well - it was raining in my van, and i found the leak (i think).  it was
coming from a little plastic disk/bolt/gasket which seems to fill a hole
between the interior and the air intake vents.  silicon sealed it from the
inside, couldn't reach the outside - i'll try the hose on it tonight. regarding
the cracked manifold - got the welded stainless manifold back from the
welding place, waited three days for gaskets, went to put the thing back
on.  the ports were 1/4" too close together -  doh!  when they welded the
inside of a corner, they didn't pay attention to the previous alignment.  
ran screaming to the welding shop (not really, but i got there pretty fast)
right away (this is saturday morning about 8:30 a.m.), but they couldn't
get to it until monday.  i gave them center-to center measurements of the
bolts this time.  i hope they can get the contact areas on the same/proper
plane though.  i noticed a small decrease in the inside cross-section of
the manifold due to the weld - is this going to be a problem?

cleaned, fixed little stuff, etc.  also got the westy cabinets/seat out of the
garage that i got from my brothers rolled  :-( parts westy.  they had been
out in the middle of a forest without any windows protecting them for a
couple of years, so they're pretty rotted/smelly and partially broken.
pretty cool unofficial junkyard, though - cars lined up between rows of
pines, shady area , smelled nice, and hidden from official view.  i noticed
a bird's nest inside the intact part of the pop-top, lucky them.  with the
saws i borrowed for the weekend, i cut all new (donated and scrap)
wood to replace the rotted stuff, using the rotted stuff as a template, and
salvaging all hardware. this took quite awhile, as there are many curves,
angles, etc. got some cool and cheap upholstery fabric for the
seats/cushion ($15).  any ideas on what to cover the plywood with?  i'm
torn between a wood veneer (expensive/difficult/permanant/easy to
clean) and a heavy fabric (cheap/easy/possibly won't last/gets and
stays dirty). also, i'm looking for the plastic stripping that goes around
some cabinet corners/doors.

 also began speaker installation (for some 6x9s i had) on the rear door. 
mounted em to the panel with some really big washers, they seem very
solid for being mounted to such flimsy stuff.  while i had the panel off i
sprayed the inside near the bottom vents with rubberized rustproof stuff
(thanks, joel!).  i also glued on some carpet padding to deaden road
noise/keep the speaker magnets from adhering to the metal.  ran wires
up inside the door and through the little hole in the top.  i'll have to drill a
hole in the little rubber plug and re-insert it with the wires running
through.  it got dark so i had to stop. whew!  i was really tired when i
woke up for work this morning.  1/2 hour debate on whether to call in
sick and continue or not. (do sick vans count?). i write this from my desk.
:-(

matthew (81 adventurewagen-mobius)      goikem@state.mi.us