Next I took the bulk head brackets out, they were welded to the body and a right pain, A friend has a garage so I took it down there to remove them after taking off the trim
Had the windows fitted buy Lakeland windscreens in Kendal, they do a good job, 3 were cut out and one is fake over the panel as the kitchen is fitted behind it.
Bought some new genuine VW Sportline wheels, I prefer the older looking wheels.
Last edited by DiXoN; 8th March 2017 at 00:48.
I'm watching this with great interest as I have a plan along (vaguely) similar lines.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Fitted the front seats to the original bases, a bit tricky but some drilling through the original strengthening and they were in.
Cut and fitted the altro flooring, it hard wearing which is a must with rock n roll beds
Id also had a friend who's an auto electrician fit first fix electrics for 12v, 240v and solar.
I sent the van off to Halifax to get a pop top fitted and the bumpers colour coded, in the meantime it was unit building week.
The dining room and pool table became a makeshift workshop.
Once all the bits were sorted I had to knock on this edging trim, it took us hours.
We then picked the van up from Custom Campers 😃
We ordered some widow blind pods from van shades. They needed carpeting and fitting. The dining room looks less cluttered these days too.
Fitted the seat cushions whilst I worked myself up to the blinds
Went back down my friends to fit the bed boards front and rear.
I had an Eberspacher night heater fitted underneath but wanted them to cut through when the unit was in and here it is.
And that's it so far. I have the blind to carpet and fit this weekend along with some Sportline side bars, the unit has to come out to do the blind.
Next will be a tobar and bike rack then fit the solar to the pop top. We stayed in the van for the first time last weekend at a local VW show, it works well so far.
I'm loving this thread, what a blinder of a job.
Amazing.
Last edited by Kiki Picasso; 8th March 2017 at 00:57.
What an amazing job you're doing there. I totally admire your commitment and desire.
That's brilliant! Wish I had the skill to even imagine doing something like that!
Thanks for documenting this so well.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
What a great result, looks fantastic. I have just bought a Kombi myself which will be more of a day van but may become a scamper in the future. That said I don't have the bottle or skill to attempt it myself.
They are great vehicles.
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
The transformation is magical.
My son in law has just bought a Mercedes van with the intention of doing a similar conversion - I am going to show him this so he has something to aspire to!
What a gripping read. Be very proud of this exacting change. Its truly fantastic and better than the top notch conversions. Thanks for sharing.
If you're ever up in God's Country near Edinburgh gives a shout, it'd be great to see the thing in the flesh
Did I read that she was called Doris?? Is she still??
Jim
That looks fantastic...I've got a Toyota Granvia that was converted by a specialist company a few years ago...yours puts mine to shame ! Have fun with it, all of the effort and stress will be worthwhile..I love my van
So how much do you reckon you have saved by not buying a used Bilbo/Danbury or similar? I can see that the satisfaction in doing it and being able to spec it as you want may be as, or more important, than saving money but I was just wondering.
Excellent thread, I have a VW T5 day van, put bought it already converted, excellent pieces of kit.
Wow, that's a very impressive conversion I have to say.Amazing what can be done. Well done and have some great times in it .
hi op. that looks great.
have a look at Kiravans door store for your sliding door.
Fantastic amount of work gone into this and it looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the fully completed end product...
Chris
That's a really sterling effort; thanks for posting.
Very impressive level of finish. You've clearly taken the time to do your research.
Brilliant job and tempting, very tempting...
Menno
Top job!
We love our camper - great thing to do.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Fantastic transformation I'm in awe!
Thanks, it took a few months to do but I like it.
I had a fair bit of help but got stuck in to most things apart from the pro stuff.
I'm an avid picture taker lol, thanks
I'm lucky to have the contacts I have, it's my second van so we knew what we wanted and how to sort it.
My friend is doing a T25 westy at the moment, he's currently doing a diesel conversion on it. The bond pods do look good, we were going to build some ourselves but we were runnng out of time. It's almost a flat pack camper but does look good thanks
Thanks, it's good to get ideas and inspiration from looking at other builds.
Thanks, we are doing the NC500 in may, so near yet so far. No not Doris but no name as yet.
Thanks and we will have fun with it, 4 years in the T4 which we enjoyed immensely. Enjoy yours too!
They are great and worth it. Thanks
That's all mine have been used for lol. Thanks
I've probably saved at least £5k doing it myself plus as you said it's exactly to my spec. Thanks
Will do and thanks
A few friends have them in theirs, it could be a later addition if we need the space. Thanks
Thanks, not long now to finish, I'll add some more pics as I'm going and stick the dvla pics up to change type when it's done.
Thanks
It was a good year or so in the making, from planning to dong. Thanks
Do it the trips away are worth it
They are great, yours is nice too
Thanks
Great conversion, I would love to do this one day, much more fun than buying one that has already been converted! thank you for the detailed thread, I really enjoyed going through it
Great to see how it's done, very tempted!
Is this still classed as a van? Do you need commercial insurance?
quote Dixon......a few friends have them in theirs, it could be a later addition if we need the space. Thanks
your welcome.
I find it very useful for hats and gloves etc.
Great thread thanks for sharing
I think I tried to do this one a bit too quick, waiting 10 weeks to get the pop top done meant I was waiting to do jobs that needed doing after the roof. I didn't enjoy it as much as my other one. I'd still recommend doing it though. Thanks
Thanks and do it.
It is classed as a van at the moment, I'll put it right in the next few weeks with the dvla though. My insurance insured it as a camper straight away but give 6months to convert it to a camper.
They look good too.
Thanks.
I have so much respect for people like you who have the capabilities to do this.
It would be beyond my widest dream.
To top it all the VW looks fantastic and absolutely top drawer.
scooter
Great job on the van
Do you have an idea of what it's cost to get to this stage, not including the cost of the van?
I've been contemplating a similar project, once I get the other 'projects' out of the way
Cheers