The history of our Berlin Deluxe is quite interesting. We picked up our van two years ago off of the former son in law of Ken Tyrell (Formula one race team owner) who used it for holiday abroad and sometimes going to various grand prix's. He had owned it virtually since new and for the past 10 years it had sat barely used in his office garage. His profession was that of a funeral director, so for the past 10 years the van had sat next to a refrigerator used for storing the recently departed. To make it more eerie, the van was only fired up and used everytime the hearse broke down or was in the garage/MOT centre! Although it is a LHD it was first registered in England so must of been bought to use soley as a holiday wagon. Pics of the day we went to pick her up The fuel lines were leaking so these were replaced and she was given an MOT before we exchanged funds. The owner was so happy she was going to a good home that he let me keep the van in his office and even gave me a key for 6 months whilst our new garage went through planning and was built at home. This was great accept having to come back from a show/weekend away late at night and walking through a pitch black funeral parlour! First thing I did was take her to the chaps at rustmaster for a comprehensive waxoyl. We bought the van as a wedding present to ourselves and following on from our honeymoon travelling around cuba thought it would be a nice idea to do the van with a cuban theme. First on my list was the havana club logos on the side. A few authentic cuban accersories have made it into the van from our trip too along with some new curtains. Original Cuban Number Plate - Red means non residents i.e. hire cars/guests/visitors to the country. A couple of beagles were added in the mix somewhere along the way. Next the tires. . . When I took the van to the garage they told me although the tires were in great nick with plenty of tread, they were from between 1984 and 1987 so I decided to change them to some white walls and get the wheels poweder coated in red. Porche Seats from a Boxster came next (massive thanks to Birdy for the help with these) Then earlier this year myself and Birdy did a wedding for my best mate
A few little bits done to the bus in the last few weeks. Cupboards. The original westfalia cupboard was as you can see lacking storage facilites! First thing to do was fill in the holes in the floor. had some left over vinyl so decided to cover the bottom gas pipe was then changed for some newer stuff and a new regulator addedd and the gas bottle and water bottle moved next door into the spare wheel compartment more shelves added and covered in vinyl enough space for a cheeky shelf for tools above new services hatch! Massive thanks to Birdy the queen of storage for help, persistance and inspiration
