Category Archives: T2

How to improve on a classic!. The best selling version of the Transporter

Member’s Motor – Glenn George – Mavis

In December 2016, Club member Glenn George from
Dartmouth, Devon, alerted us to the fact that his
trusty 1973 Bay Window Devon camper “Mavis”
had been used as a getaway vehicle during the
heist of a security van during a Pirate Festival! This
was not the usual getaway that Glenn was used
to; he preferred the kind that involved camping!
However there was no need for alarm as “Mavis”
was used for filming an episode of BBC1’s
“The Coroner”, now in its second series and
with an episode titled “Pieces of Eight”, “Mavis”
provided the perfect cover for a robbery during
Lighthaven’s Pirate Festival and Glenn has given
an account of his experience below.
It started with a phone call from Adam at AJs
VW in Paignton (where Mavis has been serviced
for 43 years), Adam told me that he had been
asked if any of his customers had an old camper
and were willing to take a couple of days out for
filming in and around Dartmouth. As I work just
a few miles over the river in Brixham I thought
this sounded like an interesting proposition so I
agreed. The next few weeks I spent speculating
what would be involved, as it is BBC policy to not
give too much away. I asked around if anyone
knew of this “Coroner” series, as I must admit I
hadn’t heard of it myself

When the day finally arrived I headed off to
Bantham and was quite impressed with the
military precision that had gone into the
planning of the day. I was sent a list with details
of all 70+ people and where and when they all
had to be. I arrived at 9am and found an assistant
Director who fetched a couple of wardrobe
assistants. I got a bit nervous at this point, but
it wasn’t me they were going to dress up, it was
Mavis! At this point I was concerned with what
they might do to her, but they assured me that
they would clean her up afterwards. She was to
be dressed as a Pirate Van, she looked a bit funny
but they were very gentle.

I was asked to drive Mavis down a very steep hill
to a small sandy cove where there is a beautiful
view of the river and an old boat house. “Drive her
on to the sand a bit” I was told, whilst surveying
the green tinged last few cobbles of the socalled road, I didn’t think this was the best idea
but was persuaded by the crew. So I drove half
on and then reversed a bit to see if she’d get off
again and she wasn’t going anywhere, well and
truly stuck! This was when I realised how friendly
everyone was as they all chipped in with pushing
and pulling to get Mavis back on to firmer
ground. During the rest of the day’s shoot, Mavis
only moved about 3 feet and it took till gone
6pm to wrap the scene which lasts about 90secs
on screen! Once this shoot was finished, we had
to negotiate the very steep hill again, this proved
to be a challenging ascent which was assisted by
the 4×4 Mule usually used to transport lighting
rigs and camera equipment.

The second day of filming was eventful in a
different way, no steep slippery slopes but
filming in the centre of Dartmouth. It was here
that I learnt Mavis’ role was a getaway vehicle and
I also learnt the sense of humour underpinning
the show! When I was told that they would
hi-jack a security van and bundle someone into
the back of Mavis I laughed because I know
that all things T2 happen at their own usual
relaxed pace.
The first take was in progress when the “Pirate”
tried to quickly open the door, he used a few
nautical phrases that were heard echoing around
the Dart Valley. I offered a solution for myself to
crouch inside the van and persuade the door
to open with my foot as the handle was pulled
down. The director agreed to try this and it was a
successful 2nd take.
Our first experience with the Beeb was very
interesting and fun. I’m not sure we get to see
Mavis at her best, or any of the really fun scenes,
but I will keep my eye out for the out-take shows!

Ask The Mechanic – Oil

Oil is one of the most important components of your engine. Without oil, an engine will overheat and fail. Many Dubbers keep a close eye on oil levels and top up as required, but is this enough? Keeping the oil in your engine at optimum temperature is as important as maintaining the correct level. Monitoring the oil temperature in your classic VW has always been tricky and normally requires the fitment of an aftermarket system that can look out of place, be challenging to install and leave a large dent in your wallet.
However, there is a simple yet very clever product called “Save My Bug” that can help you to monitor the oil temperature without breaking the bank.

