71 Dormobile Spruce Up........

[71Dormobile]

Thanks Wayne great to have people interested and feeding back positive comments it's a real lift. Got to get the van running again as a priority and then I can drive it in and out of the garage as working space is quite limited around the garage area and there ain't always 4 people around to push the van in and out of the garage.....

 

[gninnam]

No wonder your made up - good job with the van and the garage - enjoyed following this and can't wait (no doubt like yourself!) to get it all finished and on the road 8)

 

[Rich Oakley]

Looking good Mike and nice work on the garage door! Nice to see the van in the mag.

Rich.

 

[71Dormobile]

Cheers guys here are a couple more pics of the pop top going on for good measure...........

 

[gninnam]

Brings back many memories - apart from the lifting machine :shock:

Looking very smart so congrats 8)

 

[combideluxe1969]

good job :wink:

 

[71Dormobile]

Thanks both yeah the crane is certainly the way forwards, originally lifted the old setup off during the resto with the help of my mate Rob back in 2007 and it was a real lump. Dormobiles are definately the best pop top for me at 6ft 5ins I can stand up comfortably in the van.

Too blinkin cold to do much at the mo other than tinker with the electrics also to tight to get in the garage, need to crack on and get the shed base completed throw a shed up and clear some more stuff out of the garage and crack on, times ticking on it'll soon be summer...

 

[71Dormobile]

Still done very little on the van, it's tucked up in the garage whislt I crack on building a shed base and decide which shed to buy. Attach a few pics for ref of the works progreesed on the pop top which I thought may prove of interest.....

 

[gninnam]

Cool pics there - more or less the way I did mine (with some help from the wife )

Love the magazine article - a good way of keeping the history of your van together (if you know what I mean :shock: )

Can't wait for more pics and updates :mrgreen:

 

[71Dormobile]

Cool pics there - more or less the way I did mine (with some help from the wife )

Love the magazine article - a good way of keeping the history of your van together (if you know what I mean :shock: )

Can't wait for more pics and updates :mrgreen:

Thanks new shed comes tomorrow so will be able to progress the rest of the resto, interior etc..

Bus is also shown in the latest how to keep your bus alive mag on sale now. Article shows step by step fitting of the pop top etc. So glad I passed this to Dormobile to do they have done a great job.....

 

[71Dormobile]

Been a while, sheds up and filling up here comes a BH so I'll roll her out the garage and see if I can get the engine back up running and driveable and then....

Need a kick up the arse :shock: and a bucket load of time to get this baby back on the road.

 

[STUMP]

That looks smart as !!! Was that a bucket full of time you need or a bucket full of money ????

 

[71Dormobile]

That looks smart as !!! Was that a bucket full of time you need or a bucket full of money ????

Good question, and honestly speaking a bit of both. I sent the van away initially for some welding work having made an initial incision with the angle grinder remember feeling very sick over the amount of brown flaky stuff. The chap took the piss despite having agreed the level of work and budget, so watch that and if you get anything done on yours ask for a written quote otherwise they seem to carry on regardless and spend all your cash. Anyways a reasonable job was done, however not wanting to remortgage or loose the house and move the family into the van etc. I took the van back under my wing. Fair play then you really realise how much time is involved and how hard it is to price a job like this still didn't give anyone the permission to carry on regardless :evil:, watch that....

I then spent a long long long long (get the idea) long sh*t load of time on it myself had a great steer and help from a mate Jim with the use of some ace kit plasma cutters, pucker mig welder and spot welder etc. I had done some restos / spruce ups on beetles as you'll see at the start of me thread so could weld and grind. So did a lot of work at Jims thereafter when the van was no longer driveable I took it home parked it up under me car port and got stuck in with my dads mig and all my kit angle grinders cutting grinding hammers dollies went mad buying loads of tools lovely... However alot harder with this stuff than the plasma big mig etc. Anyway cracked on as you'll see stripped the van down with nitromors the lot with about 10 litres of the stuff which in itself took yonks so after 100 hrs of my time spent on the bloody thing (which it was becoming, you go through mixed emotions believe me etc.) I sent it off to the spray shop.....

