AlanN's MK3 V6 Day Van

[gatecrasha]

sub of the size you have theyre alan,
one of the bass port's i have here should be fine
pm me your address and i'll wizz one in post for ya,

this may sound stupid,
but when you seperate the sub off from the rest of the stowage,
drop a top section in as well
and then remove the sub
and between all the main sections silicon seal all the joins up

this helps the sound quality no end

[AlanN]

Its a 12" 1.2KW sub, but I have to contain the amp which is quite big already and the battery in the same area... Or make a small box around it! I will take a photo tomorrow so you can see what I mean. I usually store the jack etc there!

[gatecrasha]

alan,
i got a list for ya

need to know physical size of the stowage
width height and length

----------------------------

depth of sub from front to back

----------------------------

physical size of amp
width height and depth

and same for battery too,

i'll calculate what you can get away with to take as little space as possible
but still get the best from your kit

[AlanN]

I will have a measure up when I get home tonight

[AlanN]

Sorry GC, Ive been really busy up the shed and totally knackered, I will get around to it.

[AlanN]

Not done much to the spoiler this week, just been too busy at work and coming home knackered, so here is the progress so far...

I spent quite a bit of time hunting through different spots/fogs that where already fitted into other cars that I could possibly mould in to the bumper, but I didnt find anything that was going to be any easier than making my own up, so thats what I decided to do.
I brough some halo spots from eBay, just fancied them basically... I then had the problem of cutting a hole and the only hole cutter I could borrow was 102mm, I didnt want to spend £25 to cut two holes.
At this point, with spinning drill in hand, I thought if this goes wrong, Ive ruined both spoiler and bumper. and you can see from the photos, it all worked out really well, a nice clean cut.

I cut a strip out of the old bumper, heated it up and bent it in to a curcle, this made a collar for the spot to sit in. Out came the soldering gun and I welded the joint all the way around on both sides, this picture is welded half way round, nice and easy on the front with a smooth finish, but had to go around the reinforcing on the rear side. The inner picture shows the angle of the collar to get the spot to face forward, then a quick splash of filler spray.


Heres a photo with the spot pushed in to place and quick squirt of primer, I wasnt happy with the sharp corners, so I rounded them off. One of the biggest problems is this type of plastic, is it gets a bit fluffy if you use too course a paper, so I found that 340 grit was about the coursest you could go... It takes quite a bit of preperation to get it smooth after a hell of a lot of primer.
All I had to do now, was to repeat the whole operation on the opposite side without cocking it up!!!
Heres the second hole cut with the edges rounded off with the dremmel


I have been repairing some of the knicks and scores in the bumper along with priming up, filling and flatting down ready for painting, which Im hoping will be done by the Transit Forum Nationals. Fingers crossed...

[Luke]

Top work Alan, looks really good and origanal idea too

i really enjoy reading this thread can't wait for the "finished" van wheels and all

[AlanN]

Thanks Luke, I know what tyres I want now, but it looks like Im gonna have to go down the cheap route... MOT in the next week or so and tax etc

[AlanN]

And still havent got the centre caps cut yet... Wheres all time gone

[rover]

Your standard of work never ceases to amaze me Alan, top job

Re the centre caps....and I've been holding back on this in case I needed them..

I have two, exactly the same as the ones on mine, one is a bit pitted and is in grey primer at the mo just to stop it from getting any worse, the other one is in original chrome and in very good nick, if you want them they are yours, I will take a picture later (if I remember).

Rover.

[AlanN]

I must point out here, that the spoiler isnt my idea for anyone reading this... must blame Rover for showing me the photos in the first place, Ive just added my bit...
Ive got 4 caps at present Rover although they arent all the same shape or the same length, thats one of the reasons I want to cut them down. Getting them cut is straight forward enough, but its the little flare bit to hold it into the rim. I must get this sorted this weekend.

Do I have to have the bumper on for the MOT do you think, theres nothing sticking out

[gatecrasha]

if youve got access to a lathe alan
flaring the edges out on the centres shouldnt be too much of a problem

im an engineer by trade,
so if you need any tips,
no problems

[AlanN]

We have got 3 lathes at work, but only have blades to cut plastic and paper, I havent used one since I was at school

[madmark]

nice mod there !

[transitandy]

must admit i cant wait to see it when its finished, as its gonna look well smart