Teaching an old dog new tricks

Oh wow!! I love the big boy toys!!

 

OK boys and girls,
Tim for our our first update.
I have been stuck on the couch since the surgery and was feeling a little restless today, so I went down to the garage and decided to strip down the front end.
Enough chattering, on to the pictures!
This is a better pic of the van and my workspace

Stripped out front end

Deformation panel is in pretty good shape!

Windshield removed

Today's discovery:
Little bit of rust on the dash

And some rust below the windshield

 

looking forward to seeing this build man!
ive been toying with the idea of putting some hardcore jap rims on mine for a long time,
as im a drifter so have many, but it never really managed to get further than the 'thinking about it' stage.
but seeing someone else thinkin about CE28N's has really rekindled the plans...
may wait til he has an engine to back up the looks though.

keep us posted on the progress liking it so far! and i agree with the people encouraging you to slam it

 

I am leaning towards using air ride with the wishbone front end. Ridetech has some great options when it comes to track style handling that includes air ride adjustability.

 

Now that will be a nice automatic. Keep it all coming.

 

Thanks Birdy!

 

So it has been a while since my last update, but spring has been busy, took vacation last week and next week. I made some progress with the teardown. I also had to lower the bus to get it in and out of the garage. I did it the free way, by re-indexing the spring plates and removing some leaves in the front, I will never drive it this way, so don't worry! On to the pics!

Removed all doors and windows.





Slider Track is in good shape!

Pushed her out of the garage for a little sunshine and garage cleaning

As always, let me know what you think!

 

I love your plans, but you have some basic bodywork to do first!

 

I'd say just a little

 

The engine and trans came out yesterday, sorry no pictures of the process, just a few of it out. I also pulled the dash and stripped the foam and material off of it then put a quick coat of paint. Also a pic of the gauge cluster showing ACTUAL miles.



Automatic Transaxle

 

Can't wait to see this project progress. What type of timescales are you planning on? (not that they usually mean anything after the first unexpected issue )

 

pHiL ,looking at 5 yrs probably, As I seem to have expensive taste

 

I put together a FULL build sheet today
So here it is:


Body
Bead blasting on full body- inside and out
Epoxy undercoating
Ceramic sprayed on insulation coating in interior-Lizardskin
Sheet metal replacement
Engine bay to be slightly reworked for Subaru engine and cleaner look
Minor changes to include:
Black handles and locks
New latches on all doors
All new slider hardware
All new seals and weather-stripping- Cal-look seals(no chrome trim)
All new glass
Brazilian front bumper
Early style rear bumper
LED tail lights in factory style housings
LED marker and signal lights
HID retrofitted headlights
Two-tone paint will be Black on top and Royal Blue on bottom – color change at bodyline.
New mirrors by Vision Hot Rod Concepts (Indy design)
No chrome at all on body
Complete new Mil-spec chassis wiring harness
Aftermarket Black finish billet fuel door for New Fj cruiser to be grafted on from Dirty parts
Suspension
Front suspension:
Red 9 Designs front wishbone setup
Red 9 big brake kit
Ridetech shockwaves TQ7000 series
Modified brake booster mount to use bell crank. Mount will be turned 90 degrees to the right to allow for clearance of steering.
Right hand drive steering rack flipped upside down for ground clearance to allow steering shaft to be ran above wishbone framework
Braided stainless brake lines

All new brake lines run from front to back
New master and booster
Suspension limiting straps front and rear
Full air ride control by AccuAir
Aluminum tank to be mounted directly behind rear seat in cargo area to showcase VU4 manifold
Rear Suspension:
Ridetech shockwaves TQ104 series
Custom mounts for shockwaves inboard of framerails
Atomwerk engineering deluxe assembled lowered springplates with needle bearing ends(still in development)
Red9 big brake kit
Drivetrain
Engine:
Subaru EJ25 from WRX- undecided on Turbo or N/A
Will be factory tuned or light sport tune for reliability
Mil-spec custom harness
Link G4 Storm ECU
Custom Stainless Exhaust
Install kit from Fellows Speedshop to include:
Framerail mounted radiator and electric fans
And all the other install bits
A/C will be included with condenser mounted towards the front of the bus
Engine driven Air compressor for air ride suspension (sanden 709)mounted next to A/C on custom mount
Custom aluminum fuel cell in factory location by MetalWorx
In tank fuel pump and sender unit

Transmission:
Modified Subaru Automatic trans by SubaruGears- AWD Trans will be modified by removing tailshaft area and installation of reverse ring and pinion to allow use as transaxle (still in development)
Subaflanges and output shafts by SubaruGears


Interior
Interior in Black leather and Alcantara with Blue stitching as accent
Front seats to be Scat Procar Elite : outer sections to be leather with French seam in blue stitching, center section to be black alcantara with blue diamond stitch pattern
Rear seats to be factory seats recovered to match front seats
Black loop pile carpet in full interior to include rear cargo area
All side panels to be black leather with an alcantara insert with blue diamond stitch to match seats
Dash to be in European style- painted without material wrap
New dashtop and front edge with grab handle
Drift Iridium series gauges in custom layout
Double-DIN stereo unit from Pioneer – AVIC series with navigation and 5ch surround
Pioneer or Memphis components and amps
2 Memphis or Pioneer shallow mount 10” subs to be mounted one on each side of cargo area in unobtrusive boxes to streamline cargo area
All interior trim to be brushed-no chrome
Modified Subaru automatic shifter to work in bus configuration
A/C by Restomod Air – Haymaker setup with Sinister Slipstream controls
Sound and heat insulation to be installed over entire interior surface prior to interior installation

Wheels
Wheels to be Volk Racing CE28N Bronze finish or similar
Tires to be lower profile summer performance, brand undecided




Always open to suggestions, let me know what you think!

 

Wow - that's a big list (I like lists - though I don't understand half the stuff on yours! ). Very organised. And good luck with it!

 

Wow!!! A Build Dreams are Made of Keep up the Grate Work and the Pics Coming
Hope you Are Feeling Better Dude Can Not Waight TO See this Come Togther

 

Yesterday, I decided to tackle the design of the dash, so I printed out copies of the gauge faces and started cutting and gluing.
Let me know what you think!
The 3 round dials are a mockup of the Restomod Air "Sinister Switchspeed" A/C controller
And the piece between the upper gauges is an indicator cluster( turn signals, High beams etc.)
First a closeup:

And a full dash shot:

And I would like to use a dash vent like this one:

 

Wow, I can't wait to see this progress

 

Well boys,
The bus is on hold for the winter as I have a new project in the garage at the moment. My Father and I recently purchased a 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang Convertible and will be doing some minor restoration over the winter.
When we bought it:

At home in the garage

The old girl put away for the winter

 

So my brother has been working hard on my birthday present for the last few months, and when he gave it to me I was pretty surprised!
Check it out!
It's an operational 1940's Frigidaire refrigerator!