VANdiana Jones sequel: The Legacy Continues

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Thanks Java!

I knew VANdiana went to a good home!
Alright, I need more information on the pigtail battery charging system. My 6.0 is in need of some battery tender love.

2nd, did you get matching rear Sienna seats (i.e. the cloth seats from the front)? Try to get pictures of the seat install if possible as I have 4 cloth Sienna seats sitting in my garage ready for install. I am in a conundrum as to how to go about the rear seats. They are limited in mounting options as they do not have the built-in seat belt system like the leather recliners have and will rely upon the van side wall mounted male ends.

Very nice upgrades, and I may be copying some modifications...sincerest form of flattery and all!

Thx Crabby!
Ask and you shall receive;
http://smartercharger.com/products/batterychargers/ctek-multi-us-3300/
We've had great success with these, they've very intelligent, vs working on just a standard timed algorithm. Read up on them and I think you'll be impressed. These are the same units that Porsche, Lamborghini, etc private label and sell for 3x as much.

Yes, a duplicate set of the cloth(grey) Sienna 2nd row seats. I'll be using UJOR's floor mount brackets for these, and MG will install them as he's the pro with these. We will be looking at seatbelt geometry. IF the seatbelt geometry is way off, then I'll probably sell all 4 cloths for 4 leather recliners, even though I don't need the recliners nor the extra expense, but NEED the safety for passengers and could use the durability of the leather. I'll take pics and post here.

Feel free to copy, I always try to do it right the first time, but that doesn't always turn out to be the case with some of the more custom mods.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Thx ohpyramids!

I'm not sure if this thread is real time or if you have already made your UT trip. If you are passing through SLC on your trip I'd love to meet up. I have a SMB with the 6" UJOR kit that I put on last winter thanks in large part to Brad's step by step build thread. It would be awesome to poke around underneath the van that helped inspire my build and you are welcome to check out the sportsmobile build out on my van. PM me if you can make that fit in your schedule.

Thanks

Capital, will PM you. I'd love to check out your SMB further!
 

mikracer

Adventurer
Did you already do the HID projector retrofit? I'm planning on doing that as well and was wondering which headlight housings you used. I did it on my Tacoma a few years back but not very many people have done it on these E series vans.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Did you already do the HID projector retrofit? I'm planning on doing that as well and was wondering which headlight housings you used. I did it on my Tacoma a few years back but not very many people have done it on these E series vans.

Next week. Clarification though; I'm not installing the TRS retrofitted projector beams, I'm using the stock composite headlights and adding the TRS HID/xenon 5k 35w kit, so getting rid of the halogen bulbs.
 

mikracer

Adventurer
Next week. Clarification though; I'm not installing the TRS retrofitted projector beams, I'm using the stock composite headlights and adding the TRS HID/xenon 5k 35w kit, so getting rid of the halogen bulbs.

Gotcha. Well I must say I am jealous of your stable.. G Wagon to DD and this van for adventures?!
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Gotcha. Well I must say I am jealous of your stable.. G Wagon to DD and this van for adventures?!

Definitely blessed, but taken a long time to get here. Being absolutely fanatical about vehicles (German, overlanders) doesn't help the stable count LOL. I finally got a mtn bike again after a 20yr hiatus. Amazing what pedaling can do, hehe.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Durability (cont'd)
SunTek ceramic tint(privacy and UV/heat protection) complete, although I'm not yet sold on it's heat-blocking properties compared to the 3M Crystalline in the G. The van has many more/larger windows than the G, but it feels hotter inside the van after it sits outside in the sun. I'll have to do a more direct comparison after they both sit in the sun at home. I do like the look though; wish the fronts matched the rears a bit more, but 35% front is max legality for Oregon.
DSCN2925c.JPG
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Bushwacker flares are on, although they turned out a lot glossier than I wanted, perhaps due to the flex agent they applied over the paint. I was thinking about having them re-sprayed in a true flat black after the UT trip, but now I'm debating about painting them body color, we'll see. They do cover the tires very well.
DSCN2925f.JPG


Safety (cont'd)
I've expedited 8 FrontRunner rack feet that are 2.4" shorter than what originally came with my "Tall" G-rack. This is about the max distance between the bottom of the under-rack camp table and the van roof, so it's going to be incredibly close, but we can shim up the rack a smidge if needed. Overall though, this will help with clearance issues on trails and keep the CG lower. This means I need to take the rack assy off again, center the table so it clears the van roof, move the awning and Maxtrax brackets in as close to the rack as possible. Much of this is now occuring due to running the White Rim Trail.

Brad hadn't gotten to a tire swingout stop yet, so in order to save the new LED taillight from being crushed by a rogue swingout, and also to keep the swingout from closing when on an incline, Russ at Racetech made this trick limiter and rotating swing arm rod. The limiter keeps the swingout from going too far to the driver side, the swing arm rod keeps the swingout from going towards the pass side. With the swing arm rod deployed, the swingout will stay at its maximum open angle. (There are custom spring-release "pins" on their way, just not here yet so we're using the hitch pin setup for now). Very nicely done, using the existing bolts on Brad's awesome custom rear bumper.
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(sorry for blurry pic)
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Comfort and Convenience (cont'd)
I was very lucky to have Michael at MG Metalworks find time amongst his busy schedule to head the 2nd row cloth non-reclining Sienna seat install. What a genuinely nice and hugely talented guy--amazing shop too!
We mounted the RR seat inboard, so outside bolts on the UJOR bracket are lined up with outboard in floor. We then mounted the LR seat outboard as much as possible(the plastic on the seat is basically almost touching the plastic interior panel, so IIRC inside bolts on the UJOR bracket are lined up with inboard in floor. I'll post more pics soon. While MG's leather recliners are incredibly comfortable, these cloth seats are terrific for the money and will suit me fine for the time being(biggest concern is keeping them clean since they're so light in color)...eventually I'll probably upgrade to the leather recliners. Bench seat is now out, but is so easy to install/remove, I'll keep it and factory seatbelts around shall I need this setup.
DSCN2925e.JPG
MG had a terrific idea about the seatbelt situation(Ford and Toyota seatbelt males/females are different between the brands), and I got that solved with Joe at Bright's Auto Upholstery, so now the Ford/Toyota hybrid should work. They rock, very fair price, quicker turnaround than expected. They also built a custom leather pull strap to help the shorter ladies up into the van via the side cargo doors. He even used a VW seatbelt mounting piece--love my euro's too! Pics to follow once installed.

More to come.......
 

CrabbyMcNab

Adventurer
Nice seat upgrade! Mine will have to wait till November for install. Would love to hear/see more about the seat belt situation.
 

Toolman

Explorer
maybe you should rename the thread to the Vandiana Jones and " the Temple of Doom"

got me thinking about some bushwackers now. I would leave them black and try the spray can version the plasti dip. it will give you a nice flat finish and when it gets messy looking it peels right off and you can apply another protective vinyl layer.

Nice job, your enthusiasm is contagious. I'm on the prowl for parts.
 

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