Yet another home brewed van...

[plutonic]

Hey everyone,

Just recently, I started to build my latest van. It's a 2006 E350 Diesel cargo. The interior is pretty much complete now, although I will improve on it as time and money will allow. The next step will be a 4X4 conversion by Chris @ UJOR. I already have most of the parts, currently I'm searching for a suitable t-case.
This is my only four wheeled vehicle, mainly it's a work van but I will use it for everything else... camping, MTB and motorcycle trips, get to hiking trails, etc. I'm trying to make it as universal as possible ( if such thing achievable at all ). Here's a few photos of the most recent work I've done with a help of a good friend. I hope y'all like it.

[ujoint]

I think that van is gonna be QUIET!! And I like your color choices, same as mine

[plutonic]

Hiya Chris,

Yea... sound insulation somehow has became my obsession... Later this week I will rip out the dashboard -again-, and I will stuff that sucker with some heavy insulation. I still have some more closed-cell foam somewhere...

[bknudtsen]

Looks like a good start, with a good friend, and a good shop!

[adi]

Did you do any insulation on the floor? I see adhesive sound deadening, foam, wood and carpet, wondering if you did anything more.

Very nice job!

[Latetobrake]

Good looking interior and an awesome looking shop!!!!!!!!!!!!

[plutonic]

Thanks guys!

First I laid down some butyl based tiles as you see on the photos, I then filled the recessed sections with closed-cell foam. Next was a full layer of 1/2" closed-cell foam everywhere. On top of all that I installed a roll of mass-loaded vinyl. The pictures don't show it but the whole floor received the same treatment, all the way up to the firewall. I did the same inside the doghouse as well but I think I went overboard with the amount of material... the doghouse touches the engine somewhere ( I suspect the downlink pipe from the turbo ). Because of that, the doghouse vibrates a bit, especially at idle.
I bought another doghouse to experiment with different materials and thicknesses. Hopefully I will find the "magic" formula to get the desired quietness with no vibration.

[Ironhead]

I never thought about using the silver tape like that, I'm going to have to steal your idea. I noticed you are extending the floor over the step on the side barn doors like I am.

[MicroBird]

Hey everyone,

Just recently, I started to build my latest van. It's a 2006 E350 Diesel cargo. The interior is pretty much complete now, although I will improve on it as time and money will allow. The next step will be a 4X4 conversion by Chris @ UJOR. I already have most of the parts, currently I'm searching for a suitable t-case.
This is my only four wheeled vehicle, mainly it's a work van but I will use it for everything else... camping, MTB and motorcycle trips, get to hiking trails, etc. I'm trying to make it as universal as possible ( if such thing achievable at all ). Here's a few photos of the most recent work I've done with a help of a good friend. I hope y'all like it.

That interior looks awesome. I bet it's really quite.

[plutonic]

Update:

Following the idea from badgertrek, I installed side vents on my van. I really like the way it looks...



The cuts are straight. What you see here is the paint I applied on the edges to prevent rust, makes the lines look "jagged":





My soundproofing project got another another stage completed. Took the whole dashboard out and installed a layer of 1/2" recycled denim everywhere. The difference in quietness is really noticeable.
After I finished I immediately started to thinking about to do it again with an even thicker layer...

Removal of the dashboard:





The factory sound installation is pretty thin:



Installing the recycled denim:



I used double sided carpet seam tape ( very, very sticky ) to hold the newly installed layer in place:



Installation done, ready for reassembly:





Everything back in place: