Chris's medium mk7

[hilton484]

Not as much as I hoped but still a good bit

Got the aluminium rail cut and drilled, fitted the riv nuts and mounted, then made the frame to make it a little higher, more space below and not hunched over as much to cook etc

Didn't get the dividing done as the boxes keep reminding me by slamming front back and side to side.

I got the amps mostly wired back up, unfortunately both ground cables and 1 power cable were too short to reach so I had to swap for longer ones, then the brass screw stripped trying to squash the thick wire down so had to tape it back up till I find a suitable screw.

At least I will have the rear speakers back now.

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[hilton484]

Been a while since last update, didn't have much time in the rush for the festival trying to get as much done as possible.

I ended up finding a second van that my friend would be using. He was looking at sprinters and there just wasn't the right one available at the time (distance + cost Vs problems + time).
My plan was that the second transit would be more familiar, and could either be quickly tidied up and flipped after the festival, or provide upgrades for mine. I'll do a new thread on that van though as that took most of the 2/3 weeks before the festival.

I got a few more bits done in mine, everything worked well and was a great test run of the setup, now I know that some of the bits are worth redoing better.

My friend picked a few bits for the other van and mine ended up with some too. He wanted seats like mine and asked the guy if he had steering wheels too, he had about 6 of them and airbags too. Think he paid about £20-25 each including airbag. Was a fairly easy fit the airbag spring clip is a bit of a pain but once that was out 1 bolt and wheel was swapped

He bought a set of used wheels + tyres as a couple were great, got them painted up with some left over black paint and finished with holographic glitter black. Then came to fit and realised that they needed to be 16" for the front brakes to clear and he'd got 15s. So they went on mine. Will swap the tyres at some point as the all terrains are quite cracky but got a bit of use out of them first.

Ordered and fitted 5*7 speakers above the doors, wired to the amp, finishes the sound of nicely, and I didn't stop a hole in them this time lol

Finished paint the silver on the driver's side and scrubbed off the overspray and gave it a good wash. Ordered a small double memory foam mattress, I decided I would cut it down rather than squashing it in. It came in a nice cover so was easy to cut with a bread knife and zipped it back up.

Fitted a usb socket in the d/s dash cubby, fitted another on the bed rail next to counter. And bodged a sink kit in. This was really nice addition but there was a lot wrong with the installation. It leaked a bit and looks a mess, didn't have the right size bit of counter left over etc and didn't want to but more. Definitely worth having but it like bigger tanks and to mount them under the van.

I fitted led strips one above the cab and 1 at the rear didn't wire it up properly just jumped off the interior light. Lots to think about and improve, but no big rush now, next will be to collect part for engine rebuild (clutch, exhaust, cat, turbo etc)

We set off Wednesday night and found a place to park, didn't know really where we were but didn't see signs saying no over night, was empty and we tucked away in a corner so figured we'd be fine. Turned out to be rnli silloth. We only parked up had a brew and sleep, in the morning realised there was a toilet nearby and then went to Asda for breakfast and a bit of shopping for the weekend.

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[hilton484]

After shopping went went to the festival site and found out spot, as expected the stuards sent us wrong place so we went and found a spot ourselves right behind the main stage. The first sent us to general camping which is for tents, then gave us a spot right by the entrance the the love in field the complete opposite end from the festival entrance, the stuard told Lee to back his up metal fence till hi towbar touched the fence and could use the back doors and he was stuck out into road. :/ our spot was much better right were they should have started from, and we checked the map after too.

We enjoyed bacon sausage egg buttys on Friday and Saturday morning and cooked wagu burgers for tea on Saturday or sunday. It was good food and even the wagu burgers cost a fraction of festival prices so definitely going to be improved for next year. Lee got me a jetboil thing for my birthday which was great for quickly boiling water for brews.

