My first vehicle. Ever.

[Serpens]

Good thread.

Man you have more patients in regards to break downs than I do, I would be throwing my toys long before now!!

Dont think you would have much chance starting a tranny from a ka, even with 12 guage wire for jumper leads.

nice carpet jobbie at the back,

[1958 harry]

I think its 4 or 5 call-outs for the RAC

[Ucof]

Oh dear.. Already two down. Thanks for the info though

Also, thanks for the comments guys


Anyway, had fun and have been busy recently with regards to t'van.

Bad(well, not really) news first though - I had another flat battery issue today
I only went and left the lights on when I got out of the van didn't I?
Not a problem though - I'm now always carrying the spare, where ever I go, so I just switched them over.
It is a slight inconvenience when I go for a shower though

The amp and sub that I got in advance for my birthday arrived two days ago, so I spent Tuesday night fitting that. Took a few hours, but I did it all by myself, and perfectly installed too
Ended up with LOADS of spare, free high quality cable though as both the amp and sub are near the front, an I already had the speaker cables in place.



This is the sub:


This is the front of the amp that is now located underneath the passenger bench seat:



Here is the back of the amp, with all the power connections - I was lucky in that there was a ready drilled bolt hole that I could use to ground the amp to.



It is all hooked up and now happily drowns out the annoying whine of the engine on the hour long morning commute
The bass is fantastic too - I love listening to bassy music (drum and bass and UK hip hop mainly) so I'm loving having everything shaking as it should!

Last night, I winged past B&Q to pick up another 4 pack of square battens that I could use to create the box that I could keep all the van repair bits, as well as hide the sub from prying eyes.

Here's some of the bits before I started chopping it all up:



I didn't take any pictures as I was making the box. They wouldn't be very interesting and I'm sure you know what there would be anyway
So instead, here's the box finished and situated in the van:




I put the lid on with an overhang to lift it by, and added two cheap hinges. Here is proof that it all works as it should:


The extra struts are in the lid so that it can support people sitting on it. All the screws about 2.5 inches long so they'll be more than strong enough

And here is the box with the sub in it!



HUZZAH!
I'll be carpeting the box lid and sides, as well as adding a strip of carpet round the back of the bench seat as the amp can be seen underneath it.


The only problem that I have discovered so far.....is that if I take a roundabout sightly too fast, the sub and the box tip over into the middle of the van
I'll be adding l-brackets ASAP, as well as properly screwing the amp to the floor to make it a bit harder to nick, unless they happen to have a very small screwdriver

[93fxdl]

a couple of suggestions for anti theft fixings use cross head screws and once installed use a drill and take out the cross part of the head also use screws that are too long and when finished dive underneath and bend over a bit or give it a tack of weld but the fist line of defence is to make any goodies invisible such as panel over the front and back of the seat so the amp cant be seen also consider glue or a steel frame to secure goodies or the real sneaky one is junk or fubar goodies hiding the good stuff so if any r sole does get in he grabs crap effs off hopefully never to be seen again
ttfn glenn
ps a trick i have used is gouge postcode into parts (inside as well) so on the hot market its not worth much as either its marked or damaged removing the marks plus if r sole or his mates get caught with it the plod can trace who it belongs to

[Ucof]

Good plan
I'll scratch and UV pen our postcode onto the bits and bobs

Thanks for the tip.

[MONSTER 0NE]

hi mate if your gonna leave the sub in the box you have made you might want to make some holes in the box before you carpet it to let some of the sound out, as you can carpet over the holes so no one can see them.

[Ucof]

Yeah, I had thought of drilling a latticework of holes in the wood.
Will see what I can do at the weekend.

Thanks for the idea though

[93fxdl]

why bother trying to cut lots of holes just one big one with the carpet stretched over it
a website i found which has lots of info on ice install is http://www.the12volt.com there you can find all sorts of wierd stuff like calculations and volumes for speakers amps and wiring (i am a hit it with a hammer type of guy) but i do seem to remember that amps and other high power kit needs a cooling air supply
ttfn glen

[jamface]

Thats looking good mate - still seems to be coming along a damn sight faster than mine too

[Ucof]

Oh dear..

Last Friday, after we had loaded everything for the festival we were going to into the van, and after my friend and I had set off in his car, and after I rang my partner to see if they had set off yet, and after I heard that they couldn't get the van started, and after my friend and I turned round and drove back home, and after finding out that the van wouldnt start due to a flat battery, and after my partner's sister went home to get her car to give a jump start as we couldn't get the plastic cover off the battery in my friends car, and only after we get the van started and only after I'm revving it up to charge the battery and getting ready to go.........
....does the exhaust fall off


It had rusted right through on the join before the first silencer box and now meant we didnt have a van to get to the festival..and that I did'nt have a van to get to work in...
Oddly enough, the break seems to be directly below the sub.... I wonder if I have been playing my music too loudly and have shook the thing apart!

Long story short - my partner and her sister hired a rental Mk6 Transit and loaded everything into that and got to the festival. I'm currently getting lifts too and from work with someone who lives nearby. My partner's sister managed to find a new replacement exhaust part for me, so I'll be bopping off to the garage tonight to book her in. I'd do it myself, but my partner doesn't want me to make the problem worse.

We think we will be selling the Mk3 and want to get a high top/ hi cube (what's the difference?) Mk5 instead. SWB preferred but not essential
Anyone interested in buying her/ part exchanging?

[dachre]

We think we will be selling the Mk3 and want to get a high top/ hi cube (what's the difference?)

Sorry to hear about your problems Ucof.......

If i can remember right ,about 2 inches i think. Im 6 foot tall and i can stand in mine (high top) with just a little bit of space above my head before it hits the roof bars. In my mates high cube there is a fair bit more head space.

Perhaps someone knows the actual technical difference but it feels like about 2 inches.

Good luck with it mate.

[Ucof]

Cheers for the info


Some good news - went down to the garage, the bloke said bring the van in, I brought it in, he replaced the old knackered pipe with the shiney new one. Twenty quid. He had to get a welder out to get the rusted bolts off the front
Yes, I know I could have done it myself, but the GF insisted I took it to a professional (sound familiar to any of you? ) in case the bit up by the exhaust manifold snapped off or I broke it somehow.

So now, I thankfully have a working van again

I took advantage of her being raised up on rails to hav a good look underneath... and god damn... she needs a fair bit of welding
The floor is rock solid, though some bits of the sills are knackered, as were one or two other bits near the wheels.

Here are some pictures:



This is how I got the exhaust to stay attached to the van whilst I got her to the garage:



This is one of the rusted knackered bits, its the wheel spring casing (I think):



Here you can see exactly were the break was, just before where the first silencer box should go:



Excuse the blurry picture, but this is the rear right wheel arch, which really needs a weld patch on.



I also bought one of these off ebay and stuck it on next to the Ford logo on the rear door - I hope one of you know what those are about, otherwise, once again, I'll look very silly.


It looks great, and hopefully it'll raise a small smile to people when I'm out driving, and will make someone feel part of a small clique

[rover]

This is one of the rusted knackered bits, its the wheel spring casing (I think):

Thats just the cover on the shock absorber NOT an MOT fail

Rover.

[Ucof]

Yeah.. but it is still full of rust

I'll just duct tape it up

When it comes to MOT time, I'll see what they say and how much it'll cost to make good.

[rover]

Duct tape is of no use at all on that, if the van doesnt need too much else at MOT time then put a pair of new shocks on it

Rover.