I laid down new flooring. Currently I have bed liner coating against the metal, a foam later next, wood on top of the foam, and finally a vinyl mat on top. Ultimately, I’ll lay carpet in key areas. This is the single biggest improvement in sound dampening yet.

For a while, I installed a roof top tent on the roof rack. The rack was a huge project, but cost me less than $150.

All 5 doors now have wood panels (soon to be covered in vinyl). The rear door and slider are filled with insulation. The walls and ceiling are covered in Reflectix and will be further insulation and paneled. I made a doghouse cover with thick fabric also improving sound quality greatly. Door seals have all been replace, though this has created it’s own set of door issues that I’m still working through.

Both captains chairs are now installed with kick ass seat covers. The passenger seat swivels to the back. I left the driver’s seat fixed on a boxed base so I can use it for storage. I also attached a mag light pointed towards the fuse box.

I’ve added mirrors, fog lights, and other odds and ends. I repaired a bit of electrical work including the rear brake lights. I’ve slowly been replacing bulbs with LEDs.

The best thing is just how much I’ve gotten to USE Polar Bear. I’ve used her like a van for tons of projects like building a haunted house. I took her to Apogaea, to Burning Man, through Moab, mountain biking in Fruita, up snowy passes just outside of Boulder, and on more than a few snowboarding trips.

Here are a few videos of Polar Bear doing what Polar Bear does:

On the outside, I’ve added a roof rack, rear ladder, and spare tire cover. Mechanically, I’ve had the transmission replaced, transfer case and front drive shaft rebuilt, a/c leaks fixed, rear brakes fixed, and other odds and ends. I attempted to have a leaky front windshield fixed and am still fighting that battle. Inside, I’ve installed a new stereo system. I fabricated a few doors panels to mount speakers on. I am replacing lights with leds. I also got some really neat new seat covers.

I’ve taken Polar Bear backpacking, offroading, and to a crazy party at the slopes. I’m really enjoying the benefits of owning a 4×4 van.

I’ve grossly underestimated the amount of time it takes to do each modification. I’ve invested a lot of time and a fair sum of money working on this van. I very much enjoy it, but I do wish it was going a little quicker. I’ve been posting Polar Bear photos along the way and maintaining a more detailed Polar Bear build thread on the Sportsmobile Forum. I also ran into the owner of the other lifted Econoline with the orange strip I keep seeing. We talk vans a bit, he’s got a nice rig and some interesting build plans.

Next up, I will be: finishing off the front speaker installation, adding bedliner coating around the base of the exterior and the entire interior, fabricating an adapter to install the new driver’s seat, building a subfloor, and installing a house battery. I also have a new visor in the queue. So much to do, one bite at a time.

During the drive, we collected a lot of ice on the van. As the road muck spalshed up on Polar Bear and started to drain off, it froze into interesting patterns. The most interesting, by far, was the sea urchin like spikes on the center caps. I’ve never seen anything like it before and it drew a fair amount of attention when we would stop for gas or coffee along the way.

While I haven’t been working on the van a lot, I have been collecting bits and pieces. I snagged some weatherproof plastic cases from the office. They were originally used to transport HP Blackbird computers to trade shows. My intention is to mount them somewhere on top of the van. Unfortunately, I have yet to come up with the best way to mount them. They’re tall enough to be a real air flow issue. They’re also big enough that they cover the entire width of the roof making it challenging to leave a walkway on the roof basket. I’m considering building a platform on the rear and placing them behind the van, but I’m also having trouble making that work just right. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

I snagged a few other odds and ends along the way. I’ve got a CB radio ready to install. I’m on the lookout for a worn out camper with some basic parts (water, gas, electric). I have some replacement seats and a replacement steering wheel in the garage. This weekend I’m flying back to Texas to borrow my parents spare car. Once I have a backup car, I plan to gut the inside of Polar Bear and start work. I plan to rip out the entire dash, clean everything, and maybe repaint the molding. I also plan to pain the interior of the van before I do the insulation and main buildout.

I’ve long been searching for a pop-up top solution and have only found very expensive options. Meanwhile, I ran into a closeout sale on the aware winning Technitop Roof Top Tent. The price was about $400 less than retail so I snatched it up while I could. The idea is to mount the tent on the roof with one door open to the roof basket and the other door having a ladder to the ground. It won’t give me the headspace of a popup top, but it will give me a place for 2 people to sleep in the summer. I still have the tent in the box. If a good popup top option comes along, I might try to sell it for what I paid.

