Sport mods

[alcapone]

Bought a Sport Van, but want it to be more like a day van so have started some changes. The bulkhead's out and I want to replace the double seat with another single. Work planned, but not necessarily in any particular order:

* Line it out
* Add some windows (both sides and back)
* New stereo (something that will play MP3 CD's)
* Seating/bed in the back
* New interior lights
* Waxoil

Lining it out could be a half day job, but I'm going to put a bit more effort into it and insulate it as well. As it's a low roof, I don't want to loose much height, so 1" Celotex seems like the best option. The top half of the walls is also 1" but the lower half is 2" (it would be nicer to have 2" at the top of the van, but it wouldn't fit very well). Having had it in a few days, feeling the roof on the outside and feeling the Celotex on the inside has proved it was worth while.

One important consideration with the Celotex lining is the build up of heat between the Celotex and the steel wall of the van - there must not be a large gap to allow the hot air to escape, or the Celotex is a wast of time. My chosen sealant to squirt around the edges is silicon - not only because it remains flexible, but because I have about 20 tubes of the stuff sat in the garage. Another advantage of sealing the Celotex to the steel is it stops moist air entering the void so will stop condensation becoming trapped.

I intend to cover hardboard with carpet to finish the lining off and hide the Celotex, but need to work out how I'm going to do my lights and get my wires in before fixing this. Once the wires are in, I will cover the roof. The walls will have to wait because I need to cut holes for Windows then apply carpet to the metal areas that won't easily be covered by hardboard.

Walls:




Roof:

[MR BigBeefy LDV Guru]

too late for this but DO NOT use silicone it WILL cause rust FACT

[alcapone]

I have heard that before, but have used silicon on numerous painted metal surfaces (windows, sunroofs, CB aerial mounts plus many more applications) and not seen any evidence of it causing rust yet.

There are two arguments for it causing rust:

1) the chemicals in it induce rust - but this would only be during the curing process
2) it doesn't stick as well as expected and water gets trapped under it

Can you be more specific with in what way it causes rust?

I'm tempted to put a big blob of silicon onto bare steel and soak in water to see what happens...

[stuartrobbie]

wont the rust situation only apply to certain silicones though, depending on what the description says, as some say not for exterior use? meaning its splash proof, like for around a sink but not ideal for exterior. Wouldnt a mastic be a better option for anything outside the van, however inside the van there shouldnt be any water anyway

[MrMPuk]

wont the rust situation only apply to certain silicones though, depending on what the description says, as some say not for exterior use? meaning its splash proof, like for around a sink but not ideal for exterior. Wouldnt a mastic be a better option for anything outside the van, however inside the van there shouldnt be any water anyway

It's got nothing to do with water, it's the acids used in silicone that cause the problem.

[alcapone]

It's got nothing to do with water, it's the acids used in silicone that cause the problem.

So once it's set and stopped releasing acetic acid, it doesn't cause rust? So the only time it is likely to introduce a rust problem is during the curing process? So if used on a well painted surface will be OK?

[alcapone]

After over a week I'm still waiting for spray glue before I can continue. This is seriously holding me up, I can't put the roof lining in until I've stuck carpet to the walls around the windows frame, which I can only do at the time I cut the windows.

So I decided to make a start on lighting and opted for low power LED's. As I've shown how I make the lights, I decided to stick it into the "Customising and one offs" section - http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=87339.

[MrMPuk]

Same with that pic as well.

[alcapone]

Same with that pic as well.

Same fix applied...

[alcapone]

When I install the lights, I intend to use two circuits to power them. I like the way the Ford circuit turns them on when the doors are opened, but I also want to be able to turn them on when the door is closed. To make sure what ever I do doesn't screw up what ever Ford have done, I will use diodes to keep the circuits separate until they get to the light strip:

[MrMPuk]

Lovely circuit diagrams but the interior lights are earth switched.

[alcapone]

Lovely circuit diagrams but the interior lights are earth switched.

I now they are normally, but had guessed this may be different as it has a timer somewhere. That's one of the problems of not getting the light into place yet - this bloody lost glue is seriously holding a lot of things up!

