susb8383

Awesome, thanks! Edit: Ah! Now I see that you have that bolt size mentioned in your thread, but under a picture caption. Missed that. Found them on fastenal.com.

Thanks mrtn. You're right, that was easy. I just used the original bolts and even though they are pan heads, the plywood is so soft they made perfect circles. So now I've drilled the holes and they match exactly. But the reused bolts from the seat brackets are too short to reach the holes through the 3/4 plywood. I thought I checked it but I guess I didn't check it very well. I countersunk the bolts so they wouldn't protrude and even then I only get a turn or two of threads. How deep a countersink can I make before I compromise the plywood too much? I thought it might be easier to just buy some longer bolts, but I'm having trouble locating a place that sells them. Or maybe I'm just not looking for the right thing. I know they are T50 torx, but it seems the T50 refers to the driver, not the actual bolt size?

Or maybe I'm thinking wrong. I assumed I would use the bolts/holes from the seats, which means I have to drill holes in the plywood to match up the holes in the van exactly. But do most people just use self-tapping lathe screws instead of trying to reuse the existing holes/bolts?

Don, one last question. Any tips for how to drill holes in the plywood so that they match the predrilled holes in the bottom of the van? I'm ready to screw my floor in (I took the carpet out so it's right on the metal). I got a couple of suggestions from people (like putting tape across the holes and up the sides of the van, then putting the plywood down and trying to match the tape line) but there must be an easier way. Thanks, Susie

Don, how thick was the plywood you used?

When I was shopping for a TC and found many more vans being sold, I asked a body shop if they could install the side windows to a van that had solid sides. He said no because the doors themselves are different for the solid vs. windows. If that's the case, how could all have started off as wagons?

I can't tell you how helpful this post is. I just bought a 2014 LWB wagon and I need to clear the back to transport dogs. I had the dealer remove the seats for me, but he left those mounting brackets. After reading your post, I'll just remove the center ones. I still have to digest all this, but it's just what I needed. And thanks for the plywood template!