Monday, 8 March 2010
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Well didnt get around to cleaning and taking exterior pics, but ended up fitting the handles to the cupboards, fixing the cupboard door, the catch had broken, put a new one on, and finally wired up the tap on the sink. Then it was dark, so thought i'd take the opportunity to take pics showing how cosy it can look to potential buyers ! Showing off my LED lights too of course :).
Gutted, Ebay is at the door and not going away :(
Well I'm sat here, stalling on what I need to do, but eventually I do have to pull myself together and get on with it, its just going to be so hard. I was sat here the other night reading through this blog, right from the start, the bit right at the beginning where I struggled to get the money in time to even get the base van, through to having to sell my best Canon Lens to fund progress, the misery of the engine blowing on me, then finally it all coming together to look how it does today. Unfortunately its not finished, still stuff to connect up inside, and not even started on the outside. But the outside does have a sort of beaten up charm that Im loathe to do anything with now, you've seen the pawprints, but my fantastic sign maker mate Jamie has really come up trumps with Scooby Doo, I have one on each side window looking down and making the kids laugh on the motorway, well he would have done had I actually been away in it.
Why am I selling it you ask ? Well recently I lost one of my jobs, things are really tough since, and I have to look to areas that can make me money quickly and hopefully get me through the bad times, thats this camper, and my camera equipment, well as Im renovating a building to turn into a photography studio, to enable me to make money some time way up in the future, the camera gear is essential, the camper I suppose can be considered a luxury. Well I guess it is luxury, I love being in it and driving it around, it makes people smile, and I like to see people smile. I've not had one person tell me that what I did to this "van" was rubbish, some like it, some seem impressed, most love it and wish they had done the same thing.
Im not proud, so if you live somewhere like say, oh i dont know, Cirencester, and have recently come into some money and can come help me out so I dont have to sell, then that would be just dandy ! I know, aint gonna happen, but its a nice dream all the same.
I'd like to thank all the people that have helped and advised me throughout the past year or so, you are all in the blog and know who you are, maybe one day we can do it all again :).
Ok, here we go, note to new owner, im going to point my Ebay auction here, so if you have followed the link then you will be reading this, please take the time to go back to the beginning, January 2009, and read up to the present, you arent just buying a camper conversion, you are buying something that has been crafted by someone that wasnt doing it all to make money on, who has been out til gone midnight some days simply because I enjoyed every second of what I did, I started with a firm idea of what I wanted, and think I achieved that almost to the letter, Im just fed up that I have to leave it unfinished, I just dont have the time or the money to carry on now. Im not sure when the MOT is up, but it must be in the next couple months, will obviously be on the auction, and this isnt a new van straight off the production line, so it will need work to get it through. Couple bits I know about. The headlights both have broken adjusters, the adjuster is a white plastic but type thing, and these go brittle and disintegrate over time, thats what has happened to these, the near side I have tried repairing with some metal nuts and bolts, and although it kind of works, I always intended going to get new adjusters when I had the cash, the problem is that the adjuster comes as part of the headlamp surround, so will mean 2 new surrounds I think, which from memory I was told they were about £35 each ? Something like that. Next thing I have noticed is that there is a squeal from the drivers side front brake when they are applied, this could simply mean new pads, or may mean changing the front disks too. I changed the back brakes and disks and o/s/r caliper, you will see that back in the blog somewhere, its a pretty easy job, so shouldnt be too much of a problem. Sometimes there is a rattle under the bonnet when you stop, Im pretty sure its just a plate loose somewhere, but havent had time to look, when I do the photos, may take a quick look then. On the subject of noises, this brings me to the gearbox, it works absolutely fine, all the gears are nice and easy to get, never crunches, smooth selection, but when the camper is idling, there is a rasping sort of noise, when you put your foot on the clutch it stops. At first I thought this may be the new clutch release bearing that was fitted with the new clutch when we fitted the replacement engine, but the noise happens the wrong way round, if it were the release bearing, the noise would be when you put your foot ON the clutch as that is when the bearing is making contact with the flywheel, but this noise stops when the flywheel is engaged, so can only imaging that one of the parts in the gearbox is noisy, it doesnt affect it working in anyway, but I have to mention it as it is probably something you will want to deal with in the future. One more thing that I can think of is the steering wheel cowling, when the ignition switch went, I had to try and get to it without any tools, so ended up damaging the cowling, I still have both the upper and lower parts, but the lower part will need fixing back on, or maybe just go get a new one from a scrap yard, they wont cost alot of money. The outside of the camper has a few little scrapes and dents, it was an ex working van, I will take pics of the worse bits and put them up here, but there is nothing that I didnt think I could deal with so if you are at all competent in filling, it wont be a problem at all, but like I say I kind of like the character of it as it is, maybe thats just laziness talking, but I havent seen it as a problem. You will see from the new pics I do (and the older ones in Wingates back in the blog) that its nothing too major just a few dings and scrapes. If you are intending to respray, which no doubt you will, then they are something you will need to factor in.
