Re Wire

Initially I kept all the wiring outside of the panel convincing myself that if I needed access it would be easier! Self doubt I suppose. But today I'd had enough it looks untidy and unprofessional to me so I decided to run it all behind the panel!
I haven't screwed the panel on properly thank goodness. So it was easy enough to release.
I had to undo the the two positive and one negative lead from the box which is a bit of a pain, but I took a photo and numbered the positive wires.

I've run the wires through the small grey plastic panel at the bottom of the C post.
If you follow the line of the wheel arch inside you'll find an opening which will enable you to bring the wires up and into the middle section of the lower panel . I then just routed the wires between the Dacron insulation to the end and out through a convenient hole to the electric box.
It now looks a lot better!

Mains wiring

So, we have 240v input! Didn't want to cut a hole in the bodywork so opted for the continental version under the rear bumper.
Thought about it a lot , wet knees, grovelling around etc etc. But actually it's not that bad don't actually have kneel to attach mains cable.
Had to drill one hole through floor inside, the rest was routing the cable away from exhaust and make sure cable wouldn't rub on any metal work.
I've run one cable under the wood floor to the nearside for a domestic plug not sure where it will be placed but will wire a socket onto it so I can get an electrician to check it and certify it for me ( Mr Butt this hopefully means you if your reading this ha ha) plus I need a cable to connect it to mains, infact I need an adapter for three pin as well !

Before screwing all together it got the obligatory coating of Dinitrol and kurust around the cuts. 

View of socket just under the bonnet.

Cable routed through floor and a couple of convenient holes above the exhaust

There was a plastic cover to the nearside by the tyre hanger so I routed the cable into that then back to the plug. I also drilled a couple of holes in the plastic either side of the exhaust hanger and secured the cable with a couple of zipties. Again this secured the cable away from the exhaust and stops any rubbing.

What a bloody mess!

Spent most of afternoon finishing mains wiring, just need to attach seperate earth point which is hanging. I forgot ! Then ran gas pipe for Propex Heater easy enough bending 8mm by hand over the wheel arch. Then just used pipe bender for a couple of bends to align with input at heater end and a 90 deg. bend which takes it under the rear of the floor to the nearside where the bottle will be, and then on to kitchen.
I then lagged it with the bubble wrap insulation leaving the joints free until it's all tested.

Bit o wiring!

Decided to drop the electrics down low as we are putting a loo in that corner ( old age catching me up!)
So there is a bit of wasted space down behind where the loo will sit. So I now have a much better space above to fit a shallow cupboard above. I've left the solar panel control up there as that will be the only thing that might be checked regularly.

Just noticed the solar control, it is straight honest! Ha ha 

We have solar lighting!

Nearly have the rear offside panel secure, but broke my last small drill bit!
Why is it that there is only four pre drilled holes to avoid yet I managed to hit two!
So as I can't be bothered to go to local b&q ( already been to two trying to get 3mm ply)  I decided to mount the solar panel control box and hook the LED lights into it, the power supply was from main battery on a temporary fix. So I had the choice of hooking them into leisure battery or solar.
Six LED 's are only drawing 0.1 amps when all on which will hardly happen as they are very bright. So they can stay hooked into the solar panel so we can see if they would better on leisure battery or not.
Learning something everyday!!!

Foil back to rear panel

For some reason the picture didn't upload and on Android you do not seem to be able to add photos !!!

Covering the offside back panel

Made a start on the offside rear of the van, I am almost done at the front a little bit of painting the trim around the floor.
But it's usable as a four seated and four sleeping.

So before I carry on with the suede lining I wanted to panel the back to enable me to mount the electrics and connect the batteries etc.

I used 3mm ply for this using the lower oem panel as a template. The upper sorted by cut a bit and try it!

Once cut to shape I sanded the sawn edges the as a had some of the carpet lining left from the roof bed I decided to cover it instead of leaving it plain ply.
I've also covered the back with foil insulation.
The nearside who knows, not enough carpet but by carpeting the offside I don't have to put any backing on the units. The kitchen side I will be running pipes etc and above the unit we are opting for a perspex sheet.

Second seat in !

Second seat fixed in place and all the panels are replaced under the van!

Van 1 me 1

Have a lovely lump on my forehead from sliding door !

