CrabbyMcNab
Adventurer
Hey now... I do need help,and more frequently than I care to admit. But that's what so great about the folks here. A ton of knowledge and willingness to share.
Keeps me coming back.
VANdiana Jones sequel: The Legacy Continues
- Thread starter mk216v
- Start date
Hey now... I do need help,and more frequently than I care to admit. But that's what so great about the folks here. A ton of knowledge and willingness to share.
Keeps me coming back.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Hehe, funny deal with typed text. That was to read that we love to help in general, not only love to help you specifically;
"We love these vans and we love to help, Crabby!"
:coffeedrink:
But yes, I too appreciate the friendliness on these forums. Drama and flaming can reside elsewhere.
Just picked up a pair of these, brand new, 0 miles;
Cannot wait to get them installed(going custom seating arrangement). SOOOO comfortable, and the look of the smoother grey leather and black bases is exactly what I've been after for VANdiana(saves me $$$ over 2 pairs of Recaro's!).
Pics to follow...
PS--My '11 grey cloth non-recliners will be for sale. Rear pair have only 2wks/3200miles on them, still in near new condition!
pm me the details of what's for sale and or where did you get these?
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
PM sent. Arizona desert. :sombrero:
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Hey Keith,
New seats are just chilling. Both MG and I have been slammed with other things. I hope to get them in next month; key is that we're both working on a new modular mounting system, so this will take more time.
Other than that, van got some recent maintenance, at the body shop now getting some custom stuff done, then goes back into the tint shop for re-tint/solar film(switching from Suntek to 3M Crystalline which I had on my G and really appreciated the solar properties), then seats. Been finalizing my overland tool kit(might do a story on that), still need to work on cargo management. Just had a lot of other higher priority stuff going on in life. More on Vandiana soon!
Cool to see some activity in this thread, still one of my favorite van builds around.
At any rate, thanks for keeping us up to date on the happenings with Vandianna.
Please do! I like reading about stuff like that ... and have been wanting to try and duplicate/replicate Jonathan Hanson's one case kit that got written up in Overland Tech & Travel (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) ... but as with most things, it's a personal bandwidth issue to actually sit down and get it done.
At any rate, thanks for keeping us up to date on the happenings with Vandianna.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Glad it is. So much is due to Brad's incredible foundational work.
Hehe, Jonathan's kit is what we've(XV-JP-NW friend Mike and I) based our kits off of, but with a modern vehicle twist as well as a bit more flexibility in packaging. It goes pretty easy once you get started.
PS--just got a call from the body shop. Things are rolling with the fixuns and custom work(ok, not uber custom, small details). Looking forward to seeing it when they're done soon.
Mwilliamshs
Explorer
.
Care to elaborate on that appreciation and those properties?
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Appreciation for the 3M Crystalline? Certainly...well the local tint shop started using it and came in with a simple demo of a halogen "track" light(I forget the wattage) and glass plate above it(they also had 2-3 other glass plates coated with the different shades of 3M Crystalline). I put my hand above the clear glass plate, hand started getting very toasty within about 5seconds. They put on the plate of the lightest tint 3M-C and I could hold my hand there for quite awhile before I felt the warmth come thru. Since my pup is usually always with me, at times he's staying in the car if I'm in a store or what not, so I figured that even on cooler/overcast days, having the 3M-C would keep the interior very cool---and it did, considerably. Even on 70deg+ sunny days, if I were to crack all the windows, it'd still be very cool in there for him(he'd have a water bowl too of course). I actually had the police called one summer evening(rig was in the shade, but was sunny on the other side of the building) while I was in a restaurant. Pup was barking, probably because he saw another dog he wanted to play with, ladies thought he was barking because he was too hot. Officer asked me to open the cargo door, I did, he felt inside--was amazed how cool it was in there, gave me no hassle.
Anyways, for the big van I want similar coolness inside for him and us camping. I realize that I have more glass real estate than my G, but the Suntek didn't seem to cut down the solar heat like I was expecting. So I hope the 3M has more magic crystals and cuts down the heat considerably.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...ucts/Automotive/Crystalline-Automotive-Films/
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/...ance-data.pdf?fn=Auto WF Performance Data.pdf
Any other questions, LMK.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
:wings:
Vandiana is back from my #1 body/paint shop where they took care of a few things, did some custom work and rustproofed some areas(gee thanks Ford painters).
