Got my new ('06) work van over the weekend and spent all day today putting in a plywood and carpet floor. The mats that come in these suck plus the solid wood floor helps keep the road noise down. This is the third van I've done this too, I should perhaps add it to my list of contracting abilities. :hmmm:









Using the mat to template the carpet





Scraps get used for lining the shelves



Almost done...



..except for the most important piece (turns my work van into a play van in 15sec)



Now all this ****s gotta go in there...and that's only half my stuff

 

Been doing the same thing since my first of ten Ford vans since 1969. Some times line the walls with 1/4 cdx and fill the cavities with spray foam. Lot cheaper than anything you can buy and way more rugged.

 

Very nice job....is your toy a dirt bike or like that?

I've had four big vans, either camper or passenger type conversions, since 1986 or so, and the standard approach was a plywood subfloor. Only exception is my current '02 E150, a "GT" conversion, which has some kind of closed cell foam floor that is much thicker than the factory would use and involves less holes drilled in the floor.

So long as you keep the wood dry, and don't drill into the gas tank while installing 8-), you're good. (In Michigan, another problem is that any drilled holes become road salt magnets and spots of origin for rust.)

I noted in your other post that you've got a 4.10 gear, altho with an O/D, the final drive will be under 2.9 or so, which should be just fine with the 4.6...good luck with it. Since your van is an '06, the engine should have more spark plug threads than the earlier (pre-95ish I think) mod motors. Get a posi on that sucker and it'll do just fine.

George

 

Yeah I ride dirt and supermoto, sometimes put the bike inside but usually pull a trailer.

Had this van all over in the last few days and she pulls fine thru theses mountain roads. No problem at all with torque.

I've finished the interior, tinted the windows and got some better looking wheelcovers. Now for the sound system.

Yep I like to go to work (or play) in comfort.

 

Hey...

What did you do with the stock flooring? I'll buy it off ya'. Please email me at imferkules@hotmail.com if your up for it.

Thanks!

 

I tossed it in a dumpster at work, I'll see if it's still there this morning.

Anyone here interested in the ladder rack that's in the first pic, I'm about to list it in the local trader for $600 (theyre about $1250 new). Locks down on one side, locks and lowers with hydrolics (sp?) on the other.

 

very well done! are you going to do anything to the walls of your van too? or are you leaving them bare metal?

 

Do you recommend a specific after-market posi or locker?

 

The Ford Trac Loc is what would have been stock in my E150 8.8" rear end (I bought it out of dealer stock w/o a posi), but I was able to get an Eaton posi for about the same price as a Ford trac loc (usually 50-75 more) from a local gear shop. The Eaton is really the original GM unit and is the only one correctly called a "Positraction", which was GM's name for their limited slip rear end. (....per Beach Boys..."a 4 speed dual quad Positraction four oh niiiine....")

The Eaton has a stronger lock than the Ford unit, and is rebuildable (as is the trac loc). Mine has gotten me thru some crazy snow and ice, and some really bad muddy campground roads, including fire roads in the Upper Penninsula in Michigan...

I believe the E250 uses a Dana 60 rear axle. (Had a couple of those in Mopar Hemi cars a *couple* years ago....) The standard posi for those is the Dana Trac Loc, which would be what Ford uses stock. I believe the Eaton posi is also available for the Dana 60. There are likely others as well.

Maybe call some local gear shops (find one that sets up race cars and real off-road trucks--they can put together stuff that won't break), see what they can get, and for what price. If the Trac Loc is cheapest, that'd probably be fine; if the Eaton is not much more, I certainly like those. You don't want anything extreme like a Detroit Locker or anything that is a real "locker"--those clunk around corners, engage really abruptly, etc.

I had an Auburn posi put in my old '86 GMC van and it worked pretty well, very mild temperment, but not as much locking as the Eaton.

PM me if you have any more Q's...I'm not up on all this stuff--here's a gear shop that has listings for most brands, and like I said, I think you have a Dana 60.

http://www.reiderracing.com/differentials.htm

 

Thanks YoGeorge, I'll start calling gear shops next week.

One other querry; do you know of an aftermarket source for door panels for the cargo side and rear doors. Last van I made them myself outta 1/4" plywood, looked good but didn't hold up very well. I'd think someone makes aluminum or plastic panels that fit the preformed area on each door, not interested in any OEM vinyl ones made for the passenger vans. I did a google search with no results.

Thanks again, Mark

 

Maybe call a custom van shop or two (if any still exist in your area?). Or an auto trim place? We had our old '86 GMC (re)converted from the Turtle Top original setup and I think they made up panels out of thin ply or masonite and covered them with carpeting--couldn't you do something similar--just glue and wrap the carpeting on the panels?

Good luck on the posi....I checked my old receipt and my Eaton cost $330, plus $40 for lube, plus $150 labor, out the door with tax for about $550 back in 2003....the Eatons have carbon fiber clutch plates that last longer than the Ford Trac Loc types, I think. Also on that link, none of the lockers rate good for towing apps--which most closely corresponds to the stuff you (and I) are likely to need a posi for. Full lockers are great for rock crawling, tho 8-)

 

Nice work!

I'm planning to do the same to my van also.
I like the shelves you have. Are they made to fit an Econoline or are generic shelves?

I would like to make some from plywood, and if you don't mind, I would like to ask you for some dimensions. That would help me make something that will fit the first time instead of scraping plywood.

Here are the dimensions I would like to know.

Thanks in advance,
Michel.

 

Turbo-Bimmer, these shelves came with the van so I don't know their origin but heres the demensions you asked for plus one.

A=46"
B=12"
C=34"
D=16 1/4"
E=12 1/2" (E being the angled back section. Don't know the angle but this dem should help you confirm it).

 

Thanks a lot!


It will make my life easier :-)