Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

My 1978 GMC motorhome

Upholstery is going in. Spent the weekend gluing vinyl to the dash pad. Kinda tedious, took all weekend, doing a section at a time. I didn’t want a mess on my hands, with contact cement everywhere, sticking wrinkles everywhere.

It turned out really good. It’s not perfect, but it looks great installed.
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It matches our seats well, too
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Next up is the cowl and IP.
 
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Mike_H said:
Upholstery is going in. Spent the weekend gluing vinyl to the dash pad. Kinda tedious, took all weekend, doing a section at a time. I didn’t want a mess on my hands, with contact cement everywhere, sticking wrinkles everywhere.

It turned out really good. It’s not perfect, but it looks great installed.View attachment 617312

View attachment 617313

It matches our seats well, tooView attachment 617315

Next up is the cowl and IP.
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Outstanding work, Mike! :love::love::love:
 
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BlueC said:
Did you glue straight to the hard surface, or did you add some kind of padding?
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There is a molded piece of closed cell foam. I pulled the old vinyl off, with a lot of heat, and glued the new vinyl on. Then I glued the other side of the foam to the hard plastic. I did have a small issue with the glue reacting with spray paint. Crossing my fingers that I got enough adhesion, but I might be sanding spray paint and gluing again.
 
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Summers have a way of slipping away around here...I've been working on the coach, just not every day. Spent some time thinking and figuring over the last couple weeks and my dash is starting to come together.

I cut out about half of the existing IP and welded in a new piece of 16ga steel. Warped the shit out of it too, so I'll have to figure that out...but I'll deal with that issue after I've weakened it with all my cut-outs. Speaking of those...

1752514525665.png


From the right, the two rectangular holes will be my Joying Radio and the HVAC. Radio/GPS/Screen will take the top position. HVAC will be below. The little leftover corner in the lower right will be the USB charging port. Has USB A and USB C ports and PLENTY of power to fast charge anything plugged into it. @psrivats turned me on to this company (CoolGear https://www.coolgear.com/chargeit-minis). That hole has not been drilled yet.

In the middle, the three circles and a square are (starting at top left) the factory "telltale" panel. The telltales contain the info about cruise control, door ajar, low fuel, low coolant, air bag level, etc. This is a new design for those lights...from the factory they are in a line.

1752515026005.png


The next hole is for my new trans Temp Gage. The trans is the thing that will keep these motorhomes from remaining on the road forever...so I want to monitor trans temp. Below that is the Voltmeter (which is also new to the motorhome). Previously, there was only a "GEN" idiot light, with gage. No idea on voltage. Finally, we have the fuel gage.

The BIG hole is for Speedo and Tach. The Firebird cluster I'm using also has a clock, Water Temp, and Oil Pressure gages in it.

Finally, the Wiper control lever, Headlight Control Lever, and Windshield squirter will be in the factory location. I have ONE carling switch to locate yet, that will switch between the Main and Aux fuel tanks. I think it will fit along the LH side of the dash, next to the wiper lever.

After all this stuff is mounted...I then need to design a bezel for the thing, which isn't going to be much fun.
 
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Mike_H said:
Summers have a way of slipping away around here...I've been working on the coach, just not every day. Spent some time thinking and figuring over the last couple weeks and my dash is starting to come together.

I cut out about half of the existing IP and welded in a new piece of 16ga steel. Warped the shit out of it too, so I'll have to figure that out...but I'll deal with that issue after I've weakened it with all my cut-outs. Speaking of those...

View attachment 630480

From the right, the two rectangular holes will be my Joying Radio and the HVAC. Radio/GPS/Screen will take the top position. HVAC will be below. The little leftover corner in the lower right will be the USB charging port. Has USB A and USB C ports and PLENTY of power to fast charge anything plugged into it. @psrivats turned me on to this company (CoolGear https://www.coolgear.com/chargeit-minis). That hole has not been drilled yet.

