Winnie - Our 1970 Bay

[Huyrob]

Thanks Matty for all the advice and a pleasure to meet you and Winnie.
An eye opener following in your slipstream

Will keep in touch.

Dave

 

[Huyrob]

Thanks Matty for all the advice and a pleasure to meet you and Winnie.
An eye opener following in your slipstream

Will keep in touch.

Dave

Matty, looking at the photo I really do feel ( irrespective of engine ) a bit intimidated. You mentioned that you are on 15 inch wheels , mine are 14inch., I am loathe to swap now as my tyres are good but looking to the future are there any problems with me running to 15 inch.? I’ll take a closer photo of mine tomorrow showing wheel nut configuration.

 

[matty74]

I thought I’d sort out the bumper brackets that I’ve been meaning to fit for about 5 years now. Couple of things have prevented this in the past namely never being able to find them as a pair and the fact I think my bumper is upside down, so the very expensive brackets purchased would never fit . Luckily I had a spare Hilti bracket that I was able to fettle into shape and fit. Bumper needs some work, but that’ll need to wait for sunnier times (that’ll be next year then).

If I find the other stainless J bracket, they’ll be straight on eBay.

Happy with the Hilti bracket solution though

 

[mike202]

what you need is a proper corner leaf tray on each side!

 

[matty74]

Grandson came to stay with us for a few days towards the end of the school holidays.
One of the first things he said was, can we get Winnie out of the garage, the kids got great taste, what more can I say

Diet starts Monday
Monday 18th btw … in Croatia right now

 

[matty74]

Nice package waiting for Winnie when we returned from Croatia A subtle addition to brighten up the dash

 

[T2 Brinky]

Having read the other thread about the Durite split charge relay, it occurred to me that I may have a problem with mine so exchanged it for this one.

View attachment 6167
Engine Running

View attachment 6168

Starter Battery after engine off

View attachment 6170

Relay de-energised at 12.8v

Posh Fluke

 

[matty74]

Got a couple of trips lined up for the back end of the month so wanted to sort out a few interior bits that have been bugging me for a while.

The expensive deluxe clock has never worked properly, it wouldn’t advance with the dash push button. I ordered some buttons ages ago and stumbled across them the other day, so soldered that in and all good.

The dash lights have needed some attention, in particular the tell back signals, so I had the wheel off and pod out to re-crimp and solder where necessary. Replaced all but Indicator / Gen and Oil Light with LED. Also tidied up other wiring behind pod as it had become a bit of a nest over the years due to add ons. Also noticed that the fuel sender (-) spade on the pod was a bit wobbly, so glued this to secure. All back in everything working as it should be.

Decided to fit a nice (albeit expensive) Air Cooled Accessories Rev counter to complement the rest of the dash.

Fitted a new stereo (again) that I think I’m finally happy with in terms of functionality and aesthetic look. Goes well with the sub under the buddy seat box.

 

[70-CA-Panel]

Your cockpit looks really great!
I like your cup holders, my are they missing when you have a drink…

 

[matty74]

Winnie’s red heater levers have been redundant since we’ve had her as we don’t have heat exchangers or a front flap cable to the totem pole. We just have a foot operated lever that causes great confusion when we fire up the diesel cab heater that’s piped into the front heater pipe … up is down, down is up etc, plus the inability to operate the flap from the drivers seat when flying solo.

I knew there was a heater cable available but at nearly £30 it was a bit pricey given that my garden shed engineering plan might not work. So I opted for some bike brake cable, some fuel hose for the guide sleeve and a long spring.

Bolted the 2 red levers together and job’s a good in Up blows Up and Down blows Down. Even I can remember that

Luckily it’s all hardly noticeable once the parcel shelf is back in place

 

[matty74]

It’s a lot more settled in Settle today after Friday nights stormy weather. We initially thought, what have we done, when we left North Wales yesterday morning in torrential rain and strong winds. But Winnie managed the 115 mile trip no problem. Heater mod worked a treat, red levers to mid position for a bit of UP/Down action worked brilliantly

Had a walk inside the Hoffman Lime Kiln at Langliffe, what a feat of engineering Then into Settle for a brew and a cake




Hoffman Kiln - Not an album cover


Walking through the Kiln


Molly and Frankie in Clapham


Then on Sunday we went to Clapham, just past Austwick, for a spot of lunch at The Old Saw Mill. That was on top of a belly buster at Austwick’s Game Cock the night before.

