Last time, Thomas covered the replacement of the brakes and the chance to use Libertine at the 2012 Olympic Games. He continues:

Before my departure from my family at home, I had a little more work to do on the bus to make it Olympics ready. My previous conversion of two sets of Volvo rear and front seats were changed. Volvo seats remained in the front, but the rear had to accommodate a bed again (I had regretted removing it a few years before) and a kitchen box made in haste. This would be a long box behind the bulkheads of the passenger and drivers seats. Handles, so that it could be removed if necessary, sliding doors, food compartment and cooker on top. This was successful for the time of the Games, but I came to miss the ability to walk from the back into the front without the need to get out of the van. Still, it would do for now.

Pre-Games attendance started with me camping in my Bus in the Portland Olympic village itself, and the restricted car parks there. Accommodation was offered far from site, but I had all I needed in my bus. The site had shower and clothes washing facilities to help my stay be more comfortable. That and a little SPAR shop selling food and wine. My shifts alternated between day and night with my Army colleagues. Working hours were long and I was on-call 24/7. My bus became my sanctuary, a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the long days and nights. Kick off my boots, put the kettle on and some music. Peace and quiet….until my radio squawks my call sign “attendance urgently required…”

Before the Games began, I had an idea to camp in my bus at the heart of the Olympics on Portland. Why not?  I’ll never get the chance to do this again. This I did, near the collections of flag poles with flags of all Nations. The local Naval Commander who was in charge was not happy, but reassured that it was for one night only and then I would be gone before the public ever came near.

As I settled down for the night in my bus by the Flag poles.  I became aware of Police vans parking really close to me. Very close. Peeking through the curtains they were the Police dog vans. Yes, complete with dogs within them.  The vans parked front, back and sides to me. What’s more, the dogs snarled every time I looked at them. Well, they aren’t pets are they. Although such animals don’t normally snarl except when at ‘work’, no one told them they were off duty. They also howled. I’m sure they don’t normally, but they were not happy with me at all. The next morning, I was asked by the Commander and a Senior Police Officer (both grinning from ear to ear) if I had a restful night. I cannot print my reply. Even so, I thought it was very funny and I took it all in good humour.

The weeks went by, and I moved around the old Naval base at Portland. Alternating my location every few days to change the view from my van, and to meet other working groups there.  The van became a familiar sight to other ‘work’ groups there. From Police divers, marines, bomb disposal and G4 Security. We got to know each other well. I gave some Marine divers coffee and bacon sandwiches after an early long dive in cold waters. They were very grateful, but expressed surprise that an Officer no less, had greeted them with such a welcome sight as they came ashore. It’s simply a case of looking after the Troops. I don’t care who they belong to.  In turn, they invited me to their accommodation for a social gathering with food. Amazing really, as Marines by nature tend to keep to themselves and I was an outsider. The van helped. It was a talking point. They seemed impressed that an Officer preferred to rough it in a van and not hide away in a fancy hotel. For some reason they all thought Officers did and were surprised when I revealed that this was far from the truth. Still, all was good humoured.  My van was also used for early morning breakfast with the Police divers in their fully equipped van with changing area and kitchen. Likewise, I returned the favour. Cooking a full breakfast on my vans little two ring burner and grill.

The time had come for me to live aboard a ship for a while. This was moored at the old Naval dock side. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay. Parking my bus as near as allowed (I had my Golden ticket but I was still subject to Harbour control and common sense) and boarded the Ship with a few of my colleagues to find our cabins. The Officers Galley (Kitchen and dining area to you land lubbers) had copies of VW magazines about. Turned out that the crew were VW enthusiasts. Ship life can be noisy. I was on night duties ashore, but your sleep is disturbed by ships constant noise, fire drills and a contingent of Marines using the gym which was next to my Cabin.   

I was very glad when the time came for me to leave the RFA Mounts Bay for the quiet sanctuary of my bus. Not to say that I did not enjoy the time there. The Ships Company were friendly and helpful and it was a wonderful experience which I shall never forget.

A Warship was coming into berth, and my colleagues and I were asked if we would like to stay on board. Another great opportunity, but I thought that particular ship was ‘too flighty’ in my opinion and may take off for other duties at a moment’s notice.  My colleagues took the offer. I stayed in my van. One day they returned to the dockside to get some sleep after a long shift. It had sailed on other duties without them. “want a coffee in my van while you all sort some other accommodation?” As I went on duty I left my colleagues my spare keys. The van was now somewhere to rest and sort themselves out.

There was one incident I can recall. I was on Duty in my van but up into Weymouth itself. To get from Portland to Weymouth Town you cross a narrow causeway. The road goes down the middle of it. There were heavy winds blowing. As I was halfway returning to Portland there was a loud BANG!! The pop-top roof had half deployed ! The wind was so strong that the two internal clips had snapped, raising the roof but on one side only. This acted as a sail, catching the wind and making control of the van almost impossible. Making an emergency landing I parked and struggled to get it down. Supports slightly bent but in one piece. Roped down, I made my way to the Control room where I was to be on duty. During The Games, Portland to Weymouth was monitored by hundreds of CCTV cameras.  I asked the monitoring crew if they had seen my near disaster on screen. Better still, had they recorded it. But no, they had been distracted by something else. I was disappointed that my brave actions and control of my van had only been seen by me and a few terrified road users.

After a few months my time at The Olympic and Paralympic Games came to an end.  A Mobilisation can either be a miserable experience or an interesting one. I decided to make it the latter. Regrettably, I am unable to tell other stories of my time there in my bus. The Official Secrets Act is for Life, not duration of Service!