I can’t wait to actually get started on some modifications. It seems like I spend considerably more time thinking about what I want to do rather than doing it. It will feel good to make some progress. Meanwhile, I’m still haunted by the horsepower of my engine. I’m scared that the build will be too heavy and will turn my van into a slug. Here’s hoping.

The new tires are 32″ BFG A/Ts. From the performance of the van, I thought the 33″ tires must have been too large as it was moving rather sluggish. Turns out, that’s just the engine. I probably could go up to 35″ wheels with similar performance. They might be a bit better for offroading as well.

I installed the fender flares yesterday. I couldn’t locate flares designed for my van, so I ordered some Flexy Flares. The day after I ordered them, I spotted a set on a van in the junkyard. Had I known how yesterday was going to go, I would have snagged the junkyard fenders.

Before installing the flares yesterday, I decided to run down to Maaco. First, the touch up paint they gave me dried to a solid block almost immediately. Second, I had rust eating through under a door. Since the rust wasn’t a line item on the work order, they wouldn’t cover it. I think I can take care of it myself. Still, they don’t do a good job of standing behind their work.

So, on the WAY to Maaco, I heard a noise under my truck. Turns out it was the front drive shaft. I somehow left it in 4×4 (front rims unlocked) and the worn out front drive shaft was squeaking. While leaning out of the van, I rolled forward through the McDonalds drive through listening carefully to the squeak. While rolling forward, I scraped one of those big yellow poles. So, when I got HOME from Maaco, I spent an hour rubbing out the big yellow scrape. Now I’ve got a bit of a dent on my fender well. Luckily, the yellow paint came off nicely.

Once that adventure was behind me, I installed the Flexy Flares. This was challenging. Sizing and cutting the flares is a bit of a challenge. Getting them installed yourself is very hard. Nino helped me get them started, but the rest was up to me. I decided to try to skip the part of the instructions where you’re supposed to remove the wheels. After two trips to the hardware store for replacement drillbits, I went ahead and removed the rear two wheels to finish up. It was so much easier to drill straight without a tire in the way. I should have done that to begin with.

All in all, I can’t really recommend the Flexy Flares unless, like me, you simply can’t find fitted flares. They work. In fact, they work exceptionally well for what they do. They bend and twist exactly enough to get the job done. They’re also durable enough to work. It must have been challenging to engineer this trade off. Still, molded and fitted flares produce a better looking end result.

With new tires and sexy flares installed, Nino and I went up to the mountains this morning. We roamed around Sugarloaf and finally found Switzerland trail.

It was exactly what I was looking for. The rail was fairly tame. There were a few spots along the way with some more technical items to play on. The snow varied from none to about 18 inches. We got stuck once. Being the well prepared and responsible guy I am, I hadn’t thought to put a shovel in the van. Luckily, when I cleared out the van the other day, I left the $2 RV sink I picked up at the junkyard. As Nino said, I thew out, “everything but the kitchen sink.” We used that sink and a windshield scraper to dig out way out of the sbow. This is also when I finally manged to get the van into the low range gears.The trail was just challenging enough to feel out what the van can do.

All in all, I’m happy with the way the van performs offroad. It will take me a while to get to know the range of operation better. I do think slightly larger tires are appropriate somewhere down the road. Hopefully, a roof rack is in my near future. If I get one, I’ll have to pick up a shovel to attach to it. Meanwhile, I think I’ll keep my backcountry snow shovel in the van from now on.

The tire prevents the door from swinging open as far as it used to. Still, the door opens past 90 degrees so I think I’m alright. I noticed the inside of the spare rim has a ring of rust. I might hit it with a wire brush and then gloss a little paint over it. Next week I should be getting new rubber and rims. Eventually, I might see about getting a spare that matches the size of the new tires (32″). I’m not going to worry about that for a while.

There’s a pile of exterior mods left. The list looks something like: window tint, rock sliders, bumpers, wire mesh behind the grill, roof basket, new antenna, and a ladder.  Most everything else will be interior. There are still some drive train and engine repairs I want to make. However, since most of those are not particularly critical, I’ll be postponing them for a little while.

