In reply to CyberEric :
Thanks! The first thing is to figure out how to mount another row of seats so I can carry more than 2 people and still be able to remove them to carry stuff.
In reply to John Welsh:
Yep, all of the shelving and mesh divider inside was included as well as a bolt on roof rack. I don't have a use for the storage bins or divider so I'll be pulling that out and trying to resell it. I want to try and use the roof rack to mount an ARB awning.
During the test drive the racks made so much damn noise I thought I was going to go insane. The owners wife rode with me and she said that she went with her husband on a 6 hour trip last week in the van. She told her husband that if she has to take another long trip in the van, she is filing for divorce. Those things are coming out as soon as I get the van in my garage.
In reply to stanger_missle :
Hell to the yeah.
I wonder if all the focus handling goodies fit?
SVreX
MegaDork
3/2/19 8:04 a.m.
I’ve driven vehicle with roof racks most of my life.
Low profile (minimally useful) ones like a mini van are not a problem. But utility style ones (like a work van) can prevent you from driving through a car wash.
A real pain, unless you want to hand wash your own vehicle every single time.
mad_machine said:
I wonder if all the focus handling goodies fit?
I've been trying to find a clear answer on this. The closest I have found is "maybe". I know the TC shares a lot with the Focus and Escape but without looking at them side by side, it's hard to tell.
I did find coilovers though 
.
This guy used Megan Racing EZ Street coilovers and has 18x9 Rotiform VCE Monoblocks. It looks amazing but damn, that is a lot of money.
I did some work in Turkey where they were made back in I think 2014. One of my colleagues there was a real car guy. We talked about these. When I told him how much they cost stateside he just looked down and shook his head. Why is it cheaper for an American to buy something we build right here in my town? He asked. I didn’t have an answer.
Is it bad that I’ve been thinking I should get a Transit Connect in silver, install bubble windows on each side, get some vinyl, and recreate the Pinto cruising wagon graphics?
Looks like someone is finally doing pop top conversions in the US on the 2014-up models. Ursa Minor.
This has considerably increased my interest in buying one. I’d lean towards a cargo version, but it appears they only do conversions on the wagon. Oddly enough, though, it seems like the wagon depreciates a bit faster than the cargo model, at least around me.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
That's kinda what I'm envisioning in my head. I have those 17" Sparco Terra Bronze wheels and I want to put "ST style" stripes to break up all the white. Something like this:
Plus Spacro mudflaps:
Then to work on the interior.
eastsideTim said:
Looks like someone is finally doing pop top conversions in the US on the 2014-up models. Ursa Minor.
This has considerably increased my interest in buying one. I’d lean towards a cargo version, but it appears they only do conversions on the wagon. Oddly enough, though, it seems like the wagon depreciates a bit faster than the cargo model, at least around me.
Ursa Minor makes really nice overlanding stuff. The make popup tops for Wranglers as well but they are spendy.
There seem to be more cargo models out there than wagons but all the wagons I found were cheaper. However, you cannot get the 1.6EB in the LWB wagon version for some reason. You either have to get the SWB or cargo version. I was eyeballing a 2016 LWB XLT Cargo that was dark blue and had the 1.6EB. It had around 80k miles but the dealership wanted $16k for it.
People have used both the wagon and van (cargo) models to build microcampers. The wagon is nice because of the headliner and aux fuse box in the rear but with the van, there are more options for DIY interior since its just sheetmetal back there.
In reply to stanger_missle :
Good to hear they are not a fly by night operation. I’ve seen several wagons near me in the 12-15K range, and it’s tempting to pick one up, then next year take a vacation out west to have the pop top installed.
A little late to the party for this thread, but I played with one at work for a while. Was going to put some blue Sparco mudflaps on it on my own dime. Even had miniatures made for company officers. Then we had a corporate change and they stripped it all off. Hilarious how much those stripes made people pull over from the fast lane to let me by on the interstate.
stanger_missle said:
This guy used Megan Racing EZ Street coilovers and has 18x9 Rotiform VCE Monoblocks. It looks amazing but damn, that is a lot of money.
I saw one of these on the road the other day (never noticed them before) and thought, "I bet that thing would look good dropped a few inches."
I was right.
Does the 8 speed transmission have a dipstick? I seem to recall stanger's 6 speed transit connect had an issue with losing transmission fluid, but there was no dipstick to check with.
I'd still kind of like one of these to convert to a camper someday, but I suspect that day is a while off. I ended up with a used Mazda5 back at the beginning of 2020 that I am liking a lot.
It'd definitely be cool to see a build thread for your van!
In reply to LostInTransit :
It's more the overall look than the actual ride height - I think my e36 is a little higher than it was on the stock 15's due the the wheel/tire diameter change, but certainly not much and the overall vibe is just right.
In reply to ProDarwin :
That's what I'm talkin' about! 
Waymint...I think I know you...
Oh man, I thought our friend was back.
Nice detective work!
Do you plan on any other modifications to adjust the handling balance? Generally, I would expect a stiffer sway bar to increase understeer. More front camber?
Torsional stiffness of a bar increases with the fourth power, so a 28mm bar is 85% stiffer than a 24mm. But more importantly, your handing balance is determined by the relative roll stiffness front and rear. Increasing the stiffness of the front bar without increasing the rear will lead to more understeer - assuming you're not hitting travel limits somewhere. Installing softer rear springs in the rear will also push the car a bit further towards understeer, even more so if it lowers the rear and thus decreases rear weight transfer further.
Hey, it's a motorsports forum :) This may not be important to your needs but it's something you should probably know about.
My thought was that more front camber might help there, which could be done with adjustable upper strut mounts stolen from another parts bin.
