u/makerspark

I want to build a crazy expedition van (already have the MT van), and I'll be swapping an engine and transmission in to modernize it. The Getrag 7MTI550 looks pretty appealing for a 2wd van with a locker and a crawler gear for getting into tricky spots (I won't be using a transfer case). If you have driven it, thoughts on the general feel? Is it super smooth but vague, or does it have a nice clickyness? Any other thoughts about it regarding gear spacing? Thanks in advance.

I've started working on my van conversion (old ex-nato Mercedes 508d) fairly regularly in the past couple weeks, and was shocked at how much time and money it took to remove the previous owner's crappy conversion.

When I bought the van, I could see it didn't have a layout I could live with, and everything was a bit rough, including where a bit of water had been getting in from a hastily installed chimney. What I didn't expect, was it took 30 hours to remove everything, without damaging the van body. The old guy who built it, had put construction adhesive on everything, and screwed the panels over other panels, then filled in all the screws.

Finally when I made it to the insulation, there was the final surprise of wood furring strips glued to all the body panels, and going every which way. Days of working with a chisel got it out, but I removed the paint in a number of places.

So here is the advice needed!

I'm looking for a paint recommendation for the inside of my van, and ideally it would be able to adhere directly to the bare metal and the previously painted sections. Luckily, there's no rust to paint over, but obviously something that will protect it from rust in the future is good as well. I'm in Canada, but most products from the USA are available here as well.

TLDR: don't underestimate removing a conversion, and negotiate accordingly! Need paint advice.

I have an old Mercedes van that I'm starting to build out, and part of the project is replacing my driver and passenger seats. While I was looking for some nice seats on marketplace, I found that there were a fair number of complete interiors from cars and SUVs for the same price or cheaper than just a pair.

I've been looking for a way to create a "loveseat" in front of my fixed bed, and realized I could possibly install some SUV rear seats there. If I could retain the fold down mechanism, I could either gain a cool storage area, or just a pass through to the garage. With the seats down, it would make it easy to step into and out of the bed.

Has anyone tried this? Am I missing anything huge?

Hey Y'all. I'm planning out my rear fixed bed, and I was wondering what people had decided on for vertical opening size for mountain bikes? I am without a mountain bike at the moment to measure off of, and I usually ride a large. If anyone has come to a number that would fit most bikes with the front wheel off, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

About 20 minutes ago, I was riding down the Lochside Trail from Sidney towards Victoria with some older friends of mine.

Heading in the opposite direction were two younger guys on gravel bikes retrieving a drone when I passed by.

It turns out that they had the drone in "follow me" mode, while going through the tree canopy. As it was trying to keep up with them, it ran straight into my friends arm, leaving him with a sore graze.

I don't think there are many people that I have to tell this, but for those without any common sense, riding down a busy public use trail with your drone behind you matching your speed into oncoming traffic is stupid, and selfish.