On Tuesday, I picked the Polar Bear up from Maaco where I dropped over $1500 having a pile of body work done and a fresh coat of their cheapest paint.

Overall, I got what I expected. There were a few pleasant surprises. Maaco did a particularly good job grinding out an unsightly weld and some pile of I-have-no-idea-what stuck to van. They plugged some holes in the body and ground down some rivets.

Unfortunately, there were a few disappointments such as more over-spray than I expected. Rather than futz with them on it, I’ll just do a little cleaning up and touch up myself. They got some white on the grill I just painted black, but I wanted to put another coat of black on it anyway.

For the most part, I’m satisfied. Even though it was relatively dark, when I first saw the van I immediately noticed the difference. It’s nice to have a bit of shine to the paint. I hope that lasts a couple of years. I wonder when I should put on the first coat of wax?

I’ve made a few minor improvements. In a couple of trips to the junk yard, I picked up a spare tire swing ($25), worn out front grill ($15), rubber sliding door mat ($5?), and a 16″ black rim with a 30″ tire that seems to hold air well ($10).  I also picked up a can of spray paint, tire iron, and 6 ton hydraulic jack. For the first time since I bought the van, I’m prepared for a flat tire.

Black Grill

I bought a can of spray paint and a sanding disk for the drill. The plastic was already dull and worn so there was no chrome to remove. I sanded inside the grooves with sand paper. I applied about 3 coats of black paint. It could use a 4th coat to finish it off nicely, but I only bought one can and ran out. The grill came with clear lights instead of the factory yellow. I thought this was a nice bonus.

Spare Tire Swing

The tire swing I found was fairly standard and bolts on to the door. This might not be the best solution if I’m every carrying a really big spare tire. For now, I think it will work well. I’ve started sanding it down for a fresh coat of black paint. I won’t be ready to install it until I get the van painted at Maaco next week.

Spare Tire

I was looking for 4 matching black rims to replace the chrome ones that came with the van. I found a matching set of 3 rims, but could not locate a forth. So, I only bought one to be used as my spare tire. Nino and I spent a fair amount of time checking out the tires attached to each and hopefully picked the best quality rubber. I tired to wheel out today and was able to set the van down on the spare without having to add any air to the tire. I figure if it’s held that much air while sitting in a junk yard, it might just be ok. The tire is a 260x70r16, or about 30″ tall. The existing tires are 33″ and you can definitely tell the difference. I’ll probably eventually replace the rubber with something I know is in better shape and better matches the size of the other tires.

Next Up

It’s about time to paint the Polar Bear. I’m expecting about $1400 for Maaco too grind everything down clean and slap on their cheapest paint. I gave a fair amount of thought to other colors, but Polar Bears are white.

I’ve also scheduled some shop time early next year (two weeks away). It will be the first stage in a batch of work I have planned that includes: rebuilding rear diff, rebuilding transfer case, sealing engine oil leaks, replacing transmission (to remove the shift kit), adjusting engine idle, rebuilding front drive shaft, and a slew of other minor fixes.

I’m also planning new rims and tires. I’m looking for black rims. I’ve found two great sets on Craig’s List and was too late both times. I may end up having to buy brand new rims. I’m also looking for better quality tires. The tires I have now look really fantastic, but they do not perform all that well on snow and ice. They are wide and relatively flat, which is white I recently hit another vehicle in a parking lot… lightly… It was the last vehicle I owned, I actually hit my old Xterra. Gently, of course.

Polar Bear turned out to be more of a … bear … than I originally expected. Nino and I have been tracking a spreadsheet of changes, both planned and completed. It’s not balancing out like I had hoped.

Right away, I spent $60 to get the oil pressure sender replaced. I now have an oil pressure guage. I am a little concerned that the oil pressure is always high. I wonder if I’m running the wrong grade of oil?

I also spent $475 for exhaust work. I had to add a cat as the vehicle had none and I need to pass Colorado emissions. I also had a new muffler and smaller pipes put on. The mechanic that performed the work said that I should expect a performance gain with an exhaust system that provides the proper back pressure. Regardless, I’m stoked that I can actually hear the radio when I drive now.

Finally, I spent $10 on one of those leather steering wheel covers at Target. I don’t know what it is, but having a fresh pad of leather under my hands when I drive helps me forget about a lot of the other problems I have to solve next.

