Vannin

mysta2

mysta2

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It's been a slow day at work and I've been playing with my van... because it's boring (the van)

I like the Axis Touring Cup wheels on it and I've got a set just like this up in my attic, but they wont fit so it's not really possible. But I'd like to find something like them. It's got a 5x5 pattern which limits me to truck wheels... I like the Touring Cups because they look racy and they're easy to clean, but all these truck wheels are covered with difficult to clean surfaces and superfluous bolts.
Vanpics%20003.jpg

I could paint the stripe on the sides easy enough, but I'm not sure the best way to do the bikes. The lettering would be cut white vinyl.

I wish I could lower the van, but I don't know if it's possible. It'd be real easy to flip the axle over the rear leaves but without a hump in the floor and a C-notch in the frame it'd be riding on the bump stops.

I don't need the advertising or anything, I'm just not into the plain white perv look... what's the point of buying a van if you can't jazz it up a little :)

Wha'd'ya' think?
 
Dammit, I had done up your van in pervy "Free Candy" spray paint...then CS3 crashed. I guess yours is good too.
 
Dirty Dan said:
You could just use spring compressors, not the ideal way I suppose but it would work.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/coil-spring-lowering-kit-3/p2005845.jcwx?filterid=c11314d17403j1
Click to expand...

Wow that's... different, that one's new to me. I could just cut the front springs if I really wanted to, but the rear's hung on leaves. The lowering issue isn't how to get it lower it's having clearance for all the suspension stuff once it's lowered. I've seen full size vans dropped to the ground on bags but they usually have full interiors which can cover up all the alterations to the floor that have been made to tuck the rear axle. I haul bikes and need a flat floor.
 
Not sure of the specifics for that year, but all my Hotrod Stepside has is a 2"f/4"r drop in it. Springs in the front and shackles in the rear. I have no trouble hauling anything in it.
Wheel choices are somewhat limited with the 5x5 pattern but adapters can be had, reletively cheaply, for almost any pattern you want.
As for the graphics... vinyl wrap is the way to go. And they can do it in a perforated version to cover the glass on the pass. side, that way both sides are the same.
 
I wonder if the bed height of a truck is significantly higher than my floor height. My leaf packs are hard mounted at the front to pockets on the frame, which if I understand the math correctly would basically mean that I would have to add 8 inches to the existing rear shackle to get the axle height raised about 4 inches (and the body therefore lowered 4 inches) As it sits there's about an inch between the top of the shackle and the the floor, so no room to extend without a hump in the floor (which others have done) The simplest way to do it would be to have the springs de-arched.
 
Yea, I have more room above the shackle than that. My Stepside is much older than your van too. Might have something to do with it also.

With the height that you have in the rear, you might be able to get away with an axle flip. The kits are cheap, might be worth a try. Iirc, the flip is supposed to be good for 4-5 inches of drop.
 
Flipping would lower it four and a quarter inches... I don't know what's in a kit, but from the looks of it I would be able to use all the existing hardware, just turned upside down. That being said though, the axle tube is 4inches in diameter and there's about 3.75 inches between the top surface of the spring and the bottom surface of the frame, so the axle would essentially be pinched between the spring and the frame, even if the frame was notched there would now be about an inch between the differential and the floor so I think 4.25 inches is a no go without modifying the floor. I wonder if I could put in a shorter shackle, or increase the spring arch.

Van%20sus.jpg

Not much room under there
 
The "kit" is basically a U shaped piece of flat steel, new u-bolts, and a new bottom plate. The spring perch, between the axle and the spring, is welded to the axle tube. When you move the axle over the spring, the "kit" supports the perch and keeps the axle from trying to rotate.
saddle.jpg


Kind of a moot point though, as you're right... there's not much room there :(
 
Mysta you need to drop the back with shackles. you still need to make a recessed pocket in the floor. but its only by the back doors. the front you can get coils. I ve also been told you can use certain pick up truck parts on the front. I just put some cross drilled and slotted rotors on my van this weekend. i plan on dropping mine sometime. I was gonna monoleaf mine and then add bags. I want about a seven inch drop though. Also join vannin.com as they are a wealth of information.
 
It actually occurred to me that the most sensible thing to do would be to simply swap rear end suspension with a passenger van, probably just the spring pack. They sit level... I'm sure there's more weight back there to help that, but it would be simpler and get me closer to what I want... and then maybe shackles.

Cost aside, I'd do this in a heartbeat if I was willing to raise the floor:
troy3.jpg


Practicality says no

teddpage said:
Instead of dropping the rear...lift the front! Then it will sit level...only higher! haha
Click to expand...

I'm not into the lifted mud truck thing... I don't need to compensate for anything :p
 
Did the stripes over the last few days.

Ambulance%20019.jpg


Ambulance%20016.jpg


Now it just looks like I'm driving an ambulance.
 
got almost half way through masking out the RC30 last night, but it looks like it's going to rain for the next few days, so I'll probably have to do it all over again.

RC30%20002.jpg
 
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