The great white fun hog (another white GM awd build)

[boardrider247]

Unless the gaps are more than 1/4", I wouldn't bother until you've tried it with a bulb seal. The ones I have from McMasters are a full 3/4" in diameter and offer more than enough "squish" to seal over small irregularities. (Or big ones, in my case - like where my awning brackets cross the line of the roof seal)

Good to know thanks. I think the gasket will be here tomorrow so I can test fit it and see if it seals up what I have going on.

 

[philos]

super awesome!

 

[mapper]

The VW luggage rack that the top seals to was a really bad fit and would require a ton of modification to make work on this van.
But mostly I just don't like the look of them. I'm perfectly capable of of building a fiberglass nose myself. I guess I'm just not totally sure that is the route I want to go.

How about this...Load Bars!! and associated fairing. :wings:

I know, I know it isn't fancy and fabricated but it would give you the advantage of having loadbars installed. Anyway, it just popped into my head following your previous post

 

[boardrider247]

How about this...Load Bars!! and associated fairing. :wings:

I know, I know it isn't fancy and fabricated but it would give you the advantage of having loadbars installed. Anyway, it just popped into my head following your previous post

I threw a set of bars up front of the VW top just to see how they looked. Even if I had higher bars I'm not sure they would work there. And I would still have the issue of sealing the leading edge of the top.
IMG_20141102_112801 by boardrider247, on Flickr

In the interest of keeping things moving forward I have decided to build a fiberglass nose cap. So I ordered up a roll of 6oz fiberglass cloth from foam EZ, I already have a gallon of resin and some leftover 4oz cloth.
My reasoning is as follows
-This is going to be the easiest to seal properly
-Any roof basket type device I built in this area is going to be awkward to access.
-This will be the easiest/fastest way to getting the top finished

So this is the start of my foam plug that will be the form for the glass.
IMG_20141102_132319 by boardrider247, on Flickr

 

[boardrider247]

urform test. surform test. surform test. surform test. surform test

IMG_20141103_165249 by boardrider247, on Flickr

IMG_20141103_165200 by boardrider247, on Flickr

 

[boardrider247]

Anyone have suggestions what is going to be the best paint/coating for fiberglass??

 

[java]

Anyone have suggestions what is going to be the best paint/coating for fiberglass??

Well best is going to be gelcoat.... But Rustoleum marine topside paint is pretty damn tough, and a lot easier than gel coat.

 

[boardrider247]

Well best is going to be gelcoat.... But Rustoleum marine topside paint is pretty damn tough, and a lot easier than gel coat.

That is kind of what I was thinking some sort of boat hull specific paint. I'll have to read through the west marine catalog a bit and see what I come up with.

On another note daylight savings is totally F-ing up my productivity. I don't really want to be shaving down this foam in my shop so I've been doing it outside over the garbage can. But I may need to cave and move this operation indoors to keep it moving.
I really want this top done and ready to roll by the first of the year for snowboard season:wings:

 

[boardrider247]

It's starting to look like something
IMG_20141108_134954 by boardrider247, on Flickr


IMG_20141108_135349 by boardrider247, on Flickr

IMG_20141109_160703 by boardrider247, on Flickr

IMG_20141109_160714 by boardrider247, on Flickr
I feel like I'm very close to being done with the foam work. Then I'll coat the whole plug with elmers glue and a thin layer of body filler. That will get sanded down to the final shape and then it will be ready for glassing.

 

[java]

Looking good!

If your looking for the Rustoleum stuff, there are places MUCH cheaper than west marine to get it.

 

[boardrider247]

Progress has halted with the cold and snow for now. My old shop heater finally took a dump and the CL heater I bought to replace it is installed but not working. I ordered a flame sensor for it that won't be here for a week. Fingers crossed that is the only issue.

I also have a set of Kicker 6 1/2" component speakers to install and I ordered a set of 3/4T springs for the rear.

Things are happening, just not quickly at the moment.

 

[boardrider247]

New 3/4T springs and Bilstein HD shocks installed today.
A BIG thanks to a guy from a local euro car forum for providing a lift and helping out. It made a 2 hour job of what would have taken me 6 hours on my back in my shop.

Out with the old
IMG_20141214_125054 by boardrider247, on Flickr

In with the new
IMG_20141214_125103 by boardrider247, on Flickr

Final stance
IMG_20141214_142608 by boardrider247, on Flickr

Ride is nice and firm but not harsh or overly stiff

 

[tqawd]

Hey Boardrider, nice van! i'm looking at upgrading my rear springs rather than the 2" blocks since the stock springs are so soft. What capacity spring did you end up installing? it looks like the 5/1 stack with 2900b capacity?

also which bilsteins did you go with? I just ordered some 5100's that were recommended on one of the other threads on here. 24-186742 for the rear, is that what you went with?
Thanks!

 

[Cyclist1]

also which bilsteins did you go with? I just ordered some 5100's that were recommended on one of the other threads on here. 24-186742 for the rear, is that what you went with?
Thanks!

Hey!
Figured I'd chime in here as well...... I just replaced all my shocks with Bilstein 5100. I almost ordered in the 24-186742 for the rear but realized that it has eyelet mounts for the top and bottom of the shock. My van requires the rear shock to have a crossbar mount for the top and eyelet mount for the bottom of the rear shock. My van is a 2012 awd express passenger, with a torsion key lift up front and lift block rear. I went with part #24-185615. For the front I went with #24-186643.
So far I've had the shocks installed for a little over a week now, all is fine and the ride is much better than the Rough Country shocks I had on previously.

 

[boardrider247]

Hey Boardrider, nice van! i'm looking at upgrading my rear springs rather than the 2" blocks since the stock springs are so soft. What capacity spring did you end up installing? it looks like the 5/1 stack with 2900b capacity?

also which bilsteins did you go with? I just ordered some 5100's that were recommended on one of the other threads on here. 24-186742 for the rear, is that what you went with?
Thanks!

Cyclist and I were both upgrading our rough country kits at the same time he went with the 5100's I ended up using the 4600's both fit and we both seem to be happy with ride quality. So pick you poison as far as shocks I guess.
For the springs they are 2900# from a 3/4t suburban. Credit goes to 86cj for researching the spring shock combo I used.

I went with a new set of rear springs for a 93-99 3/4 ton suburban, #22-907 rated at 2900lbs vs 2200 stock, the spring pack provides 1 7/8" lift just due to it's thickness. A set of 3/4-1 ton Van bilstein rear shocks #24-025706 went on, they are 2.34" longer than stock AWD 1500 van rear shocks.

Hope that helps!