Van Tires and Seats

The new tires and seats for the van came in a few weeks ago, and everything is now coming together nicely. The tires that were purchased for the van have a very high efficiency, which will help to increase the gas mileage. We also got low mass aluminum rims to go with the high low rolling resistance tire. The two things that we we're aiming for with the tires were style and efficiency. Judging by the picture I think we did it.

























The new seats we got are out of a newer Dodge Nitro that we found totaled at North West Auto in Anchorage. They're black /grey Leather, and they're heated. So, uncomfortable seats on a long road trip definitely wouldn’t be an issue in this van.

Installing the New Oil Pan!!!

We had a Saturday work day not long ago, we worked the whole day to get engine and transaxel into our slowly progressing van. It took hours, and it didn't start well. We hooked it up to the cherry picker and up onto the metal table it went. After getting the 800 pound engine/tranny on the table, we started taking off the original oil pan. What we didn't know was that there was still a lot of oil that hadn't drained, and we had a huge mess on our hands. We had a oil spill that was running everywhere. Having a wood shop next door generally works well because we can use sawdust to clean up oil messes. The only problem was that the shop was actually clean for once and there was almost no sawdust to be found. So off to Napa to get some dry floor. So it took longer then it should have to change an oil pan. Also the bolts from the original sump and oil pump were to long to fit the new angled set, so the runner was sent back to Napa. It took a lot of patients, but its done! As you can see in the last picture Thor installed the passenger side motor mount.

Go Green or Go Home!!!

"Go Green or Go Home" is quickly becoming our moto, but until recently will really didn't have any GO. Our engine came to us late this last fall but as you can see from the picture it really is a bundle of wires and hoses to be sorted out. Well, we've recently put the engine up on the table and mounted the transaxel to it. It really is a site! To think that this modern motor will be the drive in our new van. I order to get it into the van we need to build a new motor mount for the side of the engine with the turbo. The newer turbo would not fit with the original van motor mount. This will give us the opportunity to use the milling machine to make a really awesome mount. That will be on the blog soon.

I was beginning to get nervous about taking care of the rust issue on our van. We have access to a very large sand blaster, but to ship the sand to run it would cost a huge chunk of our budget. We have been treating some of our rust with various products but none of them seem to work well. In my search for a better product I found Rust Bullet LLC. which should be the solution to our problem. It will save huge amounts of time in the fact that the prep is greatly reduced, and the end product should be far better. Above and beyond making a great product Rust Bullet has decided to sponsor our project and donate the supplies to rust treat our whole vehicle. Now that's great!!!!!!
Here is a link to there web page, check it out it is the perfect product for any restoration project. http://www.rustbullet.com

Our new transaxel has arrived (Thank you Rancho performance Transaxels)

Today our custom built transaxel showed up in it's crate from California. It was like Christmas for the shop kids. They gathered around the crate while I took the screws out and opened it up. As it was opened, I heard a lot of comments like: "wow that's so awesome", and "that's the coolest thing ever". We had originally intended to use the transaxel that was with the bus, but Diesel engines run at a much lower RPM. Mike at Rancho Performance Transaxles had the solution for us. He put in a taller 3rd and 4th gear to lower the RPMs at highway speed, and help with the efficency. The original gasoline motor would have had about 70 horse power, but the new diesel engine will have somewhere around 130 or more horsepower, for this reason Mike welded 1st and 2nd gear. The tranny was also beautifully painted with stainless nuts to accent the black. He also installed a diesel bellhousing and a short input shaft to accomadate the 1.9 liter TDi engine. Mike is also doing his part to support education by donating all the labor for this undertaking, meaning we only paid for the parts and shipping. Thanks again Mike!!!!! Here are some pics of the new tranny and a 7th grader (Tim) changing over some of the brackets and the throwout bearings. You'll find a link to Rancho Performance Transaxles in the links section, check out his webpage; it's cool.

Every good project starts with a plan!!!!

The students are quickly learning that it's easy to have big ideas, but harder to make the plans. The key part of that sentence is that the students are learning! Here are some pictures of the design and manufacturing class working on some design components of van. They are making conceptual drawing of the van. what they think the van should look like when it's done. They are also planning things such as; what the interior should look like, the ergonomics of the new dash, and what the new interior panels should look like. This class has a lot to do with dreaming, so it's tuff for me as a teacher to look around the room and see the dreamy looks on the kids faces and not say anything. We spend time looking on the internet at cars, engines and tools; just what every boy wants to do (dream about cars). It's not all fun and games, the students are learning to run a complicated 3D drafting program, they have learned a great deal about hand drafting, and learned just how hard it is to have an original idea.

Local Business Shows It's Support for Our Project

Our local energy company, Naknek Electric Association (NEA) has taken an interest in our project. NEA has been known for the efforts they have made in our region to provide cleaner, cheaper, and sustainable energy. They have upgraded our local powerplant to one of the most efficeient in the state, and they didn't stop there. Somewhere thousands of feet below us there is a resource of energy cleaner and more reliable, and they have their sites set on it. Geothermal energy will be our regions next step toward cleaner energy. Even smaller, local companies can do their part to change the way the world makes and uses energy. Thank you to NEA for their contribution, they are providing support for the future and our education.