I haven't been here in quite some time. I've owned 7 vans and just picked up my 8th. Only one of them wasn't an Econoline. I've been a finish carpenter most of my career specializing in residential doors. A van works best for me. I've tried working out of a pickup and hated every minute of it. I took a hiatus for a few years to try something different, but I recently quit my job because I got sick of all the travel. So I bought a van and going to get back into door installations. I was looking for a cargo van, but I couldn't pass up a deal on a passenger van. It's a 2000 E350 that used to be a wheelchair van. I liked the high top and and tall rear doors. The pics in the ad were bad, the van was dirty and there was a list of small things that were wrong with it. But with only 98k miles and $1,500 I couldn't pass it up. There was only one seat in the rear and I removed it. I've installed a cargo divider and plan on building my own shelves out of wood. I can't stand the sound of the metal shelves vibrating while driving. Plus, I can make them to suit my needs. I've removed the running boards, installed and painted a used rear bumper and trailer hitch. I installed a new window motor/regulator in the driver's door , fixed a no dash light issue and fixed 3 doors that wouldn't open from the outside. It also had the typical transmission shudder which a filter and fluid change fixed. I plan on using vinyl wrap close to the color of the van on the some of the side windows to make it look more like a cargo van. This is what it looked like when I bought it. It's much cleaner now. I haven't had a van for almost 4 years and I missed it.

 

Congrats on the new van! Odd question, but do you know what they call the black rubber trim that covers the aluminum channel between the roof and high top? I see you're missing a small piece and I'm in the same boat.

Is that a "Coexist" sticker and a "Don't Tread on Me" sticker? Together? If so, that's an interesting combination

 

I think that channel covering can be obtained from Family Van or perhaps Discount Van parts----sorry if those are the exact names but SMB folks will recognize them.

 

No idea, but it's on my to do list. I look into JWA's suggestion. The clear coat is pealing up there and a buddy is going to repaint it for me when the weather gets a little warmer.

It was used by a blues rock band to travel to gigs. So I suppose different members of the band put their own stickers on it. While cleaning it out, I found 3 CD's. Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. I also found some rolling papers.


Here's what it looks like now. I'm going to repaint the bumpers a darker gray. The paint came out a lot brighter than the cap on the can. I also need to wash the mold off the roof, but I'm waiting for a day where it is above freezing.

 

I couldn't find it on the Discount Van site, but after some Googling, I found some RV trim that looks the same. I'll just have to figure out what size I need. RV Insert Molding | eBay

 

That trim is almost generic so shouldn't be too tough to find.

I would advise getting a "better" quality as that would affect how difficult or easy it installs. The cheaper stuff will be a bit stiffer, tougher to get laying right over that channel.

 

Sweet. Found a roll of Camco 1"x100' on Amazon for less than $10. Don't know anything about Camco but that'd be enough to do my whole van twice

Ha! Sounds about right.

Looks like you need a full roll of vinyl trim too. At least it's cheap.

 

What's SMB?

 

Sportsmobile---they're mostly van-based mini-RV's typically outfitted as 4x4's, purpose being able to have a self contained smallish camper that can access more remote and scenic campsites.

There's a whole forum dedicated to them---a few regulars from that site are here too.

 

I like it!

Put a couple of "FIRE-EMS" stickers on it, a couple of strobe lights in the grille, plus, a loud PA siren, and voila!

No more waiting at busy intersections!

 

Well yeah but you'll be waiting on the other side of those intersections---'splaining to cops WHY you're impersonating EMS!

(I don't think "coz I wus inna hurry ocifer........" will work these days?

 

Dang party pooper...

 

Ya mean like this guy?


And then you meet this guy:

 

I spent the last couple of days building some wood shelves for my tools. Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer wood shelving because it is much more quieter than the metal shelving. I still need to get some more tools and supplies out of the shed to add to the shelves and also I need to add some dividers to help organize it. I've got some paddle latches on order for the two drawers.

 

Nice looking cabinets and shevling! I find my metal stuff is quiet once its almost overfilled with crap I barely if ever use---must be keeping quiet so I don't wise up and toss it all out?

Is that E track on the floor laid side-to-side? Is the floor built up to have it lay flush like that?