“Save My Bug” is an oil temperature dipstick that replaces your original dipstick and connects to the oil pressure switch with an 18” wire included in the kit, allowing you to monitor the engine oil temperature without the use of an aftermarket gauge. The oil light on your dash will now not only operate as an oil pressure warning light, but will also become an oil temperature warning. In normal conditions the light will remain off, if the engine oil temperature starts to get too hot it will flash, if the light comes on steady, the engine temperature is excessively hot (or there is an oil pressure problem) and you should pull over and stop the engine immediately.
This has made keeping an eye on oil temperature whilst driving a doddle and the installation takes less than 10 minutes for all levels of ability.
It is available for both the Type-1 engine and Type-4 engine from most well known air-cooled VW specialists for around £30-£40 depending on application.

Member’s Motor – Helen and Dave Salisbury

My wife and I had always wanted a Type 2 Bay after spending a weekend in Newquay in 1993, we didn’t know it at the time, but the Run To The Sun festival was on and after spending the weekend watching Campervans and Beetles drive around we had been bitten by the VW bug. However, still being an apprentice and being on apprentice wages there wasn’t much chance.


Fast forward 7 years to November 2000, I had heard about a van from a lady that I worked with and she told me that her husband who was a gardener, had spotted it in a barn at a large house in the Cotswolds that he had been working at. When the gardener asked about it, the owner told him that it had been sat there for 2 years and that they wanted to sell it. When I heard about it, I rang the owners and arranged to go and see it.


It was poking out of the barn with one wheel arch split through with rust and hanging off, a damp fusty smell inside of it, some of the brakes were seized, the engine was running on 2 cylinders, there was various rust holes in all the usual places and it generally looked very sorry for itself. The owner agreed to get it taken to a local garage on a trailer to let them have a look and give me an idea of the work required to get an MOT pass on it. After looking at the fail MOT sheet, we agreed a price and the van came home with us.


It was placed on my in-laws’ drive and work started right away. I spent most of the weekends that winter welding and replacing parts with a view to getting the van ready for a trip to Cornwall the following Easter. After lots of cold, hard work, 2 weeks before Easter we got our MOT Pass certificate and had a great first trip.

The Mechanic – Brakes

This issue takes a look at a submission from club
member Ian Crawford, who had a problem
with his brakes at MOT time, something we all
want to avoid!
Having owned my Type 2 for 43 years, I have
never had an MOT failure, until September
2015.
If failed on the brakes being “unequal” from the
N/S readings compared to the O/S readings
when tested on the rolling road.


The tester said I had 10 days in which to get
the problem sorted and return for a free retest.
I immediately drove to the garage I have used
for 43 years (Francis Tuthill), to see if he could
resolve the problem for me within the 10 day
window.
I showed Francis the above figures and his
immediate response was to say “you probably
don’t use your brakes all that much. I’ve come
across this situation before”.
His response was to jump into my van and
drive it around the village for about 5 minutes
doing numerous “emergency stops” in order to
get the brake linings warmed up. On returning
he said I should go back to the MOT garage
now and get it retested as he couldn’t find
anything wrong with them.
This I did and when retested the brake figures
obtained were now:


My van now passed its MOT. Panic over! So
the moral of all this is if, like me, you don’t drive
all that many miles a year and you tend to
hardly use the brakes “in anger”, make sure you
warm them up before going for your MOT as
you might end up like I did, with a (temporary)
MOT failure.

Eric the Viking – a restoration in many parts – December 2021

Spend since last report: £294. Total hours labour since last report: 12.2

What is the key upside of our camper vans over motorhomes? The Type 2, from the first split screen, the Bay, the T25/T3/Wedge/Brick, T4, T5 and even the T6. They can all be driven on a car licence, because they are all small enough to be about the same footprint as a standard car. No need for special car parking spaces.

What is the key downside of our little camper vans over motorhomes? Space inside.

Have you ever been a little frustrated at permanently having to move things around? Or finding that the cupboard or drawer has something in front of it or on top? Trying to navigate the tiny floor space past a loved one?

