New seats are in. Seats by Rob E, on Flickr Full write up here: http://thelatebay.com/index.php?thr...without-drilling-any-holes-in-your-bus.70375/
Little tweak, and I'm well aware it's OCD muppetry, but I just had to swap out the nasty aftermarket rear lenses for some Oem Hellas See below, hella on the left, rubbish repro on the right. On the repro the amber had faded to a light yellow, and the "clear" for the reversing section er, wasn't. Hella, made in Germany. The two "new" hella lenses are in fact far from new and have some crazing but are in keeping with the age of the bus - gave them a quick going over with some t-cut before they went on, cleaned up nice. Swmbo says she can't tell the difference ..
Pic from the rear with the hella lenses, plus the roof box in place: Roof Box by Rob E, on Flickr Roof box close up showing my homemade leather luggage straps: Roof Box by Rob E, on Flickr Roof Box by Rob E, on Flickr Roof Box by Rob E, on Flickr http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/roof-box.71074/#post-1318367 .. and a quick pic from recent camp trip: Maya & Liz Flo Vibe by Rob E, on Flickr
Did the "Endless Summer" show at Basingstoke yesterday on the spur of the moment, some nice stuff there, not a big show but good atmosphere. Endless Summer VW by Rob E, on Flickr Endless Summer VW by Rob E, on Flickr Loved this little "rocket" caravan - looks super behind an old vw. Modern thing but with airstream / retro looks. Endless Summer VW by Rob E, on Flickr Been on several camping trips so far this summer, Dorset and Devon. Hopefully will get another couple of trips in before the kids go back to school too. Devon Camping 2017 by Rob E, on Flickr Croyde by Rob E, on Flickr Dorset Camping 2017 Tank Museum by Rob E, on Flickr Dorset Camping 2017 (the railway children) by Rob E, on Flickr Dorset Camping 2017 Washing Line by Rob E, on Flickr .. and the VW was the perfect vehicle for a visit to Fairford for IAT airshow: Air Tattoo 2017 - Red Arrows by Rob E, on Flickr I need to swap over to the new (original, bosch reconditioned) starter that i have had sat on the shelf in the garage for a year - current unit is intermittent, pretty sure its a sticky solenoid.
Table: Our westy would have had a swivel table originally, bolted to the sink/cooker unit. As we didn't re-make that part when we built our interior i've knocked up something similar to the earlier westfalia models, ie a simple table that folds down when it's not being used. I had an offcut of the walnut left over from the original interior build. Drew around the corners of the OG westy cab table i have to get the "curve" right for the corners. Added some brown knock-on trim to the edge and a coat of varnish and it looks quite good. Rather than use the westfaliatable hooks i went for some over-centre clips - these keep the table much more securely fastened. Reimo alu folding leg underneath works well and was a cheap ebay win. I've deliberately use the same size/spacing for the hooks as per the DASH table so my new table can now be mounted in the front or the rear. The over-centre clips are way more secure (og dash table is a liability when camping as the slightest knock and your mug of tea is all over the place - the new one is super-secure). pics: hangs down when not being used: Table by Rob E, on Flickr Table by Rob E, on Flickr Table by Rob E, on Flickr pic of the clips i used (protex): Table by Rob E, on Flickr .. and while i'm sharing photos, here's the family at putsborough Devon Camping Aug 2017 by Rob E, on Flickr One of several trips we did this summer. On that particular visit we stayed the night in the car park - here's a pic in the morning before the sun came up: Putsborough by Rob E, on Flickr Not a bad view to wake up to: Putsborough by Rob E, on Flickr
i like it, would it fit on the rear without opening the centre out? just thinking i could get one and then just swap bak to the front if a front gets a puncture then put spacesaver on rear
Too cold for doing anything significant, but i've done a few v minor little bits and bobs when i got the bus out of hibernation to go to the Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble. I'd found an old "ADAC" german badge in the local antique place that i'd cleaned up and fitted to the bus last year - trouble is SWMBO didn't like it so i posted a speculative ad on thesamba and left it in place. I was taken totally by surprise when someone actually contacted me and wanted to buy it Old badge sold for £100 and a few days later i found this one which is prob more in keeping with an ex-californian bus. Cost less than half of what i sold the other one for which was a result: new grille badge by Rob E, on Flickr Most significant recent change is a swap to a slightly smaller front tyre. I'd been running 195/55 16 on the front since the zender wheels went on a couple of yrs ago. They're just a little big i think, load rating is great (91) but they make the steering a bit heavier than i'd like and very occasionally a tyre scuffs the arch which isn't great - its like once in 1000 miles but i'd prefer if it didn't happen. The new tyre is a 185/50 16 with 85 load rating. This is still fine in terms of load rating for the front of a westy and the slightly lower/narrower tyre makes the steering a bit lighter and gives me another 10mm or so of clearance between the tyre and the arch. 40 miles or so round trip to Bicester and back on sunday and they feel great. 185 50 16 by Rob E, on Flickr I've replaced the latches / clips on the end of my leather luggage straps. The originals were ebay cheap rubbish that broke and tarnished. Replacements are via a friend who makes high-end leather bags (useful contact!) who sourced these lovely hand made heavy brass jobbies. Took a couple of minutes only to swap them over and they look and work great - really chunky and solid and work great with the luggage loops in the westy roof. new brass hardware by Rob E, on Flickr new brass hardware by Rob E, on Flickr Jobs to do: - re-wire my garage door opener so it doesn't fire when i put the handbrake off - look at wiring up my heated seats, got the switches, just need to work out the wiring - fit the reimo safety latch to the r&r bed Think that's it?
Also, fitted a new starter a few weeks back. After lots of messing around with the starter in our last "big" trip of 2017, parking on a slope, tickling the starter with a hammer etc much to the amusement of the kids, i didn't want to put up with the dicky starter through the winter months so i bit the bullet and got the WOSP high torque unit. It's not cheap but its very good quality and i sold the og stater so that helped offset the cost. Didn't take any pictures 'cos i was too stoked and super keen to get it on.. luckily the internet has some pictures: http://www.wosperformance.co.uk/products/starter-motors/applications/ It's the one listed for "VW Transporter 2.1" part number LMS280 (Denso). Less current draw and more torque - what's not to like The other positive with this starter is that it's self-supporting so doesn't need the brass bush changing. Thanks @Paul Weeding for the link (on Steve @lhu1281 's) supercharger thread
MOT pass today, had to dodge snow showers and brave -3 degrees (i love my eberspacher!).. .. no advisories, woo hoo MOT day by Rob E, on Flickr
SWMBO offered to help out a friend who's exhibiting at the photography show at the NEC, all of the stand and the stock needs to get transported up there.. so the vw is earning its' keep today and getting back to its roots as a commercial vehicle Untitled by Rob E, on Flickr Untitled by Rob E, on Flickr Untitled by Rob E, on Flickr
Replaced my fuel filler neck rubber seal. Not an easy job to do but glad i fixed my fuel leak. Full write up here: http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/replace-fuel-filler-neck-rubber-seal.76456/ Heres' the original seal, 40 years old i'd guess, and with a small but significant split: old fuel filler seal by Rob E, on Flickr
Nice run out on Sunday to Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble. Parked up with a few other nice busses. Bicester Heritage by Rob E, on Flickr Bicester Heritage by Rob E, on Flickr Bicester Heritage by Rob E, on Flickr Oh, and the bus was 40 years old this week. Tax exempt from next year woo hoo!