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Pulled an old battery box from a van in the paddock. I had wired up 3 light locations back when I installed the white pine ceiling boards so next up was hooking the lights up to a battery. I found the tilting switched conversion van lights for $5 each. I kept the original internally switched...

Test drive revealed noisy drawer pulls. Grrrr.

Test drive day. Happy. Weighed it with me in it and a quarter tank of fuel; 7450 lbs. GVWR is 10,500 lbs so lots of load to spare. Gauge on propane tank needed a bounce or two as it now reads above empty. Still need to get it out onto a highway to see how it behaves with the air dam, but...

Next the passenger seat and center folding seat/console installation. All the seat covers have been run through the washer twice. Never have 20 year old seats smelled so good. I had the driver's seat lower section repaired. He did a good match. I do note that the fabric across all 3 seats...

I'll always be a professional grinder and amateur welder. I get too little practice although my results improved markedly when I started wearing my reading glasses under my helmet and lightened up the dimming function. Night and day! Literally. I bolted the driver's seat base up to the...

That ain't cheap. Ouch.

3M 5200 marine adhesive sealant sounds like a good choice as it cures to a rubbery consistency. I used Dap 3.0 window, trim, and siding caulking. It's a caulking with silicone added so it will stick to previous layers unlike pure silicone. White or clear. The clear gathers dust and looks...

Cleared out tools, and scrap from the box. Ran the vacuum around to pick up the dust. Added a top piece of plywood to the wall inside the air dam. Installed some wall loops and an old cargo net from a minivan. No idea how we'll use this space, but the net will keep crap from bouncing...

A constant blue sky, hot, and little breeze. What better weather to climb on a metal roof, balance on a narrow board, line up flimsy aluminium bits, and screw the whole mess together? Aluminum parts from my buddy showed up last week. I got stuck on the seat bases. They're painted and ready...

A touch out of focus, but here are the bases in their final positions with the dog house installed. Hope for enough clearance with the seats installed to allow the dog house to come away without unbolting a seat.

Passenger seat base almost welded up. Ran out of welding wire. Again...

Weldman has a good point on marine wiring. I have noted some car manufacturers used to use a much more rubbery insulation on all the under vehicle wiring. I assume it is better at protecting from water, punctures, and crud. Marine wiring for exposed areas and non solid braided/strand wire for...

Quite an entrance. I love the thought of some jackass going through all the trouble to crack the cargo doors and then presto! One more lock, assh0le.

Hot day today. Grinder heating up very quickly. Welded both sides of the driver's seat mount. Worked out the angles and dimensions needed to reuse the center console brackets. Cut them down and came up with a plan. Checked the vertical height of the lower pivot bolts for the vertical...

I've already burned through a pound roll of welding wire on the roof frame, and propane tank and seat mounts. At least my welding is improving faster than my grinding skills.

Gave up trying to adapt the 98-02 club cab seat mounts to the 79 floor and bolt pattern. Too many changes in elevation versus the flat floor of the van. Unbolted the seat mounts from the tracks. Added a 4" steel strap to raise the needed height to a 3x3 angle. Cut out a bit of clearance...

Here's the crumpled end. This stuff is light.

Temporarily installed aluminum cap at the top of the air dam blew off and crumpled in a storm last night so its going to need some love. Sketched out the remaining aluminum pieces I need and await my buddy's return from the north hinterland to do his metal brake magic. Did get the lower front...

Starting to look like the original vision I had in mind for it.

Started the aluminum skin over the air dam. A friend bent the pieces up. I'm reusing the margin trim from the upper wall perimeter. The rest of the box has it so I'm adding to the air dam for consistency. It's an extrusion with holes every 4 inches. I'm dry fitting it all together and will...

Stretched the air dam clearance light wiring to get it out of the way. Started the plywood lining of the air dam interior. Lots of space for storage. Test fitted the aluminum cap for the air dam. Rain coming. Of course.

Painted the roof and caulked the cab to box joint that will be impossible to get at in the future. Lifted the air dam up, solo, caulked the joint for it to the box and screwed it down. Prewired the circuit for the clearance lights. Same style as before, to match, just new units. Next step is...

Cut the hole for access to the interior of the air dam.

I have a spare driver's seat base so mocking up the install is painless. The white studs are the factory pieces. The newer seat uses a much wider footing so I'll weld a 3/16" strap over the new base in line with the original holes and bolt it down. The mounts are much longer so I'll add 2...

Thunder storms preclude outdoor work so time for a little ciphering with the club cab seats. The Cubicle came with only lap belts and no headrests so an upgrade was needed. The 98 to 02 Dodge club cabs came with integral seat belts. Important because with no steel roof beam continuing back of...