jagman
Member
Well it's been a couple of years since I made my first attempt at posting on the forum and a lot has happened with Heidi since then.
Now I know from the comments made 2 years ago by you purists & originalists ( is that a real word ??) you advised retaining the original orange Sunlander interior but the method of converting everything to the double bed was a complete pain in the butt and took forever. In addition we really didn't fancy sleeping on worn out saggy cushions full of the previous owners' 40+ years of sweat and whatever else ! So as it is otherwise in excellent condition the whole interior apart from the overhead locker and wardrobe which I've kept in the bus have been removed and stored carefully in my loft (could be persuaded to sell but would want a firm £500 - buyer arranges collection from North East Scotland) and replaced with the ubiquitous Rusty Lee rock 'n roll bed along with new cushions made by my wife and a new single seat with storage made by myself.
As well as this fairly major change, a lot of other bits and pieces have been replaced including carpets, curtains, rear vinyl flooring, steering wheel,door mirrors, stainless steel exhaust tailpipe, battery, starter motor, alternator conversion, engine fan, pop up springs and have put in Noise Killer sound insulation which has made a huge difference. The fuel gauge stopped working shortly after I bought Heidi and as usual it was the tank sender which I have just replaced after plucking up the courage to cut a hole in the engine cover. I replaced the elderly tyres with a new set of whitewalls from Vintage Tyres which really make a big difference to the whole look.
My son machine polished the whole exterior but the original Pastel White was quite badly faded and just wouldn't take on much shine and there was a lot of little bits of surface rust all over the roof and gutters so all the white has been re-painted. Not having cash to have this resprayed professionally but having a lot of experience with rattle cans going back to the 1970s I plumped for re-doing the white with Halfords Pastel White aerosols. The paint quality is really good although, as mentioned by other folks on here, their version of the colour is creamier than the original so once I started I had to carry on. I like the creamy tone and think it is warmer and gives a more retro feel. Lost count of the number of cans I needed and the staff at my local Halfords never did ask why I kept buying 3/4 cans at a time for months on end !
Next job is to correct the saggy rear end with a new set of torsion bar bushes to level things out and possibly electronic ignition before doing the local classic car shows in the Spring. Not a fan of kerb scraping lowered buses but may think about a little lowering job by a couple of inches or so with dropped spindles etc.
Bought Heidi for £6000, stole it really considering it's overall condition, and have spent a further £4000 on her so reckon I'm still quids in based on what she's probably worth now.
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The last pic is my other motor - XJR 4.0 litre supercharged V8 370 bhp and 0-60 in 5.3 seconds! Original price in 2000 was nearly £54k. I bought it 3 years ago for £4000 ! Probably still worth that as mileage is lowish at 85,000.It struggles to get more then 18 mpg around town but up to 27 on motorways (not many of them up here though !) Although it's been really reliable despite what many think about old Jags, I don't use it a lot, less than 3000 miles a year, as I work just 10 mins walk from home but when I do I still get such a buzz from it even after 3 years.
Now I know from the comments made 2 years ago by you purists & originalists ( is that a real word ??) you advised retaining the original orange Sunlander interior but the method of converting everything to the double bed was a complete pain in the butt and took forever. In addition we really didn't fancy sleeping on worn out saggy cushions full of the previous owners' 40+ years of sweat and whatever else ! So as it is otherwise in excellent condition the whole interior apart from the overhead locker and wardrobe which I've kept in the bus have been removed and stored carefully in my loft (could be persuaded to sell but would want a firm £500 - buyer arranges collection from North East Scotland) and replaced with the ubiquitous Rusty Lee rock 'n roll bed along with new cushions made by my wife and a new single seat with storage made by myself.
As well as this fairly major change, a lot of other bits and pieces have been replaced including carpets, curtains, rear vinyl flooring, steering wheel,door mirrors, stainless steel exhaust tailpipe, battery, starter motor, alternator conversion, engine fan, pop up springs and have put in Noise Killer sound insulation which has made a huge difference. The fuel gauge stopped working shortly after I bought Heidi and as usual it was the tank sender which I have just replaced after plucking up the courage to cut a hole in the engine cover. I replaced the elderly tyres with a new set of whitewalls from Vintage Tyres which really make a big difference to the whole look.
My son machine polished the whole exterior but the original Pastel White was quite badly faded and just wouldn't take on much shine and there was a lot of little bits of surface rust all over the roof and gutters so all the white has been re-painted. Not having cash to have this resprayed professionally but having a lot of experience with rattle cans going back to the 1970s I plumped for re-doing the white with Halfords Pastel White aerosols. The paint quality is really good although, as mentioned by other folks on here, their version of the colour is creamier than the original so once I started I had to carry on. I like the creamy tone and think it is warmer and gives a more retro feel. Lost count of the number of cans I needed and the staff at my local Halfords never did ask why I kept buying 3/4 cans at a time for months on end !
Next job is to correct the saggy rear end with a new set of torsion bar bushes to level things out and possibly electronic ignition before doing the local classic car shows in the Spring. Not a fan of kerb scraping lowered buses but may think about a little lowering job by a couple of inches or so with dropped spindles etc.
Bought Heidi for £6000, stole it really considering it's overall condition, and have spent a further £4000 on her so reckon I'm still quids in based on what she's probably worth now.
http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/jagman/media/DSCF6114_zps7s5rasgm.jpg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]
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http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/jagman/media/IMG_0475_zpsoxlzuitl.jpg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]
The last pic is my other motor - XJR 4.0 litre supercharged V8 370 bhp and 0-60 in 5.3 seconds! Original price in 2000 was nearly £54k. I bought it 3 years ago for £4000 ! Probably still worth that as mileage is lowish at 85,000.It struggles to get more then 18 mpg around town but up to 27 on motorways (not many of them up here though !) Although it's been really reliable despite what many think about old Jags, I don't use it a lot, less than 3000 miles a year, as I work just 10 mins walk from home but when I do I still get such a buzz from it even after 3 years.
