SHE IS BACK!!!!!

[angus]

Well, I say 'back' - finally managed to get my van off my dads driveway (after 6 years sitting there!) and up to where we are currently renting in Surrey! Friend and I borrowed a car and trailer and had a very easy drive up and down the A303.

I'm so pleased to finally get the van where I am so I can work on her easily and get her back on the road. Need to get an MOT!

Some piccies!

Ready to load up. Spare wheel removed to remove weight.... !

Arrival...

Hope it fits in the garage!

The one my dad has been waiting to see!

Really got to be good now and avoid the temptation to nip downstairs and work on/look lovingly at the van, but rather get on with the Stannah stair lift parts and BBQ range I am supposed to be designing....roll on the weekend!!

Got a way to go to match some of your lovely vans in terms of condition, but I have a good (and rare!) base to start from, and more importantly 18 years of memories to add to!!

 

[angus]

And so it begins....what colour! Took some pictures of a neptune Blue coloured van at Volksworld last week, and have photoshopped some images - here are the options!
As it is now (well almost - I painted some of the white above the waste line to see what an 'all-over' blue might look like....

Back to 'original' Neptune Blue (although it was all over blue originally)

Blue roof...

Blue cap!

All blue on top...

All blue

White cap

all white roof

umm. decisions decisions......

 

[Joval]

All over blue, white roof. :wink:

 

[Araon]

Deffinately keep the pop top white.... all over blue looks good but kinda liking the blue roof option too (pic 3) something a little different...

 

[58herbie]

all over blue and all white roof, white bumpers, two tone wheels white walls, slightly lowered, bit of bling..

mmmmmmmm

 

[dp]

All over blue with just a white cap (and white bumpers) is what does it for me - can't go wrong with an all Neptune bus IMO.

 

[giraffeinbath]

When I return ours to it's original Neptune Blue sometime soon it's going to be all blue with white roof, pop, bumpers and wheels to match.
I'm looking for a softer aged looking white so it doesn't look to stark against the blue, VW Pastel White seems OK although the idea of anything pastel on the bus offends me :lol:

 

[Guest]

i like the picture 2, blue to the swage line and white above with white poptop. I think it looks the most original on poptop buses although its what i'm used to looking at everyday.

 

[JohnS]

When I saw the title Angus I thought you were referring to your ex-girlfriend who featured in some of your pictures of earlier road trips. You can't imagine what a disappointment it was when I opened the thread and it was just a picture of another bus :wink:

There seems a consensus amongst the EB membership that blue all over with the white top is the way to go - I'll go along with that choice. Good luck with the resto.

 

[sparkywig]

I'm with Johnny on this one. Blue up to the swage line and white above with white bumpers and wheels.
Obviously a bit of lowering won't go amiss either.
But this is just my opinion. :wink:

 

[nags WolVeK]

hi this is our 72 in Neptune Blue, white roof, we love it.(although just about to get a 71 westy :lol: :lol: )

 

[Ands1]

A liitle bit of Neptune all over from my old Poe

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[sparkywig]

Nice van, ands1, pretty damn cool. 8)
Where did you get the fuchs?

 

[Ands1]

Nice van, ands1, pretty damn cool. 8)
Where did you get the fuchs?

Thanks very much, I fell lucky with the Fuch,I got them 18 months ago off ebay, they,re flat 4,s with brand new pirelli p6000,s. I recently purchased another for a spare & the only place I could get one was CIP1 in the states.
Andy

 

[angus]

That is indeed very nice!

JohnS - :lol: better not let the current Mrs A see those had I!! Blimey - thats 18 years ago now.... still, if I'm honest, a large part of the rediculously sentimental attachment I have to the van.. hey ho...

Thanks for the opinions on colours. I'm certainly leaning to the all-over blue with white top, or the blue with white above swage line (like the bus currently is) - it will be strange to move away from that having had that look for so long....

Thanks for the pic nags - shows me exactly what it could look like in that format.

I do intend to lower her a little bit, but only a small amount to be honest - lowlowlow wouldn't suit I think, but it is amazing how much smaller the vans look like with just a little lowering.

Deadline is a 24hr charity MTB event in 2nd week of May, down in Cheddar, near Bristol, so I have until then to get her MOT'ed, registered etc etc and drive her enough that I trust nothing is going to break! Can't wait.... 8)

 

[angus]

Ah, just noticed your location John (and may have had this conversation before) but thats where my family hail from - my Dads dad used to row across the bay when he was an engineering apprentice, working at what became a sea plane base (I think) - just across from the harbour. In fact his ashes are back there...
We were up there a few years ago and my dad was allowed to moor his (very small) day sailing dinghy on the Royal Lighthouse jetty (not sure what it is really called!) - he was very honoured as it was always out of bounds when he used to play with his little model boats off the tiny boatyard slipway just next door. Just round a little bit from where the Isle ferries come in.
Oops - a tad off topic there!

 

[JohnS]

Ah, just noticed your location John (and may have had this conversation before) but thats where my family hail from - my Dads dad used to row across the bay when he was an engineering apprentice, working at what became a sea plane base (I think)

There was a flying boat squadron based in Oban before and during WW2. My mum says that her abiding memory of the war days was watching the Sunderlands coming and going in the bay. They've just reintroduced a flying boat service between Oban & Glasgow - I've used it once - it's a good way to travel (20 minutes v. 3 hours in the car).

http://www.rafoban.co.uk/index.htm

 

[angus]

Thats the place. He then moved down south before the war and worked on the big ships in Southampton, before becoming Chief Engineer on Tommy Sopwith's (America's Cup etc) motor yacht. Thanks for the link.