FS Alistair's 1970 Westy SO70 Campmobile - San Lorenzo, Cali

[biddy2101]

Hello,

How absolutely ingenious of you to think of cork floor tiles for a floor covering They're spot on the money aren't they & they really set off the interior. Aren't they just a real throw back to the 70's/80's, yy parents still have them fitted in their bathroom!!!

We were planning on doing checkerboard tiles (brown & cream) in our bus but that's a bit cliché, so we might just nick that idea.

:idea: :mrgreen:

 

[toffo24]

Nice work :msn4:

 

[aogrady]

Hello,

How absolutely ingenious of you to think of cork floor tiles for a floor covering They're spot on the money aren't they & they really set off the interior. Aren't they just a real throw back to the 70's/80's, yy parents still have them fittUed in their bathroom!!!

We were planning on doing checkerboard tiles (brown & cream) in our bus but that's a bit cliché, so we might just nick that idea.

:idea: :mrgreen:

Hi!

Thanks! I was gonna go down the laminated floor route, and actually have the wood, but changed my mind, I wanted a different type of floor, and struck on the idea of cork, nice and warm, nice colour, and proper 70's.


I think that as I aren't 100% happy with the wood behind the table, if you recall earlier in the thread, this wood was de-laminated, and I couldn't find a replacement at the time, so I stripped off one layer to sand and varnish, though as I proceeded, I found that you can see two dark lines all the way across, never liked that, and it's only now that I have decided in my mind how I want that to look. Shame I didn't of this before I put the interior back in. At least now I have sealed the wood with a varnish, plan b can be put into place.

Just need time over the weekend to sort it, now the propex is running, at least I'll be toasty warm inside!

Cheers

Alistair

 

[aogrady]

Hi,

Well didn't get to finish the interior plan b - which will include me doing the side wood panel down to the floor in the same matching cork 8) ran out of cork - went off 't shops instead....

So instead, I trimmed the rock and roll bed floor with the remaining cork, and tidied up the wiring too and from the propex, cut the wood i need to fit the zig unit etc in (next weeks job hopefully)
And for good measure replaced the missing under stat tin, replaced the rocker covers, bail arms, gaskets, oil, strainer, sump plate and plug.

Have some more trimming to do in various places with the cork, you can see what my fave material is at the moment?!

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[Dirty Harry]

Hi Alistair,

The floor looks superb, i'm sure if westfalia didn't use the lino this would be their choise!! 8)
Do you use the propex when driving?

Cheers, Harry

 

[aogrady]

Hi Alistair,

The floor looks superb, i'm sure if westfalia didn't use the lino this would be their choise!! 8)
Do you use the propex when driving?

Cheers, Harry

Hi DH,

Thanks! Really pleased how it came out, will do the long panel behind the table next, gut will have to take out the bed again.

Not too happy on the final gas pipe to the propex, think it may be a bit vulnerable?

I think when i take up the bed again, i will cut a little more of the rear section, along maybe a few inches, and join the copper pipe where it comes up, but with flexi pipe, then copper again into the propex, more joins, but the flexi will give, and i could actually route it more out of the way, and it's bugging me the more i look at it, and i am too fussy really. (which is why nothing ever seems to get finished!)

The wood which sits on the door post next to the sink i have removed to re-do with cork, along with some other bits, I have a Zig unit i got cheap, need to replace some duff switches, and the min charger switch for a blue backlit one, and fit this into the wood panel i am making behind the door on the bed. along with this will be a blue backlit LCD display with battery voltage for the leisure battery, and the 240V mains socket, and the 240V socket from the inverter, and of course the propex vent, more on this when i finish, pics will be up.

Yes, i have used the propex when driving, nice and warm, and after a little while works well, quite a large area to get up to temperature. Still debating whether to box in the propex a bit, as long as i vent the air intake it'll be fine.

