Vinnie the Van

[BigMonty]

Good work matey

[Van Winkle]

Marked out and cut the floor using 2 pieces of 12 mm ply I acquired last week free on my travels

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Then my helper came to lend a paw

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have to keep my eye on her as she removes tools like wire brushes or screwdrivers and takes them and puts them on the lawn
And in between that I removed all the wheel nuts and made sure they were not seized or cross threaded as I once got caught out with a car having not checked them and later had a puncture !
Also checked the wheel bearings at same time.
Then fit a new temperature sender in the thermostat housing for the gauge, works again now
Next job is fix the floor before I screw the new wood down, will have to brush up on the welding having acquired a new looking mig from last weeks car boot for £30, seems to be working just need to find a local supplier for Hobbygas then I can test it out on some tinworms

[Van Winkle]

Not much happening at moment what with crap weather and other stuff taking up time, did manage to get back doors and side doors insulated and boarded over the other weekend.

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Hoping the weather picks up soon

[Van Winkle]

Good work matey

Thanks Monty

[Van Winkle]

Collected a bottle of welding gas (Argon mix ) from local supplier today and also got me some Standard Transit Clothing from a car boot sale

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Im hoping it will be dry this week than I can try the welder out and get some practice before I attempt welding the inside of the rear floor when im off work in a few weeks time

[Van Winkle]

Off all week so getting a few jobs done while listening to the TT.
First on the list new Discs and pads on the front, made a start with the near side and some numpty refit the caliper bolts and rounded the hexagon head off the one behind the suspension strut, Grrrrrrrrr got it out now with some difficulty Grrrrrrrrrr !
Have soaked bolts that hold disc to hub in penetrating oil now while I have a butty and listen to sidecar race

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Disc looks naff though pads have meat on them, wheel bearing seal looks well naff, so seems I am doing them in good time, just have to work out how to get them out of the caliper

[Van Winkle]

Other side even worse

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all bearings were discoloured brown don't know if that's normal but o/s larger one had a big chunk out of it just sat waiting in the grease to cause some trouble I bet

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not in a spot anyone could have damaged either .Wonder how much further that one would have gone ?
So now all cleaned up and going back together with new bearings and seals ,discs and pads

[Van Winkle]

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WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when I acquired young Vinnie he came with a new set of discs and pads, Hmmmmmmmm the pads wont fit as they are too deep to fit in the calipers

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so don't know what the pads are for but I ended up getting the motorcycle out to get the right ones and a new caliper bolt while I was out , bolt £1.86 inc vat at ford dealer. Pads £14 inc vat for the four at local factors
Was nice day for a ride though , anyway he`s all back together even though it took a lot longer than expected due to various set backs, brakes working better than ever now , you don't realise how bad they were until they are better if that makes sense
Thanks to the people who answered my questions with how to do it etc when I was unsure about stuff

[Van Winkle]

Finally got a weekend where other stuff did not take priority , managed to get the rusty patches cut out and welded up with out setting van on fire !

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[Van Winkle]

Welding isn't the best for a submarine but it got better towards the end lol, first attempt for 20 yrs

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While the back was empty I gave the floor a coat of red lead I found in the back of my dads shed, probably older than the van and will have real lead in it
So once that's dry can put some new insulation down and refit the floor Which had just been sat in temporary, then crack on with some sort of bed and cooking area

[Van Winkle]

Found this stuff in Wickes

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£14 a pack , for under laminate floors it says its for cold floors, there was more than enough to do 2 layers in the back of my SWB and it was very easy to work with useing scissors to cut it.
Then got the plywood floor back in and screwed down without any mishaps Remembered to check I wasn't drilling into fuel tank !
Chucked a bit of old carpet ( left from when I took the old bulkhead out ) down just temporary until ive made the pull out bed which is next on the list

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should be ready for hols end of August

[Van Winkle]

Yesterday replaced the steering rack rubber gaiters, one side was a doddle but the side with pipes on was a pain, maybe I should have taken the pipes off to make it easier Still 2 and a half hours to do both sides aint bad for me I think it helped that the trackrod ends were replaced just before I got the van so came off fairly easy.

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[Van Winkle]

Today made some progress inside, got both wheel arches boxed in and made the tops removeable so I can store stuff in there out of the way. Made them bigger than normal because after much hummin and harring decided the the bed had to go on top in order to be removeable quickly and with minimal fuss.Most of the year it will be a Camper but when we go to the Isle of Man I need the bed to sit on edge up the van side so I can get my motor cycle in and the ramp until we get there then put the top back on when the bike comes out

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so that's the boxes done and the tops stay put with the wood blocks screwed underneath instead of hinges.

[Van Winkle]

Now comes the bed base

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Plenty of space underneath for some of them plastic boxes for storage of clothes or tinned food etc.
Just need to get some foam and some type of covering for the bed base board. Now im thinking I will cut the base in half first then I can use one half up the doors and it will be sofa during day but at least we can get off this week end with a bit of luck if I can lash up some curtains temporary

[Van Winkle]

Thursday last week changed oil and all filters with no hiccups, just under 5000miles since last done but started straight away and runs noticeably better.
So we decided to give Vin a test camping weekend before I finish inside , making sure all ok. As we have not covered bed board with any foam yet we decided to use the cushions from the sofa and chairs in the lounge and just chuck a double sleeping bag on top , very comfy I must say
Loaded up with one burner stove a few tins , bacon and some sausage, bacon , couple of pans and a kettle, a few tins and a pair of clean undies and set off for a 2 day Bike and Music festival at Withernsea .
Got to Hornsea at 11 pm and managed to get a pint in local pub with van parked in a carpark a few hundred yards away, into bed and slept like a log till 7 am when our dog decided she wanted to go down to the beach .
Then back to van and made a nice one pan breakfast

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After breakfast down to the festival in Withernsea.