Hodakaguy's 4x4 Sprinter Build

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above....

The Aluminum tabs squeeze the lock ring against the rear of the panel and pull the speaker in tight. Nice snug fit and no visible mounting hardware.

Mounted and looking great! The recessed speaker looks a lot more factory than the raised grills, gonna have to pull the other panels and do the same treatment to them now as well

No clearance issues on opening the door now.

Next up I need to start fabricating the rear bed mounts. These mounts will be vertical L-track sections to match the front bed mounts but I need to fabricate supports to bridge the rear windows before I can mount the track.

Here I'm holding up a straight section of L-track next to the forward bed mounts that are already installed in the van. The walls of the van here are curved and the mounted L-track is curved to match the walls. The rear mounts need to have this same curve so that the bed mounting bars will be even.

Starting to fabricate the rear L-track mounts by rolling a section of carbon C-channel to match the curve of the already installed forward vertical L-track.

One down and one to go.

Both pieces curved.

Here you can see how much the L-track has to curve to match the body lines.

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[Betarocker]

I would guess the slider door uses a contact connector to bring the signals to the speaker, door lock and door ajar sensor?

 

[shade]

That's a nice roller.
If you don't already have a large band saw, the SWAG Off Road portaband tables are very nice.

 

[MCX]

The recessed speaker solution y'all came up with looks great!

 

[Hodakaguy]

I would guess the slider door uses a contact connector to bring the signals to the speaker, door lock and door ajar sensor?

Yep there are electrical contacts on the door that transfer to the speaker and door switch.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

That's a nice roller.
If you don't already have a large band saw, the SWAG Off Road portaband tables are very nice.

The Swag works really nice!

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

The recessed speaker solution y'all came up with looks great!

3 more are being printed now....they look great so now I have to pull the panels and make the others match lol.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

The rear vertical L-track sections will act as the rear bed mounts but they need to span the rear windows, they also need to be curved to match the forward sections of vertical track. Today's project....start fabricating braces.

I started by cutting some mounting tabs out of some flat stock.

With the tabs cut I used a washer to mark out a radius on the corners then used a disk sander to round the corners of the tabs.

Next I applied some double stick tape to the back side of the tabs and stuck them in place, once installed I can start measuring the distance of the curved C-channel.

Next up I decided to remove the mill scale from the tabs, should have just done this in the first place lol. Removing the mill scale allows for cleaner welds and a better paint finish. The Ez-Strip disks make very quick work of removing mill scale without removing any metal, very handy!

Lower and upper tabs taped in place.

Here I'm using the L-track to set the location of the upper tab, the outer edges of the track need to line up evenly. The lower track will be off slightly due to the plastic trim.

Trimming the C-channel to size

Marking out the angle so the C-channel will mate up with the tabs correctly. Used a square block on the tabs to mark the angle onto the C-channel higher than it needs to be, then copied the angle and moved it down to the bottom where the actual cut is required.

C-channel cut and mounting tabs tacked in place.

My dad welding out the mounting tabs Always fun watching my dad work his magic

Next up I drilled the 1/4" mounting holes in the L-track

Then I clamped the L-track onto the brace and used a drill bit to slightly mark the hole locations on the brace.

With the holes drilled I installed some temporary bolts and added some 1/4" stainless nuts on the back side, these nuts will be welded onto the brace.

Continued Below....

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above....

As you tighten the bolts the Track will conform to the brace.

Nuts in place, then welded to the brace.

With the nuts welded in place I decided to add a piece of flat bar on the back side to close it out for a more finished look.

Counter sinking the bolt holes on the L-track.

L-track mounted to the brace. Almost finished, just need to drill the mounting holes on the tabs and paint the brace before install. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

And a quick picture with me holding the assembly in place. It started to rain and shut down my progress for the day.....lighting for pics was terrible but You get the idea

Now to replicate it again for the passenger side

Hodakaguy

 

[Lurkerlou]

Hodakaguy , loving the build !

I built a Transit , I can appreciate the amount of hours you’ve got into this van. True labour of love.

I think in the end I had over 90 ft of L track in mine.

 

[Hodakaguy]

Up early this morning to start work on the second brace. Not as many pics of the process today since it's a repeat of yesterday.

Dad welding the mounting tabs to the C-channel

Marking and drilling mounting holes in the brace.

Nuts being welded onto the back side of the brace and then welding on the rear cover.

Both braces complete minus the mounting holes on the tabs and paint.

Drilling the 1/4" mounting holes in the tabs

Painted with two coats of textured satin black paint and ready for install

Installing the track onto the braces. I'm using stainless hardware so I'm adding anti-seize to prevent the bolts from galling in place.

Assembled....ready to install.

I used 1/4" Steel Rivets to attach the assemblies to the van...nice and secure! Sorry only one shot of the install as I got busy

Continued Below.....

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above....

And installed....should make for a nice clean bed mounting setup. Going to be nice to have the bed mounted in place and not have any legs sticking down and taking up room like last summer. I'll paint the rivet heads satin black to match.

Mike at Vanlab printing me out 3 more recessed speaker adapters.....will look a lot more "factory" once the adapters are installed, it means having to pull the lower panels once more but it will be worth it for the improved looks.

More to come.....

Hodakaguy

 

[jgaz]

I love the covers welded on the back of the curved L track.
Few people finish the edges and backsides of things like you do.

Appreciate the detail (and links) in your posts.

 

[Arjan]

Very interesting part this.

How strong is that 3D printed adapter ?

3D is not yet in my workshop - but I see many uses for it..

Many thanks !

 

[Hodakaguy]

Very interesting part this.

How strong is that 3D printed adapter ?

3D is not yet in my workshop - but I see many uses for it..

Many thanks !

The adapters are pretty strong, mike built them with 80% fill. They are an awesome tool for sure!

Hodakaguy