Old Nells conversion from rusty old bucket to our dream bus

[gninnam]

The units are looking lush - nice job 8)

 

[Old_Nell]

Thanks Bud, there's a lot of hours in my shed gone into them so far

 

[Old_Nell]

Good Morning all.

Things have taken a turn for the better.
Nell has reached another good stage in her restoration from rusty old bucket to our dream bus.

Deaddubz in Derbyshire have just finished off the sliding door, so she's finally waterproof!!
As you can see the hole was only a little one (You can see the inside of the sliding door at the bottom and the floor inside!! :shock: ) and it was a bit draughty in there!



Door panels partly fitted and battered into submission Well done Nick and Richard. She was in a terrible state. You've earnt your money on this one!



Panels welded and awaiting paint



Dun Dun Derrrrrrr!
In all her glory. Newly welded and painted sliding door.



Happy Days!!

She was also dropped 3 inches at the backend to match the front end that was a cut an twist beam when we bought her.
At the same time, the front panel was resprayed after some damage to the front while I was away and all of the door locks were matched.
I neeeeed to get a bit more paint knocked up though to finish those last few bits on the front and back arches just on this side. It's really obvious now that we ran out, lol

Cant wait now to get home and crack on with the interior.
I have most of the electrical components either ordered or bid upon on Fleabay.

We're getting there. This is her before and after. (After on top - Cheeky buggers!!)



How sweet does she look with that roofrack?
I have some good hubcaps to put on her too, but I'm not sure if that'll obscure too much of the red? We'll have to see.

Plan is to get the electrics done on my return home at the start of April, insulate the life out of her, then interior panels, flooring, units and girlie finishing touches, i.e. Curtains, cushions, matching tyres etc. Then get out and about in her, take in a few local camping spots before she gets her first show debut

The plan has always been to keep her original with a twist.
The interior will look fairly stock, but there'll be a few extras to make her slightly different

Thanks for all of the compliments so far, I hope you love her too

 

[gninnam]

Great transformation :mrgreen:

 

[admwllms]

Fantastic work on this, really inspiring to see how you've cracked on and turned it into a nice bus.

 

[Old_Nell]

Thanks guys arty0006:

 

[marmite monster]

looks awesome well done

 

[Old_Nell]

Thanks very much.

 

[Old_Nell]

Right, my time out here at work is nearly over again, so I should be home next week, barring any Airport issues :evil:

Me and the Long Haired General have decided to try to get to Big Bang 2016 this year, but the list of jobs I still have to do is pretty big... in fact it's massive!

So, I'd obviously appreciate any help/advice prior to setting off again.

As she stands, most of the exterior on Nell is done (albeit to basic standards). She has had an MoT since November, but not actually been anywhere yet due to not having everything in place to get her carbs and timing set up properly.
Today, after my Father in Law kindly put the VS Exhaust on for me last week, she'll be on the rolling road!



So, with the outside nearly done, it's time to sort out the interior, my favourite bit!
How she currently looks inside..





As you can see, she's a bit skeletal.
I did also buy a set of interior panels, but they'll have to go in bare for now.

Jobs to do, are as follows in what I think is going to be this order:

1. Quick Shifter - bought and sat in my shed. Wanna be stirring porridge in baby bears bowl, not daddy bears...

2. First Fix the electrics - Zig unit (also sat in my shed) will be located behind the drivers seat in the tall part of the two part seat so all Interior wiring will run to and from here. Want to run Lights 12V and 240V, Sockets 12V and 240V, wiring for a Propex (to be installed later in the year) and stereo from the Zig with isolator switches from the wardrobe unit beside the back hatch.

3. Sound Insulation - Just bought 4 Sq.M of Silent Coat, should be home about the same time as me. I'm hoping it'll be enough. Do you need to cover entire panels? I heard it's just to take the rattle or vibration out of panels that make it a little less deafening.

4. Flooring and Heat Insulation - I'm going to try to find the thin flooring foam insulation that's apparently available at BnQ's, then lay the old board on top, then tile with individual flooring tiles to match my interior. I'll also line the inside of the panels with this on top of the silent coat.

5. I need to make or pick up a double drawer unit (the one above the engine) Like the one in Devon Moonrakers.
The same as this one. Pic borrowed from somebody on here, maybe Gwar? cant remember, hope that's ok?



6. I also need to make or pick up the back seat unit also like the Devon Moonraker.
I've already made the upright part.



7. I need to install all of the units that were repaired last time I was home.

Quite chuffed with these



8. Once the units are all in, I can start on the electrics second fix. As I said above, the zig will be in the upright part of the seat, the Leisure battery will hopefully sit in the bottom of it (Not the base part - I want that for storage). I also need to fit in the Consumer unit to keep it all safe. Im not 100% sure where the hook-up will sit yet; maybe in the drivers wheel arch, maybe beneath the passenger seat. Any advice?

(In this seat and upright)


9. Cushions - I have a motley crew of old cushions to go in her that'll need scrubbing and de-mousing. They've been in my garage for the last year or two, so will be lovely, Im sure! I also still need a back cushion, the big one that sits over the engine and makes up most of the bed if anyone's got one? Please?