Looks like i still have a oil leak onto the rhs heat exchanger, not happy, even after new covers and thick gasket, now this side didnt fit as well as the other, the gasket lifted a little in the middle, maybe the edge of the cover was distorted a little. The gasket looked quite uniform and the same as the other. I didnt have time to trim the gasket, and it seemed ok at the time.

I had a quick look again tonight, i am not entirly sure it is coming from the rocker cover, and may be coming from above, and dripping onto the heat exchanger? But from where? I'll buy some more brake cleaner and clean it up and have another look.

I am about to replace the air feed pipe to the exchangers, as this isnt helping as is a poor fit, so is causing some smell into the cab. :roll:

Thought i had cracked it, will have to look again. May be pushrod seals, hope not - but that's my gut instinct.

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[user 14192]

Looks like i still have a oil leak onto the rhs heat exchanger, not happy, even after new covers and thick gasket, now this side didnt fit as well as the other, the gasket lifted a little in the middle, maybe the edge of the cover was distorted a little. The gasket looked quite uniform and the same as the other. I didnt have time to trim the gasket, and it seemed ok at the time.

I had a quick look again tonight, i am not entirly sure it is coming from the rocker cover, and may be coming from above, and dripping onto the heat exchanger? But from where? I'll buy some more brake cleaner and clean it up and have another look.

I am about to replace the air feed pipe to the exchangers, as this isnt helping as is a poor fit, so is causing some smell into the cab. :roll:

Thought i had cracked it, will have to look again. May be pushrod seals, hope not - but that's my gut instinct.

Cheers!

Alistair

Hi Alistair,

The quality of rocker cover gaskets is now pretty dire. I have found that using a little non-hardening gasket compound (Hylomar, etc.) on the rocker cover only can help reduce the chances of the gasket squeezing out under the pressure of the bail, assuming this is tight enough in the first place, which could also be a cause of weeping. It is possible that oil is coming from above, but pushrod tube seals, as you suggest, are also a possibility. Best bet is to 'Gunk' everything in sight and wash it off with a hose/garden spray/jetwash then inspect it after a few miles' running to determine the source. Pushrod tube seals would actually be the simplest to fix out of the several possible other sources of leakage.

Cheers, Carl.

 

[aogrady]

Hi,

Got my new seatbelts from the states eventually, customs delays, duty fees etc :roll: .....really pleased with them. They were custom made with the chrome aircraft style release buckles i wanted, and a longer length, hopefully the baby carrier will fit without a extension piece. I have ordered 2 3 point retractable belts for the front seats, a lap belt for the buddy seat, and middle seat on the westy bed, and a fixed 3 pointer for the RHS of the bed, but with a retractor fitted on the belt, which saves me hiding the normal retractor.

The fitting kit is really thick metal, and has plenty of fixings. Didn't get time to finish the fitting as got home late from work, will try to get the rest done Fri/Sat

I currently have a Bluebird Customs middle seat, but this is coming out and i am going back to a walk-through, so this will be up for sale soon

More pictures to follow

Cheers,

Alistair

 

[Dirty Harry]

Again a great upgrade Alistair!!

 

[aogrady]

Again a great upgrade Alistair!!

Thanks DH, tried to do a bit more tonight but got sidetracked with other things, on the plus side, a quick run seems to show that there isnt a leak of oil onto the heat exchanger anymore, must have just been where i spilled it, even i had paper towel around the filler, i guess it ran down the tinware on the heat exchanger. The rocker cover did seem dry underneath. Off for a very long run over the weekend, so that'll be the final test.

Note, on the last picture there is a plastic cover on the retractor reel, which because of the bolt fixing does not quite close to onto the reel correctly, i have trimmed back the plastic, and this now sits well and covers the webbing as it should.

More pics when i finish the rest

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[creationblue]

They do look nice 8)

 

[aogrady]

They do look nice 8)

Hi Just!

