Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Webasto heater install continued:
Next piece of sheet metal will be attach to the bent upward section.
Cut off the next piece of sheet metal.
Setup the bending rig to hold the metal secure while using the angle grinder with a wire wheel to clean the rust from the edge.
Do the same with the first piece. Before welding the edges where they will be joined must be rust free.
Weld the two pieces together and do a test fit.
Need to create a bracket to hold the top of the shield to this underfloor support.
Also need to close off the front of the shield
Do the front piece first. Make, attach and test fit a posterboard mock up.
The notch is so I can just slide the shield into position without having to disconnect the fuel line. Since there was such trouble with getting a air-tight seal on the fuel line I don't want to mess with it if I don't have to.
Cutout another piece for the front using the posterboard as a guide. Weld it onto the front of the shield. Before welding I used a hole saw to create an opening for the fuel line.
Cut the notch after welding. Test fit. Looks good.
I'm leaving the back end of the shield open since It's to protect from debris kicked up by the front wheels.
For the upper bracket I cut, bent and drilled a piece of 1" x 3/16" flat stock. Note to self: Next time cut, drill then bend. The hole size is for a 1/4" bolt.
Find and mark a good position for the bracket on the shield.
Weld the bracket into place.
Fit and find location for the bolt hole.
Drill the hole. The undervan support metal is tough so this step takes some patience.
Drill holes for then temporarily secure the bottom of the shield into place with sheet metal screws.
The screws in this picture are what I had on hand. I'll use larger one's for the final installation.
Remove the shield then prime with some rusty metal primer
I've painted the shield yellow since I have a couple quart cans of this color Rustoleum laying around getting old.
Final install. Some newspaper got stuck to the paint. No biggie.
OK, that finishes this phase of the heater install. The heater started up perfectly the first time I went to run it after the rebuild. Started and stopped a bunch of times and let it run for a several hours non-stop. No problems whatsoever. I had originally thought about running just kerosene through the heater to cut down on possible coking problems but I now know how to do a complete tear down on the heater and clean it if needed. So I'm going to go ahead and use diesel fuel with the heater. Now I don't have to worry about the short kerosene fueling hose.
The heater is fully functional so if I want to use it while camping I just have to put a couple batteries in the van. Of course there is a lot of work before it's completely finished but that will have to wait until later in the build.
So it's dark outside and while I'm laying under the van doing the final shield install Tiger keeps looking down the street.
When I asked what he was doing he turned to me and said "I got your back."
Next piece of sheet metal will be attach to the bent upward section.
Cut off the next piece of sheet metal.
Setup the bending rig to hold the metal secure while using the angle grinder with a wire wheel to clean the rust from the edge.
Do the same with the first piece. Before welding the edges where they will be joined must be rust free.
Weld the two pieces together and do a test fit.
Need to create a bracket to hold the top of the shield to this underfloor support.
Also need to close off the front of the shield
Do the front piece first. Make, attach and test fit a posterboard mock up.
The notch is so I can just slide the shield into position without having to disconnect the fuel line. Since there was such trouble with getting a air-tight seal on the fuel line I don't want to mess with it if I don't have to.
Cutout another piece for the front using the posterboard as a guide. Weld it onto the front of the shield. Before welding I used a hole saw to create an opening for the fuel line.
Cut the notch after welding. Test fit. Looks good.
I'm leaving the back end of the shield open since It's to protect from debris kicked up by the front wheels.
For the upper bracket I cut, bent and drilled a piece of 1" x 3/16" flat stock. Note to self: Next time cut, drill then bend. The hole size is for a 1/4" bolt.
Find and mark a good position for the bracket on the shield.
Weld the bracket into place.
Fit and find location for the bolt hole.
Drill the hole. The undervan support metal is tough so this step takes some patience.
Drill holes for then temporarily secure the bottom of the shield into place with sheet metal screws.
The screws in this picture are what I had on hand. I'll use larger one's for the final installation.
Remove the shield then prime with some rusty metal primer
I've painted the shield yellow since I have a couple quart cans of this color Rustoleum laying around getting old.
Final install. Some newspaper got stuck to the paint. No biggie.
OK, that finishes this phase of the heater install. The heater started up perfectly the first time I went to run it after the rebuild. Started and stopped a bunch of times and let it run for a several hours non-stop. No problems whatsoever. I had originally thought about running just kerosene through the heater to cut down on possible coking problems but I now know how to do a complete tear down on the heater and clean it if needed. So I'm going to go ahead and use diesel fuel with the heater. Now I don't have to worry about the short kerosene fueling hose.
The heater is fully functional so if I want to use it while camping I just have to put a couple batteries in the van. Of course there is a lot of work before it's completely finished but that will have to wait until later in the build.
So it's dark outside and while I'm laying under the van doing the final shield install Tiger keeps looking down the street.
When I asked what he was doing he turned to me and said "I got your back."