In general, across all models that are termed the Type 2, we have a similar layout. Seating at the front, sometimes that swivels, a seat towards the rear and maybe boot space behind that. In between all of that is about 5 feet or 1.5 metres each way of floor for the living quarters. That gives you maybe a buddy seat, the sink, the fridge, the cooker, the toilet. Perhaps the removable dining table on a pole, or a cupboard but not much else as there simply is not the room.

During an evening conversation with a T5 owning friends, he mused that it would be great if our little vans had a sliding side like the huge expensive motorhomes and so an idea was planted. Fast forward several months, a lot of thinking and some hours experimenting in the garage. The non-sliding door panel can be seen in some models as a traditional sliding door, sliding backwards and called a double slider. Therefore, Volkswagen are happy that this does not impact the strength of the vehicle and that is good enough for me. As noted in the last write up, Eric’s non sliding panel has seen some accident damage and the repair was not great by me a few years ago and was removed. With that composite side panel and sill gone, I added a new outer sill.

Some extra heavy duty kitchen drawer runners were purchased and the original idea of two runners and two roller bearings has now become four runners at the bottom and two at the top. These runners will slide the external panel of the vehicle including the middle window out from the van. To make it secure and weatherproof, new steel will be added to form the floor on top of the runners, sides of the structure and a roof. The entire unit will be on an electric ram and the entire kitchen will be in there.

In summary, the floor space taken up by the fridge, hob, sink and associated cupboards will move away from the van giving back all of that floor to the inside. In addition, with easy access below the sink, the water bottle can then live outside giving more cupboard space inside as well.

An item called a linear actuator was ordered, which is the gas ram that pushes and pulls. Not expensive and then I also got the controller for it… Effectively an in button and an out button and it stops at any point along the way. Sheet steel picked up from the local ironmongery is hopefully big enough and the project started.

The two outermost runners are within an inch of the B post and C post to give strength at the edges. Then a further pair on the van floor between those runners but only six inches apart which means that one is just under the other side of the fridge and the other is just under the corresponding place for the other cupboard. Under the centre of the whole unit will be this actuator to push and pull everything. The slide out tray then received a little box to hold the worm screw of the actuator plus the whole tray had some strengthening lines pressed into it and the sides folded up to attach to the pod sides in due course.

Now we have a working plan. A tray sits on runners and slides out of the van. Attached to that is the outer wall of the van complete with the window. Attached to both of those are vertical sides either side of the window and the whole thing has a roof that will be inclined not flat, to help water run off.

The tray is the easy piece. Finding exactly where it does against the outer wall when the outer wall is not fitted is a little trickier.

Trying to shape the sides as the outer wall is not flat is quite fun, and the sides need a 90 degree flare to attach to the outer panel as well. After much wasted time, I finally made a template from wood of the inside wall and transferred that to the flat sheet steel.

Having four runners means that to get them working they need to be perfectly parallel for the tray to sit on them. Lots of adjustments there, plus making brackets to attach them to the floor and the tray plus clearance for everything to move.

It is not finished by a long way, but the kitchen takes up around five square feet (3.5 feet by 1.5 feet) or half a square metre (1 metre by 0.5 metres). When your floor space is about 25 square feet / 2.25 square metres, you can potentially gain 25%. That’s a lot of floor space.

Next time, I hope to be able to report that the majority of the box is built. Courtesy of eBay, I have an inexpensive fridge already, and I managed to get a three ring new cooker with glass lid as well for a great price too. “All” that I need now is to assemble it all and hope that it glides in and out!

Member’s Motor – Phil and Sophie Aldridge – Bluebell – Part 2

Bluebell is a ‘79 Bay Window, Devon Moonraker conversion with a full side elevating roof. When we first decided to take the plunge into campervan ownership, we had our hearts set on the Moonraker conversion as the interior space was excellent both in the elevated roof and the interior build.


