The SFA ROCKS !!!! Andy's Van

[ChrisYaughn]

For those that don't know , a dozen or so SFA members chipped in to buy a passenger van to help Fostering Bulloch transport kids. Fostering Bulloch is an effort to aid children in Foster care, Child Protective Services cases and some living in really marginal situations off the radar of social service providers.

I have a Buddy in the body shop business lined up to do a creative low cost makeover once the van is Back in South GA.

Maybe we tape off the windows and give a bunch of kids cans of spray paint............





I used to fabricate in a previous life, and got to know some of the SFA guys. They are phenominal.

But, per SFA style, simply providing the Van was not enough..... They are also sending granite countertops fabricated from material donated by an SFA shop, fabricated at the most recent workshop, to provide countertops for the next 30 years of operations at Broken Shackle Ranches "main house". The facility has been in operation for 30 years and has aided thousands of boys over that span. It is the main housing area for the ranch. We are remodeling the main house and did not know for sure what we were going to do for countertops in the kitchen. We know now

http://www.bsranch.org/home0.aspx






An SFA member is DRIVING the van back from Kalamazoo Michigan to Statesboro Georgia.

Per SFA style he said he needs 2 things to get all the way back to Statesboro........




HUGE THANK YOU TO THE SFA!!!!!! Not sure why God trusted us with friends like this, most that we have never met in person, but I am glad he did.

[JOHN_T]

That is so awesome !!!

[CustomMarbleGraniteToo]

Who is driving it back?

Who donated the stone?

Congrats on the van!

Awesome job SFA

[ChrisYaughn]

Jonathan Taylor is driving it back. Flew one way to the workshop.

Angel donated the stone and the fab time in their shop, during the workshop.

[Andy Ross]

I cant wait to see the van all painted up.. Make sure to post some after pics.

[ChrisYaughn]

The van arrived in Statesboro around 8 AM this morning. I saw it as we were headed out of town.

[GuyboR]

Maybe we tape off the windows and give a bunch of kids cans of spray paint............

This would make the van so unique and special. It would also be a perfect opening for explaining what you do for the kids.

Stranger..."What the hell happened to your van".
Chris...."A bunch of guys I've never met donated it to the kids we help. The kids in turn had to earn a ride by putting their personal touch on the van".


Chris...the money that myself and others donated is NOTHING compared to the good that you and your organization does. If you and the kids ever need anything else, do not be afraid to ask for help. If you don't ask, we can't help.

[Dan R.]

x 2

Well said, Guy!

[ChrisYaughn]

This is going to be hijacked as the "Andy's Van" remodel thread. Might be best moved to the water cooler at some point.

16 hours drive time from Michigan to Georgia for the record. And JT would not let me give him Gas money...

The van and the tops arrived in Statesboro for zero dollars. Actually we were plus a few hundred from donations to buy the van.

First impressions on the Van.

This Van Has HUGE upside
Brake Fluid Leak needs to be fixed. She drank the entire bottle on the ride home, had NONE in the reservoir.
A/C is non responsive. Which might not be bad. Need to hunt down electrical possible issues, or bad vac lines.
Exterior paint is bad. Function of the weather up North I guess. BUT, the actual body is Pretty Good.
No Major dents or dings. Just surface rust and chipping paint. We will cover over the rusted out
rocker panels with diamond cut or something. Open to ideas.
Seats are in incredible shape for the age.
Horn, power doors/windows, radio, brake lights, etc.... all work. Haven't checked the trailer brakes yet.

[ChrisYaughn]

The smiley faced kids are in foster care and pictures can't technically be posted in public. Hence the smileys. These two are staying with us for a week while their full time foster parents are out of town in a setting that does not allow them to travel with them.

Had 3 of my best guys working on the Van today



Then the walk through. Safety First ( helmet) then Ninja (security)





Never expected this when we pulled the carpet. Michigan winters and the salt on the roads are hard on vehicles.

[ChrisYaughn]

Other than the rust, the interior is in really good shape. Looks like three of the four seats have not been used much.






Funny thing is , with the 2 staying with us for the week, we will not all fit in my truck (5 kids total) in the morning (my wife is at work). So the Van will be pressed in to action, unfinished but serviceable, in the morning.

[Andy Ross]

I wish i would have known about the brake leak. I would of had that fixed. Hopefully its something simple.

Let me know what the bill is on that and i can help you out.

[ChrisYaughn]

Tracked down the brake fluid leak. The line that supplies the rear drums has rusted through in one spot. Going to have to replace the entire line from the master cylinder to the rear of the van. The front brakes give you most of your stopping power, so this jives with the symptoms we were seeing.

The rust you northern guys have to deal with is crazy to a Southerner.

We pressed the Van into use quicker than we thought we would need to. My wife worked today, so I had 5 kids this morning. 5 kids won't fit in a Tundra

So My 8 year old and I spent 2 hours last night with the shop vac and a full bottle of armor all, working on it.

[ChrisYaughn]

Tore out the rear brake line. 10+ foot of it. Went to the local NAPA and worked with the owner to piecemeal a replacement out of stock items. Went to check out and he says "....your good....don't mess it up when you install it....."

If it works, the brake repair will be zero dollars and an hour or two of time.....



Went and talked to a buddy that does sheet metal roofs. He cut us some panels and gave me a bag of pop rivets. Wouldn't let me pay for either. We are covering the three major rocker panel rust areas with sheet metal. Then we are going to have 8'' X the length of the van logos/decals printed. Black background with white logo and lettering. They will cover all the rocker panels.

Going to sand and repaint the body and roof at a buddies paint and body shop for material cost.



Broke the drill bit so I am short a lot of pop rivets on this panel. I think it will all look pretty OK when we cover it with the vinyl printed lettering/logo.