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Brian Morris’ Scoobyvan and SlammedHam have finally given us the answer to the age old hot rodder’s question: ‘how low can you go?’ For these two awesome vehicles that come as an almost matched set, the answer is “all the way to the ground.” Brian says that he and a friend spent about a year of their spare time after work taking two real beaters and turning them into awesome rides, even though he hasn’t finished painting them yet. The amount of detail work he put into them is just astounding.
SlammedHam is Brian's name for his channeled 1956 Mercury Travel Trailer. The name Scoobyvan is obviously his '66 Econoline Van.
The Making Of The Scoobyvan
Brian used a Suzuki rear-end to mock up the triangulated four-link suspension he custom built. Notching the frame and crossmember for the slam and air bag installation. Left: Brian first cut holes in the floor for the wheel tubs and to access the suspension Center: The frame rails were notched. Right: The crossmember was then notched.
Brian started the Scoobyvan air ride suspension by custom-fabricating a triangulated four-link suspension out of mild steel. Due to particularities with the unibody frame, he couldn’t use anything pre-built. He used custom-made 12-inch-wide wheels from US Wheels and Nitto drag radials (325/50-15) for the rolling stock. Once the four-link was built and the Ford nine-inch was narrowed by 12 inches, Strange axles and a 4.56 posi completed the installation.
Building the triangulated 4-link suspension. Top left: The lower arms were built of box steel and the axle mounts were made from plate steel. Top right: Lower arms mocked up. Bottom left: Plate steel was used to craft the upper link mounts and the front crossmember mount.. Tube steel was used for the arms. Bottom right: Triangulated 4-link all mocked up. Ready for the narrowed Ford 9-inch rear.
Narrowing the Ford 9-Inch Rear. Left: They used a large pipe cutter to cut the axle housings where needed. Center: Prepping the rear housing for welding. Right: The finished product, ready for gears and axles.
Front Suspension from a Mustang II – Widened to Fit
Top: The modified Mustang II independent front suspension.
Bottom: Dropping in the Mustang IFS subframe member. Left: Accessing the frame rails. Center: Frame rails were cut 18 inches. Right: The widened and dropped Mustang clip was dropped in and welded into place.
Brian wanted disc brakes and rack and pinion steering, so he went with the tried and true Mustang II front clip. Because of the slam, the channel, and the airbags, he had to do some extra fabricating, such as dropping the Mustang II subframe by six inches (to correct for desired ride height). He also widened it about five inches to get the member to fit in the van’s frame. He had to cut an 18-inch section out of the frame rails to drop the Mustang crossmember in. He used four-inch boxed steel to mate the front and rear sections of the frame. For added strength, after the crossmember was welded in, he welded in some top brackets over the a-arms, which are chromed aftermarket specialty parts.
Finishing up the Mustang IFS. Far Left: The Mustang crossmember is welded in. Center Left: Brian added an extra strengthening piece bridging the two sections of original frame. Center Right: A-Arms and 2-inch drop spindles installed. Far Right: Airbags installed and plumbed.
In order to keep the factory column, Brian had to cut it out of the van so he could chop four inches off it and the shaft. He then had to use a pair of 2X4s to mock up a seat to get the proper height and position for the steering column and wheel prior to welding it back in.
Left: Fitting the steering column. Center: Test-fitting. Right: Mocked up.
Since the steering rack is mounted behind the driver, Brian had to use a steering column reverser box( Actually a steering gearbox from a 95 Isuzu Trooper), and then mount the steering rack upside down so everything would mate up properly. This required cutting the old mounts off and fabricating new ones from scratch. Yes, there were a couple of Borgeson universal/swivel joints that he had to use also.
Getting the steering together. Far Left: Maxwell helps dad with the steering assembly. Center Left. Mounting the rack upside down due to location behind driver. Center Right: Steering gearbox from an Isuzu Trooper was used as a reverser. Far Right: Steering system all hooked up.
