Vk304 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 Since front was painted as all shiny and straight, it really turned the bumper into an eyesore, dented in many places, surface rusty weathered, and pushed in badly, same deal for the rear bumper, being made of steel, and it was a nice day out i had a crack at a quick and dirty beat it out and bog it job.. Painted it with some quality paint, i think they came out surprisingly well... also opened up some airflow by moving number plate, left the old camper lpg thing in Aaand did a light coat over the indicators, tail lights, to make them less bright and colorful. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 The back 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 And got a seat !! From a later model vanette, that folds up and out of the way, however this may need some modification as theres no belts or places to put belts lol 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 Wasn't sure how it secured itself down or up so got google translate to 'help' ... i got the gist of it, one strap holds it from the back, i dont like the title though, seems suspect, nothing holds the back down... it just sits on the rubber feet ? I googled some pictures of it factory installed in a vanette and it seems like this is how it works, the seat belts installed on the pillar to hold you in event of a crash i suppose.. I do have belts from the old van, will have to research how legal it is to create mounting points on the pillars. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted November 17, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 17, 2021 Havent done seat yet, as i drove on a test drive to see if my radiator fan worked and a general test, fan works, but noticed the steering was heavy even when driving at 100k, found it was binding on at least one ball joint .... Sooo instead of buying some ball joints..... I had the great idea to swap alll the powersteering from 'luxury' van, as well as gain a sway bar, ajustable steering wheel angle, to make it handle ..... better. Got set up.. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Share Posted November 19, 2021 The current manual steering box And the powersteering unit, quite different 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Share Posted November 19, 2021 So here are some parts needed for conversion off old van, the mono spring that runs through the front is made of fibreglass and is really light, not sure why, but the one im replacing looks like a steel leaf spring type, i may use this oppertunity to lower the front too as the rear is about an inch to low. Cleaned all the crap off. Some sway bar mounts on lower arms, and the powersteering unit. The old column has a different steering wheel spline amongst other things.... I found i couldnt use the ps one to bolt in so i tried mix and matching, i think itll work, will do more on my days off soon 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted November 24, 2021 Author Share Posted November 24, 2021 Put the ps box in, it bolts up just fine, just needs some panel work done in the cabin to bolt column housing onit is now adjustable got me a rivnut gun and some steel rivnuts, this van diddnt have a swaybar from factory, but it had the holes in the chassis and it so happened they were the perfect size for m8 rivnuts, so i put them in and it bolted right in, bushings are new too so thats an upgrade. Also went through and swapped out bad ball joints with good ones, and greased everything up.. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted November 24, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 24, 2021 thats done, now gotta figure out how to get it shifting off column, as it now doesnt have linkages and such on the ps box 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 Installed powersteering pump and resiviour, not the best place for it to be sitting but i literally have no room anywhere else, i may make a pod filter cover later on, but it works, and after a couple of days cycling the fluid occasionally, it now works just fine, made a huge difference to low speed driving! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 Due to the complexity of making the column shift work with the new powersteering box, the shift rods rub on motor parts due to space limitations, and it pops out of gear sometimes when driving hard, ive decided to move away from column and installed floor shifter, still more to do but this is where im at ...made some new brackets out of stainless steel plate, using some alli foil to make templates Good riddance to these 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted December 18, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 18, 2021 I started with this work of art in the old van, ended up a little stronger now, and 2 bolts per bracket, so should be a better shift feel, better than sloppy column shifter anyway.. Cats not impressed, but then shes always grumpy 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted December 26, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 26, 2021 Welded in a 3mm steel plate to bolt column housing to, and re enforced shifter area, went well, and shifts good now, driving a bit more stable, although have yet to do some hard cornering to test the sway bar, power steering is nice especially when turning around, pumps all bled and lines securely attached 10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted January 1, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 1, 2022 Brought some guages, just cheapo ones but is an upgrade over none lol, oil pressure with sender and temp, work good, wired in stereo which also works now, fairly clean looking, took for another drive, everything seems to be working good so far, just a little concerned about heat buildup in the engine compartment, especially above turbo, may have to add some cooling ventilation sometime. Happy new year 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 Finally had some time to fix this, i originally cut this to fit engine because it was too tall, as its now all settled and finalised, i shaped the panel so it gave clearance but still sealed the engine cavity with the rubber seal under the seat cover... Welded a steel rod in place where the factory fold would have been so should be stronger than factory, its still tight, cant go any higher, but shouldnt hit . . A lot of tidying to do still but getting there 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 And a boost guage after i found a broken wire in the boost solenoid plug, which might have dropped the boost, figured might be good to know how many psi its running, and its a turbosmart gauge which was only 70 bucks might be a bit bright but if it is, i can always throw a resistor in or something to dim it down, its hooked up to light switch like the rest 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 Yea ... so turns out just when i thought i sorted every thing and put everything all back together, the radiator started pissing out of 2 cracks that developed, may have been the fault of a guy trying to bend a bracket on it over with a hammer.... But im inclined to blame it on the guy before me's butchery, just look at that hole the top hose was soldered into... and the ends had been cut and soldered together... Tried in vain to re solder but i ended up with a mess... so i spent an hour or so walking around outback 4x4s yard looking for one that was the right size etc out of one of their vans.., well i got home and relised ive got a mirror image one with opposing inlet/outlets , f#ck it ill see if i can pull the plastic tanks off and come up with some other tanks, cant find any anywhere, so will have to get creative with the tig haha fml 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vk304 Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 Scrapped that idea, found another ally radiator from a fc3s rx7, $100 too tall but thats okchopped itthats as far as ive got, its a bit wide but ill make it fit Couldnt find anything that would drop in, at least i can weld this one easily to fit 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted March 25, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 25, 2022 Welded sealed pressure tested , welded in water this time to cool the rows preventing them from separating from the tanks from the heat... worked, still gotta mount it but the hose ends in the right places and fill fits under engine cover Will weld mounts on and spray black soon 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Vk304 Posted April 1, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 1, 2022 New radiator in, fan shroud on, fan on and working, have brought upto temp and all works, no leaks, now.... hopefully i can start to tidy everything up and get this thing a cert, still have a driveshaft hoop to install and small things 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.