We spotted Bluebell on eBay and watched her sell very quickly, much to our disappointment. But then, whilst searching further, we noticed that she had been relisted and jumped at the chance to investigate. So after a short phone call confirming some minor details, we were off on a trip to Frome in Somerset for a viewing. When viewing we found Bluebell to be in original condition, apart from some interior wooden surfaces had been replaced for pine and the exterior paintwork had changed from Sand Beige to an unknown Blue. This was perfect, the bodywork and paint had been worked on within ten years, keeping it fresh and clean (with receipts for work). After a test drive through the countryside, a deposit was paid
and date set for collection.
We had several trips away in the first few months of ownership and during a trip in Wales had our first spot of engine trouble, only firing on 3 cylinders. We spent some time investigating but couldn’t work it out so decided to limp home (back to the southeast!) and investigated further. It turns out that we had a burnt valve and so the start of restoration commenced. We took the opportunity to give the engine a good
overhaul and carry out required repairs and paintwork in the engine bay area.

Once these repairs were completed we got an excellent year of camping from Bluebell, including a trip back to Wales for a friend’s wedding and a 20 day trip around the Southwest during the summer.
Winter came back around and we decided that Bluebell’s bodywork and paint and needed attention in a few places, with the white, top half of the van needing most of the attention around windows and roof guttering. After talking to a good friend (who also happens to be a classic car restorer) we had
set a date to get Bluebell into the workshop to begin the strip down and repairs.
These repairs included removing all glass, repairing all window frames, replacing any scratched or dull glass, removing the elevating roof (it is huge!), repairing roof areas and replacing the pop top material.


This work had to be done to keep her looking fresh and clean, but we really needed to give the interior some attention as well as the wood was rotten in places and looking generally tatty and the original upholstery had also seen better days. So we took the decision to remove the interior and started looking for campervan interior design and build companies.
So with all top half work completed, Bluebell was sent to The Campershak in Ormskirk to have a new interior fitted in the same Devon design, but with some modern and personal tweaks, including a new overhead side locker. Work completed on the bodywork and interior in time for another excellent year of camping. Winter had arrived again, now phase 2 of the bodywork and paint was to be done. This time
the work would incorporate the underneath of the van… this turned out to be around an extra two months of work!

With all work completed, we have had another excellent summer of camping and looking forward to a winter where the work required on Bluebell is reduced somewhat! Despite all the hard work and effort, we
wouldn’t change our campervan and the memories we have with her. Here’s to more memory making and we wish our members happy memories in their vans too!

Ask The Mechanic – Vehicle Security

With classic car vehicle theft on the rise classic car security systems are more important than ever.
The Mechanic has noticed some members asking some questions on the Club Facebook page about van security and what different people use, so has decided to cover some options for security to help members understand what products and services are available to keep your van as safe as possible.
Starting with the basics, your vans already has some built in security features from the factory that you should utilise and ensure are working effectively before even worrying about additional security measures.
Firstly check that all of the doors lock securely, including the tailgate or rear doors in later transporters. Full lock sets can be inexpensive and a doddle to fit, depending on the model. If the doors aren’t locking as expected, there is plenty of adjustability with the striker plates and latches, don’t be afraid to give it a go. All van windows, whether they are manual windup, electric windup, louver or sliding, should close fully and latch where possible. Anything short of this is an invite to an opportunistic thief.
All types of Transporter have a standard steering lock fitted which is activated by turning the steering wheel with the ignition key removed. This stops anyone from being able to turn the steering wheel and drive off without the ignition key. The ignition key and barrel is another standard security feature that should be present, older vehicles can be modified over the years to work in several ways depending on whether there have been problems in the past, but the ignition lock is something extremely basic that
you want to ensure is working.