My rear differential is in bad shape. The seals have just begun to leak and the bearings are shot. I got quotes from two shops to rebuild the rear diff. The consensus is that it could range from $800 to $1800 but will likely fall at about $1200. I’ve been watching Craig’s list for rear axles. I see a lot of Dana 60s pop up and a few with 4:10 gears. Speaking of gears, I originally thought I had 4:11 gears. However, according to the documentation that came with the van, 4:10s were installed in 2005. I have no idea why someone would do this.

The transfer case also has a fair amount of issues. It’s leaking and probably needs to be rebuilt. There are still some oil leaks with the engine. When I picked the van up, nothing was leaking anywhere. This is a big disappointment. I got the van for a good price, but I didn’t know what level of repair costs I was buying into. The repairs are labor intensive rather than the parts being expensive. Thus, if someone had the time and abilities, it wouldn’t cost much to get this van straight. I have no shop, not even a garage. I also have very few tools. I would happily sell this van to someone who could better repair her.

I have the van posted for sale. Meanwhile, I’ll likely continue to make repairs. Recently, another van got my attention. This time the van has a stock 2 wheel drive system. It’s the same body style as Polar Bear, only it has the Sportsmobile pop-top installed. New and installed, these will run you $5500. The inside is partially built out with a goucho bed and some storage. The body appears to be in much better shape than Polar Bear. The engine is a 351 v8 where Polar Bear is a 300 i6. The transmission is a 4 speed while Polar Bear is a 3 speed.

Converting this other van to 4×4 with a brand new professional installation will cost me $11,500 at Boulder Off Road. I can probably count on another $1500 for rims and tires. However, assuming the base van is straight and solid, this would give me a rock solid base van ready for interior conversion. Building the inside is the part of this project I’m most looking forward to. If I follow through, perhaps I should paint the new van white and call it Polar Bear 2.0?

The Van

• 1987 Ford e250 3rd generation Econoline van, regular body
• 33″ x 12.5″ inch tires, 8 lug 16″ rims
• What looks like a 6 to 8 inch suspension lift (maybe more?)
• Ford 4th generation 300cu Straight 6 EFI engine.
• 4×4 with Warn locking hubs, p205 transfer case, and 4:11 gears
• 1 ton rear axle (Dana 60 posi) and 3/4 ton front axle (Dana 44)
• 3 speed C-6 automatic transmission with a shift kit installed
• Class 3 rear receiver attached to the stock bumper
• Dual gas tanks (about 40 gallons total I believe)

The whole rig is rough. The drive train and engine are well taken care of. However, everything else is patched together. The sliding side door came off of a bus and you can still see the yellow paint. There are some rust spots, but nothing that can’t be sanded out. Much of the hardware is loose. The inside of the van is stripped out in anticipation of a new build out.

The Plan

First I’m going to focus on the outside. I’ve been hoping to find a pop-top to have installed right away. I want to replace the bumpers with heavy duty bullbars. I want to turn everything that is current chrome to black. I want a quiet the exhaust; right now she may not pass Colorado’s emissions testing. The body will remain white, but with a fresh coat of paint. I have a long list of cosmetic plans that I will detail later.

Once I feel good about the exterior, I’ll start working on the inside. I need to replace some gauges, seal the doors, replace or fix latches and fixtures. Then I’ll lay down a floor and walls. At that point, all I need is a heater and some bedding and I can use the van for overnight snowboarding trips.

Once that base work is complete and I’m confident in the van, it’s time to build out the “camper” components. Because she’s a gas rig, I’ll have to setup a propane system. There’s a slim chance I may look at a propane conversion for the engine. I intend to have a sink, stove, and mini fridge. I’ll likely buy a manual portapotty. I will need some form of sleeping arrangements, most likely a fold down bed. I want to install a wide range of electronic systems from improved lighting to external cameras. The rest of the build out will be all about storage, racks, and such.

Moving Forward

I have so many problems to solve at this point. I have no idea where I will find a pop-top at a reasonable price. I don’t have a garage nor a shop of any kind. Winter is here and it’s really cold out. I’m also very aware that I’m working with a 22 year old van. Between work and a slew of other projects, I do find myself wondering if I’m taking on too much. After driving this beast 1500 miles across the US towering over most of the other vehicles on the road, I gotta admit, she’s growing on me.