Finished a Unjointclothing van conversion

[Clark]

Even though the van is not a 4x4 yet (I still have the transmission part remaining) I feel that I've done the hardest part of the Ujoint conversion by getting the the axle installed with it driving great. I don't think that I'll get around to doing the full conversion until the end of summer. I just got the van back from the wheel alignment and they said that all turned out as expected (great!). I ended up gaining a little over a 4" lift in the front and using 3.5" blocks out of a Sportmobile in the rear. I'm really liking the way that the van drives, and looks. You would actually think that I knew what I was doing :). I've included a few pictures of the build that show the "glory shots" - its not the ideal conversion location, but it worked out much better than expected.

[BigAl]

:drool: Very nice! My buddy just gave me a stack of magazines, the grey u-joint van was just featured in 4WD, I think. Congrats to you both.

[ujoint]

:) Lookin good!!! I feel like a proud father!! The overall pic is great, what a difference.

[Clark]

Check out where it started

[T.Low]

nice work, Bro...or should I say Big Bro!

[FROADER]

Awesome, Clarke!!

It's nice to see the pic of the x-member clearance needed. :) I'm still on the look out for a cheap axle, so the kit is patiently waiting in the garage.



http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3460/SMBFROADER_1.gif

[Clark]

Here's the picture of the xmember that you need to see. I made mine a lot like this but I made mine curved (it wraps nicely around the diff).

[alaskantinbender]

Great job. Looking foreward to the end of summer report.
What tires and rims are you going with?

Regards,

Jim

[FROADER]

So is everything still good with the van? Anything to report at all?

[Clark]

So far so good. The only think I've noticed is that I have a click sound when I go over small bumps, but nothing when I go over sizeable ones. I've been over every inch of the conversion almost weekly and things all look and feel solid. I'm thinking the sound is either from the leaf springs, the steering components bumping into each other, or the fact that the diff is still not connected to anything. The only change I would have made is to have gone with a 1" instead of 2" axle push. With only a two inch lift I don't like the way it lines up with the engine mount and it puts a funky angle on the stock steering. Otherwise, it looks great and I get lots of complements on it.

[FROADER]

So my buddy just called from the IMS parking lot in Irvine and says. "hey, there's a lifted van out here with the same kit that you got." After some questions and if I wanted any pictures of certain things, we figured out it was yours. So there weren't any photos necessary, since they are all on this site. :) I'd like to see it in person also, just to get an idea of what I have ahead of me, if you don't mind.

I'm still waiting for my axles to get here from AZ, but as soon as I do, I'll start my build thread.

[adventureduo]

Looks really good!!!:26_7_2:

[97 zj steve]

sweet rig :victory:

[Clark]

Thats very cool! I'm very happy with how things turned out. I have no problem meeting up with you so you can see how things go together. I'm in a holding pattern in regards to the conversion. I'm still trying to decide what to do with the gas tank. I really want to go with the transferflow, but I can get no definite answer if it will work with moving the stock xmember. In the meantime I've been teaching myself to weld so that I can fab some surfboard racks and bench supports for the interior of the van. I just got started making the structures today. I'm not nearly as lame a welder as I use to be ;)

[ujoint]

I'm sure you'll be laying down some pretty beads in no time!!

[FROADER]

Updates? :)

[ujoint]

Guess he's not checking in...... I do know that Dan had his tranny rebuilt, installed the t-case, and shortened the fuel tank. So he's 100% 4wd now.

[GroupSe7en]

Hey guys - I can't find the pics. Is it just me?

[FROADER]

Hey guys - I can't find the pics. Is it just me?

No, they aren't working for me either. It looks good though, and I can't wait to get mine started. :)

[Clark]

I'm finally 100% finished with my 4x4 conversion!!!! Its been over two years since I got started with the project, and I finally got the shifter in tonight. I'm very happy with this project since I didn't even change my own oil before I started this project. Chris (Ujoint) has been helpful throughout the project, and I highly commend Chris for standing behind his product for such a long period of time. Now its time to get in a little wheeling!

[G35Vortec454]

Clark, congrats!!!

But some of us cannot see the pictures.

[Clark]

I don't know why they deleted them. Here's the pictures.

[LukeD]

AWESOME!

can you re-post the pics of the x-member modification?

Maybe your shock mounts?

Tire size?

Thanks

Luke

[Slow Mo]

Raising this from the near-dead...

First off, van looks awesome - nice work Clark AND Chris.

Clark, do you have an idea of how much you put into this conversion? I understand that cost will vary for everyone, but I'd be interested in at least one data point.

If you're not comfortable sharing the numbers, I understand (and would then beg for at least a measure of savings over professional conversion: significant, somewhat, or minimal :) )

Cheers!
Mike.

[Clark]

I've kind of forgotten how much I've spent on the conversion. A lot of the steps of the conversion I would have had to do whether or not I did converted it. For example my transmission went and would have had to been replaced anyways. My tires were bald and the ones I bought off ebay were cheaper than anything else I would have bought. I know I'm a good shopper and I doubt that any rebuilder would have significantly beat the prices I paid so I imagine it would have been a lot more expensive. The real problem is finding somebody to convert an older van.

[Slow Mo]

Thanks :)