If you are converting a Ford Transit, you are probably wondering what to do with those foam blobs, right? We procrastinated for MONTHS about that, but finally did something about it! Read on!e
TIME SPENT ON THE JOB
8h approximately (excluding months of procrastination)
TOTAL COST
Like $40
MATERIAL
- Good Looking Fabric (that matches your good looking van)
- 3M 90 Spray Adhesive (Buy from Amazon)
RESSOURCES
- SVE Q-240: Guidance for Installing Aftermarket Transit Van Partitions / Bulkheads (search for “Q-240” to find the correct bulletin)
DISCLOSURE
The Ford SVE Bulletin (Listed in Resources just above) advises AGAINST the modification of the foam blobs, since the modification could damage or prevent the airbags from deploying properly. We don’t recommend modifying them! Yes, that includes covering them with fabric. If you decide to do so, do it at your own risks!
HERE WE GO!
First things first, we used vise-grip and raw power to remove the plastic pins (they were not damaged in the process and we were able to reuse them). Others have wrapped a metal wire around the pin’s head, then pull them out (as seen on FordTransitUSAforum.com)
The foam blobs are covered with fabric; we used 3M 90 adhesive to hold the fabric in place. If you go that route, test it before: too much adhesive and you will stain the fabric. With the blob funky shapes, it is a lot of work to get a nice coverage without wrinkles… It does not have an OEM look, but it’s fine with us!
To keep to option of removing the foam blobs, we fabricated a foam plug for each plastic pin. We can remove that plug to access the plastic pin and remove the foam blob.
To make a nice transition between the ceiling and the overhead storage, we fabricated a “L” shape in plywood that we covered with fabric.
The “L” is secured with 4 Cross Nut:
…And now it’s time to promote (again) our Cross Nut article!
ON SECOND THOUGHT
We decided that covering the foam blobs with fabric is safe. Will we die? Probably.
I lost one of my blobs!! Any chance you guys know the part number for these?
No idea sorry, a Ford Dealer would know for sure.
Antoine & Isabelle,
How did you fit the foam pieces back into their original positions with your ceiling installed? The first picture of the removal appears to show the foam pieces extending to the metal roof of the van. With the wood ceiling installed, this is no longer possible. Did you have to cut the foam pieces down, build around them, or some other method?
Thank you.
Hi Levi! You are right, we had to slightly cut the foams at the top to make them fit under the ceiling. It’s not recommended to alter them, but we don’t think this cut affects the functionality.
Bonjour à vous deux !
Nous tentons de faire le recouvrement des blobs et nous aimerions svp, avoir des indications sur la marche à suivre. Avez-vous mis la colle partie par partie pour coller ? comment avez-vous réussis les coins sans vagues ? Avez-vous fait les trous pour retirer les deux petites parties avant ou après la colle? Bref, j’aimerais avoir la marche à suivre, nous avons bcp essayé mais en vain.
merci à l’avance et félicitation pour tout ! vous avez été notre inspiration
Faire les foam blobs n’a pas été facile! J’ai mis de la colle sur le foam et le tissu (juste assez, mais pas trop, sinon ça imbibe et tache le tissu), section par section.
Le tissu a bien épousé la forme du blob, excepté dans le coin en haut. J’ai coupé le tissu pour éviter que ça “tire”, collé un autre morceau de tissu en dessous et rabattu le tissu coupé dessus; on voit bien le V de la coupe quand on est près.
Pour ce qui est des trous, j’ai simplement coupé le tissu une fois qu’il était totalement collé sur le foam (le tissu n’était pas collé au dessus des trous). La coupe a créé des petits triangles que j’ai collé dans le trou (toujours avec colle sur tissu et foam).
Il faut beaucoup de patience! Bonne chance 🙂
Hi guys- how did you attach your ceiling shiplap at the very front of the van? Is it just resting on your insulation? This site has been very helpful, thanks for documenting everything so well!