Grumman the Backcountry Box Van____1997 Ford E450 7.3l Power Stroke diesel

[villageidiot327]

a lot of trailers have a sheet of plastic under the floor wood.

I've also seen sheet metal running from the front of the rear wheels, rearward.

 

[Oldcarnut]

55 Gallon drums make nice wheel tubs and you used to be able to get "tubs" from Summit Racing many moons ago if not some other 1800 HOT ROD shop, trailer shops too.
Looking good. Cannot wait to see the final outcome.
On a side note, look into mounting a cheap winch for loading your bike other other goods while you are redoing the floor. Nothing worse than trying to load a bike solo up any incline
after being damaged on the trail. A winch would be very handy for that and flat tires.

 

[Petrolburner]

55 Gallon drums make nice wheel tubs and you used to be able to get "tubs" from Summit Racing many moons ago if not some other 1800 HOT ROD shop, trailer shops too.
Looking good. Cannot wait to see the final outcome.
On a side note, look into mounting a cheap winch for loading your bike other other goods while you are redoing the floor. Nothing worse than trying to load a bike solo up any incline
after being damaged on the trail. A winch would be very handy for that and flat tires.

I'll have lots of flush mounted L-track in the floor. I will have a portable winch that can be mounted up front to drag snowmobiles and other heavy or dead vehicles into the back.

 

[Backcountry Pursuit]

Glad you started your thread brother! I'll be following along, of course.

 

[Petrolburner]

The next day I finished removing the wood floor. Now that the bolt heads were all cut, the wood came out in huge chunks. It's a little sad that this floor was rotted, it would have looked great after a good sanding and refinishing.

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

Next I cut off all the remaining bolts that were sticking up. I got pretty good at cutting 95% of the way through with my cutoff wheel and then breaking them off by hand so I could toss them in the garbage instead of losing them in the gravel.

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

The work site

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

Yeehaa! One item crossed off the list!

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

Today I'm taking the day off of work to attack the old frame paint and rust. I've got two spray cans of primer to seal up the metal as I go.

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

What's this thing? An extra fuel pickup?

Untitled by Petrolburner, on Flickr

 

[Treenail]

I bought one of this trucks siblings. The floor is in better shape but some rot to deal with

Now that the floor is up it looks like the perfect time to replace the fuel pump

I'm doing that on my Astro van right now. I went in from the top by cutting a hole in the sheet metal.

Even with a new pump I'd frame an access hole in the floor when you rebuild

I have lots of white and burr oak lumber tonuse for patching mine

 

[Corneilius]

Thats the vent, turn to lock/release. Looks like you might want to replace it while you're there

 

[java]

If your going to do a diesel heater that runs off the main tank, do the pickup now while you have access!!

 

[Corneilius]

If your going to do a diesel heater that runs off the main tank, do the pickup now while you have access!!

I should have looked at your other picture, the capped metal port on your fuel pickup is an AUX pickup point, generally stops above the bottom so your AUX unit can't run it dry.

 

[mjmck]

Something to think about for future is to install a small "window" in the floor above the fuel tank. This way in the future if anything associated with the sending unit goes its a quick easy swap vs dropping the tank.

EDIT: Just realized Treenail hit it on the head prior.

 

[Petrolburner]

Good idea replacing the fuel pump right now. If I do that, I don't think it's worth cutting the floor for an access port. Years down the road when it needs another pump I'll just cut the hole then. Or more likely, the next owner will do it.


I'm also looking to put in flush mount wheel chocks like this:

On the left side of the garage I want to make another trap door with a mesh grate or something for a shower. I just want the water to pass straight through the bottom, no tub or catch tank. Edit: I just had an idea. My XR650R has a one way rubber boot on the bottom of the airbox. Some quick searching brought me to one for a 4" drain, in Australia.

Let's say I make a square for the shower on the left side of the garage like I mentioned. The bottom piece of plywood stays, but the foam, top plywood and vinyl flooring come out as a plug when it's time to setup the shower. Seal the sides with epoxy or something. Permanent drain pan that I just remove a trap door floor plug to expose. Put the one way drain in the bottom. Thoughts?

 

[vintageracer]

Here's a European version of the box truck conversion you all might enjoy seeing.

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/converted-ford-van-becomes-a-dream-apartment-for-this-uk-couple/

http://www.thevandiaries.com/

 

[dazdconfsd]

Off topic, but..

This doesn't even have my Caponord

What year? I used to have an 2003

 

[Petrolburner]

Off topic, but..



What year? I used to have an 2003

2002, it's a great machine.

 

[dazdconfsd]

2002, it's a great machine.

Yep, fwiw - Iridium plugs cleaned up the bottom end a fair bit for me