After leaving the festival, we went and found a spot to park up by the beach, there were quite a few and we stopped at one and had a walk along the beach and had some food, pasta and meatballs, it was a huge portion but it was really good. We needed to go shop so went in his van and left the mine there. Kept an eye out for better spots as there were 2 other campers in the opposite corner where we were, we saw a perfect spot and got the other van and moved there.

Woke up to high tide and by the time we were ready we were watching it go out so went to find stones and skim them etc then we headed home

All in all considering neither van was really finished, and the short time we had from what the other van started like I consider it a success.
Certainly better than paying about £300 to rent 1 van plus the deposit you get back of about £250.
For 2 vans we would have needed about £1100 and get £500 back after we return them, and we would have been able to modify them so would have just been foam floor mats and airbeds.

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[Snottygobble]

Mate ,you deserve a medal ! I have never seen sills in such a mess! Do they still put salt down on icy roads in the winter like they used to ? I left Timperley Cheshire in 1971 (after a 7 year stint in Jersey) for Australia so have never seen rust like that even on beach bum`s vehicles!

[hilton484]

Mate ,you deserve a medal ! I have never seen sills in such a mess! Do they still put salt down on icy roads in the winter like they used to ? I left Timperley Cheshire in 1971 (after a 7 year stint in Jersey) for Australia so have never seen rust like that even on beach bum`s vehicles!

Thanks mate

Seems to be the standard for the UK, roads get gritted with salt usually just after it needs it so you end up with salty slush trapped anywhere it can. Can't help with work vans that don't get washed and cared for too.

It's been a yearish since I did the sills and they are still good, although the bits that I didn't bother doing now need doing (door step and the rear bit between the sill and arch) couple of bits on the rear arches have bubbled up too. When it has that much in there you have to expect it will return unless you really go to town getting bad metal out.

Unfortunately as you cut a piece out it reveals bad metal, but down a tube or between two layers of structure you can't get at so you do your best to hold it off.

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[hilton484]

It has been almost a year since I did an update, so I thought a catch up was in order.

Theres not much happened so far, after the festival it reverted to just transport so no urgency to get it ready. The bed and counter got removed at some point for space and to move the sub.

I got some new headlights for Christmas as the old ones were very scratched and fogged up, copy eBay ones but they fit perfect and look way better. They didn't come with the motor which made me nervous until they arrived and I had them fitted in under an hour

I got new front and rear ford badges in shiny as I think they tie in well with the paint and the old ones were trashed.

I got an led dash upgrade kit off eBay, which was about 20 smds and an A4 printed instruction sheet. Bit fiddly but not too hard and all worked. Very happy with them, the pic shows the difference when I tested after the first 5 to make sure I was actually doing it right. I went for white but they had blue red and pink, if I knew the name of the type of smd I would just buy 100 for the price of the kit next time.

I found a nice power distribution block thing that was a bit pricey but glad I got it as it's really solid and is a nice option for my needs. Mainly routing power for the sub and amp but is also a nice point for campervany stuff.

Wasn't too pleased with the multicolour led strip I had as the white wasn't bright enough so found a pack of 4 white bar type led strips for £20 and fitted 2 and they are plenty, each has a push button switch on it to turn on or off individually.

It got MOT done and passed just advised about the door step getting rusted.

And recently hit a milestone, 200,000 miles. Still running good but still not looked at the sticky clutch pedal, I think it is master cylinder clutch, feels like the pedal is free but the pin or whatever it pushes is stuck about a 1/4 from fully out. Pushing back down and releasing or changing gear usually sorts it back out then its fine again, sometime more or less stubborn.

The brake pad warning light is on but I know it's a broken wire, I did solder it but it was dirty and didn't stick well.

Other than that it varies a bit in its behaviour. Some days it seems to accelerate well and smooth others it seems a bit lumpy and like it's not got the same power. Think it's something like dirty egr going sticky or quality of fuel, seems better on BP.

Starting to redo the back for festival time, I want the bed lengthways so you can walk through and have some other bits I want to do better.