Some other very basic things to consider are where you keep your van parked when not in use. Do you have a secure location such as a garage or a lockup? Do you use a driveway or park on the road? If you have a safer place available to you, use it. Now we have covered the basics, we can move on to additional security devices. There are various additional security devices available for vehicles and they can be mechanical or electrical and very affordable or expensive, depending on the product and the application.
A basic additional security device that many will have used at some point is the steering wheel lock/clamp. These are a mechanical device that fits to the steering wheel to prevent the wheel from being turned in the event of you vehicle being stolen. They vary heavily in application and price and the choice is a personal decision, but whatever you choose, a steering lock is a visual deterrent for potential thieves as well as a physical mechanical hindrance. I personally always use a steering lock, even if only leaving my van for a short period of time, it gives me peace of mind that it would take longer for someone to
steal my van with it fitted than it would without it, which should help to put off the opportunistic types. There are many different types of steering lock on the market, but “Stoplock” has been a well known name for years.


Another basic, internal fitting mechanical device is a pedal lock. These are not as common as steering locks as some people find them fiddly to fit and not as quick as simply fitting a steering lock. These are more common when leaving a van for a longer period of time and work by locking the three driving pedals together. These are more expensive than steering locks and obviously need to be tailored to the application.
There are several available on the market such as the “Safe-T Pedal” and “Clutch Claw” that we looked at in the last issue of Transporter Talk. These are less visual than a steering lock, but if someone gets into your van and sees one of these fitted, there’s a good chance they will decide to leave it or will need to make noise and spend time removing it in order to get your van easily.

That’s not all for internal mechanical locks as you can also buy devices that lock the gearstick to prevent any gear changes. On some VW models you can buy gear sticks and surrounds that have locks built in. Or you can find devices that lock the gearstick into position using a part of the interior, such as seats or steering wheels. Much like the steering wheel lock and pedal locks, these are a visual deterrent and will also slow down any thieves if they’re intent on taking your van.
Use of these mechanical devices may be time consuming, but can prove to be a very effective and wallet friendly means of adding security to your pride and joy. Another simple mechanical locking device is the
use of an external wheel clamp. If you use your van on a daily basis then this could prove to be an annoyance, but if you use the van on the odd occasion then using a wheel clamp is a cheap and effective means of additional security. There are various designs and styles of clamp available and they vary in price, but the main thing is that this extra security device is another problem that any would be thieves need to break through in order to get what they want.
With mechanical devices covered, we can now move on to the electronic advancements that can help to keep your van in your hands. Some more modern vehicles already have electronic devices fitted as standard, but those with older transporter models will be lacking in this area. Immobilisers are fitted to modern vehicles as standard and are fitted to prevent the engine of a vehicle from running unless the correct key or chip is present. Those who have ever owned a car that has an aftermarket immobiliser with
problems will tell you how effective they are! Immobiliser kits can be purchased and DIY fitted fairly cheaply these days and there are companies out there that offer fitting and after sales services too.
As well as immobilisers, alarms are also now fitted to most modern vehicles and these can now be added to older vehicles as an additional security measure. Alarms can be much more complicated than immobiliser kits as there are more areas for problems, such as doors and movement sensors.
It is highly recommended that alarms are fitted by a qualified alarm fitter and ensure that you get some kind of warranty too.
Another excellent and worthy purchase in the category of electronic security devices is a GPS tracker.
A GPS tracker is a location device that will track your vehicle if it’s taken without your permission. This is the best way of locating your vehicle quickly to have it recovered and so reducing the chance of damage or loss. There are several types of GPS Tracker on the market, some are standalone devices that are
completely user operated and some utilise a subscription service where a company will monitor the tracker and can offer different levels of service. One such GPS Tracker service is Skytag, which has been covered elsewhere in this issue and now offers VWT2OC member’s a discount on their tracker service.
Other methods of additional security could include kill switches or battery isolators, these are cheap to acquire and simple to fit for most. These are best used when leaving the vehicle for longer periods and can be operated with a key. One problem with this is that if you have a vehicle tracker fitted, the battery isolator will likely disable the tracker.
Some other different and interesting ideas include fitting an electronic fuel pump that has a hidden switch somewhere inside the van, no fuel, no running engine! Or you could go very extreme and remove the steering wheel from your vehicle for longer periods of storage and would be much easier on earlier transporter models.
Others have suggested removing the rotor arm from the distributor as this disables the engines ignition system, but again is probably best used for longer periods of storage. To aid with tracking, some also suggest fitting a number plate to the roof so that the vehicle can be identified from above in the event of it being stolen. Hopefully some of these hints are useful to members for helping to think about security options, but remember that the most important thing is to keep the basics working. Without these, any other additional security device loses effectiveness.

