Last issue, Thomas covered the trials and tribulations of getting an MOT. He continues:

By 1999, the van had been well travelled with the family. We had taken it to France a number of times, and a tour of the Irish Republic. All went well on these trips. The only real problem we had was in County Wexford, Eire.

The generator (it’s an alternator on our bus) light came on while travelling on a very hot summer’s day. Having a look in the engine bay, the alternator was so hot you could not touch it. A local small garage was near, so I asked a mechanic to have a look. There was a campsite near, so if we had a real problem, we could camp in the awning we had with us.

The mechanic said we needed a new alternator-without looking! By then, the engine had cooled down. Turning the key, the engine burst into life without the generator light on. Deciding to drive around a bit (the day was still scorching hot) the light came on again a while later. I was not convinced that the mechanics opinion of needing a new alternator was correct without looking or investigating for other faults first. As the light came on after a while, I had an idea. Taking one of the air tubes off the exhaust heat exchanger I used thick foil to create a funnel and wired it up so that the air from the doghouse blew directly onto the alternator body. We drove around locally in case the problem returned. It didn’t come on again, so we continued our trip.

We continued our tour of Ireland and visited all places I had as a child (my family are from Wexford) and a great trip. The kids loved the beautiful beaches and green places in the local countryside. We returned home without incident.

Later when home (1999) my exhaust system had corroded and needed replacement. I seem to have to replace it by every time the MOT was due. JustKampers started to produce more and more new products for T2 vans. They stocked a full stainless steel exhaust system for £118. I thought that this would be good value for money over time. I had no idea that it will still be working well in 2022. So is the alternator I had a problem with. I would say that was excellent value for money.

Using and enjoying the van into the new Millennium, by 2009 I needed to do some serious work on the body.

The front body panel had been patched at a garage some years before. Another hole appeared there, so a good poke about revealed corrosion requiring a more serious repair. Finding that my ‘repairs’ some years before had been nothing more than filler and spray can paint, it had not been welded. Investing in a MIG welder and other tools, I practiced and practiced.

My articles may give the impression that I don’t like mechanics. This is not so. I know some very good ones. It’s just that I developed some knowledge of mechanics myself and simply hate being ripped off. Working hard for my money I don’t want to give it away – I can bodge things myself for a fraction of the cost of a garage doing it. I also hate bodges!

My first bodywork was the inner and outer sill below the opening side door. This went well, and I was so pleased to have the alignment looking good. Best of all the door gaps were good and nothing dropped off. Getting brave, the window rubbers were, well, no longer rubber. Hard black stuff that oozed water when pushed with a finger.

New window rubbers were purchased at Busfest. All except the front windscreen. I had a great plan for that. A seal for a louvre window was purchased. Only because I found one in a hedge! Yes, it’s true. Camping at a non-VW event, I spotted a familiar shape of such a window hanging in a hedge. Retrieving it, it only needed a careful clean. All the glass was there, and the mechanisms worked.

All the window rubbers were cut out. Being careful to use suction handles to hold the glass to prevent unnecessary breakage. This revealed some corrosion as I feared, but not as much as I had expected. Cutting out the bad and letting in new metal all was soon looking well again. The rear window went in easily. Not so the side window rubbers. Asking a windscreen fitter that I came across in the street, he gave me an impromptu teaching session and a tube of screen rubber sealant if I needed it. Even so, fitting the side windows was the hardest work I have done on my bus to date. That is, until I learnt that I needed to be much more forceful with the glass panes than I was. The rubber around the glass needed to slip over the lip of the window opening. Using silicone spray as lubricant (never use washing up liquid, it contains a massive amount of salt) and cord wrapped around the rubber to pull on, each window rubber would almost get in place only to pop out at the last minute. This was so frustrating. I thumped it hard with my arm. Didn’t know glass could bend, but it does. Perhaps I was lucky not to cut myself to pieces and break all my glass, but it went in.

Next on my list were the two front wheel arches. They were a bit crusty. Schofields provided nice German made replacements. Brazilian ones are ok, but a little on the thin side and poor pressings. Still, this is dependent on your budget. Having two full wheel arch panels with steps stored away a few years earlier, I found them out removed them from my stash of bits to set about fitting them.

It is good practice to remove both doors to start fitting them. Being new to this work I didn’t, wanting to keep the doors on to help with alignment and good gaps.

The old sills were cut out. Drilling holes where they are to be separated. By now I owned a compressor and tools. An air chisel makes short work of separating panels. Great noises too.

Don’t think that my van looks amazing and pristine. It isn’t and doesn’t. It is solid underneath and will not leave a trail of rust in the road.

Owning a van is not all about repairs, although a part of it. More fun was to be had in the van before more serious work.  There is nothing better than a meal in the evening air, the smell of a BBQ (or six) warming yourself by a campfire and putting the world to rights.

Next time I’ll write how I replaced the vans entire braking system, working at the 2012 Olympic Games in my van, front panel and windscreen replacement and a full engine build on my kitchen table.

Thomas Feeney