Iris the 1972 panel van conversion

Cheers, I'll give him a go. Think I'll give the seals I ordered from C&C another go, just in case I was having an off day (just need to convince the other half to help me!).

 

Mines a panel conversion let me see if i can get you a usefull pic

 

Best i can do sorry but a panel van window has a little platic filler strip pushed into the middle of the rubber

 

That's really helpful. 90% sure that my windows are of a non-standard size then. Look at the gap between the top of your window and the roof gutter, and the gap between the bottom of the window and the centre trim? The gap on mine is a lot larger, I think my windows are slightly smaller then. Don't know a huge amount about the van's history but perhaps the conversion was a DIY job on mine perhaps? Think the problem is due to the gap between window and window hole being slightly larger on mine maybe?

 

So after trying to track down suitable seals on the usual channels (Vw heritage, JK etc) I reached the conclusion that my windows were a DIY job and no standard VW camper seal would fit. I've now got what I hope are the correct ones from the Martin's rubber company. The seals look near identical to the current ones. Starting on the offside I've now carpeted the interior wall around that window (not 100% happy with it, but hoping a tidy up with a stanley knife will improve it somewhat) and just need to try and get the new seal in. Our attempt last night in the freezing cold didn't go to well as the cold weather made the seals really hard to work with. Hopefully get it in soon! Just want to use the damn van for camping now!!!

 

Im glad you managed to get the correct seals dude

 

So this thread has been a bit quiet of late mainly due to lack of funds from moving house (still renting and trying to save for a deposit, how fun!) and unexpected van related bits:

• Had the engine out in our garden due to low compression over the summer. Learnt a great deal from this and feel a lot more comfortable working on her now (those of you that remember my thread from last year with the broken fan belt?!)
• MOT failure on dull headlamps, corroded brake pipe and play in steering.

On top of this we're saving to get married next October and I'm hoping the van might be a bit closer to being more usable by then (at least some of the interior). So my current plan is:

• Get some of the bodywork sorted early next year: some rot in the guttering, small patches of rust at the back,a fubared sliding door to sort and sliding door sills. Really gutted about the sliding door as it fell out on me within the first month or so as a result of the door sill which had collapsed at the rear side. (suspect this repair will be costly?!).
• Get the side windows sorted. Despite replacing all of the seals the windows continue to leak a huge amount in the rain so I'll take this to a professional for their opinion (I'm not convinced the windows and the holes in the van are of the correct size so may need some work here).

Once all of that is sorted I can hopefully carry on with the interior!

Rant over.

 

Great stuff just found your thread - IMO keep the original interior until you have funds to replace, in of my campers had that interior and although quirky it's functional and looks authentic
Good luck with the engine and mechanics - if you've already had the engine out then I reckon you've got a good handle on things it's all bolts after all

 

Cheers. I sold what was useable of the interior and had to get rid of the rest as I don't have much storage space. I found it an odd interior; with the bed so high up your face was nearly on the roof! Getting there with the mechanical side of things; the John Muir book was a great help (had the missus reading out to me as she drank wine and I got down and dirty with the engine).

Once I've got a bed in there I'll put the rest of the interior in as and when I can afford it I think.

 

So it turns out I'm appalling bad at keeping this up to date!

Last year I managed to get some more of the interior lining done, which I'm pretty happy with (we never wanted a show-winner, just something cosy and practical (a relative term for a bay I guess?)).


We've been thinking about what to do with our roof, the main concern being the rusty gutters (yes I know, buy an import and don't worry about rust, blah, blah) and after speaking to a few of the resto wizards on TLB and down at my VW garage we've come to the conclusion that the best long term solution is to unpick the roof and spot weld on a new cali import. This also gave us the opportunity to consider putting a pop-top in as well.
So our current plan is to fit a late westy tin roof to her and then install a pop-top from the guys over at spaceroofs. It ain't going to be cheap but if we want to keep the bus going for the long term it seems like the best option available to us. Has anyone else on here fitted a roof from spaceroofs, as I'd be interested to get your views on them and any pictures too.

And now that the days are getting a little nicer I can actually start using her again! I've been keeping her in the carport at work over the wet couple of months we had, taking her out when possible to keep her ticking over (much to the disapproving frown of one of the guys I work with who drives to work in either one of his two BMWs or his TVR (which is pretty nice!)).

 

Have her booked in for mid May to get the roof work done, and put a deposit down on the westy tin roof today! The ball is rolling, no stopping it now!

 

Keep the ball rolling, does not have to be fast just an ich at a time will get you there!. Van is looking great.

 

Cheers @midmusq. It'll be quite a big chunk done, hopefully we won't have to touch the upper half again for quite some time and will at least be able to camp in her over summer!

 

Put down a deposit on the pop-top for Iris today! No going back now.

 

I like this carpet round the windows idea, makes it so much more cosy.

 

Cheers. I'm not 100% happy with all of it but it works well on a panel van as it certainly looks a bit tidier and warmer.

 

So Iris is currently over at Kombi Klassics getting her roof ripped off and the new westy roof and poptop fitted. Can't wait to have her back.
Had an absolutely exhausting weekend 2 weeks ago driving up to Didcot on the Friday and then Okehampton on the Saturday to pick up all of the bits (400 miles or so).

 

Good guys at Kombi Klassics. We were visiting Monkey World in Dorset in around 2003 when the starter motor on our old Westy, Wolf, packed in. They were close and saw us straight away. Great service!

Then in 2009, we were visiting Monkey World in Chip. Our starter motor packed in and........

.......anyway, great service.

We haven't been to Monkey World since.

 

That's unfortunate! I've not been to Monkey World yet, so may give it a miss given your track record. Nothing but good things to say about them, they don't treat me like a idiot despite asking stupid questions all the time. Not many people I'd trust to cut the roof off!