Re-painted the Bushwacker flares a very very slight crinkle satin black to match the Ford towing mirrors, re-fitted the flares tightly w/ new Bushwacker "wiper" trim, and painted the front grille the same black to match as well(it was a factory grey before).
Installed medium high-flow RunCool hood louvers, painted body color on the exterior of the hood and the matching off-white underneath the hood. They are stealthy even with the riveted version--love em and so glad I went body color!
Fixed a large scratch area in the RR(looks perfect now, as if it never happened, no tape lines at all and the blemishes were in the middle of the panel!) from the 1st owner(not Brad), re-aligned cargo side door and tightened it up, rustproofed many areas including the roof gutters which was worst on the driver side due to Ford not laying enough paint when the van was new (paint was chipping/peeling and then minor surface rusting).
If anyone needs any sort of body/paint work in Oregon or the NW, accident repair/insurance work, to full custom restorations(Mopar's, ie Superbirds, going to Barrett Jackson are their specialty), I CANNOT recommend Bill Dallas and crew at Mt. Angel Auto Body enough. They are meticulous, honest, trustworthy, and provide impeccable workmanship and service. :bowdown: https://www.facebook.com/MtAngelAutobody?fref=ts
Next up will be custom installation of the '15 Sienna recliners along with MG, then saving up for UJOR's RSC 14.5" front brake upgrade I think(I have to put safety #1 and we all know the 13" brakes on these vans do not cut it).
Stay tuned! :safari-rig:
Vandiana is back from my #1 body/paint shop where they took care of a few things, did some custom work and rustproofed some areas(gee thanks Ford painters).
Re-painted the Bushwacker flares a very very slight crinkle satin black to match the Ford towing mirrors, re-fitted the flares tightly w/ new Bushwacker "wiper" trim, and painted the front grille the same black to match as well(it was a factory grey before).
Installed medium high-flow RunCool hood louvers, painted body color on the exterior of the hood and the matching off-white underneath the hood. They are stealthy even with the riveted version--love em and so glad I went body color!
Fixed a large scratch area in the RR(looks perfect now, as if it never happened, no tape lines at all and the blemishes were in the middle of the panel!) from the 1st owner(not Brad), re-aligned cargo side door and tightened it up, rustproofed many areas including the roof gutters which was worst on the driver side due to Ford not laying enough paint when the van was new (paint was chipping/peeling and then minor surface rusting).
If anyone needs any sort of body/paint work in Oregon or the NW, accident repair/insurance work, to full custom restorations(Mopar's, ie Superbirds, going to Barrett Jackson are their specialty), I CANNOT recommend Bill Dallas and crew at Mt. Angel Auto Body enough. They are meticulous, honest, trustworthy, and provide impeccable workmanship and service. :bowdown: https://www.facebook.com/MtAngelAutobody?fref=ts
Next up will be custom installation of the '15 Sienna recliners along with MG, then saving up for UJOR's RSC 14.5" front brake upgrade I think(I have to put safety #1 and we all know the 13" brakes on these vans do not cut it).
Stay tuned! :safari-rig:
Awesome work on the louvers ... I didn't even see them in the first picture and said to myself: "Didn't this thing originally have hood louvers?" It really looks great ... sounds like the kind of work where an individual line-item may not be particularly noticeable, but the net is something more. Which is not a knock on the prior condition, just that it looks really great now.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Thanks guys.
Yeah, the reflection of the overcast sun drowned out the louvers in the first pic. The van didn't have louvers until today. Incredible how much heat pours out of them. Drove home ~30min on the freeway, EGT's max about 850degF at one point. Got home, decided to feel how much heat was coming out of them--darn toasty. I was fartin' around in the garage for about 3hrs, felt again--still fairly warm. Impressive! Definitely one of those mods I'd do straight away next time.
Yeah, the reflection of the overcast sun drowned out the louvers in the first pic. The van didn't have louvers until today. Incredible how much heat pours out of them. Drove home ~30min on the freeway, EGT's max about 850degF at one point. Got home, decided to feel how much heat was coming out of them--darn toasty. I was fartin' around in the garage for about 3hrs, felt again--still fairly warm. Impressive! Definitely one of those mods I'd do straight away next time.