Chevy C/K 3500

[ahh_me2]

While replacing the tires and starting to rip out the misc crap inside the back box, I would do a little bit of polishing each time as the paint
had become quite oxidized.

So I took a pic of the vehicle from a distance to show the improvement.



As you can see in the lower right corner of the box it is a vast improvement!
So it'll be  a lot more of the Karate Kid "wax on , wax off" to finish the whole vehicle!

 

[ahh_me2]

So the roof leaks, it is 3 sheets of steel overlapping and riveted on the roof. Some of the rivets are missing.
I found a product that was recommended by a friend that I will use to seal the roof seams.
It's a product by Geocel, ProFlexRV brushable sealant. I saw at the store where I purchased it a dmoe piece of wood over which they had applied it and it looks to be a very impressive product!

I took down the wooden ceiling panels last week to expose the insulation and roof beams, so I could check for damage mainly but also because
I want to add insulation on the ceiling.
What I have is spray on foam insulation, looks to be 1 to 1.5 inches thick.
The roof cross members are steel, and while there is some rust from the leaks it is only surface rust. This vehicle must have been stored inside a barn
for the past 10+ years as even the plywood  I tore down from the ceiling really only showed recent leak stains.

So I'll put rivets in the missing holes and brush on my sealer before closing up the ceiling on the inside.



I'll take some pics of the interior ceiling in the next few days and post them here as well.

 

[Almost There]

Here's some good discussion on using the ProFlex

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25489399/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

You may have already seen it but just in case - some helpful info in there about how to work with it.

 

[ahh_me2]

Thanks AT,
Yes I had already seen that page, it simply confirmed what my friend had said about the product.
And when I bought the product, seeing the demo piece of wood with the sealer on it, made it a sure thing for me.

 

[ahh_me2]

So I had done a bit of polishing on the body to remove the oxide layer, and originally thought it would take forever.

Since I am waiting on a few things before proceeding with the build, I figured I'd have another go at polishing.

This time the work went faster for some reason and I started making a lot of progress.

Figured I'd share a few pics here.

 

[highdesertranger]

looking good. you need some Alcoa's for that beast. highdesertranger

 

[ahh_me2]

Alcoa's?

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah like these.

they weigh about 1/2 of what your steel wheels weigh,  they turn truer(forever),  they are the only one piece forged aluminum wheels,  they have a higher weight rating per wheel.
look at semi's if they have aluminum wheels they are Alcoas.  btw you only need 4 the inner rear stays a steel wheel. it's a great upgrade from steel wheels.  highdesertranger

 

[ahh_me2]

Oh cool, learn something new every day! Thx!

I'll have to look into that...

 

[chevy_man5]

I'm new here, and found your thread while looking at trying to find insurance for a van I am looking at buying and converting into an RV of sorts.  Mainly looking at just adding sleeping area, but my insurance wont cover it, and have gotten repeated no's from all that I have called.  Would you mind letting me know whet you were able to do to get insurance on yours?

Thank you!

 

[ahh_me2]

Did you just try to get insurance on the van or did you tell them it would be a conversion and then they turned you down?

I got plain old passenger vehicle liability on mine, not based on a conversion.
But they wanted to class it as commercial due to the fact it's a cube van, so my insurance is personal on a commercial line though.

Not sure if that helps, maybe you could clarify your problem a bit more...

 

[chevy_man5]

Did you just try to get insurance on the van or did you tell them it would be a conversion and then they turned you down?

I got plain old passenger vehicle liability on mine, not based on a conversion.
But they wanted to class it as commercial due to the fact it's a cube van, so my insurance is personal on a commercial line though.

Not sure if that helps, maybe you could clarify your problem a bit more...

I just asked about whether or not they would insure it.  They stated that if I were to be in an accident, they had the right to deny my claim, and cancel my policy if there were modifications, so I may not end up going for it.  I am still calling around, and i did post a question in the newcomer area to not hijack your thread.  Thank you for replying!  I think I just saw that you are in Canada also, so it may not even apply here.  I am in Idaho in the US.

