Monty the Red Campervan

[Bluesnailman]

Mike, have you been out since you changed the front roll bar, any appreciable difference? Or are you staying off the salted roads?

 

[mike202]

Shame you couldn't get the needle out but looking better

It does look a lot cleaner now Andy. And there's one less noise in the cab now the glasses are fixed.

WOW, what a lovely bus Mike. I'm very impressed

Thanks, always nice to hear that! Have you still got that 68 bus? Love that pic by the old fashioned 'gas' station.

Very neat and tidy! I can't believe how bright your warning lights are now. 40 odd years of dust must make a difference. Good write up too, love those photos

Regarding the white plugs, well I'm disappointed. I like to cut the back of my hands by sticking it through the radio slot, and rest my body weight on my head against the gearstick every now and again. Those clips give me the perfect excuse.

I think the gap let in a lot of dust over the years. Yea know what you mean about the cuts and bruises ouch! - no pain no gain :lol:

 

[mike202]

Mike, have you been out since you changed the front roll bar, any appreciable difference? Or are you staying off the salted roads?

Haven't been out yet, just waiting a bit more, for the salt to be washed away.

 

[ballbag]

Thanks, always nice to hear that! Have you still got that 68 bus? Love that pic by the old fashioned 'gas' station.

Unfortunately no, I had to sell up in the end.

I've got a 71 now. I'm just in the process of tubbing it and narrowing it, and all that malarky.

 

[69 Westy]

Excellent !!

 

[mike202]

Thanks, always nice to hear that! Have you still got that 68 bus? Love that pic by the old fashioned 'gas' station.

Unfortunately no, I had to sell up in the end.

I've got a 71 now. I'm just in the process of tubbing it and narrowing it, and all that malarky.

Good luck with the '71. At least you get free disk brakes this time!

Excellent !!

thanks, yours is another nice red Westy.

 

[mike202]

I've been out for a few drives in Monty in windy weather, and I think the anti roll bar has made a difference to the handling. I can still feel the wind buffeting the van but it doesn't move across the lane as much as it did before I added the heavy duty ARB.

The quick shifter was definitely worth it- gear changes are a lot slicker now.

After adding some oil to the speedo cable the needle now sits at 5mph under the actual speed at 30mph. It's steady and doesn't waver around so I can drive without the satnav as a backup speedo.

I have been busy doing some more jobs; the main one was replacing the worn out and damaged ply panels. I got new ones from Rackhams and they fitted well. You just have make sure you ask for the right hole in the hook up side as there are two main types. They come with a coating of laquer but I painted on two more coats using Ronseal satin finish clear laquer. The surface feels nice and smooth and should resist dirt and spills well.

old ply



new panels






Whilst I was removing the old panels I thought I would change out the old glass fibre insulation, as it was disintegrating when I touched it. I bought some 35mm Dacron polyester padding and used that.

glass fibre


nice clean panels behind the insulation.


new insulation



I also added Silentcoat to the wheel arches and the long side, and tailgate panels. I had already added this to the sliding door a while ago. Really pleased with the new panels as it really freshens up the interior.

 

[mike202]

One or two other little improvements;

I've installed some side mats on the seat stands. I think they look neat and may keep the cab a bit quieter.





I've also put in an auxillary fuse box for the radio, chargers and table light. I mounted it on a bracket to avoid drilling any holes and screwed it to the air vent lever mounting.



These are now powered off the LB. Since I added the new LED bulbs to the table light I use this more when camping and don't need the magnetic battery light in the back now. The LED bulbs are just 1.2 watt compared to 10 watts with the old bulbs, so use a lot less electricity.

 

[DubBGood2Me]

Wow Mike, someone has been a busy boy.

Top Work as usual. Your bus is so clean n shiny. Very nice.

 

[geordie]

Hi Mike we spoke at busfest in 2014 you where parked up next to foz. I'm from Hexham og if that jogs your memory.

You have been busy fella, Ive got a devon interior in preparation of bus coming home this mouth i like where you have put the heater
great idea hope you done mind me doing the same. i got a question if thats ok, where the heater is located does it heat the front cab enough i have a diesel heater and hoping to use it when driving :?:

Geordie

 

[mike202]

Wow Mike, someone has been a busy boy.

Top Work as usual. Your bus is so clean n shiny. Very nice.

thanks for the kind comments.

 

[mike202]

Hi Mike we spoke at busfest in 2014 you where parked up next to foz. I'm from Hexham og if that jogs your memory.

You have been busy fella, Ive got a devon interior in preparation of bus coming home this mouth i like where you have put the heater
great idea hope you done mind me doing the same. i got a question if thats ok, where the heater is located does it heat the front cab enough i have a diesel heater and hoping to use it when driving :?:

Geordie

I do remember you mate, IIRC you had just bought a louvred window.

Thanks for the comments. I don't use our heater when driving usually, although it has been used, only when our daughters are in the back. They must be cold blooded cause they always complain about being cold! :lol:

However, the fan blows the warm air right between the walk thru, and when I am camping and have the heater on you can see the lei flower garland that hangs from the rear view mirror moving in the warm breeze.
The position of the warm air outlet vent obviously has to be central to allow this. I was camping recently in the Lakes and used the heater in the evening and also in the morning because it was cold and frosty, and it is one of the best things I have added to the van. It soon cleared the windscreen as well.

frosty bay window

 

[67westy]

Hi Mike, van is looking good as always mate where did you get your LED bulbs from? I tried some before but the quality was crap, it's something I need to sort out really!

 

[KevH]

Stop it, stop it, stop it Mike...you are making the rest of us (well, me anyway) look (a) lazy and (b) inadequate. :lol:

Seriously, your bus is looking brilliant, hat's off to you. See you at Busfest perhaps?

Kev

 

[Lee C]

Nice work Mike 8)

 

[mike202]

Hi Mike, van is looking good as always mate where did you get your LED bulbs from? I tried some before but the quality was crap, it's something I need to sort out really!

Thanks Adam, I got the bulbs from here;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L7LVZB4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think there are a lot of sellers on the next 'big thing' so quality is variable. For about 30pence a bulb though it's not bad. I'll see how they go.

I also changed the lights in our kitchen ceiling a few months ago from halogen to LED. Again the wattage is 1/10 of what it was and there is no heat that was generated previously. I got Philips bulbs though, with a good reputation for this.

 

[67westy]

Cheers mike, just ordered some

 

[mike202]

Stop it, stop it, stop it Mike...you are making the rest of us (well, me anyway) look (a) lazy and (b) inadequate. :lol:

Seriously, your bus is looking brilliant, hat's off to you. See you at Busfest perhaps?

Kev

Kev, I know, it's a problem, I'm a Veedub addict! :lol:

Thanks for the comments, yes I intend to make Busfest again this year. Hopefully a couple of others as well 8)

 

[mike202]

Nice work Mike 8)

thanks Lee

 

[geordie]

Yes that was me

I carried that blooming window round all day :lol: only to go and sell it at busfreeze this year.

I did one better last year at standford Hall i bought two imported doors and carried them on each shoulder all the way back to the car park on the other side of the road :shock:

My bus is in the bodyshop i hope to get her back in two weeks and i will be going to busfest

Thanks for the advice and pictures.

Geordie