This panel has to be "dropped" to be able to get at bolt that holds fuel pipe neck in place (4 torx screws )

Not sure why this picture is here, except it shows breather pipe! 

See bolt at top 10mm the earth strap is part of the washer and stays in place, sensible!

Breather pipe exits through plastic panels, for reference when putting back together

Lowering the fuel tank wasn't a problem , I had more or less convinced myself that it was going to be a pain! Just supported the tank with Jack and some wood. Undid the three tank supports then gently lowered it until I could see under. Drilled my last to bolt holes then lowered it a little more to get at the bolts. I fitted the bolts by putting them up through the floor rather than from inside the van that way the longer threaded part was inside the van. I was worried that they might rub on the tank, having fitted them and looked I had nothing to worry about! But better safe than sorry!

Seats will be upholstered around September so I will get on with the lining. At this point in time we're going for a cream leather close as we can get to the lining, with a jazzy 70'ish cloth in the middle to continue the retro feel . But who knows as my wife could change her mind! It also gives my account time to recover as I've been collating parts ( fridge, two burner hob and sink Smev, small oven / grill Smev, emergency loo, proper heater ) in the sales and saved a goodly sum! But I can build the units at leisure. 

With the beds done the solar panel in and charging the leisure battery we could use the van. Just need to ply line the the back and mount the electrics so we might go down to Cornwall for a week who knows!! 

C Post lined

First attempt at lining the frame work! Not that easy either!
Ended up sticking a small area just below seatbelt top mount and flat then worked down and around sides. When that was done did the edges.

I had already covered the panel that sits behind the inertia reel except I forgot to cut away a piece to allow it to sit behind the inertia reel ! 

Learning all the time! 

Now just need to source some cream coloured panel clips to replace the grey ones!

Offside done today 16/07/16

Looking good!

Stage One completed!

Roof bed covered in wheat carpet on top where bed will be and suede for the headlining and ready to be installed 

 And the Hatch

Bed in place! A bit of jiggery pokery needed to sort the rear bolts as the upper carpet and the lower suede put the bolt holes off a little but sorted it nicely

And gas lifts working nicely

Roof Bed / lining

Not a particularly good photo but head lining nearly done one small panel to go! Then it can be put back in place and closed lol.

Not a fun job couldn't tuck the edges so the cuts had to be smooth! Although playing around with some offcuts I found that a naked flame sealed the edges, so its a gamble and will have a play on some pieces to see how well it works by using a old penknife heated .........watch this space!

Rain stopped play as well today, and as I have to work outside especially using the spray glues! But on hindsight as the Van is parked in front of the garage and the garage door is always open perhaps I will throw the van cover over the the rear hatch and the garage door, couple of sticks to hold it away from the van might work!

Little bit here a little bit there!

Finishing the 12v wiring extension dual charging fuse box stuff! I do know what I am doing just cant remember what it is actually called and cant be bothered to look! Suffice to say the main box of tricks of wires and fuses is now long enough to reach the back of the vehicle.

 Propex Heating is in place safely running the exhaust and air combustion pipework was a pain to safely make sure they avoided each other underneath the van. But it means I can put the plastic back in place which marks the end of that part of the install wooo hoooo!

VW must have saved at least 3d (thrupence! about 1 1/2p in old money) by installing a stupid little piece of plastic about a foot long, but still they can charge 68 quid to send me a full rear step cover bless!

Whats next? put the offside plastic covers back under the van and clean up the offside edge of the flooring by the seat and add some edging. Go for a 40 mile drive to get the fuel down into the red so it wont weigh to much when I drop it to fit the nearside seat!

Some Days!

And I suppose its progress!

The roof bed is out and being covered hence the canvass is hanging down. one side carpeted the headlining (underside of the roof bed) will be foam backed faux suede. I've almost sorted the top (bedside) with carpet, just the edges to finish. then between us (my wife) will do the headlining over the weekend.

First Seats in!

Offside seat now bolted in place, rear view seat forward for travelling so I've got the best of both worlds. Seats close enough to hold a conversation whilst travelling but move backwards for seating around a table etc.

Seat in "camping" mode gives as a good enough space between front and rear seats without loosing rear space. Now to pluck up the courage to drop that blimming fuel tank!! ...........maybe in a few days!!

