Next set of cabinets finished for Iris. Rear storage bins for bed sheets and clothes.
Posts
Tackling the double skinned front bulkhead on the baja next. The outer wasn’t too bad so i chopped out the inner to allow me to clean up the inside.
Inner chopped out.
Trail fit of the new inner. They’re an ok fit but nowhere near as good as the originals.
Glad I separated the inner and outer on the replacement panel as the inner was already going rusty! I’ll clean up and paint this.
Started repairing the outer, good to be getting some metal in.
Say hi!
Everyone please say hello to Iris’ little sister and next resto project, Myrtle!
A ‘73 beetle, so a year younger than Iris. She’s destined to be our off-road Baja Bug rig.
I won’t be starting on this for a little while yet as I need to finish up Iris’ interior first, but watch this space.
I also made this year’s must have accessory; an Orla Kiely lined spare cable pouch for my clutch, accelerator and brake cable spares:
I’ve got this tucked behind the passenger seat now, much neater:
Our Orla Kiely fabric arrived last week so I’ve been busy making curtains for the van. I didn’t get any progress pictures but they’re double faced with black out material in the middle.
All 8 made up:
And hung in the van:
Making a super cosy area to sleep in when they’re shut:
I’ve a fair bit of material left over from the bits I’ve been making so I found a few further bits to make.
The sun visors weren’t in the best of shape as the foam had lost all of their sponginess so I made some new ones.Old covers used as patterns to make new pieces:
The metal frame from the old ones was then removed. You can see how battered the foam was from where the frame was tearing through:
And new foam cut out from some scrim I had left over:
Once sewn up and put together I think they look pretty nice, just need a few new clips for them:
Rear bed cushion finished tonight. Put through quality control by Max and B and installed in the van. We’re ready for basic camping now!
After fitting the wrong hubcaps to the van I’ve now replaced them with a nice set of stainless steel caps that fit properly:
I got sent an extra one by mistake (ssh!) so fitted it to the front spare:
I’ve been continuing with the van interior over the last month or so. Fitted the rear 3 point belt:
And then started learning how to do upholstery. Lots of practice on cheap vinyl, trying all the seams and techniques I’ll need for the van:
And as a small project, which would provide good practice for the rear bed cushions, I made the dog a cushion for his box:
I made a few mistakes on this first cover so made another which came out much neater:
Good enough for the dog at least!
And then onto the door cards. I made a test piece for the rear hatch to get a better feel for running lots of pleats:
Then moved onto the real thing.
Cutting out the fabric (Schnauzer to hold the fabric still):
Marking out the pleats:
And following a few evenings of sewing and glueing, a complete set of door cards:
I fitted them today. Lovely Jubbly!
Not quite appreciating how dark it was getting we put the glue down for the floor about 7:15 and ended up putting the first batch of tiles on by iPhone and candle light (I couldn’t find any of my torches, suspect I left them down the workshop!). Not ideal but looked great:
Finished up the tiles Monday morning when the light was better, complete with 3 coats of polish by Max:
And then fitted the Rusty Lee Rock ‘n Roll ¾ width bed:
A productive weekend!
A long bank holiday weekend saw both the floor and bed go in.
After work Thursday I was supposed to be meeting a van and man at the local timber yard to deliver a sheet of marine ply, only to find the place shut at 4 (assume they clocked off early for the bank holiday). Feeling a bit deflated I drove home and remembered Sydenhams is right next to my office, so swung in. Convinced the ply wouldn’t fit in my van (hence the man and van being my original plan), however it slid right through the rear hatch with ease:
Onto Friday and Saturday and we got the closed cell underlay trimmed down and fitted:
Plywood cut to size, sanded and sealed:
One large piece to cover the majority of the floor:
Followed by two smaller pieces towards the rear:
To avoid flexing around the joint I fitted a strip of ply underneath the floor and screwed all 3 pieces to it:
Sunday saw the rest of the cargo area carpet go in.
Stripping the old quarter panels of carpet:
Fitting the new carpet:
And all panels and bulkhead carpeted:
Since getting the van back on the road last month I’ve slowed down a huge amount with getting bits done on it. I’ve just been enjoying driving it again and having my evenings back. I definitely needed it, but at the same time it’s been a bit of a shock to the system to be honest; feeling a bit lost most evenings. I found this picture from this time last year which just shows how much I got done over 12 months, from a welded up rolling shell to road worthy:
I have however started making some progress on the interior.
Realised I’d forgotten to connect the cold air drain hose. A washing machine pipe from Wickes was the perfect fit:
Got the bed boards and foam in so we can at least sleep in the van:
Made up some membranes for the cab doors to keep the water out:
Fitted the madmatz carpet set to the cab area. I’ve left the cab carpet and kick panels for now as I’m waiting for it to rain again to see if I’ve fixed the leaky windscreen before putting them in:
And I think we’re decided on the fabrics we’ll be using on the upholstry:
Im hoping to start the upholstery next month.
