New E-350 Project: VANdiana Jones!

[bknudtsen]

Well, we are almost done loading up for our first camping trip with Vandiana. Just a basic tent camping overnighter at the farmhouse where my Fiancee grew up. Still, it's fun for my boy who gets to run around with the cousins exploring and sleeping in the barn with the bats.

No fancy cabinets or storage drawers yet, but it's a start.



And since this a 4wd Camper Van forum, I loaded up the D60 in the back as not to be a poser.



Actually, I am dropping it off at Randy's Ring & Pinion for new 4.10's. Hopefully, by next weekend I will be able to start putting it back together. That will go a long way in making me feel like I am getting closer to the actual conversion!

[bknudtsen]

My Warn Hubs, one of the unit bearings, and brake pads showed up Saturday while I was out of town. I ordered these parts on Thursday, so that may be a record in fast shipping!

The D60 is at Randy's awaiting 4.11's. I thought 4.10's were a little lame, so I turned it up a notch. (Insert witty Spinal Tap reference here.)

[Betarocker]

Hehe

Why not just get a higher 10?

It's not 11 is it.

[bknudtsen]

I have been watching ebay for F150 seats for my second row for a while now. Last night, I made my normal fly-by looking for anything interesting, and to my utter amazement, I found a clean set of grey F150 seats with built-in seatbelts and center console included, AND, they were 20 minutes from my house! I jumped on it and contacted the seller offering to pay cash for a local pick-up, and I just got back from picking up my new seats. Jon was a super cool guy who had the most amazing older GMC Jimmy. These seats came in it when he bought it, and he has since installed black leather seats out of a Escalade. $500 later, and I am in business. Most sets on ebay are going for $500-$800 plus anywhere from $150 to $300 for shipping, so I feel really good about the deal. If photobucket gets their act together, I might even be able to post some pics...

[bknudtsen]

Ok. Photobucket is working again, so here are the pics. The seats need to be about 3 inches higher so adults can sit in comfort. I plan on welding up a bracket/base that uses the stock mounting points. I placed the seats in the approximate position they will be in when fully back on the sliders. There's almost 6 feet behind the seats when they are all the way back and closer to 7 feet slid forward.

[notmiller]

Awesome find! Good idea! What year are they from? I'm surprised Ford varied their shades of grey from platform to platform, but these seem to match pretty well with the stock color.

[bknudtsen]

Awesome find! Good idea! What year are they from? I'm surprised Ford varied their shades of grey from platform to platform, but these seem to match pretty well with the stock color.

Thx! The seats with the built-in seatbelts were found in '04 to '08 F-150's. The color is really close, and fits in just fine. I may replace the front seats in the future, as the vinyl is really hot and uncomfortable on long trips.

[bknudtsen]

It's been a long time since my doorstep looked liked this on a regular basis...

[bknudtsen]

In the process of mocking up the mounting bracket for the rear seats.



The template is too far back in this pic, but it gives me an idea of what needs to go where. I am moving the center console forward so that the mounting holes line up with the seat mounting holes. I didn't take into account that the sliders were all the way back when I laid the seating out.



I picked up some steel today to fab the mounting bracket. Hopefully, I will be able to finish it tomorrow. The front mounting points should work out well, but the rear will prodrude backwards to reach the next stock seat mounting point. I am willing to compromise asthetics for safety on this one.

[bknudtsen]

I started working on the mounting bracket today. It was one of the hottest days this summer, and the heat really slowed me me down. Anyhoo...

I am using 3x2 inch .120 wall rectangle tubing to get the height I need, as well as, provide the strength needed to support these seats. The seats are very heavy, and since the seatbelts are integrated, I figured that all the stress during an accident would be focused on the mounting bracket. If I had a cool tubing bender, then a rollcage style mounting bracket would have been ideal.

He is a pic of how the front bar is mounted.



Welding in 2x1 inch stringers.



Mocked up in the van so I could get some measurements for the rear brackets.



I had to stop here due to heat exhaustion. I was drinking water every 15 minutes, but wearing all the protective clothing, plus the heat of the arc, just wore me down. I was able to finish drilling the rear mounting holes just a few minutes ago, but it is still hot out there. The bracket must weigh about 45lbs, but it is way lighter than just one of the bucket seats! Tomorrow, I will get the mounting holes for the seats drilled. Then I'll clean it up and throw on some paint.