Daisy has a classic bank holiday

From the archives, this is taken from Issue 143 from November 2016.

From Publicity Manager Derek Leary

With less than a week away from the start
of this year’s August Bank Holiday, a request
popped into my email inbox; “Wanted –
Volkswagen Bay Window Camper Van with
original livery for a photo shoot with 99 other
classic vehicles”. The request was from Practical
Classics Magazine.
Requests such as these are either deleted or
farmed out to a fellow member, however it
was a chance to fly the VWT2OC flag and I was
looking at the bus with the required spec in
my driveway.

Since retiring Daisy from camping duties, her
role in life is the classic car scene. So with
picnic, flasks and camping chairs packed,
we set off at some unearthly hour to get to
Millbrook by 10am.
On arrival, the outer car park was filling up
with various “Pride and Joy’s” and Daisy’s
bright bitter-sweet orange colour meant she
did not arrive unnoticed. Christie and I felt a
bit conspicuous parking up against more
subdued coloured classics but were soon
joined by a bright green beetle, not a standard
VW green but defiantly a tone to be noticed.
All mobile phones had to be presented to
security and the camera lenses sealed. NO
PHOTOS inside the facility were allowed,
what a shame, but hey ho go with the flow.
We were then escorted into the facility a few
cars at a time and each vehicle photographed
individually with and without their owners.
Daisy was called to go in with the third
batch just as I had nipped off to inspect the
plumbing…! However Christie got Daisy into
line picking me up on the way. Once that part
of the shoot was over it was picnic time and
the sun came out, adding to the jollity of the
occasion of 99 other classic cars to look round
and their enthusiastic owners to talk to. We
were given an extended lunch break to make
the most of the occasion and were so relaxed
that when we were needed again, the officials
had a job to get us going.

There was one final shoot of the day where
all 100 classics were driven onto the famous
Millbrook test track; a 6 lane super highway
with a velodrome style embankment. Daisy
was near the back of the line up but can be
seen with a magnifying glass as an orange
smudge. Not to worry, we had a wonderful
day out and Daisy had lots of admirers. We
have subsequently been sent a PDF file of
her portrait as a thank you and there is a
chance for any member wishing to buy the
December issue of Practical Classic Magazine
at a discount.

Time for bed!

As the long season comes to an end and following on from last week’s winterizing, some owners may elect to cover their pride and joy with a cover.

Please. Pretty please. Pretty please with little chrome covers on. Don’t cover your expensive paint work with a tarpaulin that will get condensation inside it, press that moisture onto your bodywork and accelerate the attack on the paint and the metal underneath.

If you don’t have access to a garage or a car port that will keep most of the weather off, try to invest in a good breathable cover. Get the right one for your vehicle and make sure that the material is not flapping around, abrading where it touches.

Ideally park on hard ground that will not have standing water. Parking on grass at the bottom of the field will collect water underneath which will evaporate upwards into your van and its little cover. A breathable cover will let some or most of that collected moisture out but ideally you should remove the cover over winter every month to let things properly dry out and then put it all back to bed once more.

If possible, get a cover with straps that go under the vehicle from side to side, so that the wind cannot lift the cover off the vehicle. It is disheartening to get home from work in the dark and find your expensive van exposed to the elements and a wet cover wrapped across your hedge.

For those of you lucky enough to have a garage, a dust cover is optional but again, think about the possibility of trapped moisture pressing against the bodywork. Does a quick dusting or a nice spring time wash and wax give more benefit than the winter cover?

Yes, it is that time again, winter is very much heading our way. For anyone with a vehicle, VW or not (apparently other vehicles are available!), winter in the UK is the worst time for metal on the roads.