Winnie covered 255 miles on 35 litres of fuel, which is quite remarkable. She was running fairly rich according to colortune before the trip so dialled that in a bit (not all the way) and checked with gas analyser that all was good.

Dizzy temp (123 bluetooth) never got above 90 deg there and back. From what I can gather, I think that runs about 20 deg lower than actual oil temp.

Loving the 123 app though and getting to full advance when feathering the throttle at 50+, obviously the reason why the consumption is so good.



Off to Black Rock Sands at Porthmadog this weekend for our penultimate trip of the year, think we’ll be back at Pen-y-bont at Bala in late November (provided I get the new kitchen worktops done )

 

[matty74]

Off to Black Rock Sands tomorrow for 3 nights. Fitted the now functional new heater levers received today courtesy of @madness (thanks fella) and test fired the Propex in case things get chilly at night

 

[matty74]

Gorgeous morning in Llanasa, Winnie’s loaded up for Black Rock Sands Porthmadog.


Garreg Goch campsite, hard standing obviously.


Wide 5 outdoor fridge spare tyre always comes in handy at this time of year

 

[ozziedog]

View attachment 7044
Gorgeous morning in Llanasa, Winnie’s loaded up for Black Rock Sands Porthmadog.

View attachment 7045
Garreg Goch campsite, hard standing obviously.

View attachment 7046
Wide 5 outdoor fridge spare tyre always comes in handy at this time of year

Wow, what a great idea. Spare beer in your spare wheel

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, Where’s the other couple of dozen?

 

[matty74]

Wow, what a great idea. Spare beer in your spare wheel

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,, Where’s the other couple of dozen?

I had 2 options

Remove the other 4 wheels

Operate a FIFO system, to keep 6 cans in the wheel at all times

I opted for the latter for obvious reasons

 

[Bluesnailman]

Hoffman Lime Kiln at Langliffe - i remember climbing over the fence 25 years ago to see what what this place was. Must go back now that its a proper 'safe' tourist attraction.

For your radio, what else have you tried? The Blaupunkt looks a little bit modern, I'm wondering if the retro ones you've tried were no good and in what way. I've seen people with the £15ebay jobs, modern Kenwoods but want something old looking with DAB. Oh, and i need to be able to see it without stopping to put my reading specs on

 

[matty74]

Yes it’s definitely more accessible these days, it’s a shame they don’t do something with the sidings and have some old mock carriages there. Still worth a visit though to appreciate the architecture and significance of it.

The Skagen still looks a bit modern, but it’s nice and flat (not a face off type). I previously had another Blaupunkt but didn’t get on with it, the caliber ones look ok, but are quite chunky and as you say the £15 jobbies don’t have DAB. I did toy with the idea of the newer splindle type ones, but went for the Skagen as I have an amp and under seat (under Buddy box sub) so wanted to utilise the Lo connections direct off the back. I’m liking it, although I’m still working on a better DAB aerial solution.

 

[Aldaol]

Yes it’s definitely more accessible these days, it’s a shame they don’t do something with the sidings and have some old mock carriages there. Still worth a visit though to appreciate the architecture and significance of it.

The Skagen still looks a bit modern, but it’s nice and flat (not a face off type). I previously had another Blaupunkt but didn’t get on with it, the caliber ones look ok, but are quite chunky and as you say the £15 jobbies don’t have DAB. I did toy with the idea of the newer splindle type ones, but went for the Skagen as I have an amp and under seat (under Buddy box sub) so wanted to utilise the Lo connections direct off the back. I’m liking it, although I’m still working on a better DAB aerial solution.

Really like what you have done to your van, especially the functionality and look of the cab area - nice!
Think I will be shelling out for a Blaupunkt Skagen 400 DAB v soon and look forward to hearing what solution you arrive at re the DAB aerial

 

[matty74]

Stopped at Criccieth front on the way back from a run to Pwllheli Beach. We’re definitely dodging the weather







He’s bloody ball mad

Skagen has phantom voltage out for DAB so just need to swap my current powered aerial for a passive type and it should work

 

[matty74]

Cracking 3 days away down in Porthmadog. Son & family was on the Haven site next door so some quality time was had by all.
The site we stayed on was lovely and quiet, with great facilities too.

Weather was kind and Winnie ran superb all weekend, Twin 34’s have made the van such a better drive, more frugal too what’s not to like, 185 miles covered on about 27 litres is a phenomenal return

Adjusted front brakes before the trip and the improvement was apparent on the ups and downs,

One more trip planned for Bala later in November, then I’ll get cracking on the winter jobs list