My whole idea with this camper right from the start was for it to be something fun, quirky, useful, a talking point, and to try and encapsulate everything that the VW camper brand stands for, and with the resources I had im sure I managed to achieve that, I love taking it out, its used almost daily, and other than the engine blowing and the glow plug fuse blowing once (which took me a while to figure out the cause !) it hasnt let me down, always starts on the button, has had ALOT of new parts, as you will see reading back through the blog, its getting close to 200k on the speedo, but the engine has done probably a little over 90k, will give a more accurate figure on that when I get all the info together for the auction.
If you want something to use for day trips, weekend trips, week trips, something to take to Vanfest and show off something a little different to the norm, then this can be all that and more, you wont see its seating arrangement very often in a T4, actually on the seating, it works really well, you dont need to fold anything out to just jump in lie back on the seat and watch a bit of tv in the services while the kettles boiling !
At the moment the jobs inside that need finishing, I havent connected up the sink and hob, although i have all the bits to do it, you wont need to buy anything to get it done, it has the water and waste containers too. I may even get this done by the time it sells, but I dont really have alot of time at the moment trying to renovate the building I spoke about earlier. Also, the electric hookup, the outside socket is there, its wired at the back and the wire is inside waiting to be connected up to a consumer unit, which I have already bought and will be included, and also mains sockets need fitting next to the 12v sockets, I have a couple of these too in like a kind of brush metal. The 12v system is all operational, the Zig unit runs the main LED spotlights, and the 2 12v sockets that are fitted to the seat bases, and there is a 12v wire fed around to the sink for the tap and pump ready to be connected up, its so close and I am gutted Im not going to be able to finish it and get the benefits myself (a certain Cirencester couple, this would be a good time for you to jump in and save the day !), but the hard work is all done, just a couple bits to finish off and you are good to go.
I am in two minds about including the awning, as it will work on the front of my carport too, by the time any potential buyer reads this, you will know if I have included it or not.
Thats it, just need to go clear it out, tidy it up, take some photos so you can visualize yourself on holiday in it, and put it up for auction.
You need to bear in mind that the prices at the moment are lower, and I need to get some money back quite quickly on this, with the jobs finished, and the outside tidied up, the standard of the interior, the age, maybe another £500 or so spent on it finishing it off and getting it through an mot, I think this will easily make £6000 in the summer, so if you have the cash to do that, its a good investment too, believe me if I could put this off and do all that myself, I wouldnt be writing this here now today.
This blog will be here for as long as blogspots servers retain it, so you will always be able to point future buyers here and show them whats been done.
Oh one more thing, when I bought it it had alot of receipts and some service history, will sort that out too.
Ok, tidy and pics. Check back soon to see them.
Why am I selling it you ask ? Well recently I lost one of my jobs, things are really tough since, and I have to look to areas that can make me money quickly and hopefully get me through the bad times, thats this camper, and my camera equipment, well as Im renovating a building to turn into a photography studio, to enable me to make money some time way up in the future, the camera gear is essential, the camper I suppose can be considered a luxury. Well I guess it is luxury, I love being in it and driving it around, it makes people smile, and I like to see people smile. I've not had one person tell me that what I did to this "van" was rubbish, some like it, some seem impressed, most love it and wish they had done the same thing.
Im not proud, so if you live somewhere like say, oh i dont know, Cirencester, and have recently come into some money and can come help me out so I dont have to sell, then that would be just dandy ! I know, aint gonna happen, but its a nice dream all the same.
I'd like to thank all the people that have helped and advised me throughout the past year or so, you are all in the blog and know who you are, maybe one day we can do it all again :).
