My MK7 Day Van / Stealth Camper

[martyn1983]

After lurking on the forums for years its finally time to pop in and say hello!

I'll be picking up my first Transit, a SWB mk7, at some point this week. For the past year and a bit I've been running an old Caddy 2k which has been an absolute nightmare. I honestly don't get the reputation that they have for being amazing vans. They're just money pits, but I'm hoping it's replacement is going to be kinder to me!

For the past few weeks I've been scouring Marketplace and Fleabay, without much joy. Then, out of the blue, my mate phoned to say his new work van was ready to roll so his MK7 would be going up for sale if I was interested...it'd just had a loss of power issue, which turned out to be a sensor. As it's been his business wheels (he's a heating engineer) it's never been neglected and for a van of its age seems to be pretty damn solid!

Initial plans - I need to clean the roof of tree sap and a few rust spots from where the roof racks/ladders sat, there's a little bit of surface rust along the rear arch/panel join (but its definitely just surface!) and then the real fun can begin. It's going to be my daily driver and also something I can randomly just get away in.

I've put quite a bit on yt of my Caddy exploring, I'm really hoping I'll be able to get a little further in the Transit. Will keep the thread (and yt) updated

https://www.youtube.com/@dayvanadventure

[martyn1983]

Not a lot yet in terms of pics, but working on it

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[martyn1983]

Is there anyone near Aberdeen with experience of fitting windows onto sliding doors?

Might be able to grab one from work, but not a chance in hell I'll take to cutting the hole in the door myself

Managed to get a quick vid on the youtube yesterday, plan for this week is to maybe lift the floor and get the rear wall panels unbolted so I can clean the van and get it ready for insulation/repanelling)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3j6nc-CInY

[dumper]

It might be worth checking out the local breakers yard see if yo can find a sliding door the right colour with the window fitted

[martyn1983]

It might be worth checking out the local breakers yard see if yo can find a sliding door the right colour with the window fitted

Already on it...handily enough I work in it

Issue is I know the door probably won't be the best, whereas the door on my new van is in decent nick. Part of the reason I went for a Transit (apart from liking them) is that parts are ten a penny up here!

[martyn1983]

It might be worth checking out the local breakers yard see if yo can find a sliding door the right colour with the window fitted

It's not the right colour, but it's as close as I think I'll get...

Picked up a door, a replacement fuel flap cover and some roof rails yesterday. Game on!

[martyn1983]

Happy new year guys!

Not had the chance to do a lot so far over winter, we've had snow for about a week and a half now so its too damned cold to get anything done. But away into work this morning to try and make a start on ripping out the bulkhead & rear panelling. Next few weeks should be interesting

I've managed to source camper bits from some of the vans at work, so when the bulkheads gone and I've insulated/soundproofed then I have a head start. Bought a sky light/extractor from ebay just before Christmas, so hopefully I'll get that fitted in the next week or two.

[martyn1983]

Works been a bit slower than hoped on the conversion, mostly due to winter!

The ply lining is out, along with the tie down hooks. This weekend's plan is to sand back the last of any interior surface rust then get it covered in hammerite.

Been a tad distracted though ... ah well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m6BY4sv-rc

[martyn1983]

What with winter and going off to film some Top Gear cars, progress was a lot slower than I'd hoped.

I also made the mistake of prodding the offside rear sill thinking "that looks a bit more rusty than I remember"

Lesson learned

In better news, the rip out & refit of the van has well and truly begun.

https://youtu.be/ZI5RYMcaexk

[martyn1983]

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When I took it to my pals to have the OSR sill patched he did say a couple of bits were going to need attention soon. Didn't expect it to be this soon!

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Exactly where he said it would fail

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Primed / plated (I cant actually remember how far along it was at this point)

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So far I think I've gone through about half a 700ml bottle of raptor, thankfully the guys at work let me use a ramp & airline so once the prep was doing painting literally took about half an hour, if that! I've never tackled anything like this before so really pleased with how the paintwork has come out!

Still loads to do - the inner sills around the doors still need a couple of coats of raptor, a few bits of the wings need some paint over the primer and I'm going to hammerite around the inner wings behind the headlights...but thats all small fry compared to this.

[martyn1983]

Done quite a bit to Travis....

Still more to do but well proud of what I've achieved so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ikU_3N72s

[martyn1983]

Well, a couple of nights away in the van and a good few things to try and tweak.

Need to finish the bed - the frames in, I'm running an airbed on it just now but I need a custom mattress cut. Anyone had one made in Scotland?

Still need to finish rust removal and paint, though I'm happy the chasis and sills have had a good go!

Went to Portsoy on Friday night and took the bike with me too, so went for a wee explore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKDBLDs5KCk