MG Metalworks Van Build

brianjwilson

Some sort of lost...
Perfect thanks, so the passenger comes up enough to lock ? Did you make all new bases or build off the stock ? Also do you have a source for those seats.
Thanks Bob

I don't know about previous years, but mine are from 2016 van and the footrest locks incrementally in several positions. Great seats. I got mine from eBay from a guy in Arizona, don't recall the eBay name but it will surely be in the other thread.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Gorgeous fuel tank!

I don't know about previous years, but mine are from 2016 van and the footrest locks incrementally in several positions. Great seats. I got mine from eBay from a guy in Arizona, don't recall the eBay name but it will surely be in the other thread.
Nikolich (nbeisa). He is the man!
 

mgmetalworks

Explorer
Holy cow! Too many days without an update!

I picked up a load of powdercoated goodies today so in the days to come I'll have some juicy pics of final-assembled parts (fuel tank cross members, engine mounts, suspension, etc...). I'll be assembling things in between coats of Lizard Skin sound control and ceramic insulation (yay! fun times ahead!). Since the bottom of the van body is clean, accessible and as bangy-clangy as sheetmetal can get, what better time than now to coat every square inch of the underside with product that reduces noise and insulates?? I probably purchased more than I need so left overs will go in various places inside.

I also made the trip up to Hood River, OR today to visit with Hein and company from http://www.impact3d.com/. Super nice and generous folks and very knowledgeable about the products they sell. I ended up coming home with some 3M Thinsulate material for my van build....



I rode around in their Transit (with the cargo area finished out with Thinsulate material) and I was impressed with the lack of road noise. I got some of the thinner material to use as an insulation layer inside my upcoming pop-top canvas as well. Really looking forward to the finished build out now. I'm using a combination of products that I think are good in specific areas of the van and I think Thinsulate is going to be hard to beat in behind the wall panels (and headliner). Like mentioned before, I'm also using some Lizard Skin and there will be some areas where I use Dynamat/Dynapad/Dynaliner or equivalent. When I get to that point, I'll document how I've done things on here.
 
Interested to see what you insulate the ceiling with. Currently I have nothing and already know that the radiated heat exceeds my AC capacity. I have a nice roll of padded headliner material but need to also insulate the ceiling.
 

brianjwilson

Some sort of lost...
I've made two orders of thinsulate from Hein here as well. Both arrived next day.

My roof has 400 thinsulate, reflectix, then the pro van liner (fiberboard and carpeting). HUGE difference in heat transmission. Uncovered panels will burn your fingers in 2-3 seconds in the sun while the covered panels feel close to ambient air temp. Can't say how effective the thinsulate is compared to reflectix, but thinsulate seems to be marketed more toward noise reduction than R value. The combination seems to be pretty effective so far on my van, much more comfortable in the sun and much quieter. My side walls have some raam mat BTX on big panels, thinsulate 600, raam mat ensolite and reflectix in/on them.
 

luthj

Engineer In Residence
Like most materials that are engineered for a specific application, the automotive thinsulate is a trade off between various goals. Weight, sound dampening, R value, ease of installation. Honestly I think it is one of the best products overall for doing vehicle conversions. Especially for the DIYer. Compared to the work involved with laying dynamat, installing closed cell foam, then reflectix; bonding a layer or two of thinsulate is much easier. Plus its hydrophobic and meets industry specs for flammability. :sombrero:

Anyways, keep us posted. Following this build is great fun!
 

mgmetalworks

Explorer
Almost all prepped for the Lizard Skin weekend. The whole bottom side and wheel wells have been scuffed for surface prep. Tomorrow I'll finish off the "overspray mitigation plan" (plastic sheeting around the base of the van) and then one last wash/dry cycle to the underside before spraying on the first of many coats of material. Let's hope it goes on well. I have it all planned out to finish and then head to the beach with the fam so it can dry without me watching it. :)









Once this is out of the way, I can really start cranking on final assembly. The finish line is close, I can sense it!
 
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mgmetalworks

Explorer
So Lizard Skin.... it works. I can tell that the floor panels are sound deadened. Fun to apply? NO. What a f'n mess. It does clean up with water and lots of elbow grease so the clean up isn't horrible but...there will be clean up when using this stuff...a lot of it. Have yourself a good Overspray Mitigation Plan, that's my advice. I'll leave it at that.

Tomorrow is the Ceramic Insulation. More fun times ahead.
 

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