Cheers, they sure cost enough! I need to extend the lap belts a little, so they sit how i like, but pleased with the end result - eventually. If i had known the hassle getting them, and the expense, i may have kept my others, which were pretty new, and nothing wrong with them, always chopping and changing stuff on the buses aint we?! :roll: :lol:

Took out the middle buddy seat now, got the car seat on the back now, and the girlfriend can have the middle lap belt on the bed seat also, leaving the front passenger for the little baby seat when he arrives in the end of June.

More pics later.....

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[aogrady]

Hi,

Van went for a MOT on Sat, i knew it was gonna fail, after 2 years of adviserys for the steering play, and i knew the exhaust was blowing, though as it sounds throaty, you may well not notice, also Carl had said the track rod ends were worn, and the drag link also, so with all of this was expecting quite a list, so.......

.....well, it did fail, but on surprisingly little considering. It failed on the track rods, and the front indicators had lost most of the orange from the bulbs, Carl went on got the bits and finished all the work on the track rods, adjusted the tracking, tweaked the cold start on the carb, all later on the same day, and brought the van back to me, and was just up to me to sort the bulbs, as they are a dual filament in the front, so normal amber ones wont fit.

So out came the glass paint i had used before, only a few quid on ebay, last a fair while, will do loads of bulbs. Will stand 150C too. Orange bulbs seem dear.

A few shots of the interior, i will be re doing the side wall where the table is, and finishing this off with cork, and then i'll refit the modified sink unit once i have done measurements for the fridge.

The fluffy mats are actually bath mats, but make the seat more comfy, not clammy or sticky, will also keep the floor cleaner, machine washable. Sorted

Towards the end of May, it'll be off back to Beetlebank for some little paint, and will get new drag link, center pin, and the good steering box, damper and arm i have ready to fit. Hopefully, along with this will be the stainless exhaust i have, along with the Weber 34 ICTS.

Now i would like to get the front seats I have fitted too, but may need some brackets welding on, so will be badgering Carl and ask about this too - though he doesn't know this yet! :msn4:

As much as i think i could get these little jobs done myself, with a shortage of decent tools, space to work on, weather dependent as no garage, broken bolts etc, and looking after my GF with child due in a few months, to be honest, these things would never get done, look how long it has taken to finish the interior, and it's still not done.
At least if i can get these out of the way, all the big bits are done, and we can enjoy going away a bit more once the little one is born.

More pics as and when

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[mychatype3]

and was just up to me to sort the bulbs, as they are a dual filament in the front, so normal amber ones wont fit.

Looking good. I’ve bent the copper ends of the dual filament together and now i’m using normal amber ones 8)

Greetings Mycha

 

[aogrady]

and was just up to me to sort the bulbs, as they are a dual filament in the front, so normal amber ones wont fit.

Looking good. I’ve bent the copper ends of the dual filament together and now i’m using normal amber ones 8)

Greetings Mycha

Hi Mycha,

How do you mean? do you mean you have bent the pins on the side of the bulb?

Cheers

Alistair

 

[mychatype3]

Hey, i’ve bent the copper ends in the flasher unit With the american unit it are two copper ends, I've bent them together, so a europe bulb with one point makes contact.

Greetings mycha

 

[aogrady]

Hi

Did a little more this weekend, in between the rain. Finished off a little more cork, refitted the sink unit temporally as i need to make some measurements for the hob, grill compressor fridge install, and to test and measure for the swing out hinges
You can also see where i trimmed the rear part of the wardrobe where the westy veneer was broken and flaked off.

Fitted a oil temperature warning device from savemybug.com. It's wired into the original sender so the oil pressure light works as normal, but if it overheats the oil light will flash to let you know it's too hot. This replaces the original dipstick, which i have fitted on the roof area with a (very strong) rare earth magnet, so it's always to hand to check the oil.

On finally, got a CB setup with mag mount aerial to go on the rear end of the roof, just need to run cables and power. It's a Midland 3001. Circa 1982

Also used one of the other magnets i had to use as a tidy to keep the belt off the floor, but it's to powerful, will get some smaller ones and use a similar idea to keep the curtains close to the bodywork when parked on a slope, or i may use curtain wire if there are holes there already.
When i get the new front seats fitted, i will get some of the seat surround matts fitted to cover up all the dents and chipped paint.

