Winnie did a great job yesterday transporting groom then bride and bridesmaids to the venue, then as backdrop to the photo session. I'll get a copy of some of the pro shots but here's a blackberry snap: IMG-20140812-01375.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr
Excellent thread I've just read start to finish and your van looks fab. I like how you've put the old and new parts up to show the difference I'm going to google the gear stick as I was going to get an extension on mine due to leaning for 1st and 3rd - but if it can do it in one surely that's better? It depends on the price tho! Looking fwd to seeing more photos
Thanks mate. Really pleased with the way its turning out - still a bunch of stuff to do but the list is getting shorter. Ref the shifter - this really did make a massive difference to driving - i had to lean forward for 1st and 3rd as you say, and there was so much play that i'd often punch the dash when going into third. The berg shifter really sorts that out - much shorter throw and a longer shaft, means you stay in your chair i got mine direct from berg in the states, took about a week to arrive. Not cheap but well worth it IMO: http://www.geneberg.com/cat.php?cPath=17_476&osCsid=4d456f46e3a0f6d884d915ea845a278b
Cheers @rob.e I googled them this morning and did gulp a bit at the price! I may have to go for cheapo option and save up for the gene berg one
Fitted new 240v double socket for my hookup with built in USB chargers: http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-13a-2...b-charger-port-black-nickel-flat-plate/26218# Also a new fire extinguisher as the old one was out of date. 240v hookup usb chargers and fire extinguisher fitted by lotus-gt, on Flickr
Replaced both my broken coat hooks with some new ones from jk. They are only listed as a T1 fitment on the jk site but they are identical to the ones originally fitted to my bus. Only issue is that they are more white rather than ivory. I may pull them off and leave them sitting in a cup of tea overnight to see if I can get a closer colour match, but TBH anything is better than the naked metal bracket: IMG-20140820-01435.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr IMG-20140820-01438.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr IMG-20140820-01440.jpg by lotus-gt, on Flickr
Put a badge on the rear today. I don't think this would have had any badging on the rear from the factory, although the autos seem to.. although it's not original I think it suits the van well - it's a NOS badge from 1978, from a beetle deck lid so it's the same font as the autos have. Volkswagen by lotus-gt, on Flickr Volkswagen script badge by lotus-gt, on Flickr I ground off the pegs and used sticky pads to fit it, so it's easily removable if I change my mind.
The thread is a little out of date, so here's some of the things that have happened recently: I got the horn working (on my own and it still works!); poor connection under the wheel, broken jumper at the base of the steering column and the horn unit itself was knackered.. all now resolved. New cushions: covered in og westy material by my super-talented wife, cylindrical shaped cushion from dunelm. These not only look great but also double as pillows for sleeping. Lovely cushion by lotus-gt, on Flickr Rear sliding door handle: I had always wondered what the redundant bracket was for at the back of the slider... turns out there should have been another handle there. Picked up an og handle from ebay and it makes closing the door from the inside much easier. bracket: rear sliding door bracket by lotus-gt, on Flickr .. now with added handle: Rear sliding door handle by lotus-gt, on Flickr Heater controls: I had one red heater knob broken when i first got the van so i bought some new replacements from JK. They are not great quality, look cheap and they are also flimsy so i picked up some ratty ones from the classifieds here. Not got a pic of them fitted yet, but this is the "in-progress" pic when cleaning them up. 30-odd years of grime and fading made them look pretty awful but 20 mins of Mr Muscle and a scouring pad and they look great. You can probably see from the pic which of the two red ones has been cleaned: heater levers resto (one done..) by lotus-gt, on Flickr I've also added a new hookup socket under the van. The one that was there originally didn't have a cover, so we ran the risk of it getting mucky and wet. This new one was only a fiver and has a spring loaded cover to keep the road crud out: Hook up with cover plate by lotus-gt, on Flickr fitted: Hook up with cover plate - fitted by lotus-gt, on Flickr At the beach: not got a bunch of pics but we had a a great family week camping in the van @ West Wittering. Ideal mobile base at the beach too for food/changing/ toys and kites etc. At the beach, West Wittering by lotus-gt, on Flickr Also used the dash table for the first time - works great! Westfalia cab table by lotus-gt, on Flickr Westfalia cab table by lotus-gt, on Flickr Took ages to clean off all the sand and crap when we got back, but quite satifying to get it shiny again. clean by lotus-gt, on Flickr I've also been to visit @davidoft a couple of times recently; I now have; - working headlights (both at the same time!) on both dipped and full beam. Issue here was partially melted fuse and poor earth AND blown bulb element.. - waxoil in the doors, front panel, sills, engine lid. - door rubbers re-fitted (glued) and doors adjust /re-hang all round, much better fit now, hopefully will have also cured the minor leak we had in heavy rain. - exhaust patch/ new hanger: the single quiet pack empi POS exhaust ALMOST fell off due to rust and a fundamentally poor design. I'd made up a temporary hanger but that broke too - David made up a proper solid hanger for the tail pipe end plus welded up the hole i had near the inlet. These exhausts are complete Marmitee and should be avoided at all costs. A stainless item will be on there as soon as funds allow. .. and the big one, my EBERSPACHER heater is now working - woohoo! This was factory fitted to my van but probably hadn't run in 20 years or so. Lots of work involved to get it working; siezed pump, blocked fuel line, new feed /t piece required, switch and the controller both not working right, exhaust patching needed, wiring missing but all sorted now (thanks david!) and it really is super effective. David has one of these on his own van so he's probably uniquely qualified for troubleshooting and repairing this type of T2 heater. The interior of my van is now covered with a layer or dust and sand as the blowers are so strong they're blowing out 36 years of crap, and in terms of heat it really is hot, so much so that after a few minutes running you can hardly hold your hand over the outlets its so hot. It really is like having a couple of hair dryers on full pelt coming out of the screen vents. So glad we persevered with this rather than going with an aftermarket unit - as it pumps out the heat via the main heating system its great not only for cold evenings camping but also for demisting and general driving, and as it's factory fitted its hidden under the floor of the van so doesn't take up any cupboard space like a propex would. The "to-do" list is getting shorter, still need to get the remainder of the interior cabinets finished and my oil leaks are getting worse ... need to ditch the crappy tyres too. I also re-checked the mileage when from when we bought the van, so i'm pretty sure we've done nearly 2k miles over the summer. Hopefully we'll get a few more short camping trips in during September, should be fine now we have the heater working.
Cleaned up my empi exhaust. Now that i have a proper bracket supporting the tail pipe, and david welded my split, i'm going to see if i can eek out this system as long as i can. Long term plan is still to go stainless but if i can avoid that expense for now i will. before: EMPI exhaust rust by lotus-gt, on Flickr after: repaint the exhaust, again.. by lotus-gt, on Flickr Previous re-paint hadn't worked as you can see, so this time i used some hammerite i had lying around .. i know there's a risk that this is just going to melt and fall off but i've done a few trips so far and it seems to be holding up ok so far.
your van makes mine look a right Marmiteter lol - i used to be king of the champagnes KING I TELL YA!
the van made its first appearance in a magazine this month, not a feature but its in the madmatz advert, top image, showing off its cab mats and door cards: in print by lotus-gt, on Flickr camper and commercial september, p77.
only 'cos @el doesn't come on here anymore mate, he had a few and they were perfect, @vinnyboy don't count 'cos he painted his blue