I'll throw another diagram together later

[alcapone]

Lovely circuit diagrams but the interior lights are earth switched.

A revised diagram for earth switched lights:

[alcapone]

Side windows in at last, still got the back ones to do some time.

Drill two holes to mark the radius, find a suitable container of the dame diameter which can be lined up on the holes on the outside.




Drill a few small holes and link them together, creating an entry point for the jigsaw.


Moving on to the side door, the radius of the curves isn't symmetrical so rather than tracing around a suitable object, I drilled several holes and then sketched a curve between them.


Use masking tape on the outside of the panel to be removed, this should follow the line so you have a nice guide to saw to. It also protects the paintwork from the bed of the jigsaw which will collect the bits sawn away and make a right mess. Remember the saw will go off the straight line at corners so make sure masking tape will protect paint as it goes round the bend. Insert saw...


...and start sawing (notice the scratch on the paint...


As you're sawing, remove the masking tape and use it to join the gap where the saw has been. This helps stop the panel shaking around too much and stops the panel falling out and scratching your paintwork as it drops.

Once you have a hole, file the edges then pain them to stop them rusting (not 100% necessary on a bonded window, but good practice).




Tidy the edge with a rubber strip. Before I could do this, I had to stick carpet to the wall on the driver side (not bothering with the door). Carpet is cut to larger than required size and impact adhesive is applied to it's back. Impact adhesive is also applied to the van wall. If spraying the adhesive, tape something to the outside of the hole to stop the spray dripping down the side of the van. Apply the carpet after the adhesive has dried for the required time. Cut a hole where the window will be BUT ALLOW AT LEAST 3 INCHES extra carpet to reach the border of the hole. Press the carpet into the moulding, working on one corner at a time. Depending on the carpet, it can be hard work! I have heard that a hair dryer can soften the carpet and let it stretch more, BUT TRY IT ON SOME SCRAP CARPET BEFORE DOING THIS as it may melt the carpet. Once the carpet is in place, put the rubber edging on, trying to get it over the carpet.






Once the inside is trimmed, clean the glass and paintwork where the window adhesive will go. This may differ with adhesives/kits, so read the instructions. Once read, read them again. And again. Make sure you get it right first time because it's not easy to rectify a mistake at this point. Paint and glass cleaned, hold the window in place on the van and ask someone to draw around the inside. This line will give you an idea of where the adhesive will go and should not be primed on the inside of it. Remove the glass and prime it with the supplied primer. The line you had drawn is the inside of the rubber strip around the hole, prime 3/8 inch away from this. Prime the paintwork on the van, up to the rubber strip. Give the primer the necessary drying time.

Use a good tape (gaffer tape or something similar). Cut three lengths of about 10 inches and stick above the window and loop up to the roof so it can easily be pulled down once the glass is in place.

Apply the adhesive to the side of the van on top of the primer, using the rubber strip as a guide. The adhesive obviously needs to be higher than the rubber strip or the glass won't even touch it, but the nozzle supplied has a nice 'V' grove in it. Make sure there is a continuous bead of adhesive and it's the same thickness/height all the way round. Any gaps will mean a hole between the glass and van, which will let in water. Two people are needed now... one person should apply the glass and manoeuvre it then press it into place - there is a slight amount of movement once the glass has touched the adhesive, but don't move it too far or it will stretch the adhesive too thinly . The second person should unroll the gaffer tape and press it onto the window. Once in place run a couple of strips down the side too. Sorry, no pics of this part of the process, it's one of those areas where time is important and as it's my first attempt, I wasn't messing around with a camera. However, I did read the instructions again. Once the glass is in, DO NOT JOLT THE VAN BY SLAMMING DOORS! Certainly don't drive it for at least two hours (I'm not driving it until tomorrow at the earliest). Follow the adhesive instructions about washing the van.

The windows are now in place and look pretty smart (except for the tape). I guess the moment of truth will be the morning when I take the gaffer tape off!

[dodgy01]

thats a great how to
i will be doing this to my van as soon as i can find a good un