Ok, here we go, note to new owner, im going to point my Ebay auction here, so if you have followed the link then you will be reading this, please take the time to go back to the beginning, January 2009, and read up to the present, you arent just buying a camper conversion, you are buying something that has been crafted by someone that wasnt doing it all to make money on, who has been out til gone midnight some days simply because I enjoyed every second of what I did, I started with a firm idea of what I wanted, and think I achieved that almost to the letter, Im just fed up that I have to leave it unfinished, I just dont have the time or the money to carry on now. Im not sure when the MOT is up, but it must be in the next couple months, will obviously be on the auction, and this isnt a new van straight off the production line, so it will need work to get it through. Couple bits I know about. The headlights both have broken adjusters, the adjuster is a white plastic but type thing, and these go brittle and disintegrate over time, thats what has happened to these, the near side I have tried repairing with some metal nuts and bolts, and although it kind of works, I always intended going to get new adjusters when I had the cash, the problem is that the adjuster comes as part of the headlamp surround, so will mean 2 new surrounds I think, which from memory I was told they were about £35 each ? Something like that. Next thing I have noticed is that there is a squeal from the drivers side front brake when they are applied, this could simply mean new pads, or may mean changing the front disks too. I changed the back brakes and disks and o/s/r caliper, you will see that back in the blog somewhere, its a pretty easy job, so shouldnt be too much of a problem. Sometimes there is a rattle under the bonnet when you stop, Im pretty sure its just a plate loose somewhere, but havent had time to look, when I do the photos, may take a quick look then. On the subject of noises, this brings me to the gearbox, it works absolutely fine, all the gears are nice and easy to get, never crunches, smooth selection, but when the camper is idling, there is a rasping sort of noise, when you put your foot on the clutch it stops. At first I thought this may be the new clutch release bearing that was fitted with the new clutch when we fitted the replacement engine, but the noise happens the wrong way round, if it were the release bearing, the noise would be when you put your foot ON the clutch as that is when the bearing is making contact with the flywheel, but this noise stops when the flywheel is engaged, so can only imaging that one of the parts in the gearbox is noisy, it doesnt affect it working in anyway, but I have to mention it as it is probably something you will want to deal with in the future. One more thing that I can think of is the steering wheel cowling, when the ignition switch went, I had to try and get to it without any tools, so ended up damaging the cowling, I still have both the upper and lower parts, but the lower part will need fixing back on, or maybe just go get a new one from a scrap yard, they wont cost alot of money. The outside of the camper has a few little scrapes and dents, it was an ex working van, I will take pics of the worse bits and put them up here, but there is nothing that I didnt think I could deal with so if you are at all competent in filling, it wont be a problem at all, but like I say I kind of like the character of it as it is, maybe thats just laziness talking, but I havent seen it as a problem. You will see from the new pics I do (and the older ones in Wingates back in the blog) that its nothing too major just a few dings and scrapes. If you are intending to respray, which no doubt you will, then they are something you will need to factor in.
My whole idea with this camper right from the start was for it to be something fun, quirky, useful, a talking point, and to try and encapsulate everything that the VW camper brand stands for, and with the resources I had im sure I managed to achieve that, I love taking it out, its used almost daily, and other than the engine blowing and the glow plug fuse blowing once (which took me a while to figure out the cause !) it hasnt let me down, always starts on the button, has had ALOT of new parts, as you will see reading back through the blog, its getting close to 200k on the speedo, but the engine has done probably a little over 90k, will give a more accurate figure on that when I get all the info together for the auction.
If you want something to use for day trips, weekend trips, week trips, something to take to Vanfest and show off something a little different to the norm, then this can be all that and more, you wont see its seating arrangement very often in a T4, actually on the seating, it works really well, you dont need to fold anything out to just jump in lie back on the seat and watch a bit of tv in the services while the kettles boiling !
At the moment the jobs inside that need finishing, I havent connected up the sink and hob, although i have all the bits to do it, you wont need to buy anything to get it done, it has the water and waste containers too. I may even get this done by the time it sells, but I dont really have alot of time at the moment trying to renovate the building I spoke about earlier. Also, the electric hookup, the outside socket is there, its wired at the back and the wire is inside waiting to be connected up to a consumer unit, which I have already bought and will be included, and also mains sockets need fitting next to the 12v sockets, I have a couple of these too in like a kind of brush metal. The 12v system is all operational, the Zig unit runs the main LED spotlights, and the 2 12v sockets that are fitted to the seat bases, and there is a 12v wire fed around to the sink for the tap and pump ready to be connected up, its so close and I am gutted Im not going to be able to finish it and get the benefits myself (a certain Cirencester couple, this would be a good time for you to jump in and save the day !), but the hard work is all done, just a couple bits to finish off and you are good to go.
