The bulk head

The bulk head on the transit (and most similar vans) is a large sheet metal unit bolted in to the front of the van. It is designed to protect the passengers from large objects sliding around and to deliver a more secure van.

I unbolted this and took it out.. it is pretty heavy so be careful when doing this.

I then cut it along a straight section (before it bulges in to the van to accommodate the seats) – this is indicated by the pink dotted line above!

Then I bolted the bottom half back in to the van.

This gave me a useful structure to build my ‘new’ bulk head and sider unit to. I started by bolting a piece of wood to the top edge of the bulkhead (living space side).

This wooden strut was screwed using big wood screws to the metal bulk head.

This gives some extra space for the seats to go back in to. I made it so the driver seat could slide back as far as it could and was moderately reclined. This should mean that even if someone really tall drives the van it is still comfortable.

Above the bulkhead I built a shelf – this matches the added distance of the wood bolted to the back of the bulkhead and, on these two parts I was able to build the slider unit.

This is the basic construction of the slider unit. I over-ordered on the cladding so used it for other parts of the build. This includes holding the sider panel – this panel will open and close to allow access to the cab from inside the van.

This shows the van with most of the cladding finished. The wiring has been left hanging out ready to be connected to LEDs. The new bulkhead is a little more completed. At the time I was working out the angles and sizes for the bed-side cupboards (hence the wood and clamp on the right hand side)

Below are a few photos of the finished new-bulkhead and shelf.

Shelf (gives space for seats & slider)

Slider down showing seat position.