Riding On Air Bags
Brian’s air ride system was also custom-built.
Brian fabricated everything for the front and rear airbag systems. Sure, he bought the air tank and compressor to install, but all the lines, wiring, brackets, and mounts were fabbed right there in his home garage/shop. Once he had all the bags mounted front and rear, with the compressors and tank installed in the rear, he ran the air lines and wiring. The original valve and solenoid installation worked for him, but he later decided to take those out and installed Parker products instead.
Left: Passenger side plumbing complete Center: Air ride manifolds complete. Right: Driver side compressor.
As much as possible, he used the original dash switch knobs to control the air ride system, so there’s no ungainly control box on the dash. Once the system was up and running and tested, he built another steel cover over the valving and air manifolds.
Custom cover for the air ride manifolds.
The Bodywork and Interior Mods
The transformation begins with a paint job.
Top Photos: The seams along which Brian will cut for the channel. Bottom: Bracing the body for the channel.
Brian likes to chop and channel vehicles that he drives; he likes the really low look that it gives. The Scoobyvan is no different. Brian channeled the ’66 Ford Econoline by four inches. As you can see from the pictures, this took quite a bit of work to complete. The old transmission and straight-six 170ci engine came out prior to any cutting being done, which gave him a bit more room to work with.
Filling after the channel. This was done both to add strength and make it look good.
After cutting out the floorboards around the wheels for the tubs, he welded in braces to keep the body square while he cut out four inches of body height, using a plasma torch. Luckily for Brian, he was able to make most of his channeling cuts on seams which made this part a little bit easier for him. Due to the wheel tubs the slam required, he also had to channel the doors just a bit so they’d open and close properly and so the windows would still work.
Channeling the doors.
There was still a good bit of trial and error, especially around the wheelwell tubs. One smart thing Brian did was setting the cross-braces at four inches off the floorboard height. This meant that once the cutting for the channel was done, the body rested evenly on the floorboards, so the braces served double purpose for him: they kept the body square while cutting and channeling, and they also acted as a jig to keep the body in alignment while welding everything back together. After adding filler panels and smoothing over the welds, this part of the project was mostly complete.
New bumpers and extended headlight bezels.
Brian then moved on to some subtle body mods. The mod that draws the most interest at shows is the five-inch stretch to the headlight bezels. People realize something is different, but unless they really know their Econolines, they don’t know what. Brian went with headlights that have integrated turn signals, so they also smoothed over the factory turn signals.
The four inch channel required reinforced body mounts and created gaps like these that had to be filled.
The front bumper is fabricated from the bumper off a ’55 Buick. He felt he had to put something from a Cadillac on it, so he used tail light bezels from a ’59 Cadillac with 1950 Pontiac taillights in the rear. He also used the driver’s side mirror off a 1970 Cadillac mated with an aftermarket bullet mirror. Another cool touch is the dashboard from a 1956 Ford F100; he had to weld side extensions on it to get it to fit correctly. This is another subtle mod most people see but can’t place. For wiring up accessories and the air ride system, he went with Painless Wiring.
Custom bumpers and Painless Wiring.
Brian had help from his sons when it came time to put the interior together. Max and Myles helped him trace the door panels and such on chipboard. He used these patterns to cut the vinyl coverings and then sewed them together himself. He recently installed new custom seats using the original 1966 Medium Blue Vinyl.
The Drivetrain
92 Mustang GT 5.0 backed by Ford A40D
Brian found a 5.0 out of a fuel-injected 92 Mustang GT. The wiring harness for it came from Ford Racing and Brian said that the motor and harness went in like a breeze. They had to move the engine back about three feet to have room for the front seats. He really didn’t do much to the engine except to clean it up to make it look pretty again. Backing up the 5.0 is a stock Ford A40D overdrive tranny. Brian and his indispensable buddy Steve Bennet custom-built the engine cover using the top of the stock doghouse.
First the old straight six 170 had to come out.