I am in two minds about including the awning, as it will work on the front of my carport too, by the time any potential buyer reads this, you will know if I have included it or not.
Thats it, just need to go clear it out, tidy it up, take some photos so you can visualize yourself on holiday in it, and put it up for auction.
You need to bear in mind that the prices at the moment are lower, and I need to get some money back quite quickly on this, with the jobs finished, and the outside tidied up, the standard of the interior, the age, maybe another £500 or so spent on it finishing it off and getting it through an mot, I think this will easily make £6000 in the summer, so if you have the cash to do that, its a good investment too, believe me if I could put this off and do all that myself, I wouldnt be writing this here now today.
This blog will be here for as long as blogspots servers retain it, so you will always be able to point future buyers here and show them whats been done.
Oh one more thing, when I bought it it had alot of receipts and some service history, will sort that out too.
Ok, tidy and pics. Check back soon to see them.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Ooohhh Pretty Blue Lights :)
I've always liked lights, and I like the more recent LED lights, they are low power, bright, decorative, but also work well as working lights. So looking in Ebay, I wanted to find some blue LED's to begin with. Found a seller in Hong Kong, selling 20 12v prewired blue LED's, DELIVERED TO MY DOOR for £3.77 !!!! Would it be enough though ? They couldnt be that bright for that kind of money, and must be really poorly made, right ?.
:) Nope. Arrived about a week later, 20 as promised, all with a good length of wire already soldered on. So 20 would probably not be quite enough around the doorstep and roof would it, I did want them to light up the entrance to the back of the van on the side door, as the main lights now had their switch on the opposite side next to the cupboard, when the side door was opened at night, nothing now comes on. Hooked one LED up to a power source to try and gauge how many more I needed to buy. Hmmm. Blue dots for the next 10 minutes ensures me that I have enough already ! :) In fact I end up fitting 3 LED's into the side door step, and just 2 in the roof just inside the door pointing downwards. The roof ones you dont really notice when they arent on as the carpet fibres pretty much hide them. So have 15 left to play with :) Oh and play with I will ;). By the way, from the same company, now have 50 white, 20 green, and 20 ultraviolet ones coming ! :) The white ones I am thinking of embedding in the side wall behind the sink and hob in the shape of the VW logo, as the kitchen doesnt have a light at present, might put them in a seperate board first that can be fixed to the wall, in the same yellow carpet, just to see what it looks like before I start drilling holes in the side panel and ruining it. Incidentally the LED's are powered from the existing interior light wiring, so that they come on when the door is opened, and they power from the vehicle battery not the leisure battery, which isnt a problem as you can leave these on all day long without affecting the battery for starting. They are cold running too, they dont get hot, so no risk of overheating and starting a fire.
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Had another thought today, I havent yet shown any pics of the bed made up, so think you guys may be wondering if it even has a bed ! :) Well it does, and this is it below, works great, quite pleased with the design, good old fashioned mechanics, nothing fancy, but works a treat, Im a big guy and it copes with my weight no problem at all. Think you will agree it looks kinda cosy ! lol. The quilt is borrowed, so need to get something that matched the colours more, but you get the idea from these pics, its very comfy, more comfy than our bed at home, and with all the curtains drawn and with the limo tinted windows is really very private. Seeing it like this brings home that my camper is almost done ! :) Well the inside, the outside still has a story to play out, and Im looking forward to seeing how it ends up myself because at the moment I really dont know. Not sure about the mystery machine now, but who knows, it could still happen..... watch this space ;). PS anyone notice the tv up on the cupboard ? :P Its only there temporarily until I think of a better way to mount it, may sink it into the side of the cupboard.
:) Nope. Arrived about a week later, 20 as promised, all with a good length of wire already soldered on. So 20 would probably not be quite enough around the doorstep and roof would it, I did want them to light up the entrance to the back of the van on the side door, as the main lights now had their switch on the opposite side next to the cupboard, when the side door was opened at night, nothing now comes on. Hooked one LED up to a power source to try and gauge how many more I needed to buy. Hmmm. Blue dots for the next 10 minutes ensures me that I have enough already ! :) In fact I end up fitting 3 LED's into the side door step, and just 2 in the roof just inside the door pointing downwards. The roof ones you dont really notice when they arent on as the carpet fibres pretty much hide them. So have 15 left to play with :) Oh and play with I will ;). By the way, from the same company, now have 50 white, 20 green, and 20 ultraviolet ones coming ! :) The white ones I am thinking of embedding in the side wall behind the sink and hob in the shape of the VW logo, as the kitchen doesnt have a light at present, might put them in a seperate board first that can be fixed to the wall, in the same yellow carpet, just to see what it looks like before I start drilling holes in the side panel and ruining it. Incidentally the LED's are powered from the existing interior light wiring, so that they come on when the door is opened, and they power from the vehicle battery not the leisure battery, which isnt a problem as you can leave these on all day long without affecting the battery for starting. They are cold running too, they dont get hot, so no risk of overheating and starting a fire.