First place to start is going to be to clear the back out take the floor up to redo and insulate the bottom sides and doors and board up. Then can start on the bed and counter frames etc

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[hilton484]

Made a bit of a start.

Ripped up the floor, made a mess, knew that using gripfill would be messy but the boards mostly ripped around it. Wouldn't be too difficult to get it all off with a scraper but I'm going to put strips in the low bits to get more even coverage.
This will give clearance between the mess and the boards so to save time I'll leave it.

I'm happy with the floor condition, after a year covered up there were no suprises, just some staining where the bump stop bit is, which isn't surprising given how corroded it was when I covered it.

I took the power cable out as I made some brackets to use gommets for safer routing anyway so may as well have it out of the way. I will also hide it under the floor when I fit it.

Gave the sides and the floor a good clean with squirts of soapy water and a microfibre cloth then dried with a fresh one. Didn't get the doors or behind the board on passenger side though.

Then I sprayed the sides with stone chip. I got 4 cans and got that far, picked another 3 up today to continue the floor. Will need more to finish it off I imagine.

The theory is it will be another layer/type of insulation that will hopefully help with both heat and rattle and noise. I got some recycled plastic insulation which will fill the voids, then some thin ply covered with some black fabric to board it in.

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[hilton484]

Did a bit more tonight when I got home.

Sprayed the 3 cans of stone chip I got, covered the back half of floor, nice not having to worry about the finish.

I wanted to plug the bolts holes I made for the rear seat as I currently don't want it in now but may change plan in the future. So didn't want to permanently block them but also didn't really want to just use bolts.

So I drew up something to fit the dimensions aiming to be just a little short so it pulls the wider part into the nut to seal. I included a hole in the center that goes just past the thicker part so I can push it through without squashing it up.

First 2 tries the dome was to big, 3rd try was spot on, a bit of a pain to get past the threads but a really good fit once through so printed the rest off to fit. I used a tpu filament think it was 86a shore but would have to check. This means that it is flexible and stretches/squishes making it ideal.

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[hilton484]

Bit more,

Got the rest of the floor stone chipped and did the rear door pockets and used the rest of the cans to do a bit extra on the rear doors.
I didn't bother with the side door as I eventually want to swap for a better condition door with a window in so couldn't justify buying yet more cans.

I filled all the walls with the recycled plastic insulation, worked out enough with the 3 packs.

The I put the cable in place with the grommets but not wired up, and started cutting and sticking 20*25mm battons in the dips avoiding high spots and leaving room for the cable.

Annoyingly I need one more length to finish.

Next step is to lay the flooring down and make fabric covered ply panels for the sides. Then I'll add trim for the edges to cover gaps etc

Then I think I'll plonk the mattress in to try and work out how to do that and once that's decided I can work around that plan

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[hilton484]

Good progress this weekend

I got myself a cheapish nail gun as I've wanted one a few times and I'm glad I did as it was a breeze.

Got the floor laid, as it was used flooring all the ends were knackered so just chopped em square. Added bonus of not cutting the length on the wrong end of a board.

Couple of bits that raised up when the next piece was put in as the groove was broke which is a little annoying but can't complain for free floor.

I had some ply that was cut roughly to height last year but didn't get finished, so got 3 pieces cut to shape to fit and drilled and fitted to make all the holes ready. Had a couple of screws snap so had to move a bit so glad I had covered first.

Then I glued the fabric on rather than staples so it would be flappy, and had a feeling the staples would either go all the way through or not at all.

Then refitted and put the amp and fuse box back.
Need to finish rewiring as the light were just touched to battery, and the boards need a hoover to get the dust off but I'm quite happy with the finish so far.

I'm going to continue the laminate up to the front of the seat box and fit silver angle trim over the edges/ doors. Will probably do a wood skirting board type bit for between the floor and walls as it will be cheaper and mostly unseen but will keep junk going in the gaps.

I also need to make some matching panels for the doors and will probably do the top parts with the bubble foil and carpet.

Also need to add a curtain and rail this year too

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[hilton484]

I made a template for the door panels and sprayed paint round on the wood then cut out and covered and fitted them.

I gave it a hoover then plonked the mattress in and was ok with the length it went past the side door, just about a head so I can look out if the doors open.

I decided the width would be good matching the rear door so made the frame and added some legs. Got to use the nail gun again to hold the slats then I cut the mattress to fit, didn't do a great job of it but it will be fine haha.

I have a strip of mattress left now that might make some pillows or something. Got a week off work to get some done so hopefully get a good bit of progress this week

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[hilton484]

Been too long for an update again, still struggling to find money and time to do anything but mot time means work must be done.

I had to repair the rear section I left when I did the sills last time and also the door step both on drivers side. Nothing too unexpected with that the usual spread once you get into it.

I got a new cat and silencer and fitted that as the silencer had a big hole in it. I plan to route the exhaust through the rear sill panel I've replaced as I think It will look cool, certainly better than dangling below.

But thought for now I'll just get the MOT done then fancy it up later..

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[hilton484]

So yesterday morning I printed off an mot checklist o make sure I didn't miss anything simple it would fail on and spotted a rear licence plate bulb and a headlight bulb. Thought was going ok then checked the rear springs and felt a wobbly bit got the piece out and could feel the nasty condition of the bush and thought that as to be done didn't want to spend £420 but been thinking they seemed soft since I got the van so looking forward to seeing how it feels with new ones.
I cut the u bolts down before hand as I don't have a deep 22mm socket, old nuts were 21 and only just got it, first nut was effort once it got to the rust so just loosened them to release any pressure the chopped em to save time.

Shocks defo want doing too but they can be later.

So got the broken side done today but I had to pole the scabby bit above the bump stop didn't I...

Open to ideas on this but I think my best bet is too cut out about 200mm (off my head without looking) straight out and scrape as much crud out as possible and weld in some box section.

I have some 60x60 on an old engine hoist that's about 6mm thick, more than enough to match the layered stuff, but the van has 60x100 so think I will cut 2 lengths an cut an edge off then join them to make 100mm.

I will have to do this to the other side too I think and the other spring, not broken but the bushes look yuk.

And to top it all off it's meant to rain until I'm back at work to add to the fun

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[hilton484]

I went to make a start today and talked myself out of the box section. too many other bits that are going to become the same in the not too distant future plus the uncertainty of the engine means I think this will be its last MOT.

I'll most likely use for spares, when it's time to go I'll swap the springs back to either sell or reuse if the new van has the same spring.

So with that in mind I went at it with an angle grinder wire wheel then made some patch from some leftover oil drum and then bashed it as flat as I could and hoover as much out as possible and welded the patches on.

Not the tidiest welding but glad I'm not claustrophobic or I'd have been in real trouble curled in a ball under the van.

At least it didn't blow holes like mad so I'll take that, just wants the top sanding off the weld before painting.

I made a thick patch for the bit near the spring mount and plan to fold back the flaps from the side braces, bash in and weld the patch then bash the flaps back and weld.

Then I'll probably primer, stone chip and tetroseal all that side before I turn it round and do the other spring and assess the work needed on that side.

The rain was nice enough to pretty much stop while I was working, had to hide the welder under the van but was mnt too heavy for the last hour or so. Fingers crossed for tomorrow

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[hilton484]

Little update, finished the passenger side welding and went over the worst spots with rust milk and red oxide.

Took it round the block and gave the steering a bit of wiggling and braked a few times to get it bouncing a bit and no bad noises or funny feelings so happy enough. Didn't go mad as all the tools etc were loose in the back, haha

Parked it the other way round ready to do the other spring and see what I need to patch on the other side.

Weather held out, had to block the wind with some wood and bins so it wouldn't blow the gas away but my legs got toasty in the sun at one point

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