More Demo
The fiberglass dust starts to really irritate your skin, I should have had Shannon do this… next time.
Ceiling, trim, built ins… all gotta go.
I was reading on some forums that a few people found scrap metal yards to remove the wheel chair lift. This sounds like a fantastic idea, I’m going to call a couple of places tomorrow and see what I can find.
To the left of this is the wiring and mechanics of the automatic door, that was woven through the fiberglass. I spent some time trying to detach that area.
Taking the ceiling down was satisfying. It gives the van a different look and starts to take it out of the realm of shuttle bus and more into a custom build. The ceiling is one continuous piece of thin fiberglass screwed into wood that is then screwed into the metal supports. I ended up using an angle grinder to saw the fiberglass into smaller pieces to make it a bit more manageable.
What blows is the AC unit is bolted over the fiberglass, so I’m either going to need to take the whole unit down (not preferable) or cut around it. I’m leaning towards keeping this AC unit installed in the final build. A lot of people remove them to create a bit more space, but my layout should allow it to stay. If I do take it out, I’ll need to convince my friend Paul to come help. He installed his own mini split system at his house and has a knack for how things are put together… or come apart.
Taking out the built in cabinets over the driver and passenger seat was a bit of challenge, everything was bolted into the frame. It also has my mind churning on how I will build out this area of curves and odd shapes that was factory installed. Not the easiest task, but that area offers a huge opportunity for storage, cabinetry and some nice wood working/design patterns.
A bit of work to get them out. The cabinet over the driver’s seat had adult diapers in it. I threw them out, I haven’t needed diapers for over two years.
The cabinet over the passenger seat houses the fuse panel for the whole rig. It does not appear to be well attached to anything so I’m gonna spend a bit of time figuring out how to remove the fiberglass around it and get the panel more secure… without fucking up the whole electrical system. Then Paul will definitely need to come out and help.
You can see how tearing out the blue vinyl is exposing a lot of tricky factory curves and structure. I’m still brainstorming my approach to this area.
The front dome above the windshield appears to be only fiberglass and offers no metal framing or other attachment points. When I tear the wall out above the windshield I’ll have a better idea of how to frame something out to create a new interior in the driving cabin. I hope. :P