Some suggestions:

Inside

Water

If you have anything containing water, drain it all out. Water tanks, boilers, kettles. Don’t just empty the tank, drain the whole system including the pipes. Remember that water in pipes still expands when it freezes, not just in the tank. It also goes stale after a period of standing. If possible take the tank indoors to keep it above freezing and/or clean it thoroughly.

We use a mild Milton solution to thoroughly clean ours including the impeller that sits in our tank and its associated pipe and electric cable. Then we rinse everything and air dry it all. Other options are available too!

Power

Leisure batteries like ambient temperatures and extreme cold will reduce their operational life. Keep them above freezing by removing them and keeping them in the garage or similar. Remember to keep the electrical contacts in the van safely insulated if applicable.

Keep those batteries charged using a trickle charger that is fit for purpose, which will also prolong their life.

Gas

Butane or propane tanks and bottles should be removed from your vehicle and stored safely with their openings closed properly – don’t leave the regulator open relying on the gas tap on the cooker as these can fail. Now is a good time to weigh them against their empty counterparts to know when you need to change them!

Boring cleaning

Now that you have opened up your van, removed the relevant tanks and bottles, you can get all misty eyed and miss the peace and tranquility of your van by getting in there and cleaning it all. It gives you a great sense of personal achievement as well as going into the winter with a nicely clean kitchen area, the fridge has been bleached and rinsed, and if applicable the bathroom, the shower and maybe the hot tub are all clean. Leave internal doors slightly ajar to keep mould and mildew at bay.

Soft furnishings

If possible, remove curtains, bedding, that emergency woollen blanket from Granny and take them indoors for a good wash or airing.

Ingress

Don’t be tempted to leave doors open or windows more than cracked open. All sorts of miscreants can get in and eat your lovely interior.

Outside

If possible store your vehicle in a garage. If that is not possible, a car port will do a similar job. A breathable cover can be good but make sure it is listed as fully breathable otherwise moist air gets under the cover, rises when things warm up and the vehicle will get wet, holding that wet against the bodywork. Avoid a heavy cover for sure!

Tyres

Tyres degrade from extreme temperatures and long periods of standing still. Winter does that very well! Inspect the tyres, check the pressures and consider putting the van on axle stands if you are not using it for a very long time, taking the wheels into the garage or shed. It also makes theft more difficult!

Moving parts

Lubricate everything. Hinges, moving parts, sliders, mechanical parts. Check the oil level. Use the right lubricant for the part in question. It will pay dividends next year and will keep water away, which is good for the life of the part.

Boring cleaning

Again, give the outside of your vehicle a proper clean, ideally by hand. Dry fully including the fiddly bits inside doors and between panels. Give it all a good quality wax polish. This also keeps water away and prolongs the panels and parts. It also makes you happy as you pass over the cold season when you don’t want to be away.

Underneath

If you are an advocate of underseal and waxoil, get the old visible stuff removed and apply new underseal to dry clean parts. The jury seems out on the benefits of underseal against the downside of it trapping moisture but waxoil or similar applied hot into cavities must be better than not applying it?

Engine

Some texts state to start your engine once a month and run it on idle for 30 minutes. More than that is not necessary and I don’t touch our air cooled engine at all.

An oil change just before the winter alongside a fuel-storage additive in the fuel tank if you like that sort of thing.

Main battery

We leave the main battery connected and the solar panel bolted to the roof of a van in a car port for the leisure battery. If that was not the case, we would trickle charge the main battery once a month over the winter. Again, this just makes sure that you don’t degrade the battery and end up having to replace it all of the time.

Got to dash, I think my van might be snoring.

Eric the Viking – a restoration in many parts – August 2021

Spend since last report: £471. Total hours labour since last report: 31.3

Recap

For those who had forgotten and for those who have joined as new members recently, I will start with a recap. My name is Nick, I am 50 and since I was a teenager, I have always wanted to restore an old vehicle. My previous experience and skill until I bought this first project was minor tinkering with renovating a set of brake disks, and replacing an alternator. My wife Lorna bought a 1972 Volkswagen called Poppy back in 2011 and that gave us the bus bug and we joined the committee of this club back in 2016, you may have met us on the club stand at some point.

