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Got a new van
#693053 August 02nd 2015 1:40 pm
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 89
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 89
The rust finally got my '91 Ford Mark 3 conversion van. It's been great for family road trips and such. It wasn't in the best of shape when I got it, but it's hard to go too far wrong for what I paid for it. It's got a number of good parts, but I'm sick of throwing money at it to keep it safe.

I recently purchased a 2003 GMC Savana 2500 passenger van. It's an old Con Ed truck, so it's been fleet maintained. It's also straight, clean, and no exterior rust. Not even any on the underbody, just a little light surface rust on the rear cross member. ten minutes with a wire grinder and a rattle can should take care of that.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

Anybody know why the headliner is convoluted like this? Seems like an awful waste of space to me.

[Linked Image]

The factory bucket seats are in very good shape, but they aren't up to the ol' lady's comfort requirements. Gonna have to do something about that... I think that pipe thingy sticking up between the seats is part of a laptop mount or some such. I also want to replace the steering wheel, it's got a divot knocked out of it that's been wrapped with electrical tape. Drives me nuts on the road.

[Linked Image]

62,000 miles on the odd-o-meter!

[Linked Image]

We've ridden around in it for about 600 miles to let the family come to a consensus on how to proceed. Given the wife's comfort requirements and my budget for the project, we've decided to transplant the conversion seating from the Mark 3. The color won't match, but hopefully dark green seats in a grey interior won't be too jarring.

My next step is going to be stripping the interior to check it over and deal with any rust issues I find. It's got the factory rubber mat on the floor, with some kind of padding under it. No telling what shape the sheet metal's in.

I got rid of that yellow rotator beacon light from the roof by the redneck expedient of a grinder and cut-off wheel. Still need to drop the headliner to get at the nuts holding the remainder of the light mount. I haven't made up my mind whether to keep the arrow bar and backup mirror at the rear or not. Probably not. That's gonna leave me with a mess of holes in the roof. What's the best way to go about sealing those holes?


Thanks to all who have taken time to reply to my n00b questions! Y'all are a gold mine of information.

1993 Plymouth Voyager (beater)
2003 GMC Savana G2500 (Redneck Special)
[Linked Image]
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Re: Got a new van
Uncle_Wulf #693066 August 02nd 2015 8:45 pm
Joined: May 2006
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Likes: 2
pooh-bah
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pooh-bah
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Congrats on the new van. Not sure what to do about the roof holes. I think the headliner is shaped that way because that's where the air ducting runs

Re: Got a new van
Uncle_Wulf #693068 August 02nd 2015 9:06 pm
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 18,536
Likes: 136
Supreme Master
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Congrats on the new van.Looks pretty good.


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Re: Got a new van
Uncle_Wulf #693078 August 02nd 2015 10:41 pm
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,007
Likes: 47
pooh-bah
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pooh-bah
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,007
Likes: 47
Several things, 1. Nice score 2. buy one of the heavy steering wheel covers at WalMart to cover the steering wheel. 3. Pretty sure I agree with the headliner, shaped like that for the rear air ducting 4. You can buy seat covers with a cover for the arm rest from Camping World (maybe even J.C. Whitney), that should take care of your color match problem. 5. As far as the holes being left in the roof, there are several things you can do there, professionally have them repaired or go the cheap route, buy some of the little rubber caps that are made for just that purpose, probably at NAPA, if you don't like the look, it will do for a temporary fix.


2005 E350 Turbo Diesel
Why is it that when I press 1 for English, I still can not understand the person on the other end????
Re: Got a new van
Uncle_Wulf #693115 August 03rd 2015 9:33 pm
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,692
Likes: 32
pooh-bah
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pooh-bah
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Congratulations on the new van! cheers

Re: Got a new van
Uncle_Wulf #693129 August 04th 2015 6:15 am
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 32,696
Likes: 172
Old Timer
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Congrats to ya!


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1965 Chevy Bad Influence
1981 Chevy-the Love Shack
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Re: Got a new van
Starlord #693131 August 04th 2015 7:54 am
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 89
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 89
Originally Posted by Starlord
2. buy one of the heavy steering wheel covers at WalMart to cover the steering wheel.

Thanks for the kind reply, Starlord. I'm gonna pick up a steering wheel cover today. Gotta hit Wall-of-China-Mart for a bedliner kit and some other odds & sods anyway. Probably build up that missing chunk with duct tape or something before I throw the cover on, so there's not a strange-feeling spot there. It'll be a temporary fix, but it'll do.

Originally Posted by Starlord
3. Pretty sure I agree with the headliner, shaped like that for the rear air ducting

On the headliner, I kinda figured there was an air duct running along the length of the driver's side. What prompted my question were the two transverse bulges amidships.

[Linked Image]

After doing some more research, I think those are supposed to be head protection for passengers in the rear seats. No way to be certain until I get the damn thing down and see what's up there. What I do know for certain is that they're costing me ~5" of head room. Gonna have to be pretty dang important for me to keep them.

Originally Posted by Starlord
4. You can buy seat covers with a cover for the arm rest from Camping World (maybe even J.C. Whitney), that should take care of your color match problem.

Didn't even think of that... [Linked Image]

Originally Posted by Starlord
5. As far as the holes being left in the roof, there are several things you can do there, professionally have them repaired or go the cheap route, buy some of the little rubber caps that are made for just that purpose, probably at NAPA, if you don't like the look, it will do for a temporary fix.

I'll probably be OK with rubber plugs in the roof. Got to look better than than freakin' rotator light did. The problem is that nobody local carries them. Oh well. Looks like I'm driving to Albany in the next day or two anyway...


Thanks to all who have taken time to reply to my n00b questions! Y'all are a gold mine of information.

1993 Plymouth Voyager (beater)
2003 GMC Savana G2500 (Redneck Special)
[Linked Image]
Re: Got a new van
Uncle_Wulf #693392 August 09th 2015 1:07 pm
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 9,854
Likes: 8
U
Festerus Vannimus
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Festerus Vannimus
U
Joined: May 2007
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On the rubber plugs for the roof, look for a Business Radio shop in the area, the kind of place that sells 2way radio equipment for businesses and such, they will have those plugs


My van : 1989 Ford E-150 Econoline, currently named “WOLF-DEN II”


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