1979 Dodge MB400 cube van conversion

[Pntyrmvr]

Followed by fixing the front, lower corners of the box where the original design allowed water to infiltrate and eventually rot the interior corners I just repaired.

I scribed the curve of the lower box valence on to pressure treated lumber sure to outlast the original plywood pieces.

Sheet metal lapped to push any moisture away from the wood with enough caulking to seal a ship. Then metal roofing screws with rubber washers to hold it all together.

Should keep it all free of rot. I'll clean up the excess caulking once it sets. Still too cold around here.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

And the driver's side.

Done. No more rotten bits.

Next stop front of box, over cab air dam.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Upgrading the seats from 41 year old to 21 year old.

Bought bench with console combo 3rd seat for $100 including built in seat belts as the van only came with lap belts and we'd prefer shoulder style.

Sold the old pair for $300 so that's a bonus.

Took a million measurements to replicate the fit. Will likely have the seats lower as we're tall.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Seats covers are stripped down and run through the wash twice. Works well.

Warm weather let me work on the air dam for the front of the box.

Used up some scrap foam for the sandwich style design.

A few test pieces for the rafters. The air dam will project 8 inches above the box for a future project.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Here I've got the air dam mocked up against a sheet of plywood to mimic the front wall of the box.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Finalized all the measurements and got the 2x8 that will ride across the perimeter of the roof attached to the ribs.

A buddy came by to review the dam. He has an aluminum brake and will bend up the bottom and side panels along with the corner strips.

I'm trying to keep the weight down so the interior 1/2" plywood will be installed after the air dam is mounted. Essentially only the bare minimum frame will have to get dragged up the roof for mounting.

Sure would be nice to own some scaffolding...

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Filled in the rest of the ribs with insulation.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Cut the fiberglass reinforced panel (FRP) from the front of the box. This strip will become the center part of the angled air dam surface.

The glue must have let go years ago. It just fell off once the perimeter was cut.

Then it was trimmed to fit the air dam.

I put the air dam in the garage as we expect 1/2" rain over the next two day. I covered the front wall of the box with some scrap OSB.

I'll glue the FRP on tomorrow. Then we'll add aluminum above and below as well as on the sides.

The flashing details are still rattling around in my head. Some things just have be be dealt with as they happen during installation.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Hint on removing 41 year old failed contact cement from plastic panels. Use a cup style twisted wire wheel on an angle grinder. Works well without chemicals or scrubbing.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Glued the old fiberglass panel to the air dam. The remaining areas will be aluminum.

Welded the first corner of the roof deck support angle steel together. Dragged it up to get an idea of final measurements for the entire frame.

I'll finish welding it up, scrape the rust off, pre-drill the holes, paint it, and then line the inside with blue skin membrane. That will keep the water away from the roof to angle steel contact area. I'll lay a bead of caulking on the roof before dropping it into final position.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Pulled, actually let fall, the angle off the roof. Broke a clearance light in the fall.

Nonetheless I continue!

Finished welding the frame together.

Then layed out the uprights for the folding rail posts.

Got 2 put together and sanded down then welded them in place.

Quick coat of spray can paint to cover the raw metal and my day is over. A long day.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

A coat of paint to stop rusting after cleaning off the red stuff.

Aluminum on the bottom of the air dam. Contact cement is not my friend. Caulked the folded joint and beat it flat with a hammer and block of wood. Made sure it points backwards so as to not gather rain as the 'Cubicle' rolls on down the highway.

Jammed up on supplies again. Can only get curbside service from Home Depot. Waiting for paint and welding wire. Been 4 days...

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Finally got welding wire to continue with the uprights on the roof frame.

Decided that the intersection of the roof frame and air dam is too critical to weld up and then verify at final assembly so the half skinned air dam was hoisted up and fastened to the box. I lifted it up by myself. Fun.

The scrap angle steel fits perfectly and will work fine with the roof uprights as planned.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Next steps are to finish the uprights, clean the roof frame, and paint it. The inside of the frame will be lined with Blueskin to keep air and water off the metal.

Then the frame goes up and is attached to the top of the box walls.

The air dam will be skinned and then permanently installed against the box. The connection to the box will be skinned as well; in aluminum.

From there the roof gets a surprise addition.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Rain due so no more painting or sanding.

Swung to the back end to work on the rear door seals. Factory setup was 1/8" metal strips extending across the door gaps with foam weather stripping to block the dust and weather.

Ripped red cedar fence boards in half to cover the gaps. Routed the back out to make room for the steel hinge straps.

Caulking and paint will clean them up.

Right door will overlap the left.

Drop bolts will hold the doors shut from the inside. The existing cargo cams, levers, shaft, and cups weighed in at 30 lbs. That weight is gone and will add life to the right things.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Keen eyes will note the final window is installed in the rear, passenger side door.

The interior is much brighter now. Even with the bug screens installed.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Have to clean up the roof issues that will become inaccessible after the air dam is mounted.

I used a torch to melt the caulking in roof edge gutters. Scraped the burnt bits out and then ran a narrow drill powered wire wheel through them to clear out the rust.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Followed up wire wheel with a spray can application of rust converter. Let that set up for a day and then a first coat of rust paint called recreation white. Suspiciously like the factory color of the Cubicle, but the roof will be invisible once the air dam is up.

The bottom of the roof frame has had 3 coats of paint after cleaning off any rust. The uprights are welded in place. The holes are drilled to line up with the roof joists as it were. Two more coats topside, flip it over, cover the inside surface with Blueskin, and toss it on the roof.

Then install the air dam.

So simple.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Leggz and I lined the inside of the roof frame with Blueskin to keep the painted surface from moisture exposure.

This stuff is used to make wall and roof penetrations water tight. It is ridiculously sticky and a pain to apply in long runs or in our case, into the inside corner of a 3 inch steel angle.

We eventually decided to install it 9 inches at a time rather than in long runs. We could work separately and 9 inch pieces were much more manageable.

My Mom had suggested I use "that big yellow thing" to hoist the frame up to the van's roof. I told her my engine hoist it wouldn't go high enough for the job. A little noodling on her idea lead to the next photo. One end of the frame can clear the van roof using the hoist. Time will tell if I can use it to raise the other end too.

The van wouldn't start to move it in for an attempt. The see through fuel filters appear to be falling apart internally and clogging the gas flow.

Tomorrow is another day. Thankfully.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

Hottest day so far this year...

Used the engine hoist to get the balance of the roof frame over the back of the roof.

Pushed, prodded, and finessed it along the roof until it met the front edge. Pried it over the edge with a couple of hammers. I put blocks under it to prop it high enough for a huge bead of caulking underneath it tomorrow. Then I'll drop it down right on the roof.

Straightforward and relatively simple installation. Not easy but I did it solo in 4 hours. Amazing part is how unstraight 14 feet of 3 inch angle steel actually is. I had to put a spreader at 7 feet to push it out to the required width.