Even though I made a gravel run a day before, I had taken the time in the day to work on the finishing touches of the minivan chop, so the gravel was left to sit until spreading it today. Ironically the overnight freezing temps caused the wet sand in the gravel to freeze, making for a fun workout in our shoveling exercise. In the end we did manage to almost finish covering the firewood staging area grounds. We'll probably need a couple more wheelbarrows full of gravel to finish up the area. Now while I'd be looking forward to that in the next week, a little problem arose with the F250. Apparently, the AC clutch decided to seize up just as I was pulling in the driveway, causing the clutch material to burn up, making for a stinky environment until I shut the truck down. Only problem here is the simple fact I'll have to replace the AC clutch. I can't be 100% sure that I could get away with just disconnecting the AC clutch so it isn't trying to engage in its normal on/off cycle when the heat's on, and it would be anticlimactic to do so and have the thing completely crap out on me when I'm away from the house with a load of gravel, which will have to be hauled with the dead truck. In this case, I'll just wait to fix the problem with a new AC compressor before putting the truck back on the road. Now back to the minivan. Even though I thought I was done with the chop, I started thinking. I thought about the idea that I was planning on using the brake system hardware from the van on the 46 Ford build, meaning that I will have to make brake lines to fit with the master cylinder and hook up to the S10 brake hardware. The solace I can take from this is the idea that the S10 more than likely shares many things with the minivan, even the size of the brake lines, meaning, I would do good to remove the brake lines from the minivan and set that hardware aside for when I start the 46 Ford build, I can at least say I have all the brake lines on hand, even if I have to shorten and re-flare the tubing with the fittings to fit the S10 chassis. After spending several moments under the van popping retainers and cutting some more wires that I didn't bother with before, I managed to pull out the entire brake line array from the fittings at the front wheels where the metal tubing attaches to the rubber hoses all the way to the back where it attaches to the rubber hose for the rear wheels. The next thing on the minivan was the actual start of the doghouse build. That is the reattaching of the front doors. Since I cut the welded hinges earlier, I will have to weld the doors back if I want them to stay in place. I could've done something a little tackier like drive long bolts through the doors or something of that nature, but I don't need these doors to open since I have the sliding door and the rear doors for entry into the van. So as to save on welding wire, time, and making for tackier work, I chose to just weld the door in the corners and let the latch help hold the door in place. After grinding the paint away along the seams, I ran beads of a couple inches at the bottom corners and at the top end of the A-pillar for both doors, getting them in place permanently. The last thing that I had to do on the van to kickstart the doghouse build was remove the middle window on the driver's side. This is one of those windows that snap open at the bottom them angle out for extra ventilation. I removed the bolts to the clamps at the bottom but the screws for the hinges at the top were so stripped that the only other option was to chop the hinges, or flexible metal brackets. The screws will have to be carefully drilled out so the brackets can be removed, and the glass reinstalled in another van. Of course, if my brain works a little harder it may come up with something that can utilize this glass outside of being installed in a minivan. The first thing I'll do on the van will be to make a window frame that will accommodate a window AC unit we have stored in the garage. This will incorporate the use of some metal and scrap wood to frame out the area so it can hold the weight of the AC unit and still be able to be sealed up from the weather. Reason I'd wanna do this is because being a major step in the build, it will utilize a lot of the materials I have laying around that I'm trying to use up and it will clear a large item from the garage, namely the AC unit itself. Of course, to a lesser extent I'll use up the many small items like electrical boxes, a light fixture, outlet covers, and the like, along with some wiring, in the fitting out of the van for the power and water. I'll also need to clean out the floor and figure out what I want to do about the floor. More than likely, I'll end up just cutting a large piece of carpet, which we happen to have in the garage as well. I will also have to construct a ramp in the front to serve as an entrance into the van through the engine bay and the access portal in the firewall. I will have to remove the sway bar as it's in the way of making a ramp that will reach to the ground without extending out too far from the firewall.
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