That's some draw vanorak! BTW, our bus fridge is 12v only so no gas burner to worry about! Had a mare of a day so far. Went to fit the new CHT thermocouple to find it doesn't fit. Lots of careful filing, heating and bending to get it to fit into plug recess to find it doesn't work Crappy K type far eastern thing. VDO ones like hens teeth and just as expensive. Machine 7 are now in receipt of 35 beer vouchers after spending about 3 hours trawling the net to find one! 82 quid off heritage and about the same from cali. It's robbery for a 14mm crimped terminal and some bi-metal cable that doesn't fit or even give an accurate reading anyway. But I've got a hole in the dash and a CHT gauge, what to do .....rant over. Second mission today to fit grey trim to doors. Came away from workshop Friday & forgot to mark grain orientation so can't do that. Third mission to glue vinyl to trim cards. Vinyl marked off the roll so can't do that!
Yeah...i don't know whether its a good thing or a bad....heater works fine, reasonably quiet (could be quieter)....dash vents volume more or less same as inlet on the propex....suck it and see! Bummer on the thermocouple....very annoying when new parts don't work from the off.... sometimes when you're stuck, or waiting on parts it's good to say f*ck it! and put your feet up with a good old film and a brew
It's a cylinder head temperature gauge. Not often fitted coz they are expensive and it's questionable how accurate they are. However, I specced one in the US coz I knew we were doing some altitude travel as well as Death Valley so at the very least it gives me a relative indication of what's happening. They react very quickly to temp fluctuations. in fact it's almost instant. We have the GE Type IV lump and the thermocouple sits under the spark plug on cylinder 3. This is potentially the hottest part of the heads. The problem is two fold. The recess that the plug sits in is not much wider than the plug and 14mm id (the od of the plug thread) connectors are scarce. The oem connector on the thermocouple has a longish tab that you have to bend a couple of ways to clear the recess of the plug and to stop it fouling the plug spanner. I broke this. So the new one was too heavy and would'nt send a signal to the gauge so I've tried a standard 13mm connector and filed it out but the bit the wires crimps in to catches under the nut thing on the plug and prevents the plug seating properly. I thought I'd stripped the threads the other day as the plug threads hung on the connector as I was taking the plug out Anyway, I've just come in from trying again and have decided to pull the plug, take off the thermocouple and leave it to next weekend when I can be a bit more relaxed......off to the pub now to drown my sorrows Gauge and my bodged 13mm connector which doesn't quite work Where it sits in the dash....(behind the monkey)
I'm sure we all have our little "lucky charms" and talismen. I've got some Greek worry beads hanging from the mirror, rather appropriately.
Yes, that does look like a "hand rolled" type of tobacco LOL! and yes if that pic. is any indication you've have a lot of fun. We used to do that in our parents cars during brake at school. LOL
I reckon the OP is referring to Vanoraks vid and the fact the screwed up paper looks like a doobie! How anyone would know what one of them looks like I just don't know!
Well it's been a little while & in between we've had Techenders and, yesterday, Stanford Hall. Great to meet all of you on those two events. Cabinetry progresses but nothing dramatic until Thursday this week fingers crossed. In the mean time, the propex is gassed up and tested, thanks @Dicky for your grovelling at TE And the following few shots show bits & bobs coming together... DC wiring all in to the fuse box apart from a couple of accessory sockets. It'll give me something to do whilst we're away! The consumer unit is also wired up to the external hook-up. Solar charge controller wired in and feeding the leisure battery Mrs Monkey has been busy with the sewing machine and we have curtains... I've wired up the fridge and put an on/off switch in line thus taking out all the old US gubbins. Cold beers for @zed & @Dicky at Stanford Hall One of the LED eyeball lights Propex vents all in Chassis earth for hook-up Tunes wired up (dash needs a clean ) And I can scare myself stupid with a working cylinder head temp gauge. It does modify my driving as I now find myself desperately trying to stop the needle climbing, must be a good thing...
I havent worked out the cost of that beer yet (lol) you need to turn them over at some rate to realise the investment matey!!! Coming together nicely now. Cooker has to be next!!!!! and your nearly there.
LOL, I guarantee that chilled alcohol stock turn-over will be first and foremost in our minds! In fact the fridge now makes ice specifically for Mrs Monkeys' vodka and diet cokes..... The worktop is in, hob/sink tomorrow and finishing the laminating for all the cards. Pedal to the metal......
I wasnt worried and expected a plan for appropriate consumption to ensure adequate return on investment. Hope you have a good week. Likely I will see you at some point at the weekend!
Good day today. Seriously. Lack of forward momentum at the workshop has led to the inevitable. I've had to sack the joiner A moody teenager has nothing on this guy and the situation has worsened over the last few weeks to the point where today it became untenable. The guy had bitten off more than he could chew and whilst the cabinets superficially look the bomb, starting to put it all together has shown a complete lack of understanding, foresight and empathy towards not only our old VW, but our intended use of the bus. His stroppy, moody and uncommunicative attitude was a delaying tactic to avoid putting the interior together as a whole, coz guess what.... it doesn't go together.... Having got the bus back to the marina this afternoon we've started on the build up and there are some very basic errors dimensionally that I'm not sure how to right. The router has been out this afternoon already!! A good nights sleep will help. Not ones to be beaten, we'll make it work! We've paid him what he wanted (and some) so walk away with our heads held high. All material costs have been covered plus wear & tear on tools, tea/coffee drunk etc etc etc. We must be daft but at least we sleep well. Unfortunately, during the pack up he launched our old Berlin hob cover across the workshop & damaged the hinges we were going to use. A mature approach from a boy working in a mans world! If anyone wants to know who to avoid in the Notts/Derby/Leics area for interiors, I am up for the name and shame, something that goes against the grain with me as I always look for the best in people. However, in this instance, if I can help someone not to get fleeced... The other bus that was in the shop at the time has been butchered under the "bling" that the customers have been sold to distract them from the finish. Poor people, I'm glad we've got out when we did and that I paid close attention to what was going on with our Chip. It's delayed the departure but everything happens for a reason. Pics to follow
Sorry to hear this but now I can say I didnt like the atmosphere when i was there. The guy has issues. Anyway I hope everythings there to get it finished. Im away for the weekend but hope to catch up with you some time next week unless you have just packed up an fffd off by then!
@theBusmonkey really sorry to hear this, it must be really frustrating. From the pictures the work looked really good, well the finish did, so perhaps once you have a really good look you might be able to make the adjustments to areas that will not be seen. If you can, then it will still be a seriously good looking interior when it is finished. Today is another day and I reckon with your own thoughts, resource and capability, you will find the answers. Frustrating as it is, like you say, things happen for a reason so you will likely be better off when you finish it yourself. Good luck.
@theBusmonkey what a shame, it didn't look like it was far from being finished, wasn't it just all the lids, doors and countertops? Hardest bit in my eyes. At least you have everything back and you can finish it off