Had another thought today, I havent yet shown any pics of the bed made up, so think you guys may be wondering if it even has a bed ! :) Well it does, and this is it below, works great, quite pleased with the design, good old fashioned mechanics, nothing fancy, but works a treat, Im a big guy and it copes with my weight no problem at all. Think you will agree it looks kinda cosy ! lol. The quilt is borrowed, so need to get something that matched the colours more, but you get the idea from these pics, its very comfy, more comfy than our bed at home, and with all the curtains drawn and with the limo tinted windows is really very private. Seeing it like this brings home that my camper is almost done ! :) Well the inside, the outside still has a story to play out, and Im looking forward to seeing how it ends up myself because at the moment I really dont know. Not sure about the mystery machine now, but who knows, it could still happen..... watch this space ;). PS anyone notice the tv up on the cupboard ? :P Its only there temporarily until I think of a better way to mount it, may sink it into the side of the cupboard.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Got my new wheels !
Well not quite, got these £8.99 wheel trims from Lidl's, but I think they look pretty nice for cheapies, and you wouldnt have known from this pic that they werent alloys would you ? Come on be honest :P
Bought some speakers to replace the ones in the dash today too, got a pair of 160 watt JVC 4" speakers from Motorworld, Brockworth, only £18.99, and once fitted, I realised how knackered the old ones were ! Can actually listen to songs with Bass now ! Looking forward to using it tomorrow and testing them out properly ! :)
Monday, 12 October 2009
Electrics Well On The Way
As the cupboard is now practically done, I thought Id get on with the electrics. First job was to fit the Zig unit into a board that would fit into the lower cupboard, which was uneventful, its a pretty tight fit, which is good, ive made it a pull down board, so can pull it down and get to the wiring and consumer unit which will be behind.
Next thing was feeding wire here there and everywhere, ran one from back to front for the charging cable, was going to do this out through the floor and to the engina bay, but that looked like hard work, so ended up taking roof panels back down and feeding it up the back, along the roof, down the passenger door front pillar, and out through the bulkhead where it was to join up with the battery.
Had to run 3 cables from each of the 12v sockets (fitted the twin one now), one cable back up over the roof, and down the oppisite side, ready to connect the tap and water pump up.
Then had to rewire the lights to a light switch and the zig unit.
Pleased to say it all works ! lol. Battery state was 12.60v when first testing it, then startet the engine and tested again, was charging at 13.2v, which is great, hopefully wont have to keep charging the leisure battery inside now ! Oh with the battery, you have to have it vented, or it gives off poisonous gases, so in the pics you can see the angle and tubing i got to do this with.
So when I left it tonight, it was still a mess, but got the roof lights working from the zig and on its own power switch, wired the 3 12v sockets, so they now can be used to power whatever.
Still a way to go but its getting there :) Pics below.....
Next thing was feeding wire here there and everywhere, ran one from back to front for the charging cable, was going to do this out through the floor and to the engina bay, but that looked like hard work, so ended up taking roof panels back down and feeding it up the back, along the roof, down the passenger door front pillar, and out through the bulkhead where it was to join up with the battery.
Had to run 3 cables from each of the 12v sockets (fitted the twin one now), one cable back up over the roof, and down the oppisite side, ready to connect the tap and water pump up.
Then had to rewire the lights to a light switch and the zig unit.
Pleased to say it all works ! lol. Battery state was 12.60v when first testing it, then startet the engine and tested again, was charging at 13.2v, which is great, hopefully wont have to keep charging the leisure battery inside now ! Oh with the battery, you have to have it vented, or it gives off poisonous gases, so in the pics you can see the angle and tubing i got to do this with.
So when I left it tonight, it was still a mess, but got the roof lights working from the zig and on its own power switch, wired the 3 12v sockets, so they now can be used to power whatever.
Still a way to go but its getting there :) Pics below.....
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