Right deja vu, I feel like i've started this thread before but anyway..... Let's start at the beginning with a nice timeline. May 2006 My Dad cannot sit still and after doing up a camper for my brother (a Fiat Ducato ) he needed a new project. "get a VW camper Dad, when you've done it I'll buy it" Ok said Dad. This is what he turned up with:- Not what I was expecting, I mean firstly it had a boat on the roof!! But none the less I was true to my word, and when he had finished it We bought it. August 2007 The van was complete and after a bit of interior pimping, or as my dad said "what on earth have you done to it" we were ready to camp. February 2010 We moved house to a lovely place with a double garage, we took out a bit of extra cash on the mortgage to to do some renovations but decided what the heck lets buy a Bay ;D We started looking and found one on VZi, this turned out to be a major rust bucket so we moved our search to the dreaded ebay. With money burning a hole in our pockets My Dad and I went to look at a van (only our second) I liked the colour and the licence plate, Dad said it was nowhere near as bad as the previous one so the game was on. The last day of the auction came we got carried away and Luu was ours. That weekend I went to pick Luu up. First thing first the seats (new mini seats) didn't adjust so the 60 mile journey was uncomfortable to say the least. Next the radio didn't work - who thinks to look for speakers when you check out a van?!? Stupid me for assuming. Finally the journey home (which was during that really horrible cold and snow) was the worst ever. My Mum and I were freezing, as I'd opened the air vents by mistake. Plus the van was soooooo slooooooow. For the fisrt 10 minutes I couldnt stop stalling it. This was not a good introduction. Before people ask I didnt take the van for a test drive as it had no tax. Mental note for next time TAKE IT FOT A TEST DRIVE ANYWAY!!!!!! So photo time these are the ones from the advert: Next up.......What have we bought
After a nightmare journey I parked Luu on the drive overnight. The roof racks are lovely but she wont fit in the garage with them so they had to come off. My dad and I began to take them off, he looked through the window and noticed water on the floor. We opened the sliding door and were greeted by a waterfall. It turned out the roof leaks alot and having snow sat on it had only compounded the situation Anyway we got the racks off and got it into the garage. I then set about removing the roof. As it was so cold I decided the best thing to do was to get the roof off and take it into the lounge!! It's best to set the new house rules early After getting it into the house I discovered the reason it was leaking so badly - the previous owner had fitted a new sky light but hadn't bothered to seal it at all, no wonder it was literally pouring though. What makes me angry is the previous chap obviously knew this was happening as all the new door cards he had fitted were mouldy on the back I also found out that this is not an original Devon roof - I still don't know who made it?? So a tube of Sikaflex soon sorted out the roof, I even sat under it on the deck with Sharon pouring water on it just to make sure! After re-fitting the roof we set about stripping to interior. The whole van was covered in this insulation stuff, we decided to get rid of it all and start from scratch. More water from the waterfall!! Sharon hard at work. Me (Sarah) taking a break! Once the van was stripped we took it to the garage for a service. It turns out that the brakes were seized and completely shot - this was why it was so horrible to drive. The mechanic reckoned I was lucky not to have blown it up as it would have been seriously overheating opps. After a nice big bill Luu emerged with new brakes and a shiny VW speedshop stainless exhaust for good measure. It did need a new exhaust just not necessarily one that expensive lol. Next up ..........What are we going to do with it now.
April 2010 Despite our mechanic telling us to get out and use her we decided we wanted to go her restored. We started looking round at various companies and finally settled on a guy recommended to us by members of our VW club, Bugnutz. We saw examples of his work and it looked good. He quoted us a very reasonable price so we took the plunge. What should have been a 6 week job according to him ran into at least 16 weeks. Unfortunately what seemed to be a fairly solid van wasnt The "punch" test revealed the tailgate was knackered. Maybe the bit blob of fiberglass should have given it away :-[ The angle grinder revealed the doors were both shot Creative filler an inch thick in places Oh dear Panels had been placed over old rusted metal Naked Front panel goes on. Indicator holes are welded up as we are putting them in the front bumper. I don't really have any pictures of the other panels being replaced as I was only going to his premises every so often so I missed them. Next up..........choices choices what colour shall we go for?
So putting piccies on tomorrow turned into 10 days later, oh the joy of shift work : Right colour choices, despite buying Luu because we liked the colour (yes I know it's a stupid girly reason ) we had arrived at the time to our colour choices. This is what we went for:- So what do people think of the colour scheme?? Next up.........the interior
This would have been better smoother for the seal to seal against. If your restorer hasn't used windscreen sealer between the rubber and the bodywork, keep an eye out on the inside for water getting in. If it does, you'll need to seal right round the screen. No biggy but you'd want to do it before the rot sets in again... I've said it once but I'll say it again - your colour choice is top.
Ok apologies for not updating this thread, now the push is on to get ready for Spring Camp so I thought some moral support from the mighty TLB might spur me on ;D September 2010 Luu had returned from her apparent restoration, we were not entirely happy with the work, the chap did come back and sort a few little bits but then in the way of cowboys he vanished never to be seen again We were both, miserable and fed up with the project so she sat in the garage for a good few months. January 2011 A new year arrived so we decided to get stuck in, we started looking round for interiors and found SJS VW Interiors in Southport. First up though there was a suspect patch behind the drivers bulkhead which my Dad decided we must investigate before I fitted the interior. Turns out it was a big lump of fibreglass hiding a big hole But it's ok Dad came to the rescue - Thanks Dad :smiley_dog_kiss: It might not be the neatest welding in the world but its better than I could have done ;D April 2011 After more procrastination we went to look at a couple of interior manufacturers. We finally settled on : http://www.sjsvwcamperinteriors.co.uk/ June 2011 The interior arrived and took up residence in the dining room for a good few months : July/August 2011 I started completing the insulation first up though a preview of the new interior Whilst doing all this work I stupidly took out the battery and looked at the battery trays what a stupid thing to do :'( On Wednesday I've got a VW restorer/mechanic (hopefully a decent one this time :) coming round to look at Luu. The plan is to get lots of little bits sorted and to get her MOT'd The deadline is Spring Camp, even if I dont get the interior fitted I still want her to be road-worthy. I'm sure the missus and dog won't mind an airbed in the back ;D ;D Next post : Carpet lining
September/October 2011 I started the carpet lining, first up were the bulkheads. It took ages to do but I'm really proud of the results Guess what? More procastination followed : (I also blame the garage for being cold) January 2011 Right I need to get my behind into gear, we've had Luu for 2 years and have driven her twice (from the garage and back :-[) We bought a Bay to camp so its about time we did, the deadline has been set as Spring Camp. The mechanic is due on Wednesday, so there are no excuses on that front. The rest is down to me ??? First thing i've done in prepartion for the interior is to fit the flooring Fingers crossed for Wednesday, I'll post more when I know the prognosis.......