10. Curtains - Bought a lovely set at a very reasonable price, which are also sat in my shed, waiting on me getting home to hang them.

11. Seatbelts for the back - These are obviously a must, but we (me n the general) are going away first and want to have the basics in, so these can wait a few days.

12. Back Bumper - I have one and the 72 Crossover hangers sat in my shed too. Might get put on before Big Bang, but not arsed if they don't to be honest. I love the look of the VS exhaust.

13. Dash top - Bought from a fella on here, will get put on before Big Bang hopefully, but again, not a game changer if not.

14. Stereo - Managed to buy a Retro look stereo cheap so that can go in too.

So all in all, after getting home, I'll have about 10 days to get it all done! :shock:
Easy right?

:lol:

Anyway, do you think 4 sqm will be enough and if so, to what extent do I need to apply it - everywhere or just one sheet per panel?
Anybody want to donate cushions or sell me any, Biggest want is the big cushion over the engine bay... purleeeeease!

Anyway, any advice gratefully received. Thank you.

 

[Old_Nell]

A quick update.
Old Nell went on the rolling road today to have her timing and new carbs set up properly.
When she got there she was tested and found to be producing a pretty poor 22hp.
After the lads at Burgess's in Alfreton had finished with her she was maxing 68hp and averaging 54hp.
She apparently drives beautifully now.
I can't wait to get home and try her out myself.

 

[gninnam]

A quick update.
Old Nell went on the rolling road today to have her timing and new carbs set up properly.
When she got there she was tested and found to be producing a pretty poor 22hp.
After the lads at Burgess's in Alfreton had finished with her she was maxing 68hp and averaging 54hp.
She apparently drives beautifully now.
I can't wait to get home and try her out myself.

Result :mrgreen:

 

[admwllms]

1. Quick Shifter - bought and sat in my shed. Wanna be stirring porridge in baby bears bowl, not daddy bears...

:lol:

Going quickly now, the units and exhaust look ace!

 

[vassy69SC]

Great effort!!
She is coming up a treat.

 

[Old_Nell]

Thanks all. I can't wait to get home and get amongst it all now. Days to do are getting few!

 

[Old_Nell]

Well, I've been home and Old Nell's looking soooo much better.
I got a bit carried away... :roll:

I managed to get the interior in, the electrics in, the hook up sorted, ordered and took delivery of a full set of cushions, fitted a rear bumper hanger and then the rear bumper after respraying it, then painted the front bumper white, fitted the dash top (Actually the misses did this bit) engine out, clutch checked and found to be fine but oily, petrol breather tank rubber elbow replaced, engine back in, fitted an aerial, fitted a retro stereo, fitted a full set of interior panels/cards, didn't like them, dug out the old set, repaired them, cleaned them and fitted them instead, bought an awning, tried it, put it up for sale, bought another one, camped out overnight locally, been to Stanford Hall overnight and had such a lot of fun in her.

I really can't tell you all how much fun she now is for me and the misses.

Little things like nipping out for the day, cos we can. Pulling over for a brew where we want.
Waving to other Bays and splits, but given up on waving at T4s and T5s as they just stare at you blankly... splitters!!
Anyway, Pics to follow.

 

[Old_Nell]

First thing I did was to soundproof Old Nell.
I managed to get a box of about 40? small panels from EBay and stuck them all over Nells wobbly bits.

Then I started to run the wiring from the area I wanted to fit my electrics then my interior started to go in.



Then the red mist descended and I forgot to take any pics...

 

[Old_Nell]

Needless to say, after a very hectic 10 days, all of the units were fitted in time to get away at our local Campsite for a trial run at camping.



We had a great night, lots of giggles and mucking about.



But Old Nell did us proud. It was a tad cold so a propex heater will be installed later on in the year ready for next winter.
We had bought an awning for Nell, but although it was for attachment to a camper, it was just too tall for Nell, as can be seen above.

Fortunately for us, a JK awning came up for sale on EBay and we managed to get it for a ridiculously low price. It hooks on much better and it's huuuuuuge inside! :shock:

 

[Old_Nell]

Once home I started on the not so important jobs that were put to one side in the rush to get away camping.
First was the rear bumper clean up, spray up and attach.
I think it came up quite well considering it'd been sat rusting in my garden for the past few years.

 

[Old_Nell]

Then the day trips started.
The first, to Cromford Meadows with the dogs.







I've said it before, but you really can't beat just nipping out for the day and being able to just pull off the road and have a brew and a hot pie/pasty when you fancy it.

 

[Old_Nell]

Interior time.

We'd been looking at different peoples work for some time on EBay, this forum, Facebook etc, and hadn't decided where we would use. About this time, we saw somebody selling foam for cushions, so we nipped in to get a price.
Whilst there we saw some of the upholstery also being carried out there too.
It was lovely so we asked them to knock us up a set of cushions for us too.
Prices were agreed and dates set.

We were more than happy, the cushions are perfect. They're comfy, well detailed, and very reasonably priced.

I hope you like them as much as we do.





The company is called Seaski UK Ltd, Marine, Automotive & Leisure Textiles and they're based in Alfreton Derbyshire. They have a Facebook page if anyone is interested in a set for themselves. Tell them Gav with the Camper sent you, cos I want some discount on a set of front seat covers soon