Six years ago this month, I put in a bid on a 1973 converted panel van online having never seen it and I knew nothing about which is a good one to buy. My offer was accepted and Eric the Viking came to live with us. Named after my comedy hero Eric Morecambe, the panel van came with a plastic full length roof called a Viking roof and the most famous Viking being Eric, it all seemed to work and Eric was born. At that point I owned minimal tools and had never used a welder. I went online, started reading, bought a book on restoring Volkswagen Bay windows and started having a go. If you try woodwork and make a mess of it, you throw it away or glue new bits on. When working with metal, if it goes wrong, you take the angle grinder, chop out the wrong part and have another go. No-one knows! Well they know if you write about it at length in a club magazine.

The more recent story

Apologies for the delay in further work, you may have heard of this COVID thing. I spent the first month of lockdown in the garage every day then I was asked to help dig some footings in the garden. 6 months later, every weekend had been spent building walls, foundations, a sun terrace and a lot of new lawn planted. Winter came, spring came, then more gardening and Eric was left languishing. Finally in July, I decided to get back to the grind (literally).

Pull up your drink of choice and join me on my next journey of discovery about how badly treated Eric was under previous ownership.

Rear brakes

Rear brakes on my Bay are drum, and with Eric spending a lot of time rotting outdoors, they were in a shocking state. The castle nut in the middle of the rear wheel was so rusted to the end of the hub that no amount of leverage would shift it but an hour with an angle grinder got it off in pieces! Then the drum refused to budge until a lot of heat and persuasion on the bench freed it off. Inside looked ok at first but a CV joint bolt was jammed and needed cutting off which meant that I had to chop through the brake back plate to access it!

Rear suspension

The rear offside was dismantled last year, stripped and primed. That left the driveshaft (whatever that is) and the CV joints (vaguely heard of them) attached to the gearbox somehow. In other words, I was vaguely familiar with the concept but that was about it. Everything was filthy covered in rot, rust, grease, grot and generally in need of love.

Front suspension

Waiting on parts deliveries from Just Kampers (don’t forget your club discount), I turned my attention to the front suspension and brakes. Calipers are expensive to replace and generally only need a good clean, reassembly and new rubbers on the ends of the pistons. I did that job 15 or so years ago on my Matra Bagheera as the only job I really did on it. Quite pleased with the bright green caliper paint finish and you can follow 2 articles on how to do it that are on our club web site (thanks Jonathan!) as well.

Starter motor

The starter motor was in the way of getting to the underside of the fuel tank to restore that, so I unbolted it, separated the two cylinders and cleaned them before spraying them black.

Underside

Eric has been on his side now for 20 months and I finally got him ready for the topcoat on his bottom. I chose to use L90D synthetic enamel as I wanted hard wearing and easy to apply since I am a novice.

Front suspension

Attached to the front beam are the front suspension arms. Pressed into the tops of 2 of these on each side of the Bus are the ball joints. I dutifully borrowed a ball joint press, inserted the arm and ball joint but could not work out how to press it out. I tried various options, I made a little jig out of 10mm steel railing, I watched Youtube videos and eventually with the help of friends, I found out the trick. The ball of the ball joint sits in the cup of the joint, if you angle grind the shoulders off the ball joint, you can remove the ball, once that is done, you angle grind from the top, cutting just the top of the ball joint and not the arm holding it.

Once the top of the ball joint is ground through into a hole with the angle grinder, you need to cut it with a hacksaw to split the ball joint cup into 4 pieces being careful not to cut the arm at all. It is back breakingly tiring, hot and dusty. Each one took an hour and I have the other 2 on the other side later this year – if anyone has any faster ideas do please get in touch! FINALLY the 2 ball joints were clear of the arms allowing those to be cleaned up ready for top coat and with their ball joint holes ground back of dirt and rust ready for the new ball joints to be pressed in using the borrowed press.

More another time, hope to see many of you at Busfest!