Rebuild

First topic message reminder :

I bought my van as a project for me to do, and I duly started to refurbish it. So I went to Weston Park and enjoyed the rally, but because of what I found out about the van, I decided to do a complete rebuild. The van is the noisiest van I have ever had, ( road noise ) and it is a very cold van. At Weston we did have some cold nights and I really felt it, and the double glazed windows were a joke. So I am deconstructing at the moment and finding all the dirty tricks that manufacturers get up to, like screws that come from the outside into furniture, and the electrical system, which at best is chaotic. The gas cupboard is a one piece fibre glass molding, but from the dirt round the edges is not sealed to the wall. I will be retaining the floor, but trimming approx 3" of both sides which should get rid of any dry rot, and losing the overcab bed and opting for storage space, and redefining the roof line, which hopefully will make it a tad more aero-dynamic. A lot to do, so no rallys for me at the moment, but my plan is to make a warm, comfortable and practical van.

started on Monday
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I found this above the overhead kitchen cupboard, manufacturers carefully prepared hole, the grey in the hole is the roof aluminum
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

One of the top corners of the overcab bed. One of the problems with plastic coated walls is the damp being held back, so by the time it does show, it is usually too late.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It is looking really good Debbie, cannot wait to see the next stage.  Keep posting, please   

Your'e doing a great job Debbie, we are all waiting with baited breath for your pictures of the next stage(s).
Cal

Coming on a treat... 

Got the cab panels done today and started the tedious task of, sanding, filling, sanding and trimming. Hoping to lay the fibre glass roof soon.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Sanding, filling, sanding, filling, then the heat got the better of me, so I finished early
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Amazing.......

Had yesterday off as I was driving for the Legion, but back at it today. After much measuring, decided on the position of the windows, then set about marking every thing up, and measured many times, many many times. Finally got everything right, cut the holes and framed them.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Back to sanding tomorrow!

Any ideas on what make of windows you're putting in debbie, possibly seitz??

Seitz S4. Got them all ready as needed to get the cutouts the right size.

Have now finished the glass fibre on the roof and the four corners, messy business, and today constructed the light board and fitted the lights.......you won't be able to see the lights, as they were sourced over the net from Hong Kong, and they are ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. Don't think they would even have passed the MOT. I may need to go and lie down in a dark room!! Just proves the point, you get what you pay for.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Looking good so far Debbie, what are you giong to cover the external ply with .? Sorry about the lights but remember good no cheap, cheap no good although having said that I have had some excellent gear from the Chinese, No 69 was great   

By the way this is Bob not Barb, being mosey  

Hi Bob, I am just going to paint the wood with old fashioned Tekaloid oil based coach enamel. I did think about fibre glassing the whole thing, but that would add about another 15 to 20 kgs. It's allways another option later on if it's called for.

Ooh nearly forgot, can't remember the number, but sweet and sour was allways my favourite.

Well I have just had a few days off and on a project like this, its good to have a break. So onward and today started painting. The van is now in primer

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Today was a struggle cos it was HOT, even in the shade of the barn, it has been a scorcher, but I hasten to add, I am not complaining! Got a bit more done and I aim to have the van home by Tuesday. It dosn't look too bad, as long as you don't stand too close, so remember, allways admire from a distance to avoid disappointment.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Looks fine too me but why the grey colour ?

Looking good Debbie

well done Debbie, looking good so far.
Cal

Bob, I chose grey cos I wanted something different from White, and according to the registration document, it is grey, so I don't have to mess with DVLA. There's method in the madness!

You're a bright Lady aren't you, I would never have thought of that    but it does look good now with the windows in, suppose the door in next and then it will secure.

yes have to agree you have done a great job.watching george clarke maybe he would have followed your progress.well done.

Will it not be quite dark inside Debbie with Windows only being small ?

Looks smashing - well done you.

Hi Adele, I have 2 mini heki's in the roof, plus the three windows, and that is a lot more window than I am used to, so that will be plenty for me.

Do you know the maximum width of the mini heki's by any chance? need a new skylight for mine but when i put the solar panels on i put them pretty close to the sky light so not much room.

Coming on a treat now, what have you planned for the interior?

Hi Ken, I'll try and measure mine tomorrow. The interior is in my head, relatively simple, hopefully cosy and inviting. I am influenced by the gypsy style.

So your not using the original interior then?

I saved the cooker and the seat cushions and the fire, everything else was past it, and although I liked the rear lounge setup, it wasn't totally quite as I like it.

Think something went wrong with your last post Debbie, not sure if a picture was intended there but I have just read the whole post from the start and very impressed with the work, I like the idea of the high windows being a lone traveller and I know your electrical work will be 1st class as I have seen your work in the past, remember the soldering job you did for me on my camos box feed cable (cannot remember where but we were parked on a cattle market) Keep the good work up and hopefully we will see you soon on a meet for a photo shoot.  

It looks like a chicken & egg situation?

Don't know what happened on that post, didn't try to put picture up, think it was my computer reminding me who's boss!

Have got the van home at last, and can now crack on with the inside. Still got bits to do underneath, but I'll get there soon enough!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Bit of an update.
The insulation is in and the interior walls are in. It looks a bit patchy, but all the joins will have framework covering them, and it tells me where the timbers are to fix to. Work has been a bit slow, as my get up and go has got up and gone a couple of times because of the heat and humidity.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Work has been a bit slow, as this year has been unpleasant for hay fever suffers, and that includes me, but I have made some progress.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Iam using a C-Tek batt to batt charger, and these are my home made ring connectors
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Copper cored cable and 15mm copper piping.

Looking good so far Debbie, keep the good work up and get it ready before the winter and maybe get a meet hopefully for the grand viewing.

My van will not be finished, probably till next year, but it will be usable, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I desperately need to have a couple of nights out. So today this arrived in the post, so spent the afternoon prepping it and installing it. Got the cable in, but not connected yet.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

What have you left to do Debbie? or is that too bigger question at the moment.

eerrmm, got to finish installing the electrics, which won't take too long, then finish a whole load of paneling, and varnishing, resize and recover the seating/bedding cushions, oh, and repaint, white.

Ah I see, keep at it you will have a good van for many years to come.

Oh NO!!!!!  What's happened to to Debbie's rebuild!!!???

I'm a (very) recent recruit to this group, and having just bought a motorhome requiring extensive renovation, I've been fascinated & inspired by the record of her rebuild.......but she's gorn!!  Anybody able to update me? (Preferably Debbie herself!)

PaulW wrote:

Oh NO!!!!!  What's happened to to Debbie's rebuild!!!???

I'm a (very) recent recruit to this group, and having just bought a motorhome requiring extensive renovation, I've been fascinated & inspired by the record of her rebuild.......but she's gorn!!  Anybody able to update me? (Preferably Debbie herself!)

Hi Paul

If you look at Debbies new post "New Build" you will see what happened as she explains all.