Got the 66 in her spot for the Winter....Body Drop and Air Ride Woody Panels

mothradeath wrote:im catching up on you   https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/965707_10200802753247307_684219914_o.jpg

I was wondering you were doing on your project. Looks awesome. Tell me more about what you've done.

im kinda broke right now so im just concentrating on the fabrication part of it. mustang II clip is in, both doors are cut and one is finished, ive got my steering rack flipped, and both front wheel arches are built and ready to be welded in. i dont want to finalize any of the floor until everything is finished so i dont have to crawl under it. the last big things i have to do that require money is a brake booster setup, air management, steering linkage pieces, and the steering reversing knuckle. i also really need to do something like what youve got going on with your steering column. i would like to eliminate the gearbox but keep the shifting tube and mechanism. i want to try to keep my 3 on the tree setup since im keeping the stock motor and tranny. heres a pic from awhile ago when i got the clip tacked in place ive flipped the rack since the pic. https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1399350_10200694796028444_408813018_o.jpg

whats your opinion on keeping the 3 on the tree? think it can be done? i pretty much know the hardest part will be figuring out how to make new linkage bars that will clear all the mayhem going on. did they remove your thread on the H.A.M.B? old bastards.

Army of Six wrote:might be a little late but i can tell you what has made my life easier working on my v6.  i made it so i can remove the whole dog house by simply removing a few bolts.  it takes me about 10 mins to remove it,   then i have total access to my motor, radiator etc from the floor up.  weather you are changing spark plugs or replacing an exhaust manifold gasket.

looking good though...

Yeah, Im pretty much gonna steal the way you did it to mount it to the bottom, and was thinking of a rear hinge so it could lift it easy enough to check oil and water. My man just tacked it in there so he could get an idea of size.

mothradeath wrote:whats your opinion on keeping the 3 on the tree? think it can be done? i pretty much know the hardest part will be figuring out how to make new linkage bars that will clear all the mayhem going on. did they remove your thread on the H.A.M.B? old bastards.

Looks awesome. Nice work.

I never say that anything is impossible, but I think keeping the 3onthetree is gonna be tough. Trying to get the linkage to snake thru the crossmember and between all the steering that will have to be fabricated. I was originally gonna go with a 6 cylinder, but had decided that I would use a C4 with a floor shifter and cable to make it easier.

Keep up the good work, she is looking good.

Only 250 days until the Van Nationals.

Well after just over a year of hard work here's the first trip around the block.

CONGRATS 3! Looks and sounds Awesome!!!

Wicked!

Thanks guys. I'll get it registered next week and start to drive it a bit to work out the bugs.

3,How much travel will you have for the full up right for driving to the full body drop? I'm like you.. the lower the better. I'm not going as extreme but i would like to get Eaton spring to reverse the eye to get about 3 in. lower. looks awesome! You're going to have a lot of jaw dropping people just sayin NO Way!! Nice job! Ken

Vannin Ken wrote:3,How much travel will you have for the full up right for driving to the full body drop? I'm like you.. the lower the better. I'm not going as extreme but i would like to get Eaton spring to reverse the eye to get about 3 in. lower. looks awesome! You're going to have a lot of jaw dropping people just sayin NO Way!! Nice job! Ken

Thanks very much for the kind words. I can lift the front up about 6 inches and I can lift the rear up about 15 inches if I need to. So I have plenty of ride height even with the body drop. I'll get some pictures posted of how it sits at actual ride height for truly driving around town.

And that's funny you say that some people will think that's very cool. All my buddies tease me that I put one year of labor into something that most people think is a lowered Econoline.

I was impressed by just the short time that you did all that work. Are you going to paint this winter?

I do have two fabricators that work for me full-time, one for just the past 2 months, and one for about the past six months. Between the three of us we can get a lot done. I'm really trying to get it ready for the van nationals in New York in 2014. I spend the winters in California so I may take out there and drive it until March to work all the bugs out and send it to paint hopefully get it back and put back together before July 1.

I will get the interior done while I'm in California this year.

I think you'll make the Grand Entance in NY to alot of broken necks! Sweet..

I got the headlights installed with the blinker and marker light built in. Did some more work on the bezels, still need to fill a little bit of aluminum where we widened them, but got most of the sanding and polishing done.

It looks like it will be another couple weeks before my seats will be done for the front, so one of the guys built this out of a folding chair....I should cancel my order for custom seats! And it still folds forward....

And she is really starting to feel like a car again...got the heater box in last night, just need to mount the cables and run some heater hose, and I have heat. Also got the fresh air box mounted on the driver side.

Did a little more work on the dog house, started to shape the rear panel.

that chair is hilarious! i wouldnt have been able to wait for the normal seat to come back either. on the rear axle pic...did you put longer wheel studs in the hubs and if so why?

mothradeath wrote:that chair is hilarious! i wouldnt have been able to wait for the normal seat to come back either. on the rear axle pic...did you put longer wheel studs in the hubs and if so why?

Hey man. I did not put longer wheel studs in because I didn't think I needed them. I didn't put brand-new ones in.

That front seat looks like a chair for DORF! I can see it now, first there was DORF on GOLF now, his latest video, DORF on VANS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtR2kGBHEW8&list=RDpEig1D4sJdI

I've been driving the van for a few weeks now and it's been running great. Worked out a few of the bugs. And now the salt is going down on the road she's back in the garage and I've started working on the interior. First thing is sound deadening. Started with the floor so I could get some carpet made.

I think my days of working outside are numbered. Snow covered Econoline.