1971 Westy

Thank you. Your thread is extremely helpful and hopefully it'll come out looking half as good as yours.

I'll probably end up with loads so will just dish it out.

 

Work has taken over my life for the last week so haven't managed to do anything further to the kitchen unit, hoping to crack on this week, however a few presents arrived!



Fridge!! Only wanted one for ever! Waeco CR50




Hob to go on the kitchen unit. Smev 8022




And my new table. Smaller than the berlin table and folds up nicely so we've got that bit of extra room.


Got another rather amazing delivery due in the next few days, really looking forward to that one

 

With all that laminate left over you can relaminate the table to match.!

 

The bus returns
Collected the bus from Steve at Gasure on Wednesday and drove back to Manchester. All the jobs I wanted Steve to do have been completed and to a very good standard.
Starting with the visual changes to the outside, the most obviously being the 20L gas tank underneath, powering the propex and hob.





And no, not original to the early westies, or to everyone's taste, but is extremely practical and means we don't lose valuable space inside accommodating a gas tank, or the need to cut a vent/dropout hole in the bus. It's also exceptionally cheap to fill up (£8) and will last for ages.
Above it you can see the new hookup. It can stay for now but the plan was to eventually get the hookup hole blanked off and painted, didn't like the original either. When that happens the hookup can move somewhere else. But alas, it powers my bus, where we move onto the inside...


Zig CF9 unit, 240v sockets, a 12v socket and two USB chargers, installed under the Westy bed, using Alastair's (aogrady) method, wrapped in black vinyl. Next to that is the rather wonderful propex. It kicks out a fair amount of heat and keeps the van toasty warm. It's been brilliant these last two days while I've been working on the interior.

Underneath the bed are the internals, rather well put together, very neat and tidy!




Propex control panel


6mm wire ready for the fridge


Gas tapped for the hob


Had the seats reupholstered. Less said about them the better, but if anyone is thinking of using Delilah's do feel free to PM me regarding my experiences.


Also have my new curtains, created by VW Campervan Curtains (Sarah), whom I cannot fault. Very quick service and excellent communication. Curtains look amazing. Fabric chosen by my girlfriend and ended up costing me more than original westy stuff :roll:

 

And most importantly, the engine is complete!






Dellorto 36 DRLA's are in and running alongside the rather gorgeous Vintage Speed exhaust...Wow that roar! Added electronic ignition and an SVDA distributor to boot.
Having a couple of issues with some popping and backfire, hopefully the rolling road tune up will sort that out. Done a few hundred miles already and it's far more powerful than my single carb setup, also sits nicely at 65mph without screaming. Just need to iron out a few niggles with it and I'm happy.
You can also see the Numax 120ah leisure battery and the Durite intelligent split charge system, keep both my leisure and starter battery topped up either through the alternator or when hooked up.

I'm loving all the changes so far, just using things at the minute to make sure there are no niggles. Also working on getting the interior sorted, as you can see from the above pictures neither the sink unit or the Berlin unit are in, but before they can be installed I need to varnish the headliner, rustproof, soundproof and fit a new floor. Then they can go in, but that's not all. Curtains need to be installed, stereo, speakers, carpet in the cab amongst many other things. The list grows ever longer.

 

Quick update on where I'm up to with less than two weeks before we're due to set off.

I waxoyled the inside of the van then started on the insulation. I'm aware that some people argue against using any for condensation reasons, I'll keep on eye on that and I got the Celotex really cheap so...







Handmade (by me!!) side panels starting to go back in.



And my rather good looking headliner! Cut, sanded, varnished, covered in vinyl and installed by yours truly for the low low price of £50. Very happy with the look, definitely brightens up the van. The idea has been shamelessly stolen from Liam (lemur) and I thank him for his help and answering my questions.









Door cards in, these were a pig to fit. The holes didn't line up with the ones in the door and I had to 'break' every clip I got from Just Kampers otherwise they wouldn't fit. :roll:

 

I then put my new flooring in, very happy with it.



And finally, started on the carpet in the cab and all important, GENE BERG!





Getting there...

 

Looking great.

 

Thank you

 

Thought I would put a few trip pics up while I have good wifi!