Davina - 1979 RHD Bay (Paris roof and Homemade interior)

Hi all,

So ive been a bit of a lurker on this site for years. During that time Ive rebuilt a £900 crazy Ebay purchase up to this. I originally posted it in Show Us Yours but I thought it might be useful here - happy to give any advice on places in South Wales for upholstery and wood supplies.


So, Davina,

She's had all new panels - bottom 6 inches and arches, rewired throughout, engine rebuilt, lowered all around, brand new hand made interior (veneered MDF) , leisure battery set up, 240V Hookup, brand new ragtop and lots of other bits....I've put a fridge (RM122) in but am building up the courage to cut a hole for the venting flue.




Me and my Dad did all the work ourselves on the driveway - learning as we went along. Was a tough project but i think its turned out pretty good!

Sorry about the music....old CD in the player...

 

that is really nice well done to you and ya dad. interior is nice....

 

Good looking van

 

Well done to you and your dad.

 

Thanks LBers! Pretty proud of what we could do with very little experience, a good thing though because we haven't bodged - we fixed everything properly. I can still hear my Dad's words "Do it right, do it once" in my ears now!

Last jobs:
Fridge flue hole
12V Aux fan for heating windscreen (have heard mixed reviews about worth of this)
Fix sliding door droop handle - not sure why its drooping though....

Get using it this Spring!

 

Awesome looking bus. Good job

 

Looks great, very similar to what I'm doing with mine.

Nothing wrong with a bit of H2O cheesey garage on the CD!

 

Looks amazing outside and in

 

Brilliant well done for saving a bus

 

Thanks for all the comments.

Here is the link to the plans i used for the interior:
http://www.devonmoonraker.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bay/1978_Moonraker_Plans.pdf

The plans are great to give you dimensions of some tricky parts of the van. You will have to amend the final designs slightly to cater for thicker floors or materials used but if you are attempting to build an interior yourself then thats easy enough (and part f the fun).

The front unit is custom but still based on the Moonraker. It has a new cooker, sink and 2 way fridge and 2 large cupboards.

I used 12mm veneered ash MDF and then real ash wood iron on edging sealed with floor wax (good tough stuff). Slightly expensive but cheaper than faced ply and still very light.

Top Tip: Ask the wood merchants if he has any slightly damaged boards (happens during transit sometimes.) Likely it will only be damaged on one side - have that side out of sight. Will be much cheaper!

I used 2 x 8x4 MDF boards to make the hole thing and then a little bit off off cut the guy gave me to make the table top. I also used a bit of similar coloured 17mm Conti board in the cooker/sink unit as its veneered plastic is better for holding up to heat and water and makes it stronger.

Takes a bit of time to measure edge and stain but once done it will look great and only cost you about £100 (plus your time).

 

Top job chap. Links to things like those plans are great for us "collectors" of "stuff"
I bet you're looking forward to using Davina this year. Have you cut the hole yet ?

 

That looks great WWB....loving the uncluttered engine bay! Looks like you've been a very busy bunny

 

@theBusmonkey - Ive been a bit of a lurker collecting ideas and tips and it seemed only fair to give back. As for the hole - not yet but no rush - a cool box does the job, beers are drunk before they go warm!

@vanorak - the more I hear that the more i think about not installing the aux heater blower....

Another top tip: Dunelm mill foam, 3" Block - if you go for a Moonraker style interior then you end up with a 3/4 bed. 4 pieces of dunelm foam = £60 and can be stuck with spray adhesive. 1 pad for seat bottom and 1 for seat back and then 2 for over engine bay. Cut with a stanley to start it off then I used a sharp kitchen knife to go all the way through. Same would cost £140 from a foam cutters.

 

Good tip....an electric bread knife is pretty useful also.
Propex heaters are a great addition to a bus...loads of people fit them and bless the day they did, especially on a chilly evening. I'm making a rod for my own back by fitting it under the bus and trying to minimize the noise...it's not really necessary, but I enjoy the challenge

 

Would love a propex but dont use her much in the winter and anyway I cant afford it.

When we go away I use the hookup to plug in a nice oil radiator which last time practically roasted us whilst we slept.

The aux fan would mainly be for the demister - ive got a good clean set up from front to back but the hot air that comes out needs a bit of ooomph!

 

It would be a shame to spoil that nice clean engine bay with a big snail.

Here's a thought, don't know if it's doable but @vanorak could advise, why not make the snail fan demountable so to speak.
Attach it so that you can easily unclip it & disconnect wiring etc if you want to show your engine bay at events etc. After all, you can't see it when your driving & the OG fan & heating on the Type IV engine is pretty good when set up correctly. I'd rather be warm in the cab & keep the screen de-misted then jump out & hide the fan under the bed

 

the easiest solution would be to fit an inline fan before or after the splitter below the walkthru...the splitter inlet OD is 90mm so one of these:

and two of these
.....100 mm to 90 mm reducers

 

what is that, looks like an inline bilge pump?

 

Not a bilge pump, a bilge fan
Cheap on tinterweb. Good thinking