 

[akrvbob]

Chevy_Man5, we don't want to hijack aah_me2 thread on his build by switching the subject to insurance. You've started a thread on it so lets leave the discussion to there.

His build is so great I want to see more of it! Losing it to a insurance discussion would be a shame.
Bob

 

[ahh_me2]

Well I haven't made much progress on Elsie for a couple of reasons, one is I have had to deal with broken leaf springs on my daily driver, the Dodge van, and it kind of turned into a 2 week ordeal.
The other is I am still waiting on the official policy papers and pink slip from the insurance company.

What I have done though is a bit more polishing(oxide removal), and I have also removed the blue and white reflective striping.
I have made it look a bit more "civilian" as opposed to an emergency vehicle.

I think it looks quite a bit better now, and I would say it's a bit more stealth.

See for yourself....



The driver side didn't turn out as good as the passenger side, so I'll have to do a bit more work on it.



The other thing that bothers me is the windows and trim, with the stark white it is quite a contrast and immediately catches the eye.
I'm really tempted to paint them red to blend in a little better.

I bought a standard vent and vent cover as the current vent is broken.
Since it's already late in the year I didn't bother going with a vent/fan combo, might add one next spring/summer though.
So I need to install the vent and cover then seal up the roof seams as it does leak, and then I will start really getting some
work done on the inside.

I've been playing with various layouts but haven't hit upon the right one yet, part of it is because I want all my venting (gas/propane)
to be out the back wall, but I would like to fit a standard commercial steel door at the rear as well.
So hopefully I'll have it figured it out soon, winter is coming and I must get cracking because I gotta move outta my van(ford) and get
in to this cube van before the cold really sets in!

 

[Gary68]

elbow grease comes through again,nice work

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah I agree looks much better. highdesertranger

 

[ahh_me2]

So I bought a cheap vent and a Camco vent cover, and since I don't do so well with heights I enlisted a friend
to go up on the roof for me to install the vent and also do the sealing of the seams that leak.



I removed the old broken vent and this is the view from the inside.



This is the roofside view...



And finally, the first coat of sealer...



I will have the second coat put on later today, and then we will attach the vent cover.
It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, so this should be a good test, hopefully no more leaks then
I can start working on the ceiling.

 

[ahh_me2]

Well it's been 6 months now since I purchased this cube van, and I finally got the insurance paperwork last week
so now it's time to get moving on this build as winter is fast approaching up here.

Took Elsie(the van) out to my friends acreage yesterday and we took off the roll-up door, as well as cut out the old generator box.
We used a plasma cutter to cut that out, took 10 minutes to do.
The floor was rotted out below the gen box, so I'll have to cut back some of the wood and redo that small corner of flooring

Here's a few pics...

 

[ahh_me2]

Now I need Elsie for trips into the city to pick up lumber and other supplies, and since we took off the roll up door,
I need to make a temp back wall with door and lock for when I venture into town to get supplies.

So I made a very crude back wall setup that won't get in my way while insulating/sheeting the ceiling and floor.

Here are a few pics...

 

[ahh_me2]

If you notice on the last pic above the "door" is only screwed in.
I just stopped at home depot on my way in and picked up a couple hinges and a hasp,
which I expect to get installed later on this evening.

The pile of blue SM styrofoam that can be seen further up was bought last week from the local classifieds.
Around here the 2 inch sheets go for approx $30 each, and I was able to buy 2 bundles(12 pieces) in new condition
in the original bags they were sealed in for $13 a sheet, so I saved a little over $200.
These sheets will be for the ceiling and floor.
While the sheets don't look brand new, the packaging was a bit ripped and they had been stored in a large quonset
for the past few years, and so got some edges banged up and a bit of dirt on them in some spots.