That's it for now!

Cheers

Alistair

 

[aogrady]

Hi,

OK, took the empty space where the Propex is fitted, i had already cork lined the seat base, and sound deadened the area, so onto phase 2

So from this:

Via this:

I used some thick chipboard, 15/18mm, measured and cut holes for the Zig CF9b, mains 240V socket, and vent for the Propex. Trimmed again with cork, as per the flooring, and fitted to the bed base.

I had got the Zig cheap from ebay as some of the switches were faulty. I bought some replacement units from Maplins, and trimmed them around the edge to fit the zig, though they do pinch the middle section a little on the top and bottom edge.

I didn't like the original orange mains switch, so replaced this with a blue backlit switch instead. This is to follow a similar theme, as i have a small LCD display, also blue backlit that i intended to fit into the same area, though on thinking about it, i preferred the cleaner lines of the 3 units next to each other, so i will rethink on where else to locate the little screen, especially as they tend to have a limited viewing angle, and as you will not be looking at the screen directly on, you may have a tendancy not to actually see the display.

The display will be wired, so that i can see at a a glance the voltage of either the leisure or car battery when switched via the Zig. Just need to find it a home now. I just need to wire it up to the batteries etc, which will do another day when i fit the RCD device alongside the zig, and hook up socket in the engine bay.

You may wonder why i haven't fitted the door back on, a few reasons, it needed spacing back into the bed area, and i wanted to minimise any more lost space - especially as i can just squeeze the trolley jack, handle and thick wood plank under there, also, there is bound be be a time when the propex is in use and someone has forgotten to open the door, and if you have the door removable, you need somewhere to put it, if you leave it on it gets in the way when it's down, your feet catch on it, plus i think it looks rather nice seeing the zig and sockets etc on show. I intend to remove the original trim around the hole as it's shrunk. a cheap grey length, painted correct colour and trimmed to suit will be retro fitted.

Next stage, i bought some solid brass, chrome plated, oiled and washered hinges, heavy duty, really nice smooth action.

Then this is the next step, as i already have run x2 gas pipes behind the sink unit, ready for hob install and BBQ point, i intend to mount the original westy sink onto the above hinges, but with a stand off away from the bulkhead, (thanks for the tip steve) so that the sink unit will swing away from the edge of the door post, allowing you to have the cooking surface outside. I have a additional spice rack table which will be fitted to the other side, (will refit the original spice rack back on, didnt have time for the photo) The floor is trimmed all underneath the sink unit as i will be removing all the innards, and will retrim the area behind the bulkhead as you will see this once the sink is swung out. The unit will be fitted slightly off the floor, so it swings out smooth, i have ideas on securing methods whilst swung out and in place.

The westy coolbox will be removed, and in place a Waeco CR50 fridge unit. This is a 12V compressor fridge, very efficient, with a ice box inside running at -18, and the fridge +5. Should be plenty of room if my sums are correct, and it can be run off solar power (fitted at a later date) If i can modify the new fridges hinges etc, i intend to re use the westy door, so looks stock from the outside. Still not ordered the fridge yet, but hope to do soon.

I have a hob and grill unit ready to fit, but may just fit a different hob, i am still deciding as i may need to rebuild the sink unit completely as the hob may be too high in it's current position for the grill to work well, and you need toast for a full english in the morning! May also change the fridge model if this is the case, and get a taller unit.

And finally, carbon monoxide detector, now we have fitted gas systems inside, i think it's a good call.

That's it for now, might be off to shows at the weekend, so probably no more work done for a while.......