These guys (I did pic a good bunch and I'm extremely grateful to them) did yet more welding, DA the lot to get pretty much every spec of paint off and then did a cracking paint job and got it ready for fitting back together. At this stage and having bought all the parts to redo the pop top (having down a few beetle headliners cloth and vinyl etc and fancying my chances of doing it) I succumbed to the professional touches and time constraints etc. The van was looking so smart I though best to go to Dormobile and get the top looking straight tort etc.....

Now it's back with me for the refit, so after raising the garage lintel fitting new garage doors so I can get her in doors and then having no space to work etc chain sawing down a tree digging the ba*ta*d root out and setting foundations down which you could have set the Eiffel tower on moving the other sh&t shed and repairing it so my new shed doesn't get filled up with all the kids junk I'm ready for the refit ye ha.....

Check some of the threads out on ere STUMP and you'll gauge the amount of works involved. Think about it before you start as to what level you want to go to with yours which looks like it is running (and summers coming) mines now been off the roads for the majority of the time I've owned it but it'll soon be getting some use and will hopefully serve me well for years to come....

 

[Loxy]

mines now been off the roads for the majority of the time I've owned it but it'll soon be getting some use and will hopefully serve me well for years to come....

I remember when haveacamper & I came over to view it when you were selling - must have been a good few years ago - If only he had bought yours :lol:
Keep up the good work - when you hoping to have it back on the road?

 

[Loxy]

Oh and I did wince a bit when I saw this pic:

That cant be doing your new paint job any good can it???

 

[71Dormobile]

Yeah me to, hope it's just for effect and that didn't mark the paint! I actually looked at the other photos / van and there's no sign also a sealant goes over the top so should provide protection required etc.

 

[71Dormobile]

mines now been off the roads for the majority of the time I've owned it but it'll soon be getting some use and will hopefully serve me well for years to come....

I remember when haveacamper & I came over to view it when you were selling - must have been a good few years ago - If only he had bought yours :lol:
Keep up the good work - when you hoping to have it back on the road?

Me to your all down the road in Aber? you could see what needed doing largely at the time which was an advantage over other vans etc.
Hope to get back on the road for the summer at least driving....

Cheers for the feedback

 

[STUMP]

I can imagine the sleepless nights while you were restoring.......and thats just the overtime 2 pay for it !!! haha
Defo's haven't got the time or funds to be anywhere as nice as yours mate, thats a top bus you have there 8)
It is still on the road (sometimes) when it is not full of MAN tools. Wor lass hates me going to Lidls/aldi on thursdays as i have returned with mig welders,compressors,drills and sanders all of which will now be coming out to play :lol:
my bus is parked on the street and has already been bumped a couple of times by kids playing and stupid dust bin men leaving wheelie bins next to it in gale force winds :evil:
Just want to give it a bash as i always wanted a bus and this was the best i could afford at the time (impulse) and i knew who had saved it from bus heaven in the first place. After a chat with him today he said there would not be much og paint left to save as it has had newish doors, both rear corners,under windscreen replaced, rear hatch,top corner next vents, tin worm and bottom 6 inches :shock: :shock:
So looks like i'll be going the whole hog with this one, but should be pretty solid underneath crap paint.
Please keep the advice coming Cheers

 

[Loxy]

Me to your all down the road in Aber? you could see what needed doing largely at the time which was an advantage over other vans etc.
Hope to get back on the road for the summer at least driving....

Just the other side of Aber in Gilwern - well we both were til Haveacamper left me and moved in with his girlfriend
:lol:

Will have to have a Monmouthshire chapter of the early bay dormobile club reunion in the summer then

 

[71Dormobile]

Me to your all down the road in Aber? you could see what needed doing largely at the time which was an advantage over other vans etc.
Hope to get back on the road for the summer at least driving....

Just the other side of Aber in Gilwern - well we both were til Haveacamper left me and moved in with his girlfriend
:lol:

Will have to have a Monmouthshire chapter of the early bay dormobile club reunion in the summer then

Sure will be going to the Gavenny steam fair end of May to collect more tools a good Bergen store there where I collect a few new toys (tools) each year... Few nice old classics at that show, not many campers though.......