Time to dismantle the underside of the van!

I'm ready to fit the seats!

Moved the van over on the drive (it fits with about enough room to get past !) so I can work on the offside. I have decided to do the offside seat as that should only mean I have to remove the plastic and metal heat shields. (he thought optimistically) But I am going to have to drop the fuel tank to do the nearside.

Plastic panel removed reveals the chassis, I had to remove both the plastic ones along the nearside. But at least it shows that I might be able to fit a water tank along that side. Although my kitchen is nearside (or will be!) we'll see.

That done I found that I had to remove the metal heat shields along the middle to access the inner bolts. Was a bit of a faff, 8mm screws and a couple of those washer shaped quick fit discs that just press on. (have no idea what the are called)  They seem to be used a locating pin before the 8 mm screws are fitted. Wasn't to bad and managed to gently pull the shiled over the exhaust and out of the way.

I have a Propex heater on its way so will need access for the exhaust pipe to be run.

So time to drill the small hole to see where the bolts will run......................oh bugger! the rear nearside drill hole has disappeared! Did a bit of measuring and it seems that it is smack back in the middle of that small cross member! Moved the seats around to see if I could avoid it. In the end I decided that actually although obviously I will need longer bolts! using the cross member means I do not need metal plate reinforcement. Thought hard a long about this, but I have no choice unless I lose either floor space in the front or storage at the rear. I would have to move the seat around 4" forward or rearwards either way was not good news. move it forward limits space when all four seats are used for seating on sites or to far back to be able to make the beds. Moving it back means passenger has less of a view out of the window. Not good for the little ones! It also compromised the seat belt location as I am using the OEM mounts. It would make the positioning uncomfortable. I did try it out and it was not good!

See this is why I've been putting off fitting the seats! I knew it would be hassle! I'm guessing manufactures just move them to make life easy, but what the point of a self build if you cant set it out how you want it. 

I was trained as a panel beater back in the day and rebuilt and restored many fancy vehicles so I am happy to use the chassis rail. I'm sure someone out there will say I'm wrong!

So I need to go get some longer bolts which looks like I will have to buy the threaded rods as I cant find any bolts long enough!

The good news is the other three bolts will be easy enough to sort (I might need to drop the exhaust enough to get at the the last rear bolt).   

Offside seat in its final position below. It sits nicely inline with the C post and the seat belt fits comfortably across the shoulder. So just waiting on some shorter bolts to arrive. Boy is it a fiddle to place the seatbelt upper mount! the use of wire/ welding rod is needed to place it in position as the only access is from the bottom mount C post panel. So wire down the post attach the bracket bring it back up to the hole. As I have to cover the C post I haven't tightened it all in position as it will have to be taken off when I cover the post. But I think a couple of dabs of Sikaflex on the bracket will at least hold it in place when finally bolted up and will stay there if I ever need to remove the belt etc.

                                       

The position of the seats allows them to be moved forward for travelling enough for conversation and keeping the nearly 3 yr old grandson happy with a video player strapped to the back of the drivers seat! As long as its Thomas the Tank of course! 

Pop Top, Solar Panel and LEDs

Took the van to Skyline Roofs for the new Poptop, Solar Panel 140watt, and 6 LED lights on Friday 01/07/16
We were looked after well taking us to and picking us up from a local Premier Inn as the van had to stay overnight for glues etc to set.
They also fitted the two van windows to the twin sliders, again excellent job. I was more happy for them to fit than myself as the sliding doors have to take a bit of a pounding when shutting!  Neat and clean job and very happy we choose only 33% tint in the end as from outside they look dark enough but no restriction for occupants when traveling

Roof open the side window comprises of mesh and internal zipped cover. Which is why it looks dark it was open!

Opens almost as high as HiLo roofs! Also had roof rails fitted at production and stronger struts if we need to use the roof to take extra things with us. We have a soft roof bag which attaches to roof rails and holds approximately 500 litres!

Solar Panel

Bed opening and view out of the new windows, next doors brickwork ! As my wife hasn't made her mind up re what lining cloth we should have except "not that flippin carpet stuff" I had them leave the fittings and woodwork uncovered. They were surprised and kept asking but they do not now my wife!!!