Ribs & Nuts

The adhesive that's holding my sound deadening material and Low-E insulation to the van's ceiling has been holding rock-steady through some warm weather lately, and while I have no firsthand reason to doubt the stuff's stick-tuitiveness, I figured a little bit of insurance couldn't hurt. So I picked up some aluminum strips at the hardware store yesterday and fashioned supporting ribs that tuck and arc into where the van's ceiling meets the wall.

The end result is a comforting level of upward force that should support the layers of insulation and sound deadening material until the proverbial cows come home. Better yet, Q walked by just as I had gotten the first experimental rib in place, and when I explained what I was doing, he paused, and with an unmistakeable hint of wonder in his tone, proclaimed the idea "ingenious." Not a word the former engineer throws around lightly, so I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little tingly inside.

Moving on, I know the title says "nuts," and below is a picture of a screw...

...but trust me, there's a nut on the other end, and somehow "ribs & screws" just didn't seem to carry the same punch. At any rate, that screw and its corresponding nut are one pair out of five that are now securing my sexy birch subfloor to the van's body. This involved actual drilling through the van's metal floor – never a comfortable thing to do – yet necessary to prevent things from shifting around whenever I'm cruising down some washboarded-out forest road in the middle of nowhere. 

There's a sixth screw (and nut!) to install still, after which I'll coat what's protuding under the van with some anti-corrosion goopiness, but alas, the fading daylight prevented me from finishing the job today.

All in all, not the most productive of days, but productive nonetheless. And I did get out for a couple of hours and start the search for a good low-mileage engine too. More on that later, but with over a month to go before the conversion kit arrives, there is plenty of time to shop around for just the right candidate. In the meantime, I intend to bask for a while in the warm glow of that well-earned "ingenious" remark...