In the middle, the three circles and a square are (starting at top left) the factory "telltale" panel. The telltales contain the info about cruise control, door ajar, low fuel, low coolant, air bag level, etc. This is a new design for those lights...from the factory they are in a line.

View attachment 630481

The next hole is for my new trans Temp Gage. The trans is the thing that will keep these motorhomes from remaining on the road forever...so I want to monitor trans temp. Below that is the Voltmeter (which is also new to the motorhome). Previously, there was only a "GEN" idiot light, with gage. No idea on voltage. Finally, we have the fuel gage.

The BIG hole is for Speedo and Tach. The Firebird cluster I'm using also has a clock, Water Temp, and Oil Pressure gages in it.

Finally, the Wiper control lever, Headlight Control Lever, and Windshield squirter will be in the factory location. I have ONE carling switch to locate yet, that will switch between the Main and Aux fuel tanks. I think it will fit along the LH side of the dash, next to the wiper lever.

After all this stuff is mounted...I then need to design a bezel for the thing, which isn't going to be much fun.
Click to expand...

Coolgear is excellent stuff and what went in my orange jeep. You should get a couple for the rear too, where the beds are!
 
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Mike_H said:
Yes, yes I am. I always thought I wanted a classic car too. After this motorhome project, I'm having second thoughts! :oops:
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An off-road RV is next on my list. I'm in the same place regarding the classic car.

As for boats, I'm not a "water person," to my wife's disappointment (she IS a water person). The only boat I've ever owned, I owned for a week, against my wishes. I may have told this story on the forum before, so if I did, I apologize for the repeat - the short version of the story: I woke up one Saturday morning and headed into town for provisions for the day. As I drove the dirt road through my property, a sun glint caught my peripheral vision. Someone dumped a ratty fiberglass runabout on my property overnight! The next weekend, I drove forks through the hull with my front loader, put it on a trailer, and hauled it to the county dump.

That boat only cost my $75 - for the dump fee. I think I got off easy, as far as the cost of boat ownership goes! :ROFLMAO:
 
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sab said:
An off-road RV is next on my list.
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I've drooled over those for years. there's a guy on a different forum with a Coach House Platinum 220TB on a Ford E450 4x4 conversion. Coach House (not to be confused with Coachmen) is a high end manufacturer and they build quality coaches one at a time. On their site they have some pre-owned choices as well. 1 piece fiberglass and on the model below no slides. You probably don't want slides on an off road RV.


I also like the Ford Sportsmobile conversions although much smaller if you have a family. They do Sprinters as well but not as capable off road IMHO. Of course the best ones are on the Ford E vans which you'll have to find used since they quit producing them after 2014. Not too much interested in Earth Roamer at this point, I can't see spending that much unless you are planning year long overlanding expeditions.




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B1Toad said:
I've drooled over those for years. there's a guy on a different forum with a Coach House Platinum 220TB on a Ford E450 4x4 conversion. Coach House is a high end manufacturer and they build quality coaches one at a time. On their site they have some pre-owned choices as well. 1 piece fiberglass and on the model below no slides. You probably don't want slides on an off road RV.


I also like the Ford Sportsmobile conversions although much smaller if you have a family. They do Sprinters as well but not as capable off road IMHO. Of course the best ones are on the Ford E vans which you'll have to find used since they quit producing them after 2014. Not too much interested in Earth Roamer at this point, I can't see spending that much unless you are planning year long overlanding expeditions.




.View attachment 631031View attachment 631032View attachment 631033
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I'm still in the very early planning stages, and I want to build it myself, but I'm not sure what the base vehicle will be. The plan, when I retire in a few years, is to tow the LJ (on a trailer I'll custom build for it) and my wife and I will travel for about half of each year in it. I'd wanted a Uni-mog for a long time, but it's simply too off-road-centric. I don't think I could stand being so limited on top speed capabilities. I was then leaning towards a Sprinter, but they are just too electronic. I'm aware of the Ford E chassis, and Sportsmobile's conversions, but like you said - they've not been made in a very long time.

I have a while to plan, since my LJ build has slowed considerably since I took this new job. :(
 
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