thrud's lil' van

[thrud]

ok guy's i thought start my progress report,
as my van is and probably always will be a 'work in progress'

To start, a little history,
she's been mine since december 05, and when i first got her she was in a state, as she came from a building company in south london, I only bought her as she had 10 months MOT

Initial problems included;
windscreen leaking/almost hanging off
van full of old screws, saws, and anything else you can imagine going rusty
a bad atempt at ply lining
a moldy dash, steering wheel and seats, due to the screen
rear o/s door almost hanging off
windscreen washer pump not working
no spare wheel
paint missing where they had torn off their sign writing
big dent in bonnet, plus dents and scrapes everywhere

So first few jobs were;
clean out all the crap in the back incuding the old ply/chipboard lining
get the windscreen refitted
change rear door and bonnet, to ones from my mk4(that had worse problems,if possable )
take the best wheel off the mk4, as a spare

she then looked something like this

[thrud]

A quick list of the parts that came from the mk4 before it was scraped;
one back door
bonnet with hinges
passenger door
seats
washer bottle

Then i got this

but the engine died at about 70mph

So i took the following from it then scraped it;
seats
mirrors
rear bumper with ends
tow bar and step
radiator
side repeaters( not fitted yet)

Then filled and painted her

I have since painted the front bumper and fitted a roof rack and painted that too
here she is in portugal( for the second time this year )

[Luke]

does the mk4 bonnet fit on the mk3 without mods and shut ok

[thrud]

to be honest luke... no
you need the hinges from the mk4 too,
when i first fitted it, it did close ok,
but a tango lorry backed into her and dented the bonnet, cracked the grill and dented a couple of ribs in the rad,
since i filled the bonnet, fitted the mk5 rad and straightened the slam panel its never been perfect, but it'll do

[DOL]

looking good m8

[thrud]

cheers DOL

[thrud]

here's a quick list of the stuff that she's had done
112138 mls-
new clutch fitted ( by Mr. Clutch i wouldn't recomend them tho )

117556 mls-
new oil and filter
new fuel filter
new air filter
new wipers

120904 mls-
new oil and filter
new timing belt kit (old style )
new water pump
radiator from mk5 (flushed and painted)
^this was done before the first trip to portugal^

125180 mls-
new oil and filter
changed coolant
new air filter
new engine mounts (one fitted by local garage)
new ball joints (both fitted by local garage) (as i couldn't seperate them )
new track rod ends (both fitted by local garage)

plus the usual welding incuding new front cross member.
and new rear brake shoes and cylinders and front pads. and one front shock absorber
she's also hade 7 new tyres, 2 were killed by the tracking being out by 1 mm
did i say a quick list?

[rover]

You are doing a good job there mate

But I gota say the Mk4 bonnet dont look right with the mk3 front

Rover.

[thrud]

cheers rover
i know mate but it 'was' the best of the two untill the tango lorry said 'hi'
i have been checking ebay for one but no luck as yet,
but i might have better luck out here as i should be going to a local scrapyard soon

[chadmat]

Looking good mate!!

[thrud]

cheers chadmat

[AlanN]

Van looking good, I like the colour coded MK5 mirrors, I have been thinking of doing the same with mine. Have you got plans for the insides? I have to agree the bonnet looks odd, but I know a good MK3 bonnet doesn't grow on trees. Ive got a dent in mine just above the ford badge, looks like a bit more filler. Keep it going

[thrud]

cheers alan
i've been watching your van for ideas for the interior
even down to how to fit the side window that i've won from ebay but not got yet
it is ply lined, has a couple of shelves and a fold down(or in this case UP)bed, but i've only carpeted the floor
here's a couple of pic's but there not that clear 'cause of the sun shine

bed down

bed up

i only fitted the bed to get me and the missis to portugal and as a trial, now i want to get a long wheel base, semi high roof and do somthing a bit more permanent, kinda like your's, but with the table at the front,
good luck with your's by the way

[thrud]

luke, heres a pic with the bonnet up, it shows that the mk5 rad is too tall, that's probably the problem with the bonnet not closing so well any more

and a pic of her electric fan

and the mk5 rear bumper( with our portuguese house in the back ground )

[AlanN]

Dam, that pully's close....
Ive just noticed that there isnt a sliding door.