XOver rebuild.

[NickJ]

Fantastic Gray, look forward to seeing it out on the road

 

[graysummers]

Cheers Nick. We’ll be travelling about in ever increasing circles. Local and then bit by bit longer distances, and through your way on the way to visit my family. Or. May spot you down at Ynyslas.

 

[Gjb4212]

Come on Gray, what’s happening? Are you tearing up the highways?

 

[graysummers]

Waiting for MOT pass, sort out SORN, find an insurance company that works for looking after me and not themselves and then.......pootling around the local Welsh lanes at 30 to 50, whistling a happy tune to the rhythm of the Put Put engine sound,.....that will be the perfect scenario. I may even be outrageous and overtake Mrs. H as she terrorises the locals on her little electric mobility scooter. Soon.....very, very soon.

 

[graysummers]

Quick update. MOT passed today. Insured last Monday. Can’t un SORN until the MOT is registered with Gov.UK people. Then behind the wheel again......nervous as you can be after 4 years without that amazing experience of driving the bus. And with it all now ***** and span. Hopefully from Friday I’ll be pootling around on a daily basis. Currently? Looking at security. Trac devices, locks, the whole caboodle. New photos up as soon as she’s back. But with nature, not the workshop, as the background view. 🏞 but then 🌬🌨. Winter’s a coming.

 

[gninnam]

An MOT - that is brilliant news - I bet waiting for the SORN to be rescinded is painful
A tracker I think is a very good idea plus a pedal box lock as seen on EarlyBay forum (can't remember who made them....)

 

[graysummers]

Cheers Andy. Un SORN now. Pick her up tomorrow. Thanks for the pedal lock nod. Pedal box locks are seemingly available through many sources. Need to make sure individual makes are suitable for our buses. Even though they are made for them. Expensive though. But what price peace of mind? Some are a bit difficult to put on or remove having read about a few. Tracking device sorted with a local Machynlleth company up here in Wales.

 

[gninnam]

Sounds like you are still moving forward which is great news
Looking forward to hear from you on your first drive :mrgreen: 8)

 

[graysummers]

Thanks Andy. Progress? Over the moon. So....drove her back home. Talked to Paul for an absolute age when I picked the bus up. He’s working on another member on here’s bus. My bus? Started up really sweetly and sounded great. Need a new diaphragm on the distributor to get it really spot on. But pulls really well. Slowly does it on the inclines. Learning new quirks alongside the old. But all in all.....brilliant day. Taking the bus to work tomorrow.

 

[Gjb4212]

And off you go again. Years of trips to come.
I’ll see you down the road.
Congratulations.

 

[graysummers]

Cheers Gareth. Saw your bus for the first time. A lot more solid than mine when it was same stage being stripped back like yours. I’ll be popping in from time to time to see Paul now I know his workshop location. Hopefully not too far down the road when yours comes to the latter stages.

 

[NickJ]

Hi Gray, let's see the photos I bet you're buzzing after getting it back

 

[graysummers]

Hi Nick. Been at work over last week, so just driving it there and back. My daily now. I’ve SORNed the car. Off Sunday, so aim to take photos of the bus out somewhere local. Just put new sturdier rubber tubing on the pressure windscreen washer bottle. Still using the old ‘bike pump it up for pressure’ method. Keeps pressure now. Needed it too with the Welsh rain. I needed the front seats freshening up, so......Just got these below off eBay. Should be here next week. Hope to see you out there. Maybe Winter or Springtime Ynyslas. Talking of winter...I’ll plan to go somewhere local/special for Winter Solstice on the 21st December. Plan some food, music and drinks. Get back to basics. Shed the stress. The solstice origins can be traced back to yin and yang philosophy. Balance and harmony. Feels like a perfect way to wind up the year. Said seat covers below.

 

[graysummers]

So....the bus has escaped the workshop. Nice to get fresh air around Billie Bud. Been back and forth to work last week. Twenty mile round trip along country roads, but sat in the car park all long 13 hour day. Bedding in the engine with soft approach. Reaching slow build up to 50 mph and then holding back. But, need a vacuum diaphragm pretty soonish. Flat spots are frequent on my type of journey in local Wales. And, little bit fighty from 1st to 2nd. Need to double clutch. Nice to cook a first quick bite to eat. Exploding egg banjo from Martin Dorey the Campervan cookbook. Basically an egg, butter and brown sauce batch/bap. Cobb can be tried out on the next venture.

Didn’t take views. Save that for a new post. Just thought this would be a good end to this thread. Proof that patience does work. This is Cwm Rheidol Valley. Nice breeze off the lake. Steam engine passing on the hillside on it’s run to Devils Bridge. Beautiful part of my local area. Takes 25 minutes to get there. And so peaceful. Cold though.

 

[gninnam]

So happy for you and glad you are enjoying it (even all the issues you have that need to be resolved)

 

[graysummers]

Cheers Andy. Issues are what I’m calling teething troubles. Sounds better. They’re niggles which can be rectified and aren’t . Just ordered a 2nd hand original stock vacuum diaphragm off eBay. And getting into a bit of a painting/touching up vibe internally next week like you’ve been doing yourself on the outside. Love your clean lines. Hopefully you’re out there sooner than later.

 

[matty74]

I’ve really enjoyed following this build ... great story, great pics ... fair play to you [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[graysummers]

Thanks Matty. Much appreciated.

 

[mike202]

Van looks great [emoji106] like the colour.

What do you mean ‘end the thread’. There’s always something to do on these old VW’s, that’s the fun that never ends [emoji23][emoji23]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[graysummers]

Probably need to transfer to the advice Technical thread. Priceless info from members on here. May even be able to offer some experiences myself. Have done in the past on this site. Tweaking and improving. And I’ll contribute to the general thread for out and about. Already looking at how to attach the vacuum diaphragm just bought. Seems straightforward. But then.....is anything on a 46 year old bus straightforward? . This thread was for the strip, repair and restore part of the bus. Paul has done an amazing job. Couldn’t recommend his skills enough. If I make big stock furniture changes in the future or add aesthetics then I’ll attach to this thread. Glad you like the colour. Cheers.