By now, Libertine’s engine seemed to be a little sluggish. Was the exhaust slightly smoking? Was it making noises I have not heard before?  On return home, it was time for a holiday with my family (It may have been the Olympics but it was not a holiday for either myself or my family I can assure you). A treat awaited the van. Parts were being gathered for an engine strip down and rebuild. Libertine deserved it after a few months of hard work.

(Editor: Thanks to Thomas for some greats stories of van life. Time to share reminiscences and restorations from other members, next issue is the turn of Matt Sharrock and Wilma)

Spend since last report: £2,747. Total hours labour since last report: 52.05

As 2022 draws to a close, I am prompted to look back at the progress made this year. Ahead of what happened this episode, here is a summary of the year:

• Kitchen pod created.
• Bulkheads removed.
• Flip / fold front seats made.
• Engine case purchased.
• Poppy’s old engine dismantled.
• Eric’s old engine dismantled.
• Brand new engine being built by Stateside Tuning.

In addition to the above, I have also made progress elsewhere.

The front beam has been dismantled, removed from the van and was hanging on a block and tackle for ease of movement for about a month. It is an adjustable beam of unknown origin that came with Eric. The bottoms of the clamshell sections that form the chassis mounts were both rusted, but were by no means unsalvageable – cutting out the minor amounts of rot and replacing it properly with butt welded sections made for a great look. Much easier and more satisfying than the work on the vehicle that has been rather worse hit by rust!

Each component of the front suspension, steering and brakes was removed and either stripped, painted in anti rust treatment, primed and painted or was replaced. The brake calipers have been painted in 3 coats of bright green Kawasaki high temperature paint and all other components were top coated in John Deere tractor paint in gloss black. This was a recommendation some years ago by a VW restorer and the colour and protection are great.

Then with the beam off the van, I was able to tackle the chassis rails in the sections that had been hidden by the beam. As this was only about a foot on each chassis rail, it did not seem like a long job however, the access is only by laying on the ground and understandably, 50 years of water, mud and rust had accumulated to rot out a large chunk of this. New sections in 2mm semi-galvanized steel were fabricated up and welded in place, and with new thick steel onto nicely tidied chassis 2mm steel, this went in smoothly and with minimal grinding required. Once fully smooth, again this was rust proofed and primed but top coat on the chassis / underside is the original L90D pastel white. I am using synthetic enamel for its hard wearing and easy to apply properties.

Once finished (first picture), and with the anti roll bar back in place complete with the new rubbers and mounting brackets, it all got a final check before calling on a neighbour. The recommended way to refit a beam is to get it under the van and jack it up on a trolley jack, keeping it horizontal and continue lifting onto the chassis rails.

I had a brainwave and for once it worked out well. We wheeled the finished beam to underneath Eric, ensured that it was approximately as vertical as needed. Eric was on the block and tackle to get it high enough for the beam to go underneath, then we simply lowered Eric onto the beam, which was therefore completely flat and the sheer weight of the van helped press the chassis rails into the beam. A few little wiggles and we were able to get the first bolt on each side before a little further wiggling could get the remaining bolts into the chassis. From the beam being up on the block and tackle, to moving the beam, lifting the van on the same block and tackle, lowering the van onto it and aligning all bolts took 45 minutes. We felt that was a big result! Picture 2 shows the offside front wheelarch, all painted in white with the beam in place and shiny green calipers.

Picture 3 shows the chassis under the beam, the lumpy underseal was hiding some gremlins but new steel sections have made it all strong again. With the chassis rail opened, I have been able to add rust proofing paint to the insides of the rails in a lot of places and will follow that up with underseal in due course.

Once that was complete, Eric had a beam with which to roll him over. The garage was suitably tidied and emptied, Eric was turned nearly 180 degrees (not easy in a double garage) and the offside wheels removed. The rollover jig was bolted in place of the wheels and Eric was laid onto his off side. This allowed me to get to the underside to work on the sections not easily accessible when he was on his other side a year or so ago. The key section here was the nearside rear chassis rail. Picture 4 shows the remains of the chassis rail – I knew this was bad when I did the other side of the same section. If you have a box that has seen better days, replace one side then the other – more reliable for positioning than replacing it all at once. Just behind the torsion tube was about 30cm / 1 foot that needed a significant section replacing and as it was curved, this was done in 3 sections, again rust proofing the inside as it became accessible. Anything rusty was cut out. The mounting bracket of the bump stop was removed as that was very bad, new sections fabricated for that before welding that back on to fresh steel.

It looks much better with steel instead of holes! Picture 5 was when the rust proofing paint was still wet, once dry it goes purple and then the primer went on twice and several coats of L90D top coat as well.

A similar story on the offside rear wheel arch – remove buckets of underseal, get visibility on the metal, remove the paint unless it is looking great. Remove rust, add new metal if required, rust proof, prime and paint. Once all of that was complete, the majority of the underside is now done – just minor bits that were missed plus the underside of the fuel tank to go then it is build up time. Picture 6 of the offside rear wheelarch and bump stop all clean and white made me feel rather good!

With that section complete, I was able to tackle the offside rear suspension. Nothing major here as it is heavy steel that needed stripping and again rust proof / prime / paint. On investigation of the driveshaft, this was ok but the CV joints were sadly not – I had bought new gaiters for the CV joints and now need to buy CV joints. Which come with gaiters. That outlay will have to wait for a while until I feel happy about paying good money for something that I already own!

Next jobs are – assemble the rear drum brakes, add the brake cables, brake pipes, find which brake servo is which and where they go. Add the brake flexi pipes to the right places, join everything up. Add the steering box, connect that to the beam. Gear selector mechanism. Air heating pipe completion. Finish cleaning the gearbox, prime it and paint it, mount it, add the driveshafts once I buy the CV joints. Around that time I can put Eric back on his wheels for what I hope will be the last time. Perhaps I will manage that for the next issue but it is cold. And that list feels daunting! Until next time.