I've come to a decision.....

I've not really looked at the "camper" since the engine broke, and have been trying to decide what to do, it seems that my engine, the 1.9TD ABL engine, is actually the worst one to have, with many known problems and failings, more so than the other versions, 2.4D, 2.5TDi. With this in mind, and wanting to replace like for like, and after watching auctions on ebay go almost as high as a reconditioned engine, and to be fair the engines look old and dodgier than mine, with no guarantee of the mileage they have done, or the condition, I dont want to be putting another engine in and get something go wrong with that one too within weeks. An option was to repair my engine, or at least the head, but this would cost almost as much as an engine too, so the only reliable and guaranteed way to go about this is to get a reconditioned engine and start from scratch, and at least have something reliable that I know will be good for a few thousand miles plus, but this is going to be alot of money, and wont be happening any time soon, approx £1000 just for the engine, without fitting, but I would have peace of mind that its been done, and I have sorted so many things out on it so far, that when its all done, it will be pretty much like a new van, hopefully, lasting me for years. I also have the MOT to do, which is due in April, so there is bound to be cost involved in that too. Obviously that cant be done until the engine is done, so I think there may well be a SORN coming up for a while.

So all donations welcome :). Actually im counting on the lottery or a lucky punt to cover getting it back on the road and finished, think I might be counting for a while :) The good news is that these vans hold their money, and whatever I do to improve it, will mean that it adds value, so if I was really lucky, and desperate when its finished, then there is a chance I could break even or only lose a little bit if I decide to let it go. (Hopefully this wont happen, but I guess it could be looked on as a luxury).

There we go then, Im going to get a recon engine, and finish what I started, even if its for someone else to enjoy. Which means that I need to start working on it again, I still need to finish lining it out with carpet, and the towbar needs finishing off (although it will be just for show for now :P ). I have a few more things ready to be fitted too, so keep an eye on here if you want to see it start transforming again.

Name Change.....

Oh another thing, I've decided that naming it after the original Norman just isnt working, hence the "its" in last post, so am open to suggestions for a new name that we can be proud of all of its own, so if you have any "sensible" ideas, leave them in the comments part of this post, thank you, when a name is decided on, this is the place to see it first ! :)

Engine Update

Started stripping the engine down yesterday, well took the rocker cover off, thats all i needed, one of the hydraulic tappets had disintegrated, and most of it had disappeared down the oil ways, the valve stem had gone through the tappet, and dropped its collets, and stuck there, so can only assume that its bent inside the valve guide, the cam was good apart from a few scratches on the one lobe where the tappet had gone, the result is that the head definately needs replacing as the bottom half of the tappet is welded into the head around the valve stem, and as Jon said there isnt much point, or its not good practice to put a recon head on a 195,000 mile bottom end, might as well stick a lower mileage engine in altogether and have more peace of mind, obviously change the cam belt and clutch while its all out. ~Then should be good for a few thousand miles at least ! Its a major setback though and is going to take some time saving for an engine etc, will have to start a bit of ebaying again, see if I can make a million like the guy on the news today !
Im hoping to get the roof finished this week, if I can stomach working on it when its so poorly ! Also need to finish off the towbar, got the rest of the bits now to do it. Just hope I dont have too much to do for the MOT thats due in April, think it may have to be SORN though for a while unless cashflow improves drastically, shame because MOT due date is my Birthday :), will lose that unless it takes a whole year to get done ! Which I hope isnt the case. Dont want it to turn into a driveway shed ! :)

Quick Piccie

Well I am still gutted, but feeling more positive at the moment, i'm kind of thinking oh well at least I can now find a lower mileage engine, because I do intend to do alot of miles in it once its finished, so maybe it was meant to be, although for it to happen on its proper first outing was a bit off !

Anyway, whilst im waiting for an engine to turn up at the right mileage and price, I will carry on with conversion, as I have stuff here that needs doing still, want to get the roof finished off, and the side door isnt covered yet either, then start building the bed seats and units. No need rush now though, dont think it will be going anywhere this season unless we win some decent money on the lottery ! :)

This is how the back is looking at the moment, the carpet on the floor was just quickly put in for this weekend, its been in the loft for 10 years or so, so the creases are part of the shape now !, but its only temporary until i decide what flooring i am going to put in.

First weekend trip and Norman DIED in traditional fashion !

I'm typing this sat next to a pitch black dining room in a haunted castle in Wales, where Norman was supposed to be bringing us for the weekend. Changed the oil just before we left, good thing ? BAD MISTAKE. It appears that the oil change dislodged some muck that was in the sump and clogged the oil ways to the top of the engine, result - 1 dead camper on the M4 just this side of the Severn Bridge. We finally got back home about 11pm thanks to the RAC, and swapped over to the Peugeot Van, and finally got here at 2am ! What a Friday 13th that turned out to be. Engine is knackered, maybe could get away with replacing the top half, but would prefer now to fit a lower mileage engine back in, but the upshot is that Norman will be off the road for a while whilst I raise funds. Camper conversion is now on hold for the foreseeable future :(.

A little bit more done.....

Did some more today, quite pleased with the progress, all the fiddly stuff is out the way now, just the panels left to do, going to get some more wood for the rear panels tomorrow, and a couple more cans of adhesive, down to my last one after this lot, then cover all the panels and put them all up at the same time so I get the full affect in one go ! Really looking forward to it, before I finish the roof panels off, I need to sort out the LED lights and the TV bracket, just in case fitting them affects where the carpet will go, Im going to wire the LED lights to the normal vehicle roof light wiring for the minute, so they come on when the doors are opened, but will re-wire them when I sort all the electrics out and put them on switches etc. The TV bracket will stay TV-less for the time being again until I sort the electrics out, and find a decent reliable form of aerial, without having to use a big pole, I want one that sits on the roof, either permanently if small enough or with a magnetic base, so if anyone has any ideas, must be able to receive the DVB digital freeview signals. Well this is it, the next pic you will see will be the fully fitted one, although i'll be taking pics along the way for myself, you will see the finished effect :) Cant wait now, the fiddly stuff was hard work, but I enjoyed it, and it wasnt as difficult as I expected it to be, thanks for all your tips Martin, they have come in really useful.

The start of the carpeting, its very BRIGHT ! :P

Ok, wanting this done by the end of the week for when we go away, I decided to get cracking this afternoon on the lining, in usual style I started with the hardest part, the window side, actually it went easier than I thought, thanks to Martin's guide, he was dead right when he said to spray some adhesive at the top first and hang the carpet up and work down, it was so much easier, you can see this in the first pic. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, I took them in low light on my mobile phone, didnt want to get spray adhesive on my slr camera :). Anyway, worked my way along, and the window itself really wasnt much of a problem, the adhesive I used, the Evo Stik one that Screwfix do, really is sticky ! What I trimmed off the bottom half in the first pic, was actually enough to do the opposite side too, so I have plenty of yellow over, I bought 6 meters of that, still have the roof to do, but will do it easily, thinking maybe I can find another use for it during the build. I bought 8 meters of the blue, but that is going to be covering the bottom of the seating and cupboards too, even so I think I'll have some of that left over as well. I did start using the blue as you can see from the pics, managed to get the back end done, and it starts to show how the 2 colours will work together, as I said very bright ! :) Nice and cheerful though, and there wont be another like it I guarantee ! :) Hoping to get some more done tomorrow, have now made up my mind to go get some more wood for the back side panels before I carpet them, having gotten wet and damp in the shed over the years, then dried out, the plywood has become very brittle and the slightest bend snaps it, not really what I want to be putting £100 worth of carpet on ! So another job to get on with. It never seems to end, but I am looking forward to seeing it all done :)