Winnie the poo - our new van has arrived.......

Bertiebot - Many thanks for that, I thought I'd read it should have a gauge, so your quote sounds pretty clear, so that tank will stay - excellent.......sorry Baybirmingham...
Tom Ev86 - Definetly no rotten jacking points!! The floors, chassis etc are really really good. There's a tiny bit of bubbling just behind the front wheels, but that's it except for the engine bay area, which is poor.
Interesting to hear everyone's comments re colour. Personally I quite like it, and it's growing on me - I also have a matching Dog....

 

I'll see you at Camperjam , and I hope you are in a shiny poo bus

 

I just checked again and I have attached a link to the full section on the eurotunnel website and having read it more fully I think you do need a gauge. I may look into fitting one as it would be useful anyway.

http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/site-information/lpg/

 

Looking forward to watching this thread !

 

Ouch - just ordered £1400 worth of bits... panels and seals etc. Now it's GSF for brake bits etc

 

Well..... It's been an interesting day. Engine now out, interior stripped and we are pleasantly surprised. Winnie has shown us she's not as bad a first thought. Here's some pics..

 

Awwww......nuts!!!!

 

So, I guess you can see how bad things are, but it's not really as bad as I had first thought. The good news is the interior is almost all salvageable, with the exception of the rear wardrobe unit, which is badly burnt. I think we will have to replace all the bed cushions, as the smell inside the van is so bad - think how bad a hamsters cage gets when you leave it too long before a clean, this smells about 5 times worse. I have now removed all the units except for the sink etc, and those squirrels have got in everywhere! The walnut shells are in every crevice, every little hole you can imagine, and probably places you can't!!!
Next week we plan to strip out the rest of the van, and on Thursday Winnie has a meeting booked with the sandblaster.... This will be done only to the burnt areas. As soon as she is done there, she's off to Scotty's Van Centre in Bicester for the engine bay welding. Scotty, bless him, is a brilliant welder and I'm sure other members have come across him before.
Anyway, I'm knacked and off to bed....

 

Like the sticker!!

 

Hope it goes well. Work at it and I mean "at it" and you'll get there and if you're keeping that patina, you'll be the envy of the patina queens as that takes some doing to look like that.

 

Nice van but 6 weeks ? You must be mad lol good luck

 

Having had another look at the photos this morning I think I'm making the situation appear far worse than it is with the lovely Winnie. Actually the cargo area, once stripped of nuts and bodily excretions is rust free ( the photos still display the pre-clean crud The engine bay is horrible but a good shot blast will make that a bit clearer and it really is just the engine bay with any rust. The interior is however much worse than we expected as far as the soft furnishings are concerned. No-one in their right mind would put any of the foam back in (the smell was BAD)and a lot of the material has been chewed so I think we'll have a few hundred quids worth of additional cost here. The actual cabinets are much better than we'd hoped. The laminate has lifted in parts but it's just a stick down job. The only one we'll need to replace is the rear cabinet as the fire damage is so bad it isn't salvageable. If anyone has a nice Berlin wardrobe we will be happy recipients!
GOOD BITS: we found a gold ring - yes really! Don't get too excited it's not worth much but nice to find! Getting back to the van all the locks work great on the one key. Amazingly the brakes work and none of the callipers were seized!
We've been really impressed with how little she has ever been messed with in every way, she's 100% original with no bodges. The California weather has been very kind to her too, bolts are undoing easily!!! After a long day yesterday we're more confident of our deadline now....famous last words???

 

So what are you going to be building in the 6 weeks , full paint ,engine re build ,seats ,cupboards etc
Fully done or useable

 

Hoping to have it all done and useable. Welding is booked, all parts are ordered, seats and beds ready to go to trmmers, paint shop is next door to welders and primed for action and the engine is a running Laurie Pettit unit almost ready to install.... My biggest concern is the electrics, that will be a challenge... Dvla reg process could be a struggle too.

 

Wishing you all the best with this 6 week challenge, I shall be watching this thread with interest.

Are you fitting a Type 4 motor back in?

 

Nice well good luck hope it works for you and keep us updated with pics