So Wednesday, I finished the trap door on the grill!
I then cut a hole in the floor behind where the condensor will be (the angle irons you see in the photos are where the back of the condensor rests). For those interested in "fabricating techniques", I used a thin cutting wheel on my 4 1/2" angle grinder to do most of the cutting and finished off the corners with a harbor freight High speed air saw. I also used the air saw to make extra clearance around the hinges that I had welded outside of the grilles frame and to trim a part of the exhaust pipe heat shield. I then slid the frame into the hole and placed it about level and straight (nothing is straight in a vehicle). Finally, I welded it in. Here's a couple of pictures from inside the van and underneath (sorry for the odd angles of the photos).
I then started welding in the sides of the A/C box. As you will see, I decided to extend the driver side of the box all the way to the back. The goal is to create a "utility compartment" where I will place the battery, inverter, water tank, pump, etc. The passenger side area will be used for cargo (lawn chairs, emergency tool box, propane stove, etc).
So I welded some 20 gauge sheet metal to the sides. I used a harbor freight Air punch flange tool to punch holes for rosette welds. These welds are used where the sheet metal will meet the 3/4" square tubing which was used to make the vertical edges of the frame of the box. For the horizontal edges which meet the 1" tubing at the top and the floor at the bottom, I simply made hundreds of tack welds to avoid warping the metal.
Here's what it looked like halfway done:
Sorry, I forgot to take a picture with the driver side panel in.
I also welded 6 pieces of 3/4" tubing that I cut to 2" long on the floor in the utility compartment. I had drilled and tapped (to 1/4" - 20 Tpi) one hole in each tube. These will be used to set a piece of plywwod at 3/4" from the steel floor. Having that air space will prevent moisture from staying on the sheet metal. Also, I wont be screwing directly into the floor creating another rust source. Instead, machine screws will be going thru the plywood into the 3/4" tubes.
Speaking of which, my dad cut out a piece of 1/2" plywwod for the utility compartment. We made sure the was space for airflow all around and pre-drilled the holes. It follows the contours around the wheel well and gas filler tube.
The next step was a base coat of POR-15. I love rhis stuff. I've used it on many projects and I like the way it "joins" itself to rust. I've heard others recommend regular rustoleum (Tremclad in Canada) but I was never impressed by that product. So...
I ground down all exposed or convexe welds (most of the welds in concave angles are where the panels meet the floor and will be covered in seam sealer). I scuffed all the paint using a palm sander with sanding paper for metal to insure good adhesion. Then I went thru all POR-15 steps (Marine-Clean, Metal-Ready and finally paint).
Picture:
The next day, i scuffed the paint again and put seam sealer around the wheel wells and at the joint between the box panels and floor. Then I let it dry and cleaned up the garage...
So POR-15 is a nice base-coat but it's not a great final coat. From the beginning, I wanted to cover the cargo area and utility area with bed liner. The cargo area should have a durable, non-slip and easy to clean surface finish. Bed liner was the perfect solution.
I considered a professionnal application like Line-X but could not justify 500$ on a hidden area that Icould never "touch". (If ever I have to grind down and weld something new, Line-X would have to take care of the touch-ups and the cost would again be, I guess, close to the original 500$).
So I decided to go with Dupli-color bed armor. No, it isn't as durable as Line-X, but you can do touch ups with this product and the application kit only cost $99 (maybe $109 I forgot). I got it on special at Canadian Tire. The product can be applied by brush or using the icluded roller for texture. Also, another advantage is that the product has no shelf life so I can keep the left-overs and use rhem whenever for touch-ups for damaged areas or modifications.
My dad came over for breakfest to help out early. So after a great Gallo Pinto made by yours truly, we headed to the garage.
The paint had been scuffed the day before (BTW, the scuffing pad included in the kit ain't worth $hit) using the same palm sander and sanding paper for metal.
We taped up all the areas that we did not want to be covered in bed liner. I did more than was necessary which got my dad a little impatient but I've learned from past projects that cleaning overspray takes way more time than covering potential spill areas. I'm glad I did because I found this product a little bit messy because of the rubber chunks.
I also taped up the step to enter the van from the gullwing door. I had made it last year and sprayed it with Lizard Skin. It held up surprisingly well but that's not it's intended use. Bedliner will look better and hold up better to the foot traffic that this step is made for. The step also serves as our "mud room" when we go to bed which means we leave our dirty shoes and sandales in that area. Being able to hose it out will make it much easier to keep clean.
Another part to receive the bedliner treatment is the utilities plywood. Just because it will look nice and not like plywood...
Getting back to the rubber chunks, make sure you mix this product thorougly. The rubber chunks deposit in the bottom and you can't miss the feeling of the sludge in the bottom when you're mixing.
We started painting with brushes in the corners and I then started trying the textured roller but the results weren't very good. I think the spaces were too small to use the roller adequately. To be honest, just using a regular brush is enough. We ditched the roller after the first coat.
We ended up putting down 3 coats of the material. All coats were done at an interval of about an hour. After each coat, the material started looking more and more like bedliner.
The results are pretty good:
The step:
The utility compartment sheet of plywood (which no longer looks like a sheet of plywood):
Just to conclude, I liked applying this product. Time will tell if it's as durable as expected. One recommendation I have is don't waste your money on the kit. The only additionnal item of "value" is the roller that was useless. Just spend the money on a decent 2" brush that can easily be cleaned using just water for as many coats as you need.
BTW, I ended up using about 2/3 of a gallon and gave the leftovers to my dad so he can paint his wheel wells on his new truck. When I need to purchase a quart for touch-ups it will only cost $40.
Monday, I removed all the tape that I put to prevent overspray. The bedliner is still a bit tacky but looks better with time (24hrs since application at this point).
So re-assembly starts!
I drilled a hole in the floor to pass the wire going from the alternator to the secondary battery (which is already there from last year) and passed said wire.
Next, I installed the utility plywood. I used stainless steel screws, washers and lock washers. I don't want to see any rust.
(you can see the red wire at the top left)
And a view of the whole project: