Anyone who knows me will know I’ve wanted a van for all my 38 years, always had modified Audi’s & golfs yet never really had the time or money for a van. I’m a full of petrol head with a passion for dubs but not necessarily the scene.
March came & the sea of vans seemed to pop up again everywhere around north Wales & my wife finally said we need one. [emoji1360][emoji8] that’s why i married her.
I looked at loads of ex builder vans etc & weigh my options up. In the end I chose a tatty ex taxi that has been painted by stevie wonder in a sand storm..... mechanical wise he’s not bad, body is a bit tatty but will get it sorted over winter & get rid of the little bits of rot. Plg so car insurance, car tax & cheaper ferries.
This was how we got Gilbert back in April.
He was a tour bus for the 70’s singer Donovan in 2016. I found some signed cds & plectrums etc when I stripped him.
We want a day van from him so I binned the 6 rear seats & decided on a full width rock & roll bed. I fully insulated the rear of the van using the silver bubble wrap & a silver backed tape on all the bare metal. I used 35mm recycled plastic bottle insulation which is doubled up in most places due to the caravelle trim having more of a gap than ply. I have covered this in 4 way stretch fabric.
I’ve also painted a lot of the trim in satin black & did the headlining of the cab in a world map fabric.
I painted the original caravelle roof lining which took an age but now matches the rest.
I have removed the original over head heater/blowers as they were utter shite. I plan on fitting lights in for now but eventually want a pop top.
I had to wait for the bed to be made before I could plan where the electrical items could go. I have a 2500w inverter, split charge & 2nd batt under the bonnet. I went for this mod as I can use the biggest normal car battery without risk of acid venting etc in an accident.
This is going to be a long term project & I hope to get it as tidy as some of your awesome vans I’ve seen on Facebook. It’s good to be on a forum again. [emoji1360]
Internally that’s about as far as it has got bar my old Raid steering wheel & lucky 7 pool ball. I’ve got a set of recaro mondeo st220 seats which are a complete ball ache of a job to fit but I won’t give up. [emoji85] I have 2 swivels for the front seats so hoping I can get it to work.
These seats are currently in it but they don’t suit it so will be up for sale eventually. The cab will be getting a lot of love over the winter along with me trying to make the most of the room I have. We want a fridge & a sink. Hob would be nice but I don’t fancy a gas bottle. Waste & fresh water will be accessed through the drivers side slider & also allow ventilation on hot days. Also storage, lots of storage & cubby holes.
Externally it’s had a debadged grill, crystal indicators, smoked/red rear lights, lhd mirror, been lowered 45mm on full vogtland kit.
How it looks right now but I’m going to 245/40/18’s next few weeks as originally I bought these wheels for my Audi so lower profile.
Our first camping trip away last weekend.
Plan on fitting an awning rail this week so any tips greatly appreciated[emoji1362]
Thanks for reading & hope to become a good addition to the group.
Cheers🤙🏼
Sent from my iPhone using Just T4s
March came & the sea of vans seemed to pop up again everywhere around north Wales & my wife finally said we need one. [emoji1360][emoji8] that’s why i married her.
I looked at loads of ex builder vans etc & weigh my options up. In the end I chose a tatty ex taxi that has been painted by stevie wonder in a sand storm..... mechanical wise he’s not bad, body is a bit tatty but will get it sorted over winter & get rid of the little bits of rot. Plg so car insurance, car tax & cheaper ferries.
This was how we got Gilbert back in April.
He was a tour bus for the 70’s singer Donovan in 2016. I found some signed cds & plectrums etc when I stripped him.
We want a day van from him so I binned the 6 rear seats & decided on a full width rock & roll bed. I fully insulated the rear of the van using the silver bubble wrap & a silver backed tape on all the bare metal. I used 35mm recycled plastic bottle insulation which is doubled up in most places due to the caravelle trim having more of a gap than ply. I have covered this in 4 way stretch fabric.
I’ve also painted a lot of the trim in satin black & did the headlining of the cab in a world map fabric.
I painted the original caravelle roof lining which took an age but now matches the rest.
I have removed the original over head heater/blowers as they were utter shite. I plan on fitting lights in for now but eventually want a pop top.
I had to wait for the bed to be made before I could plan where the electrical items could go. I have a 2500w inverter, split charge & 2nd batt under the bonnet. I went for this mod as I can use the biggest normal car battery without risk of acid venting etc in an accident.
This is going to be a long term project & I hope to get it as tidy as some of your awesome vans I’ve seen on Facebook. It’s good to be on a forum again. [emoji1360]
Internally that’s about as far as it has got bar my old Raid steering wheel & lucky 7 pool ball. I’ve got a set of recaro mondeo st220 seats which are a complete ball ache of a job to fit but I won’t give up. [emoji85] I have 2 swivels for the front seats so hoping I can get it to work.
These seats are currently in it but they don’t suit it so will be up for sale eventually. The cab will be getting a lot of love over the winter along with me trying to make the most of the room I have. We want a fridge & a sink. Hob would be nice but I don’t fancy a gas bottle. Waste & fresh water will be accessed through the drivers side slider & also allow ventilation on hot days. Also storage, lots of storage & cubby holes.
Externally it’s had a debadged grill, crystal indicators, smoked/red rear lights, lhd mirror, been lowered 45mm on full vogtland kit.
How it looks right now but I’m going to 245/40/18’s next few weeks as originally I bought these wheels for my Audi so lower profile.
Our first camping trip away last weekend.
Plan on fitting an awning rail this week so any tips greatly appreciated[emoji1362]
Thanks for reading & hope to become a good addition to the group.
Cheers🤙🏼
Sent from my iPhone using Just T4s
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