Old Doors, New Style

Since this van will be used camping and we wanted the doors to be able to handle any bad weather without any damage.

We used Diamond plate on them.
The Kenwood 6x9's fit with some minor modification to the door itself.
The polished aluminum window cranks I found on Ebay.
I still need to find original style door armrests.
We may at a later date add some woodwork to the bottom of the door to calm down the Diamond plate. If so, I'll have to seal the wood very well so weather can not damage it.

Here's both doors:

Lounger Base

We mounted a base below the lounger to make to strong and also we will have storage below the lounger.
We used 2x10 pine which we planed smooth and added a top rail.
The top rail will allow use to butt the Diamond Plated Aluminum to it for a finished look.

Here's the front:

The back:

The back of the lounger does not reach the rear of the van. We did this so we would have a small area to store goodies. When the lounger is in the up position it allows me to make custom doors for storage under it. I'll show the storage area later.

The speakers installed:

Around the Kenwood 6x9's will be Diamond plate.

Sleepy Time

The Beast will be a extension of our future travel trailer.
So, Comfort is a must inside the Beast.
We found this at BJ's Wholesale.
It's a Click Clack Lounger.

 This is in the sitting position

This is the Bed position

 

 

It's about the size of a double bed but not as long.

The nice thing is it fit without any modifications. I'll have to build a front and rear frame to reach the floor which I will also install doors for storage below the bed.

I have some 6x9 speakers that will be mounted below and some 10' subs.

 

No it's not going to be a Hippie Van!

Just nice so when we travel or have riders with us they will be comfortable.

For long trips it will be nice folding the lounger to bed position and Brenda can take a nap.

 

We've got a long way to go customizing the Beast, But little by little it will get there.





New Mirrors more Holes

We bought new mirrors for the Beast.
I want to keep the old school look for the van and after alot of hunting I found some Westcoast Jr. mirrors.

We've still need to adjust the mirror position for a normal look.
The nice thing about these mirrors, They are adjustable so when we pull our cargo trailer or our future camper. I will be able to see who's beside me.
I'm looking for a set of round bubble mirrors to attach to the mirror arms so the blind spots while driving will not be blind.

The old holes left by the other mirrors will be welded closed and then the body work will remove this problem. I plan to keep the bondo work to a very minimium.
I'd rather do the hard work with metal than have alot of bondo on the van.

Campsite Exploring

We've been exploring different campsites that we will use once the van is ready.
We have tents but we hope to get the van setup for camping also.

This picture was taken in Fernandina Florida at Fort Clinch.

The campsites are well shaded and have power.
Hopefully by Fall, We will be ready.

We took the van for a little ride though Daytona and then on to Orlando.
It was a nice ride and had no problems with the van.

1991 Ford E250 Van

This is our new project we purchased.
It's a 91 Ford Econoline E250 Van.
We will be customizing the van to be a addition to the camper we will also build.
The interior will get most of the customizing with carpeted floor, rear bench seat that converts to a small bed, allot of wood work and many other items.
The exterior will stay basically stock because we like the old style look.

The van was purchased from Trevor and he was very honest about the condition of the van. Trevor had already done allot of mechanical work to the van and this gives us a head start on getting the van ready.
The purchase price for the van was $2500.00 and it was worth every penny.
As we improve the van I will post pictures and also explain what we've done.