A restoration for Iris

Discussion in 'Restorations' started by JamesLey, Jul 6, 2015.

  1. nicktuft

    nicktuft Supporter



    Good looking work there.
    Van is coming on very nicely indeed.
    A real credit to you.
    You always look like you're having fun with it all.......:thumbsup:
     
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  2. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Thanks mate. I have my fair share of swearing at it and bits breaking but love it to bits.
     
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  3. Good skills dude, that’s some high end cabinet making right there. What sort of catch did you use?
     
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  4. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

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  5. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    I had a day down the workshop today hoping to quickly service the van and then make a start on the baja.
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    Suffice to say I’d never get onto the baja as Iris had some bits that needed attending to. On the way to the unit I noticed the clutch pedal seemed lower than usual, and found this delight when going over the service items:
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    This is the gearbox end of the cable and the cable is only 6 months old! I’ve fitted my spare cable and all adjusted up now.

    I noticed that pretty much all of the cv joint boots are starting to crack, again only 6 months of use! I gave them a squeeze and they’ll be ok for a little while but no doubt will need replacing before the MOT in March. These are the supposed good quality lobro boots.
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    Then while adjusting the rear brakes with the wheels off the ground one of the boots completely dettached itself from its mounting ring:
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    So it was off with the driveshaft to fit one of the original boots that I’d kept:
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    This will hopefully be the last time the van comes down the workshop over winter. We’re running Iris over the winter and the track to the unit can get pretty bad over the colder months. It was pretty sloshy today but the van seemed happy enough.
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    The driver’s door lock also decided to completely disintegrate in co-op carpark so I’ve spent this evening rekeying a spare barrel I had in the garage.
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    Hopefully I’ll have some more exciting updates soon as I’ve just about finished the main cabinet now.
     
  6. Hi James, I love your enthusiasm in breaking things down to the smallest elements and as your message intimates, its generally better to keep the original bits than replace with frequently inferior pattern spares. Looking forward to seeing your cabinets.
     
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  7. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Nothing beats the original stuff! Think I have one more original boot left, but from what I've seen on other threads on here it doesn't seem any of the new boots have any longevity to them.
     
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  8. arryhancock

    arryhancock Supporter

    Hey James have a look at South west propshafts ltd for boots
     
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  9. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    The shorter evenings have meant the front cabinet and under bed panel have taken quite some time, with only a few hours of good light.

    The cabinet carcass all cut and assembled:
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    Max helping me out with the iron on trim:
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    Shaping the top surface:
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    And all installed in the van along with the bed kick panel:
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    The last time we had cabinets in Iris was about 7 years ago when we first bought her
     
  10. Spot iris banging job....?the CV boots well I had some old new ones and they were alot bigger than my newer ones that seemed smaller and more stretched when on

    Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk
     
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  11. Beautiful work James, I love the alloy corners either side of the fridge and the mix of pure white with a woodgrain band. Is the banding around the worktop a knock on T strip or iron on?it seems to produce nice corners. I am now well in your shadow on the resto trail.
     
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  12. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Cheers Martin! The edging on the top is knock on, although it needs a good hit from a hammer, Hardly knock on. I’ve not done a huge amount on it over the past few weeks as it’s at home now and daylight hours are short. Currently doing a day a week on the beetle to get that project started. Need to crack on with the rest of the cabinets really.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  13. Ditto dat, daylight is a short burn these days and nice work needs good light. I guess Iris can take a back seat until the weather is better for camping.
     
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  14. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Next set of cabinets finished for Iris. Rear storage bins for bed sheets and clothes.

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  15. Looking good! I can see the beginnings of a rear wardrobe there, are you putting a headbanger in too?
     
    Deefer66 likes this.
  16. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Doing a two cubby hole rear unit I think. Headbanger was the first one I did a few posts up.
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    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  17. Faust

    Faust Supporter

    I am very impressed by your wide scope of talents on sorting your bus out James ...it's a credit to you ..and iam sure everyone else would agree .
    I hope you are coming to techenders , as i would really like to see your bus .:thumbsup:
     
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  18. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Should be there Yeap! I love learning something new to keep my mind busy.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  19. You are truly talented!!!
    Nice to see som up date on the van.
    Hope to one day meet up whit some of you guys on some of the bus meets in UK. When my bus is finished. Me and my wife would love at trip around UK and make a few stop at some famous whiskey distillery’s. Would be quite a trip from Sweden Keep it up hope to meet some day in the future.


    Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
     
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  20. What did you hang the top locker on Jimbo??
     
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