All that was left was the exhaust and the driveshaft. Again, except for the Flowmaster Series 40 mufflers, everything was fabricated by Brian and Steve. That includes the headers. Because of the engine and trans swap and new placement, they had to shorten the stock driveshaft significantly.
Brian scored a 5.0 HO out of a 92 Mustang GT.
The most interesting thing about this whole build is that Brian’s “day job” is as a manager at a horse auction house near where he lives in New York. Other than some welding tutoring by his dad, he has no specialized training in automotive. Even better, the van is a daily driver. Brian wanted to give a special shout out to right hand man Steven Bennet for his help with this project. Brian said, “It would never have been completed without you Steven. Max and Myles, you were also great helpers!”
He custom-built a crossmember for the 5.0.
The 5.0 got a thorough cleaning, some dress-up stuff, and then installed. Ford Racing supplied the wiring harness for the engine. The Series 40 mufflers are from Flowmaster .
The Creation of SlammedHam
SlammedHam is Brian’s name for this 1957 Mercury Travel Trailer and the name fits perfectly. Look at it and you’ll understand why he calls it SlammedHam. Brian completely tore the trailer down to lower it and then installed air bags. When he lowers the air bags, the body of the trailer rests on the ground, which is slammed and the shape of the trailer is reminiscent of the tins that canned ham comes in; thus SlammedHam.
The first step was delivery and tear down. Left: The Mercury Travel Trailer is delivered. Right: Tear down begins.
Brian modified SlammedHam to match the Scoobyvan that tows it. That means he had to shorten its length and height. After removing the siding and inner plywood, he laid the siding out on new sheets of plywood and had his best helper trace the siding onto the plywood. Brian then shortened the trailer by ten inches and lowered the roof by five inches, using the outline his sons Max and Myles drew as a template. He then cut the plywood for the sides and tacked them up to the metal frame ribs he welded in.
Step 2 was to create a template to use for the cut-down. Left: The aluminum siding was laid out and cleaned up. Center: Plywood sheets make up the new siding base. Right: Maxwell can be seen in this shot tracing the top of one of the sides onto the plywood.
With both sides cut down to the size that he was looking for, Brian then framed in the front of the trailer and hung the windows up. Next came the door and door jamb. Now that he had a base to work with, Brian skinned the top back over and trimmed it to fit.
Step 3 was to put it all back together again, but better. Far Left: Steel framing is welded in for rigidity. Center Left: The new plywood siding goes up. Center Right: Framing in with wood almost complete. Windows set. One sheet of the siding can be seen installed waiting to be trimmed. Far Right: Framed in and siding trimmed. Ready for the top.
After that, he cut the back open and turned it into a swinging door so he could easily pull his son’s air ride chopper bicycle and Kiddilac pedal car into the back. (Yes, the pedal car is also airbagged, except, because of the bags, he’s not sure the pedals will work properly). Although he finished this project earlier this year, Brian hasn’t decided on a finish color for SlammedHam yet. But even with the weathered look, it still looks awesome.
Step 3 cont'd. Left: Siding installed. Left: Top skin was installed. Right: Rear lift door was cut. This gives Brian easy access to pull his toys in and out.
Next Brian moved to modifying the trailer’s suspension for airbags and slamming. He notched the frame around the axle by about five inches and used mild steel to build the notch. With the frame ready for the slam, Brian then custom-fabricated steel mounts for the airbags, which came from Slam Specialties. With the bags installed, it was time to install the plumbing and wiring for the airbag system. With all that completed, it was finally time to test the system out.
Step 4: The air ride prep. Left: Passenger side frame notched for slamming. Right: Both frame rails are notched.
This leaves a few finishing touches for SlammedHam, such as the interior and a paint job. But, as typical projects go, this one is not complete yet but still makes of an interesting setup that has many hours and late nights built into it. Be sure to check out the many videos on Brian’s YouTube channel for more car porn, as well as the gallery below.
