spearwarrior
Observer
Nice, I'd like to see/hear more details about the pull strap.
VANdiana Jones sequel: The Legacy Continues
- Thread starter mk216v
- Start date
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Thx, even the non-reclining versions are very comfortable. And hugely inexpensive, I'm still shocked 0mileage take-outs are so affordable!
Seat mod pics;
New bolt holes are behind this under-belly cover, MG removing it to access new bolts...
Toyota male vs Ford male. I had the upholstery shop unstitch/re-stitch the Toyota males into the Ford belts(for both 2nd row LR and RR seats), this way I wouldn't need to find Ford female receivers;
Factory bench seat bracket for 2nd row pass 3pt belt, adapted with custom MG adapter;
Hehe, I was thinking Temple of Zoom, but thought that would be too Mazda-like. Temple of Vroom would have kinda-sorta worked, but the van offers much more of a Hiss-sound than a Vroom.
Bushwackers should definitely be an aesthetic mod when going to 33"+ tires. They really cover the wider tires/wheels like a factory option.
Great idea on the Plasti-Dip, I'll try that when I get back. Since the rubber trim strip between flare and body is adhered to the flare, I'll probably have to tape off over the rubber, which won't be fun...or just contact Bushwacker for new rubber trims. That will insure it's done right.
My enthusiasm? Your enthusiasm Mike!
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mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Here it is, I'll install it on the RF b-pillar, behind the factory seatbelt, tomorrow. Should work nicely. I'll post another pic once installed.
Toolman
Explorer
They say not to tape off things when coating, you can easily cut and peel it off the areas you don't want.
You need one of these.
http://awesometools.com/stand-n-store-step-stool.asp
I have one and we keep the dog leash, food, etc. in it and makes for a nice step into the van and also for loading cargo onto the roof. A must have for a lifted van when camping.
You need one of these.
http://awesometools.com/stand-n-store-step-stool.asp
I have one and we keep the dog leash, food, etc. in it and makes for a nice step into the van and also for loading cargo onto the roof. A must have for a lifted van when camping.
spearwarrior
Observer
CrabbyMcNab
Adventurer
MK, where did you find the toyota male ends? It would make the conversion a whole lot easier getting the local auto upholstery shop to restitch rather than convert to all ford. Two of my sienna seats came with female ends, two did not.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Would be great if it folded flat.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Thanks William!
Yeah, lots of room.
Van did so well 2wks off pavement in UT. Need to work on optimizing cargo mgmt though.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
A friend with an M and a G.
You could probably find them at your local U-Pull-It auto wrecker--just cut the belt and take the male end.
Was much easier to just have our upholstery shop re-stitch. Belts worked a treat on our big trip.
bknudtsen
Expedition Leader
Pics.....
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Ok, let's roll back a few weeks...
Was just a nutty past few months getting VANdiana ready for UT, trip planning, etc. I had quite the list of have-to-do's and some want-to-do's. Most everything got taken care of before we left.
A few notable mods(pic quality isn't too high, was pretty stressed/rushed to get all of this stuff complete before leaving);
--Russ at Racetech made a nice steel "limiter" for the tire swingout, using the existing bumper fasteners, to keep the spare from smashing into the LR taillight(will get it powdercoated in the future, had no time to even paint it before leaving);
He also made a simple "brace" to not allow the swingout to close on itself if we didn't want(will get it powdercoated in the future, had no time to even paint it before leaving);
Mike(mhiscox) was instrumental in helping me save a lot of grief from trimming/building these rigid foam panels by hand. I wasn't able to get a really pic of these deployed, but there are 5 of them(three stacked to 6" tall, two 7" tall) and they lay on top of the 5 cargo boxes we took to UT, in order to allow for a completely flat ~55"x75" rear inside sleeping platform for the mom's. This last pic kind of shows them deployed on the pass side, under the red sleeping bag;
Got the UJOR billet fuel door (painted by Active) install. I prefer it body-color vs being a black dot on the side of my rig;
Thanks much to Trasharoo for getting me the hot-off-the-press 'Roo to me in time for the trip. What a handy piece of kit, when cleaning up sloppy previous-campers' messes;
Steel safety straps for the modified aluminum F.R. roof rack legs;
Aiming the new Retrofit Source 9007 HID's(35w, 5k) before setting out. On the left is how they were before(too high when in traffic behind cars), right is after leveling. On the trip with only low beams on, I could quickly overdrive where we set them, so I'll raise the lights up a bit;
Was just a nutty past few months getting VANdiana ready for UT, trip planning, etc. I had quite the list of have-to-do's and some want-to-do's. Most everything got taken care of before we left.
A few notable mods(pic quality isn't too high, was pretty stressed/rushed to get all of this stuff complete before leaving);
--Russ at Racetech made a nice steel "limiter" for the tire swingout, using the existing bumper fasteners, to keep the spare from smashing into the LR taillight(will get it powdercoated in the future, had no time to even paint it before leaving);
He also made a simple "brace" to not allow the swingout to close on itself if we didn't want(will get it powdercoated in the future, had no time to even paint it before leaving);
Mike(mhiscox) was instrumental in helping me save a lot of grief from trimming/building these rigid foam panels by hand. I wasn't able to get a really pic of these deployed, but there are 5 of them(three stacked to 6" tall, two 7" tall) and they lay on top of the 5 cargo boxes we took to UT, in order to allow for a completely flat ~55"x75" rear inside sleeping platform for the mom's. This last pic kind of shows them deployed on the pass side, under the red sleeping bag;
Got the UJOR billet fuel door (painted by Active) install. I prefer it body-color vs being a black dot on the side of my rig;
Thanks much to Trasharoo for getting me the hot-off-the-press 'Roo to me in time for the trip. What a handy piece of kit, when cleaning up sloppy previous-campers' messes;
Steel safety straps for the modified aluminum F.R. roof rack legs;
Aiming the new Retrofit Source 9007 HID's(35w, 5k) before setting out. On the left is how they were before(too high when in traffic behind cars), right is after leveling. On the trip with only low beams on, I could quickly overdrive where we set them, so I'll raise the lights up a bit;
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mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
...or it didn't happen right?
Met up with CapitalE in SLC, checked out his awesome SMB. Thanks so much for meeting up Erik! We would have liked to stay longer, but had to keep moving to get to Price Canyon before dark(brrrr, it was frigid there). Along with Mike's XV-JP, we drew quite the crowd at Sportsman's Warehouse;
One at the secret slot canyons near Cottonwood Canyon Rd UT;
And one teaser pic of it in action on the infamous White Rim Trail in Canyonlands--Brad, a trail you need to do at least once, was epic! (I'm holding off on posting other trip pics as I'm currently working on something special with them);
Again, VANdiana did spectacular and treated us well. Of course we treated him very well too--spent a full day cleaning him all up after returning to PDX. Very blessed to have taken him(maybe it's the other way around?) on this Mighty5 adventure.
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Bluedog225
Observer
Jeez. What a great build. Makes me miss my SMB. Keep it up.