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[aogrady]

Hi,

OK, you know what it's like, i had a bit of time yesterday evening, thought i would tackle the area behind the table, the wood finish that was left after i removed the damaged old top layer of ply was bugging me, and really fancied more cork on the sides to match the floor, and have some continuation, so , this is what it looked like behind the table before:

I have refitted the sink temporally, and now, the finished result:

Pleased with that, was tricky as the wood wasn't flat and was quite bowed in places, so some edges are slightly proud next to each other, nothing a sand and refinish wouldn't sort, but this can keep for another day. Bearing in mind, floor tiles are not meant to be stuck on the walls! Spent a few hours faffing with the fitment, trimming behind the bed as far as i could, removed the buddy seat and table etc, got the propex going toasty, got the westy light on, and finished it off in the dark. :lol: Slight colour change on some tiles, perhaps as was from separate packs, but can be sorted with a sand and re varnish. It was dark when i was doing it!

I may well just run a thin bead of silicon on the edge where the wall meets the floor, or a thin strip of curved edging trimmed and stained to suit (still have some stain from when i did the sides of the radio flyer), you cant really see much as the table is in the way.

As you can see, I have removed the ashtray, didnt smoke, never needed it, makes for a nicer finish. As i had already removed one ply of the wood from a previous experiment, the edge of the cork fitted well upto the edge of the galvanised metal rail. Now, there is maybe a mm of cork just proud of the edge, again, at a later date will just sand and take the edge down a little. I also have fitted the cork right over all the original screws that held the wood one, for a cleaner look. i wont be wanting to remove this area again, as i have already sound deadened and insulated the area well before the wood went back on, and if i do need to remove it, it's only a bit of wood (which was knackered anyway), and half a pack of cork tiles for my trouble - it's more grief removing the bed than the wood on the sides!

The fluffy floor mats are just there for comfort whilst the weather was wet, but as it's better, may well take these out, the floor looks much better with the cork showing, but wanted to protect from stones getting trodden in. I may well experiment with some stained varnish or wax maybe at another time to see how the change in colour looks on the cork, and refinsh all of the cork at the same time, the finish is how they came, as they are pre finished (sealed) on one side.

On refitment of the table, struggled to get the bracket which the table clips into, screwed back onto the wall, struggled to find the holes in the metalwork behind, will have another go another day, or will devise a plan to secure the table another way. Cunning plans afoot involving neodymium magnets.....

It's a lovely material to work with, it's cheap, warm to the touch, and acts as a additional insulator, nice on the feet, not cold like lino, wood or tiles. It's my new favourite thing!

Now, onto getting the bloody fridge sorted next ....now i have spent most of my money on other nice bits, new rubber seals, carpets, led bulbs etc, all arriving for my delectation!!
Would like to get all the new bits arriving, done, fitted etc before Big Sunday, but will be pushing it, especially as i haven't bought the fridge yet - may have to see what i can sell at the autojumble to release funds for the fridge!

Cheers!

Alistair

 

[aogrady]

Hi

Little more faffing over the weekend, got a new chocolate full carpet set, and thick underlay

Which as you can see, needs a little trimming as i dont like it poking out the sides like it is...Once the leather seat fitments is sorted, will fit the new carpet under the seats and seat sides.

Fitted the bottle opener i removed and fitted the propex controls in it's place. There was a rivet hole on the bulkhead, so fitted it there....

And things were going well, so i fitted the spice rack back on.........

And then noticed that it's in the way of the bottle opener, so back to square one! :roll: :lol:

Still, the bed electric install looked nice in the sun.....

Offered up my leather seats for a trial fit, need to mod/get made some brackets, but have bolts and large washers to bolt in. They will sit a little lower, will trial fit the drivers side when i get time, i also need to swap over the seat bases, as the drivers seat has height adjustment, but is on the wrong side as it's left hand drive. Also need to find out your remove the arm rest, dont need it.

I dont mind the seats being a bit higher, i like to sit up high, as long as i can reach the pedals and wheel safely. The seats are really comfy, and will go well with the interior.

Looking forward to Big Sunday now!

Cheers!

Alistair