Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
Is Scheel-Mann designing a seat with integrated seat belt?
MG Metalworks Van Build
- Thread starter mgmetalworks
- Start date
mgmetalworks
Explorer
Yes, they will soon offer an integrated seat belt option. It is going through some testing this summer and will be available later this year. Ill have them in my van as soon as i can get my hands on them.
Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
Most excellent
Betarocker
Adventurer
Did you finally complete the build?
mgmetalworks
Explorer
There's a longer and more detailed version of this story than what I'll get into here but the gist of it is that I shifted my focus over to multiple customer van builds and our Transit development earlier this year and I haven't had much of a chance to work on the Cummins van. However, it is together enough that I've driven it and it is pretty freakin' fabulous in every way...the power is so smooth and even with a very conservative tune, it has unbelievable torque. There is just no way to describe the sound and the feeling of the Cummins right next to you!!! It is WAY quieter in the van than any 7.3 or 6.0 too. Would love to get back to it...I just haven't had time to put the interior in and button up all of the little things. Jsweezy and mk216v have helped me peck away at the to-do list here and there but I probably won't get back to it until after the first of the year.
TexomaPowerboater
Adventurer
Great work on the seats. I think some adapters to allow for air ride seats similar to what they put on big rigs would do wonders for these vans.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
It's frickin' amazing. Definitely quieter than a Powerstroke. Love the "azz kickin' whistle."
guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
MG-Hope you had a great 2017- Can't wait to see what you do in 2018! :sombrero:
mgmetalworks
Explorer
We're out on the road testing our recent Transit build now (It's rockin' it by the way!!!). 2018 is the year to start showing off all of the development of 2017. Stay tuned!
mgmetalworks
Explorer
Almost forgot about the Cummins van didn't ya?
Had it out today for some data logging (dialing in the trans tuning). Flyby video here:
It has been a long road to get here but now the van is working well and is gaining my confidence for longer and longer trips. We had some trans issues early on (bad torque converter) and virtually no time to work on the van for many months but now I have things sorted and I'm having fun with it.
Had it out today for some data logging (dialing in the trans tuning). Flyby video here:
It has been a long road to get here but now the van is working well and is gaining my confidence for longer and longer trips. We had some trans issues early on (bad torque converter) and virtually no time to work on the van for many months but now I have things sorted and I'm having fun with it.
mgmetalworks
Explorer
Dusting off this ol' thread for some updates!
The Cummins van has been getting a lot of love lately. New L-track floor inside, Scheel-Mann seats in the rear, the A/C system has been charged and the air blows cold now (Note...since I'd taken out the PWM cooling fan, running the A/C controls through the Cummins ECM was not going to work very well...plus I would have had to set up a CAN bus controller to handle the switching. The easier solution was to simplify the whole thing and go with the Hi/Lo pressure switches that originally came in the van and use a combination of relays to handle the compressor on/off. It's much simpler now in terms of circuitry and troubleshooting is greatly simplified). I also just got some new gauges (to match the custom gauges in the dash) to monitor trans temp, EGTs and boost. In the next few weeks I'll have the body shop touch up paint for the rear fuel door and then it's off to the dyno shop for a tuning session.
Earlier this week I received a rear bumper that I took a gamble on. It's a lot of work to get into the bumper makin' biz and I already liked the aesthetics of this company's offerings so rather than reinvent the wheel, if I could make an existing product work for me (like I did for the ARB bumper up front), why not give it a shot, right? This bumper isn't made for the Eseries van, it's actually made for a truck (not a Ford) but it looked like it was close to the right shape in the pictures online. I went a step further and acquired the CAD model of the rear of the truck and made an overlay in Solidworks on top of the van body model. Turns out, in terms of width and body shape, it looked like it would be close enough that I could make it work. I was really hoping that I could just make a set of adapters and not have to cut into the bumper itself. And what do ya know, that's all I had to do...
It mounted up pretty easily all things considered. I plan to have a spare tire on the left side swing arm and a storage box on the right side. I'm waiting for a few parts from the laser cutter to finish off all of my accessory mounts but once I get those, it's off to the sandblaster then powdercoating.
The Cummins van has been getting a lot of love lately. New L-track floor inside, Scheel-Mann seats in the rear, the A/C system has been charged and the air blows cold now (Note...since I'd taken out the PWM cooling fan, running the A/C controls through the Cummins ECM was not going to work very well...plus I would have had to set up a CAN bus controller to handle the switching. The easier solution was to simplify the whole thing and go with the Hi/Lo pressure switches that originally came in the van and use a combination of relays to handle the compressor on/off. It's much simpler now in terms of circuitry and troubleshooting is greatly simplified). I also just got some new gauges (to match the custom gauges in the dash) to monitor trans temp, EGTs and boost. In the next few weeks I'll have the body shop touch up paint for the rear fuel door and then it's off to the dyno shop for a tuning session.
Earlier this week I received a rear bumper that I took a gamble on. It's a lot of work to get into the bumper makin' biz and I already liked the aesthetics of this company's offerings so rather than reinvent the wheel, if I could make an existing product work for me (like I did for the ARB bumper up front), why not give it a shot, right? This bumper isn't made for the Eseries van, it's actually made for a truck (not a Ford) but it looked like it was close to the right shape in the pictures online. I went a step further and acquired the CAD model of the rear of the truck and made an overlay in Solidworks on top of the van body model. Turns out, in terms of width and body shape, it looked like it would be close enough that I could make it work. I was really hoping that I could just make a set of adapters and not have to cut into the bumper itself. And what do ya know, that's all I had to do...
It mounted up pretty easily all things considered. I plan to have a spare tire on the left side swing arm and a storage box on the right side. I'm waiting for a few parts from the laser cutter to finish off all of my accessory mounts but once I get those, it's off to the sandblaster then powdercoating.
