mouseflakes

Is that a glass of K-series 'coolant' he's supping?

Bit of a compromise on the bed front.
 
As I didn't want to lose a row of seats to add a bed, I decided I'd need to store it at the front rather than at the back - where the rear bench seat remains.
 
Looks a bit cack like this. I might Velcro some carpet on it so it looks less like a make shift notice board. Would make it a little more comfy too. The bed is in two sections, hinged in the middle. It folds back on a pair of gate hinges (black steel thing in the bottom left of the photo). The hinge pins are bolted to the top of the engine bulkhead. One of the bolts holding the bed panel to the gate hinge can be removed, allowing the hinge to swing off the pin so the bed/notice board can be removed. The two sprung latches do a good job of holding the folded bed in place - and the seats in the cab prevent it from moving at all. You can also rotate the middle row of seats and push the backs right up against it if you're really worried about it jumping about in an accident.
 

 
So, when it's time for bo-bos, you first have to level up the rear bench seat (you'll see why later). Note the 'squab' part of the bench seat normally slopes backwards. That strange wooden dowel contraption in the big box in the boot can be slid back through the box. Behind the box the two rods are attached to a big chunk of wood. You pull the orange sisal to 'unlatch' the rear seat (the latch itself is inaccessible with the box in place) and tilt the bench forwards. Simultaneously you push the dowel thing forwards to wedge the big wooden block under the back of the bench.
 

 
Hey presto! You now have a level rear seat squab (and a small hernia). This is important as it makes up the rearmost third of the bed (the seat squab, not the hernia).
 
Next you rotate the middle 'Captain's Chairs', fold them flat and slide them back so they butt up against the 'Tennille's bench' at the rear...
 

 
 
Now, gird your loins once more (surgical truss advised) and 'unlatch' the folded bed (I should have made it lighter). This unfolds in a graceful arc and crashes down onto the prone seats, making the front two thirds of the bed.
 

 

 
...and yes, those are my soiled Y-fronts cast off between the front seats (I told you that bed was heavy).
 
Add scatter cushions and rustic curtains (and tidy away underpants) </KirstyAllsop>
 

 
Resulting bed is well over six foot long and about 4 foot wide. Yay! Comfy(ish)!

Well - I've not made it so much a camper as a day van - with a bed.
 
My criteria were as follows...
Must provide a comfy bed (well - more comfy than the 'folded-down Delica seat'-style bed) Needs some means to make 'a brew' Would be nice if the 'flexible seating' arrangement is retained in full (most Delica campers I've seen tend to do away with at least one row of seats - though admittedly many such are 'expedition' vehicles). All fittings should be temporary - primarily so the van can still be used to shift great stacks of 8x4 sheeting an 'ting - when needed Must cost less than a turnip. Here's the list of things I wasn't too bothered about...
What it looked like What it weighed (mmm - should've paid more attention to this really) How easy it is to pick up splinters from the 'fittings' (mmm - ditto)  
Here's what I've done (if you're a quality control inspector, I suggest you treat the following as NSFW)...
 
I built two big 'boxes' for the boot. Well - one small box (on the left, with the bog roll kitchen paper roll and water bottle in the bottom) and one big box (on the right, with the two big bits of dowel down one side (more about this later) and the tatty lump of orange sisal on top (ditto)). The smaller box holds the 'cooker' and has an extension to the far side panel, which slots into the end of the rear seat runner. This holds the unit in place all on its own - so I don't have to load the big box if I want to 'travel light' or take the dogs with us when we go. Both boxes are just dropped into place - the small one just has to be 'snuggled' into the seat runner and it's located nicely, the right one is just pushed in beside it and is then wedged in place quite snugly.
 

 
From the inside, the rear seat looks like this...
 

 
'Fancy a brew?'
 

 

 

 

 
Yay!!! Breakfast bar!
 

 
Next instalment  - '...and so to bed....'

We moved house a year ago last May. It was only a short hop up the road from where we were renting, so I thought I'd get myself a vehicle to move stuff over a period of time (while we ran out the tenancy) rather than renting a van and having to do it all in a day or two at the end. I could even sell it afterwards and get my money back. The new house needed work (still does) so I wanted something big enough to take an 8x4 sheet in the back too. It had to be cheap - most vans seem to be over-priced (if you're used to operating on a tat-budget). I noticed that, while providing all that a van does and more, the Delicas seem to be a fair bit cheaper than the L300/L400 vans they are based on (export potential seem to push the price of the vans up).
 
The nice thing about the Delica was that it fit the bill for the move and we could keep it for 'family fun' days out afterwards, if it was any good. As it happens, the L300 I bought has been great so far...
 
 

 

 
It seems there are a few common (minor) issues that usually need seeing to on these. I'll probably mention a few of them that I've attempted so far later in this thread.
 
Ebay listings for these things usually say 'seats can folded be down into a bed - would make a great camper'. In all honesty, I've tried this and it doesn't. As a child, I once slept on the floor of a Wolseley 1500 travelling from Somerset to Surrey. From what I can remember, it was more comfortable than the one night I spent on the 'folded down into a bed' seats in the Delica.
 
I decided I should make a few mods so it could provide a reasonable night's sleep. Needless to say, the results of my efforts are really quite shite, but more comfortable than the floor of a Wolseley. I'll post some more about it later.
 

I forgot to add an update - repair panels are still a bit wavy, but now covered in green.
 

Is that anywhere near Pant-y-liner?

Looks horrible - well done. I was on the edge of my seat reading about the extrication from the drive/railway bridge negotiation.
 
These things have headlights like the eyes of dead fish.

This is almost exactly the same repair as my '72 Hiace required when I dragged it out a scrap yard in the mid-90's
 

 
Will you make the replacement floor panels ribbed (for pleasure strength)? I made a rough attempt by bashing the new sheets about over an old bit of roof batten. Looked a bit wobbly, but ended up quite solid.

And another. Advert is for the Micra.
 

I think this looks better...
 

And another. Advert is for the Micra.
 

And another. Advert is for the Micra.
 

You seem to have had a terrible run of bad luck there. Car looks very tidy though.

That's another thing. I haven't really had many opportunities to work on the cars for a while - so it was quite good getting a bit of welding done.
 
BUT - since last time I crept under a car, I've had to start wearing reading glasses, and been through two increments in 'spectacle power' (or whatever it's called).
 
Bloody nora - it's impossible to see what I'm doing now! With the underside of the car being at about 'reading' distance and the light levels being low, I'm having to wear my reading specs, inside my goggles and under my welding visor.
 
Yes - I am that old giffer. Cheers for that.

And another. Advert is for the Micra.
 

This one made me laugh at the time...
 

Something familiar about this image.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Oh yes.....
 

I take it the other two valves had rattled themselves clean off the top of the trophy? Ha Ha. Sorry.

Don't know if this belongs in this thread or one of the myriad 'ebay/ebay users are knob' threads.Why do some folk selling a car that's fit for scrap seem to think that the fact the original spare tyre is present and unused somehow makes it more valuable/desirable???And another thing ( ) - why does someone selling a car that will appeal to (at most) two dozen buyers of obscure tat feel they need to copy and paste a long description of the model and its history into the listing? If you're looking to buy a Renault 16 you probably have some idea as to what one is! I know it was 'one of the first family hatchbacks' - just tell me if the rear suspension is still attached!

Another thrilling instalment. Thanks!
 
At first, that tide-marked Focus had me thinking it was Ford's answer to the Rover Streetwise*.
 
 
*the correct answer is in fact '...wha..?'