Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Sometimes a peak under a skirt is a little too revealing.

Weld in some new bits!

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Haha, when I get in and under these old girls, I always hope for the best but plan for the worst. It seems the rust is only really bad around where the fuel tank is. Guess a lot of road crud got caked up in there and it never dried out and stuff. Curiosity drove me to dig deeper into this mess. Took the back bumper off and removed the rear shocks to get a better look.


Going all out I think. Lets remove all 20 body mount bolts.


Took some scrap metal...


And made this thing...


Which, according to the theories in my head(not the conspiracy ones, but the mechanical ones), will securely hold the steel rod centered and in place on top of a hydraulic jack so we can safely lift the body off the chassis little at a time to get up on blocks. Gosh, this thing is scary being up on jack stands like that!


And having the body up on blocks will make it easier to work on chassis.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

The undercarriage carnage continues.


The chassis between the shackles for the rear leaf springs was reinforced with smaller c-channel inset into the main chassis rails. Moisture got in there and did terrible things.


Needle scaler and air chisel worked wonders on removing the flaking rust crud. The steel under the rust was in better shape than I had originally thought.


The rest of the chassis looked like this.


And cleaned up very well.


Unfortunately, in the rear, widthwise under the rear barn doors, part of the aluminum body substructure did not fair so well. The plastic insulator that is supposed to stop the aluminum and steel from corroding with each other, was basically gone. This will require extra attention.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

To save the chassis from any further doom, we decided to clean and paint it. Ordered a product called Rust Bullet. Got 3 quarts and their cleaner they call metal prep.


While we wait for paint to get here, lets give this rear bumper some attention.


Pulling the rubber bumper condom off came off too easy. Several of the self-taping screws broke off. Nothing a lil heat can't take care of.


With these out, we can drill and tap the holes for some stainless steel bolts later.


This thing was a rusty mess. But just surface rust.


The welds were atrocious. I guess as a bumper step, it's ok, but we got it out and up on horses, so we're gonna fix it right. Maybe retrofit this for a tow hitch as well?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Lots of welding going on while we wait for chassis paint.


Did a few cover passes to fix those booger welds.


Little bit of reinforcement here.


More welds there.


Even a hot spicy one for good measure!


And voila! Got ideas for a hitch receiver and I ran with it. Just had to weld in a piece of square tubing to support the one end of the receiver tube and weld a bunch more stuff and boom, class whatever hitch receiver.


Bumper seemed too bland.


So I welded on some random hooks. Not sure, maybe they will come in handy some day.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Bumper is good, but we're thinking the van chassis could use some reinforcement.


Welded up these diagonal brackets in hopes that it will stiffen up the bumper mounts, which are just 3/8" steel plate welded vertical to the chassis rails.


And then it started raining, a lot. So good time to wash stuff!


First we sprayed everything down with the metal prep spray. Super nasty stuff with acid, where goggles and such, don't be a hero.


After 20 minutes of letting it eat away at stuff, hose it off with water and let it dry.


All ready for paint!

 

[Bikersmurf]

I feel your pain... there were 7 years of contractor grime in my Ambo when I started. I didn't have a pressure washer handy, so I used a hose, bucket of soapy water, and a broom. I've never worried about the leftovers from it's life as an ambulance... the 7 years of mud, electrician, landscaper, and other use were more of a concern. Even super-bugs can't survive that long.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the blank slate. Also how you fix up your frame. Mine doesn't look as bad, but I still need to drop the fuel tank. I've got a spare fuel tank I'm planning to prep on the shelf before I drop the original one.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Haha, this rig ain't all that bad. I'm pretty sure it was just used as a delivery van for a bakery all it's life. But boy, the piles of rust and debris underneath is piling up on the driveway the more we clean and prep for paint.

I can't wait until I get to sit inside the back and start building the good stuff! Gotta get this vehicular maintenance and upgrades done first. Luckily, my fuel tank is in great shape. Just need new straps, rubber, and sending unit. Stupid frame though. But I think all the work will pay off in the long run.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Well, hurricane season is coming to an end, but it got us this time...


Wind was gusting, didn't think it was that bad, but was apparently bad enough. Blew the rig off the jack stands!


Nobody got hurt, and the collapsing jack stands added cushion to the falling mass of metal.


Only damage was a dent to the front crossmember under the engine. It's very thick steel, thank goodness.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Waiting for chassis to dry and such. Got plenty more to do.


Ordered some new jack stands. I don't think the old ones are salvageable.


While we wait, lets see what's in here.


Ah, just as I suspected, an open differential. We'll have to remedy that with something a bit more fun!


We can also check what the deal is with the transmission not going into 5th gear. It's probably the famous NV4500 5th gear nut that backs off...

 

[Bikersmurf]

Waiting for chassis to dry and such. Got plenty more to do.

View attachment 611604
Ordered some new jack stands. I don't think the old ones are salvageable.

View attachment 611605
While we wait, lets see what's in here.

View attachment 611606
Ah, just as I suspected, an open differential. We'll have to remedy that with something a bit more fun!

View attachment 611607
We can also check what the deal is with the transmission not going into 5th gear. It's probably the famous NV4500 5th gear nut that backs off...

Freaky

I’m glad no one was hurt... and there was no damage to anything significant.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Yea, I have no idea how nothing got damaged. Older vehicles are just built better. ?‍♂️

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Tore into the transmission. Oh boy, lots of questions and head scratching.


The 2wd versions of the NV4500 are fixed yoke, and have no nut holding the 5th gear on the main shaft. So that will never be a problem.


Looking carefully around the other side of the tail shaft area I notice some odd things. Some things are missing. We're missing quite a bit of parts. Like all the parts for 5th gear.


This transmission is supposed to come with overdrive from the factory. Taking the top cover off tells more of the story. It seems like overdrive was never here. Why could that be?


The shift fork for 5th/reverse is complete. But the shift rod engagement thing is missing, along with the shift shaft, and 5th gear shift fork, and gear collar, and even the synchronizer ring for 5th. I have a NV4500 in my Jeep, so I have something to fall back on and check.


Holes and such where parts are supposed to be. Everything with transmission is fine, just missing parts. I guess if we throw the right parts in, the overdrive will work.


So we spent a lil bit of time looking back and forth at parts diagrams and such and guesstimated what missing parts we needed. Ordered. Hopefully when they come, they go back in easy and it all works right. Fingers crossed.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Time for chassis paint! Got the Rust Bullet and ready to go.


I'm like a real Michelangelo!


This stuff looks pretty good. I't's a little bit thicker than POR-15.


Did the rear bumper, and it all seems to work fine.


And finally did the chassis. Wow, what a difference.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Some more painting and prep work.


Cleaned and prepped all these body mount spacers now that the body is off of the chassis.


Went easy on this. Just decided to screw some screws and through em up to paint.


Just a few coats of spray paint, nothing fancy, nobody will even ever see them.


And we got some sweet drivetrain stuff! 4wd anyone?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Tearing into the rear axle. Might as well since the fuel tank is out!


It's been many years, and many coats of paint since these axle shafts have been taken out.


Gotta love the 14 bolt axle. Makes it easy to modify, especially for those that don't know what they are doing!


Out with the old spider gears.


In with the new Detroit Locker.


Good thing for a big old vise to hold your 80 pound differential while you torque all the carrier bolts.


All back together! Hopefully it all works...


Didn't forget to reinstall and seal the axle shafts back in before we filled it back with oil.


Even sanded and painted the differential cover.