang past the tire is 5.5 feet if we stay with 17' total. The builder has said we could stretch it to 18', but I'm not crazy about the rear overhang getting any bigger. If I had my way, I would be cutting it down to 16'. 17 might be the happy medium.

The overall height if we go with the recommended 7'6" interior height is at the top of the plywood. I'm thinking I want to chop the height down to 6'10". That will take about 8" off that sheet of plywood. With the interlocking aluminum panels that will be used, the builder is confident that we can go with a 4'6" front overhang to hold a double bed if we decide to go with a bed there. I was thinking a 30" single bed or an entertainment area. Big screen tv, surround stereo, sub woofer for the rainy days at the track or when the mosquitoes are too nasty to sit outside. We also travel alot for my son's basketball team. Having a home theater away from home would be pretty sweet. Sometimes he will play at 8am and not play again till 8 or 9 pm at some tournaments. 12 hours between games is a long time in Regina Saskatchewan.

 

[xracer144]

I should add that for most people 6'10" interior is plenty tall. My son is 15 and 6'5". He might sprout another inch or 2. For us, dropping from 7' to 6'10" is a big decision!

 

[RabidRover]

Nice build ... hope to pass you in traffic one day when it is done to see in person :smiley_drive: