HANLON AMBULANCE 1985 MK2 V6 3.0L CONVERSION

[whitemice]

Bought this van 19 years ago and converted it. It had a previous life in Mid Glamorgan as a twin baby incubator and i stripped out the interior and built the new one from 12mm and 6mm birch ply.

It's got,

shower/loo.
catalytic heater.
blown heater from vehicle coolant system controlled from cab.
240v.
fridge freezer.
oven grill burners.
led/cold cathode/tungsten lighting.
100l on-board water tank.
twin 3.9l propane.

Have just re-vamped instrument pod pictured idling today. l/h voltage monitor is main battery using ign. and r/h is additionally switched for stationary monitoring leisure batt.. Next to do is a new fabric scheme using Cath Kidston chintz design.

[ripbuster]

It is a beautiful old bus Mark,i take my hat off to you!
It looks lovely mate.

[whitemice]

Cheers mate,

i fitted an old chromed 50's Redex vacuum gauge in the engine bay while i was at it today, it makes setting mixture and timing that much easier, looks cool too, i'll do a picture tomorrow as it's real trick i think!

[TIMO]

that instrument pod you made looks the bow locks Mark..very tidy ..

[whitemice]

[quote="TIMO"]that instrument pod you made looks the bow locks Mark..very tidy .. [/quote

That started life as some radio console from god know's what i got for nowt 30 odd years back, i even had it in a 2200 Leyland Princess, i have not seen a Princess for years now!

Blanked off the rear and did the front out of an Addis black sink bowl i scored last week for 50p 'clearance' out of QD, sanded the 'sink' panel front to grey it and with silicone interior polish it blends with the original finish of Ford, the main radio console bit is grey anyway, kinda reflects the angles of the main binnacle too.

I like things you can't get off the shelf.

[TIMO]

its nice to be both resourceful and creative eh mate

[whitemice]

its nice to be both resourceful and creative eh mate

Including the 70's ebay'ed gauges and the two digi's and postages it cost £15. The switches came off scrapped hi-fi, water temp. one i had already, cheezy 80's plastic body but i like it because the digits only are transluscently backlit and look trick at night and rather than the original crappy black plastic bezel i fitted it with a Yazaki chromed bezel/mask, to match the Yazaki oil pressure bezel, which came off a 30/30 Yazaki ammeter that was as much use to me as a pet Aardvark.

[redcube]

nice job i like the kitchen set up

[whitemice]

nice job i like the kitchen set up

The gauge pod or the living quarters?

[redcube]

i like it all

[whitemice]

i like it all

Nice one, one thing i like in any conversion is to keep the centre of the van clear, ie' walkthrough, it gives a non claustrophobic feel and you can get bikes (we put a tandem in) and other stuff in.

When you do yours think about storage of stuff like water carriers/waste carriers/gas etc. i store two 25l water carriers and two waste carriers under the seats, a roll of slats with small wooden tabs at each end so it stays in place fits between the seats to form a double across the van with the foam backs/bases exactly fitting so the bed is made up in a minute, and two 3.9l propane canisters in the offside rear lower wardrobe which is shelved above them, this allows easy change from outside by opening rear door or inside with door closed or open.

As for loo's the old bucket n' chuckit can't be beat and is way more hygienic than all other systems.

[redcube]

I was going to make my own roof rack which will hold my bike and stuff would be fun

As for storage you can see in my plans that the back door will be blocked of but to the right will be a storage for water and gas and my tools and to the left will be the tolit

i could make a tolit like the one in top gear when they did the north pole

[matthew2riches]

could make a tolit like the one in top gear when they did the north pole

What a bumper dumper?

[redcube]

Ya but take the keys for the van with you, you don't want someone driving of with you on the back

[whitemice]

Stuck a 60's Redex Robot in to make mixture/timing easier.