#iriscamper

After fitting the wrong hubcaps to the van I’ve now replaced them with a nice set of stainless steel caps that fit properly:

I got sent an extra one by mistake (ssh!) so fitted it to the front spare:

I’ve been continuing with the van interior over the last month or so. Fitted the rear 3 point belt:

And then started learning how to do upholstery. Lots of practice on cheap vinyl, trying all the seams and techniques I’ll need for the van:

And as a small project, which would provide good practice for the rear bed cushions, I made the dog a cushion for his box:

I made a few mistakes on this first cover so made another which came out much neater:

Good enough for the dog at least!

And then onto the door cards. I made a test piece for the rear hatch to get a better feel for running lots of pleats:

Then moved onto the real thing. 

Cutting out the fabric (Schnauzer to hold the fabric still):

Marking out the pleats:

And following a few evenings of sewing and glueing, a complete set of door cards:

I fitted them today. Lovely Jubbly!

Continuing with the van upholstery I got the roof bed cushions all made up and installed over the weekend. The rear one is gigantic and interesting to try and man handle around the sewing machine.

B sat and watched the kids on our street for 10 minutes or so. He loves it up there.

I’ve stripped down both front seats now to start making new covers for them.

The frames overall are in pretty good condition, however the drivers back had cracked:

Quick tickle with the welder and good as new:

7 years ago we bought an old VW camper. Don’t think I’d done so much as change a car tire.

3.5 years ago we decided to take it off road to complete a much needed full restoration. I can’t begin to describe the amount of time, effort, patience and money it’s taken to get to this point. My van related posts from the last few years give a bit of an indication of what it’s taken.

Today that 47 year old little camper passed its MOT! I’m super proud of what we’ve achieved.

Thank you Max, for putting up with an eternity of me coming home late at night covered in rust, grease and paint. For keeping me sane, not many others would. For keeping the lights on and our lives moving while I put everything else on hold.

Adventure awaits.

Since getting the van back on the road last month I’ve slowed down a huge amount with getting bits done on it. I’ve just been enjoying driving it again and having my evenings back. I definitely needed it, but at the same time it’s been a bit of a shock to the system to be honest; feeling a bit lost most evenings. I found this picture from this time last year which just shows how much I got done over 12 months, from a welded up rolling shell to road worthy:

I have however started making some progress on the interior.

Realised I’d forgotten to connect the cold air drain hose. A washing machine pipe from Wickes was the perfect fit:

Got the bed boards and foam in so we can at least sleep in the van:

Made up some membranes for the cab doors to keep the water out:

Fitted the madmatz carpet set to the cab area. I’ve left the cab carpet and kick panels for now as I’m waiting for it to rain again to see if I’ve fixed the leaky windscreen before putting them in:

And I think we’re decided on the fabrics we’ll be using on the upholstry:

One of the risks of doing all the paint myself is not quite getting it right the first time round. I sprayed the front panel far too dry when clear coating it, so when I came to cut and polish it I broke through to the base coat.

Flatted back and all masked up:

3 coats of clear later:

Much better:

I’ve already painted the sliding door two times already, but it still didn’t look right. I’d corrected some pinholes the second time, but not done a very good job of blending the repair into the paint, when flatted back you can see the section that sat a bit high:

So I flatted the whole panel and shot the base coat on, only to realise I’d not got all the clear off the panel causing it to bubble up horribly! :( I went home at this point as I’d had enough of it, and felt pretty low.

Back down this morning and I made damn sure I had all of the clear off the panel:

And finally happy with the door. Third times a charm!

Finally got a video of the van running under her own steam too. So satisfying!