Dodge A100-Channeled & bagged!

Been meaning to do a build up on the progress of my van. Bought it 2 years ago with the plans of bagging and channeling it to lay body flat on the pavement. Going to post pics and info as it comes along to share the info because i have not seen a A100 on the ground yet.

Here are a couple pics when i first got it....sorry some of the pics are cell phone pics so quality sucks!

 

Start of the rear suspension sub-frame and bag mounts....

 

rear suspension done.....

 

The drive shaft was a major hurdle in my opinion! It had to have a cv joint in it because of the articulation it has and such a short shaft. Well... they dont make a cv yolk adapter for this trans because it wasnt popular enough i guess so I had to machine my own just so the shaft would not bind at full lift and full drop. This is what i came up with...

 

that's friggen cool good work!

 

I'm building this van as inexpensive as possible so i decided to use the stock straight axle up front. Tricky to weld to but plenty reliable for what I'm doing. I had to mount the bag more than half way forward on the arms so that it would get enough lift to clear the fenders at full turn. I also had to mount them off center because the brake master is in the way and was easier than moving it. This created another problem though.....the arms would twist because the urethane was so soft so i had to machine new joins out of delrin and sleeve the arms for strength.

 

Thank you!

 

With the suspension done (except for front shocks still to do) it was time to start cutting for the channel. Had to go 4" to run a decent size tire. The A100's come with 15" wheels...not 14" like the econolines. Did some bracing and started cutting....

 

Way kool.
keep up the good work..

 

I have about 3/4 of the channel welded back together but i am having to cut out some rust, replace fender wells, and change the floor up front a little before i finish completely. but here are a few pics of how it sits now with it at full drop & full lift.....

 

That's some good work there.

 

Few pics of the fender wells and started working on the floor up front.

 

I had a '68 a108 long box! wish I had it back now. Armstrong power steering baby!

 

Thanks for the encouragement guys! Will post more pics as it progresses. Trying to have it mobile for "Mopar at The Strip" at the Las Vegas motor speedway next month....

 

Sweet work. I dig old cargo vans.

Airbags come in handy for handing out candy

 

Very Cool!

 

wow
i want it
tk

 

cool beans.

 

Kissin', great work, thanks for the pics!
Ya gotta make it to MATS (musclecars this year, although still mopar-centric), I'll be bringing my 108! It will be great to see another van! Mine's a slant right now, too.

 

Not sure why I looked at this thread. I have no interest in these vans.
I'm glad I did. Some nice skills there and I think it looks great.

 

Dude you rule. period.
The way you attached the rear "frame rail" to the unibody subframe is the same i did on my unibody car. althou mine aint BDed.

 

sick as van! first time I have ever said that and could be the last. deserve a round of applause for your vision and quality of work

 

Thank you gentlemen!
Made some more progress today, will post pics first of the week.

 

Great work there, for sure.
It takes quite a bit of ingenuous creativity in order to get done what I see here.
I really like the design, engineering and craftsmanship.

I don't get the rockers on the ground "look".

 

Excellent work. I like stuff that is done NICE and still low buck. Good work machining your own parts to make it happen!

 

Very cool!!

 

Very nice. It will be be a lot of fun for sure!

 

You had me wondering at the start and it got better as it went and Holy Cow you did channel it. That's a cool van that is looks to be lots of hours with not a lot of money thrown at it.

 

Nice work!

 

Dude that thing is bad ass ..I have always wanted to see a van bagged ....very nice keep up the good work