Merry Christmas William!

We brought William some new ingnition leads to give him a festive spark and the Bentley Manual to keep him alive for longer!

Merry Christmas!

It's Getting Cold

Well November was a wet month so we couldn't finish off the under sealing and we still have three arches to do then that's it. Last weekend I managed to get both battery trays done, the car battery side was a little rusty but nothing to worry about, it is the only rust on the bus I have found so far! The leisure battery side was very clean with the OG paint. Happy Days.

All the electrics need sorting out as the previous owner didn't understand the basics and we have very dodgy connections, inline fuses and wiring that goes all over the place. It is going to take quite some time and effort to sort out but it has to be done as the only item running off the leisure battery a the moment is a small reading light!

We have also a problem with the main battery running down after a couple of weeks of low use, we have got the battery checked out and it is fine so either the alternator is not charging correctly or we've have something drawing from the battery when everything is off. Further investigation is needed....

New Fuel Lines!

When I was undersealing the van I noticed that the fuel line going to the fuel filter was bleeding a little and when poked it got worse so replacement fuel lines went to the top of the to-do list as I didn't want to drive him. The replacement lines went on ok and the hardest was connecting onto the fuel injection rail as it was hard to get leverage to get the hose on, I was quite surprised at the condition of some of the hoses as they were very perised! I will have to fit a new fuel filter as I couldn'e get hold of one for a few weeks as they are from the US.

My brother has just got his '72 Danbury fixed up after it being off the road for a while, it's good to see them together for the first time.

Resident Squirrel Evicted

As the winter will be upon us very soon we thought that William needed
a coat of under seal to stop the salty roads attacking him. After a bit of research we decided to use a product by www.rust.co.uk called Epoxy Mastic Paint, it is a two pack type paint that needs mixing.

The underside of William was very clean so we didn't need to wire brush anything and just a good stiff brush to get the loose dirt off was all that was needed.

We then took off all of the heating ducts to clean under them, the
heating needs attention so it was a good opportunity to see if there was anything odvious that was stopping the heating from working. When the first duct was pulled off a bit of dirt and a few leaves fell out, when the main duct was undone a lot of crap came out! It seems that the van had been laid up in California and a little animal had set up home inside the duct, further investigation found a complete nest full of nut shells, insulation and even a pen from CA! This will go a long way in explaining why no air flow was getting to the front of the cab! We'll have to replace most of the ducts anyway as their condition were poor with lots of holes and flat areas.

As the days are getting shorter we didn't manage to finish all of the painting but the areas that have been completed look very good indeed. The Epoxy Mastic is thinner than Waxoyl and anybody inspecting the underside can still see how rock solid and original it is.

Our First Cup of Tea

We picked up William on Saturday from Bournemouth and after a few hours looking round him, going for a couple of test drives and sorting out a few last minute issues we handed a large bag of cash over to Gary and set off home.

The two hour drive back along the coast to Brighton went without a hitch and he didn’t miss a beat all the way home, I was met by the gang outside the house!

So on Sunday we went to a local beauty spot called Devils Dyke and had our first picnic and most importantly our first cup of tea!

Van Cover Ordered!

Just ordered a Pro-tec cover for the Bus to keep it warm at night, we wouldn't want the paint job to be unprotected out in the elements especially when we live by the sea. Ideally we want to get a garage but the funds aren't available at the moment so this will have to do for now.

The microporous membrane is waterproof and breathable. It exhales condensation but does not inhale water and dust. The microscopic pores are 500 times smaller in diameter than water droplets.

Only a few more days until we pick up William!

Searching for William

It’s taken a long time and we've travelled along way to find William, luckily I had some help! 

We've been looking for a while and after negotiating a private sale I was let down badly by the guy who sold it to somebody else, so we made a decision to go with a restored Westfalia from Coolcampers.

I viewed the bus before it went to the paint shop and being a Cali import it is very solid all round, the type 4 engine is fuel injected and runs sweet, the Westy interior needs a few bits to make it really nice and I’m looking forward to the shows next year to find the bits I need!

He's almost ready!

We've just received a few pictures of our 1976 VW Westfalia Berlin from Gary at Coolcampers who is restoring it for us. William is a cali import thats just had a full windows out re-spray with new door and window rubbers all round, we've also replaced the pop-top canvas, rims and tyres just to mention a few!

We are due to pick it up on Saturday 17th October 2009 so it will be just in time for a local camping expedition before it gets cold.

Only a few days to go!