I think the first thing I did after I bought my van was to become a member on here and it was the smartest move I made! I have had some brilliant advice from some great people. I thought I would post some pics and progress to date on here... So this was Oscar before I set upon restoring him - he looked great however didn't quite fit my family so a new interior was decided upon. The outside was OK however I removed the spare wheel off the front and will fit a nice shiny VW badge once the holes on the front have been welded up and the panel resprayed. That is a job yet to be done... Once the interior was out I found a really quite solid floor with only some very minor welding to be done. I am a strong believer in involving my family in this (normally against their will)
After many LateBay discussions on fitting seat belt mounting points (which is a huge guessing game on what is acceptable - the Ministry of Transport couldn't even give me a straight answer) I gathered together a neighbour (who runs a bodyshop and can put smashed up cars back together like nobody I know) and my Dad (who is a perfectionist and knows loads of men who can at the nuclear power station where he works) and came up with some over engineered seat belt mounting points that I am satisfied are stronger than the originals VW put in place. My kids' safety is more important than anything I can think of and these guys came good for me. Anyhow, a bit of paint and some minor welding later... I then set about sound proofing the floor and fitting the sub floor. I somehow remembered to run the cables for the sound system which I will be fitting at a later date. Not perfect but then again I am no joiner - I drive a computer keyboard for a living! One of the big potential deal breakers that I had to overcome with the Mrs when I bought Oscar was that I would try and make it as warm as possible. So after much appreciated advice from @vanorak I have insulated the floor, walls and roof (when I get to it) with Low E Foil which I stuck on top of sound insulation. Can't have my van rattling too much when I crank up the tunes!
that's looking fantastic GB....It's definitely worth taking the time and trouble to go the extra mile with these jobs....no one sees it, or will ever notice it once the interior is in, but in terms of sound quality and cabin comfort, you'll be glad you've done it....it's never going to be Lexus silent, or Hawaii shirt and no undies in the bleakest of winters, but it will definitely be a much more comfortable camping vehicle.....good luck with the rest of the refit
I was kindly given a rock n roll bed meccano set with no instruction manual or clue if I even had all of the bits! @vanorak and @Dicky encouraged me not to weigh it in and replace it with a shiny new one and helped me piece it together. Once I was satisfied I had all the bits I set the kids on cleaning the bits up before I got it powdered coated and loosely bolted in... As you can see on the last pic I have started to put together side panels. What a nuisance that is on an ex panel van - standard fit panels are definitely not an option so home made ones are the way to go. I will be making some type of window sill with some 2"x4" and a router I think. The target is to get it ready for upholstery before this weekend then I can get on with tiling the floor, sorting the electrics, getting the windows re-fitted, fitting the propex heater, hopefully getting the interior made, trimming the exposed metalwork in vinyl and all the 1001 other jobs I have forgotten about. So that is a fast track insight into what I have done to date (I forgot to mention getting the gearbox replaced and replacing a fairly new carb with an original rebuilt solex I ordered from America - and it runs so much better thankfully so worth every penny - replacing the reversing light switch, brake light switch, re-wiring the rear lights, electric hook up, rebuilding all of the roof beds and struts.) Does everyone else find that every job you do leads to two more on the list or is it just me!! The target is to get to the Eskdale Dubfest in April. We are booked in but there is still a lot to do it seems... WE WILL BE THERE! But, if you see a hungry looking family looking longingly at your hot water please take pity on them and their cold pot noodles
You're absolutely right. I said to my Dad the other night, I am not making a quick job of this firstly because I am not adequately skilled so everything I do takes longer and secondly because I want to do things right and as well as I possibly can. I hope the result will be a van EXACTLY how I want it and I achieve exactly what I set out to achieve - lots of happy, childhood memories for my boys
Lookin good GB. Good to see some photos of the noise/heat insulation going in too... you're a couple of steps ahead of me and I've also sought some much appreciated advice from @vanorak so will be following your example quite soon.
I have run out of Dynamat and as I can't get another mega pack I have researched, quizzed people in the know and researched some more and bought some silent coat sound deadening to do the front cab and doors. I will let you know if it is comparable to Dynamat - all the figures say yes - and worth paying less than HALF as much... @vanorak is a font of knowledge and generous with his time. I hope I get to meet him and his van one day!
I am going for a corner kitchen / weekend unit (I think that is what the T5 owners call them). I ordered a Smev 8322 yesterday from xtremevan.co.uk - got a good deal - and met a man from a local furniture company who designs made to measure furniture for homes which is CAD designed then CNC cut in a local factory. He had never done anything that is mobile before and seemed to relish the challenge so I have given him my ideas scrapbook and he measured up then went away to produce some cad design concepts for me. I will post the pics as and when I get them.
Interesting... by my calculations, the price per square metre of 4mm Silent Coat was pretty similar to Dynamat, or are you looking to use the 2mm Silent Coat in the cab area? Like the look of your rear seatbelt mounts too... guess these are the bespoke 'over-engineered' units you said your dad and mates created? Are you able to post any close-up photos?
Yeah sure I can post pics tomorrow if that's OK? I can let you know what we did to fit them if you are interested. I went for the 2mm Silent Coat. Standard Dynamat Xtreme is 1.7mm. I am sceptical that it will be the same however watch this space! I used to successfully compete in sound offs in my old Sierra Sapphire back in the early 90's in the sound quality class (quality not quantity ) and have always wished for a vehicle to "make it sound good" again since then. My vehciles since then have been for lugging around pushchairs and children so this is my chance to add a bit of what I fancy
