Brent's Van (uante)

Making good progress under the van. Found a little dirt in the left rear corner...







Probably about time this gas tank to filler tube hose gets replaced! lol



Old rear shocks...might be originals? Pretty squishy.

Looks like your putting in some Great "Sweat Equity"! You will be rewarded for all your hard work! Keep the progress pics coming. It's inspiring!

uante wrote:Making good progress under the van. Found a little dirt in the left rear corner...

Yeah, just a bit lol

Yeah might get better gas mileage after all the dirt is off!

I got some before pics of underneath, but I'm waiting until it's painted before putting them up. I did find out today my deferential is orange! lol You couldn't tell before I cleaned all the crud off. I'll be painting it black though...at least that is what I've always painted they underside of my cars.

If all goes well tomorrow, It'll be ready for paint from the transmission back. I was thinking of taking the Dog House off to be able to clean the engine and then just tack it back down until after the rhino floor coating is done.



Here's how the bottom of my Torino turned out.

Nice! That's enough to make Starsky & Hutch jealous!!

Kinda looks like a matchbox car bottom lol

Moving forward...Took the Doghouse off and cleaned up the gooey sealant. Found a couple small spots that need attention, but had to do this anyway to clean and prepare everything for paint and rhino floor coating.

Do they sell the gooey seal for the Doghouse? How about for the lid? Mine still has the original insulation and the lid seal is melted/trashed.

Engine and Transmission are almost all clean as well as 2/3rds of the bottom. Probably be painting underneath by end of next week! Looked like the engine block was black before, so I'll go with that.

Took the front shocks out today, they are as old as the rear ones. Doesn't take anything to push them together...especially compared to the new ones I got!

I'm liking the way you are doing things Brent! If you're going to go through the trouble of sanding, you might as well empty everything out of the way to make sure you're not missing anything. Hard work but it will pay off Big Time for you. I can't wait to see how this comes out and thanks for taking us along with you with all these pics!!!

For the doghouse sealing at the bottom and sides used Henry 208 Wet Patch Roof Cement (tube). For the lid seal. at autozone, in the weatherstrip section; had a 10" X 3/4" wide X 5/16" thick roll of "Adhesive backed weatherstrip" or can buy that online: www.metrommp.com -pick "universal parts", then "adhesive backed weatherstrpping" then scroll down to part # MW51634 For the insulation inside the lid, from Mac's got a roll of 4' X 6' X 5/16" double backed foil insulation, part# V700770X

Great progress Brent! That van will be spiffy in no time. I used narrow neoprene self adhesive tape for the lid. Haven't done the bottom seal yet, but I was planning on using neoprene tape down there as well to facilitate getting the doghouse back off easier.

Your van is clean!!!! I gotta replace the metal around the engine to get it looking like yours.

Keep on Cleaning, Keep on Cleaning



A before and after pic of the passenger side wheel area. Tomorrow the driver's side!

That's looking much Better Brent!!! Thanks for sharing...

Looking good, so much work, and there is always more, but your making great progress, I cant wait till mine looks this clean, oh heck Id be happy just to stop coughing up bondo dust...

Dog house is out and I was wondering if anyone has ever had one of these media blasted and then powder coated?

Just was wondering if there was any advantage or disadvantage to the process. Seems like it would make for a durable finish, but I heard if it chips...it's a bitch to mess with.

I've been considering having it done to mine.

The only thing about powder coating is remember is more like glass or porcelain than paint so if the surface flexes it will crack, if it gets banged hard with something hard it might crack, and its hard to repair and make it look good, I would stick with a good epoxy and an excellent prep.

With that point, the doghouse certainly flexes. I saw one van where the guy rhino coated the doghouse and the floor. Maybe that would be a good way to go instead.

On a different note, Almost finished prepping and cleaning (Finally) the bottom of my van. I'll be painting it next week for sure!

You guy's have convinced me, paint it is!

Well I called up the mediablast/powdercoat place and was going to cancel the powdercoat on the doghouse (but keep it on the step) and after talking with the guy I decided to go ahead with it. He told me that their method it won't crack.

They said they often do springs and their sample pieces are flexible and can be bent in half and they don't crack. If it does and looks like crap later, I'll just rhino coat it.

Brent, let us know how it turns out and if it holds up for future reference. Please and Thank You!

About 3/4 done with the bottom paint, only have the left rear to do...Engine is about ready to paint as well. Almost done with this step!!!

Also worked on the heater box a bit...sure is an interesting box design. lol

That looks Great under there Brent!!! You're diligence is starting to be rewarded. Well worth the effort my friend!

Thanks!
Can't get it all...there's a little bit of painted dirt, but it's 95% clean. It's nice going under there doing some work without getting dust in your eyes.