We get up at 12 and start to work at 1! Take an hour for lunch and then, at 2, we’re done! Jolly good fun!
Citizens of Emerald City
Having opted for an entire new refurbed engine and new carbs I had a growing confidence and love for her and re-attempted the 49mile drive to my parents house in the Cotswolds to have a load of maintenance done to her.
With Albi secured properly in his basket this time, and the gear box having had another tweek I felt ready to go. My only concern had been having to remain under 55mph on the A34 to let the new engine settle in but as it was a lot of lorries were going this speed so just stuck behind one of them the whole way. A couple of times, after not being used, the gear box struggled to go back down into 1st gear but I just took my time in finding it.
Not long after arrival it wasn't long before I set to work on my long list of jobs, recruiting my mum into some internal scraping of old glue from velcro before dad came home to focus on the electrics.
The list of jobs hoping to achieve were...
Internal decor
Scrape off all the old velcro that had been layered over old velcro sticky. Velcro had been used to hold the curtains down at night.
Sand and touch up the internal bodywork from removing the sticky.
Blacken up the dashboard. I had bought a product that should have worked but didn't...my dad discovered black shoe polish worked great!
Sew down all the velcro on the curtains.
Fit the curtains.
Remove the huge back speakers and fill the hole it came from. I found one large speaker set within the spare wheel storage hole at the back. I thought this could be better used for other storage of anything else but a large speaker. Turned out to be a great space to hid the hook-up cables.
Cut the back cupboard doors so they opened over the top of the mattress without having to unpack the entire boot everytime you needed to get into it.
Reverse the cupboard doors so they opened from the back. Seemed unreachable from the front so made no sense to be opened this way.
Attach the original roofbars for my kayak to be fitted. They turned out to be too low for the pop-top so that is the next weekends job.
External body work - completed by myself
Give Dorothy her first body wash.
Assess and treat any rust issues
Touch up all the peeling paint spots and previously badly matched touch ups.
Give her a good polish.
Remove the back bumper, refill the rust hole, treat the rust and spray paint it.
Electrics and carpentry - completed by dad
Establish the state of the electrics
Establish why the leisure battery kept draining;...was something always on and draining it? Identified it was a duff battery that needed replacing. Purchase made same day so dad could carry on his electrical assessment.
Fit hook up
Fit electric socket for when on mains electric.
Establish the issue with the water pump not working...faulty pump kept fusing so new pump needed and fitted. Took 3 shop attempts to purchase one.
Discovered single blue lights in the cupboards which dad replaced with strip lighting.
Get the stereo working and bluetooth connected.
Cut a hole in the shelf to fit the new sized gas bottle and fit the bottle.
Somehow we managed to get this all achieved over 4 days, Work was hindered at times as many neighours walked past and stopped to chat about her. Dorothy even got a visit from Toto (real name Beryl). I learnt that the 'lookalike' porsche wheels could have earnt me £500 a wheel if they had been genuine. I suspected the previous owner was trying to turn her into some kind of sports vehicle going by some of the adjustments made. It is my hope to get her back to as genuine as possible. We were also 'serenaded' (used hesitantly) in our work as the local music festival was playing across the road.
After the first full day I just about had energy to shower but none left to dry my hair. I was in bed by 9pm and slept for 12hrs! Cleaning the outside turned out to be an all day job, especially the roof which was filthy and took a few layers of scrubbing!.
It took a few shopping trips out to Banbury Halfords, Bicester caravan supplies, Bicester Halfords and Bicester tyres in Chipping Norton for a new battery.
My nephew came over for the day but given his day job is steam engineering and there was no steam to be created, his brain was having a day off so just played with the stereo. He was over for his birthday so was forgiven and his company was well appreciated.
A huge thanks to dad for all his technical knowledge and squeezing inside cupboards. Also for having everything I may need that I didn't know I needed in his Alladins cave garage. To mum for keeping us fed and watered, sewing the curtains and general encouragement and pride as Dorothy ended the weekend looking shiny and loved.
Jobs still to do...
Carpet line the back area
Make matching bunting
Heighten the roof bars
My first bodywork repair
I felt my biggest achievement to be proud of was fixing up her bumper. With a bit of advice on the right products from dad I felt it was in such a bad state I couldn't do it any harm. I would just resort to replacing it if I really bodged it.
My parents left me to go shopping laid under the van unbolting the bumper in my dungarees. I certainly looked like I knew what I was doing!
Having initially tried with the hosepipe and brush I realised the mud was moulded in with oil so would need something different to clean it out. Having shown me that using Swarfega worked on some bodywork issues I thought this might just work. It did a great job even if it is only supposed to be used for hands!
I sanded it all down with wet/dry paper, and knocked out any loose bits of rust. There was one large hole on the nearside and a small one on the drivers side.
Using a metal hammer against a flat steel plate I hammered out some of the dents, or at least reshaped it a bit straighter. There were a couple of dents that remained stubborb but matched either side so I didn't concern myself with it.
Using Isopon P40 hole filler took a little getting used to due to its stringy texture. But I soon just started feeling it as being just a different medium to be sculpting with, already comfortable sculpting wood, clay and craft blocks. With a small amount I attached mesh over the holes and then gradually built the holes up. Even before sanding I was quite impressed with my shaping.
Once the filler was dry I coated the inside with Tetroseal underbody sealant and sanded her down to shape.
My goal for the day was to get her colour sprayed so I could get a coating of laquer on the next morning and dry enough for me to drive her home later. I mananged this and got her reattached for any last touch ups. It was harder getting it back on than off due to the weight which dad took the brunt of holding still while I rebolted it on.
I realised I should have sanded it down a little to remove the orange peel before applying the laquer but this lack of final touch just matched the rest of the vans paintwork!. Another time I may go over it again but for now all of the rust is under control and it looks smart enough not to have to buy a new bumper.
Dorothy is definitely coming to life!
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