2006 E350 surf/moto/camper build

[tookstar154]

Hey all,

I've been hiding in the shadows on here for a while and decided to finally post my newest rig. It's a 2006 Passenger E350 that was originally built as a chase van for Baja. 5.4 motor, with what I believe is a Flowmaster exhaust. K&N filter, and that's where the motor mods stop. Picked it up just before summer in mid-June, and have been using it since then running around the LA area. Van currently has a Camburg "Baja" kit with Fox shocks front and rear and sitting on BFG A/T 285/75/16 on Black Rock wheels. I'd like to convert it one of these days with one of UJoint's kits, but for now this will suit my needs just fine. Planning on building the interior first, and then moving on to a simple front and rear bumper. Front will have a receiver mount for a winch on a carrier, recovery points, along with some LED fog driving lights. Rear will have a spare tire mount, along with recovery points.

Van will be a slow-ish build, but I hope to have the interior done by the new year, and then I can move onto the bumpers. The van is is currently getting the roof Line-X'd to fix the rust in the gutters, and then hopefully the interior will start. This is the only good photo I have of it right now, I'll take some more when I get it back from the Line-X shop.

 

[mk216v]

Hey all,

I've been hiding in the shadows on here for a while and decided to finally post my newest rig. It's a 2006 Passenger E350 that was originally built as a chase van for Baja. 5.4 motor, with what I believe is a Flowmaster exhaust. K&N filter, and that's where the motor mods stop. Picked it up just before summer in mid-June, and have been using it since then running around the LA area. Van currently has a Camburg "Baja" kit with Fox shocks front and rear and sitting on BFG A/T 285/75/16 on Black Rock wheels. I'd like to convert it one of these days with one of UJoint's kits, but for now this will suit my needs just fine. Planning on building the interior first, and then moving on to a simple front and rear bumper. Front will have a receiver mount for a winch on a carrier, recovery points, along with some LED fog driving lights. Rear will have a spare tire mount, along with recovery points.

Van will be a slow-ish build, but I hope to have the interior done by the new year, and then I can move onto the bumpers. The van is is currently getting the roof Line-X'd to fix the rust in the gutters, and then hopefully the interior will start. This is the only good photo I have of it right now, I'll take some more when I get it back from the Line-X shop.


View attachment 305768

What color Line-X are you going with on the roof?
Once the factory paint/primer started flaking off and surface rust appeared, the body shop I use sanded the gutters down and hand painted(with factory color) a ~1/4" strip all the way around on the roof--can't even see it(well, because the van is pretty tall).

 

[tookstar154]

Went with black on the roof. Slightly worried about heat, but I have a friend who did his, and its not too bad, and he has no insulation. Planning on insulating the roof, as well as the sides of the van. I was going to go with paint, but in the rear corner the van had already been repaired, so I wanted to jump on it and get it done before I had to do some real repairs.

 

[mk216v]

Went with black on the roof. Slightly worried about heat, but I have a friend who did his, and its not too bad, and he has no insulation. Planning on insulating the roof, as well as the sides of the van. I was going to go with paint, but in the rear corner the van had already been repaired, so I wanted to jump on it and get it done before I had to do some real repairs.

Damn, I hope it stays cool. Mine is white, has the RTT on rack above it(yes, it's dark grey), insulated w/ FatMat on all sides, ceramic tint and while I can't say how much heat is coming thru the roof, on really hot sunny days with windows up, it still gets too hot for me in my van.
Which is why I'm going with 3M Crystalline ceramic and darker tint, as well as custom reflection curtain panels(for camping in bright Oregon sun).

 

[tookstar154]

Nice. How do you like the FatMat? One or two layers? I was going to do one layer of FatMat from the doghouse to the rear doors on the floor. Foam insulation on the sides of the van, and either foam or maybe reflectix in-between the roof and the factory headliner. I have almost limo-tint right now but I want to get it re-tinted with ceramic at some point, but that's a ways down the road.

 

[mk216v]

Nice. How do you like the FatMat? One or two layers? I was going to do one layer of FatMat from the doghouse to the rear doors on the floor. Foam insulation on the sides of the van, and either foam or maybe reflectix in-between the roof and the factory headliner. I have almost limo-tint right now but I want to get it re-tinted with ceramic at some point, but that's a ways down the road.

FatMat was in the van when I bought it so I can't comment on how much cooler it makes the interior, but the van is damn quiet and comfortable--I love it for that, and that's enough for me. I'll figure out more ways to keep the interior cool, like a FANtastic vent fan.

 

[tookstar154]

Sweet. That's mainly what I want it for right now.. its so loud inside. Hopefully the FatMat and insulation will help with that.

 

[herecomestony]

Good luck on your mods. I also have a K&N cold air intake installed on my ride. Loving it so far.

 

[tookstar154]

Good luck on your mods. I also have a K&N cold air intake installed on my ride. Loving it so far.

Have you noticed much of an increase in mileage or power? Looking into the CAI for these vans, people were talking about updating the MAF sensor too. Is that true? All I have right now is a filter, but would like to get a CAI down the road at some point.

 

[mk216v]

Sweet. That's mainly what I want it for right now.. its so loud inside. Hopefully the FatMat and insulation will help with that.

I'd recommend going thru the original VANdiana build thread when Brad built it, you can see what he did for FatMat; http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/75555-New-E-350-Project-VANdiana-Jones!

 

[tookstar154]

I'll look into it. Thanks!

 

[tookstar154]

Just got the van back from Line-X, pretty happy with it. Didn't make the van much hotter either which I'm pretty happy about. Next up is a slight fender trim, and then onto the interior.

 

[mk216v]

Cool look with the black top.

 

[tookstar154]

Cool look with the black top.

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it. I'll get a portion of the rocker panels done at some point too, but another $700 wasn't in the budget right now. Did you get my email?

 

[mk216v]

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it. I'll get a portion of the rocker panels done at some point too, but another $700 wasn't in the budget right now. Did you get my email?

Yep, responding now.