Zel's Motoring Adventures...Volvo, Renault, Rover, Trabant, Invacar & A Sinclair C5 - Updated 13/11.

[mat_the_cat]

just wondering because iv heard stories (not sure if on here or elsewhere) of one of the problems with having an exhaust that exits into a a tyre basically, is the hot exhaust gas can end up cooking the tire, considering im aware of this your probably well aware of it by now, but i figured id mention it to be safe

 

Yes.

 

 

Can't remember how old the tyres were but I think 3 years - the only one showing signs of deterioration was the one immediately behind the exhaust exit. I guess in normal commercial use this wouldn't be an issue, as th tyres would wear out before the heat-accelerated aging forced the change. But for me, who only does 5-7k miles a year in the van, it means I need to swap them around to prevent this.

[Zelandeth]

Have to wonder how much more an issue that is with petrol engines than diesel? Higher exhaust gas temperatures?

 

Other factor which springs to mind is the tendency for petrol to turn rubber brittle. You will always get a certain amount of unburnt fuel from the tailpipe, especially on cold starts. Spraying that all over a tyre probably doesn't do it any good.

 

In this case the exhaust will be exiting a good ten feet or so ahead of the rear wheel so hopefully will be far enough away as to keep problems to a minimum.

 

Sorry LBF, missed your query, TP had the Weber carb. This is good as at least some parts are available for it (albeit not a full rebuild kit), whereas bits for the Soles one used are apparently far harder to find. The 650cc engines were fitted with a slightly bigger carb apparently, and fitting that to the 500cc engine can quite significantly improve breathing. Something I might look into long term - especially as being used in the Haflinger means parts are likely to be easier to come across.

[Zelandeth]

Having a bit of a tough time emotionally over the last few days so being able to just shut myself in the van and pretend the outside world didn't exist for a few hours was a good thing I thought.

 

Here is where we were left things today.

 

 

 

All walls are now "panelled" save for the top inch or two because I need to remove the shower curtain rail to do that bit. It's the work of ten minutes to do that tomorrow though. All the corners are now sealed up, as are the edges around the toilet. I still need to actually track down a period appropriate fold out wash basin from somewhere...or just give in and fit something modern.

 

Worth mentioning that the black bit in the above image is actually identical to the white panels, it's just the remainder of an earlier batch which happened to be black because it was what was in stock.

 

 

Next up will be to go over some areas with a quick skim of filler just to smooth out the surface, then wallpaper. Oh, and make a cover to go in the shower tray when it's not in use, hopefully that will reduce the propensity for me to nearly break my neck every time I walk in or out of the room.

 

The room very obviously rattles less now, even when just walking around in the van.

 

It's such a tiny, cramped room to work in that it just makes working on everything take five times longer and involve at least 50% additional swearing. Especially after smacking your head on the cabinet for the fifteenth time.

 

Tomorrow I'll probably finish sealing up the one edge left because I ran out of sealant, then move into finally pulling the carb off the Invacar to get it cleaned up. Have been jumping around between cars a lot this week.

 

Listening to the videos of a gent over on another forum who has retrofitted an OM.606 engine into their Land Rover has somewhat started me wondering if that engine would fit in my van? Not really fussed about the performance (not that a few extra horses would be complained about), but what really draws me in is the noise it makes. Have a feeling it might be a bit long though.

 

Just silly ideas really and given how few miles the engine in there has done and the lack of overcomplicated support electronics etc it would be a shame to mess with it...and the engine in there does have a charm as well - you just don't hear old IDI diesels these day.

[Zelandeth]

Right...we have lining paper on all walls in the bathroom. I also took the opportunity to reseal the roof light in there as while I had never seen any evidence of leakage, there was a sign of historic damp around the one corner. I reckon it had been sorted before but for the sake of ten minutes work it as worth doing.

 

Putting up the lining paper in there was precisely as much of a pain in the tail as I was expecting it to be. The fact that there are precisely zero right angles or straight edges to work with combined with the limited space and number of things you need to work around is a recipe for much swearing.

 

Really irked that the paper has wrinkled a lot - I'm assuming due to it stretching after it was put up. Crossing my fingers it sorts itself out a bit as things dry, but am not holding my breath.

 

The paper that's going up is patterned - trying to get that to line up is going to be near impossible I reckon...we will see I guess.

[LightBulbFun]

considering the lack of invacar carb progress today

 

why do i have a bad* feeling tomorrow is going to go something like

 

"so did you get what you needed to do done? uhhh well I figured out how to put a carburettor together!"

 

[Zelandeth]

I'm trying to keep a bit of momentum going with regards to the van.  The bathroom has been about halfway done since the summer, and the only reason for that has been that I dislike decorating really!

 

It looks awful now.

 

 

Annoying as it looked fine for about ten minutes.  Yes, I do still hate wallpapering as much as I used to.

 

Though if some slightly wrinkly wallpaper is the worst thing I need to worry about I can't complain really.  I think I will probably look to get some plastic panelling fitted everywhere below waist height anyway given the room essentially doubling as an oddly shaped shower cubicle.  That will hide some of the terrors there anyway!

 

Depending how things look when the lining paper dries I may well change tack and pull it all back off and just go for some suitably 80s looking woodgrain effect sticky back plastic in lieu of wallpaper.   

 

Once that's done sorting out the units in the kitchen will be up next.  That should have the interior ready for this summer at least.  Knowing that is in progress is likely to boot me into getting the MOT to do list underway quicker.

[blackboilersuit]

Many years ago I did a small camper conversion and used vinyl floor tiles to tile the kitchen splashback. It looked really good, still kept the weight down compared to a ceramic tile and working with 12" squares was manageable with so many odd angles and shapes to cut around. They are supposed to be self adhesive but I found them useless in that respect and ended up using contact adhesive to stick them up.

[Zelandeth]

Many years ago I did a small camper conversion and used vinyl floor tiles to tile the kitchen splashback. It looked really good, still kept the weight down compared to a ceramic tile and working with 12" squares was manageable with so many odd angles and shapes to cut around. They are supposed to be self adhesive but I found them useless in that respect and ended up using contact adhesive to stick them up.

That is actually a really good idea... I'll definitely keep that in mind if this turns out looking as dreadful as it is currently looking like it will...

[LightBulbFun]

Quick question for Zel on the heater hose thing

 

Mr Q plates stuff has rotted out so he wants to replace it

 

but im not quite sure if the 4.6M figure you have is just for the bits you had to replace, or is how long the entire run of tubing is in a Model 70?

 

(he measured 7.7M which seems a bit long, but ya never know with these things )

[Zelandeth]

That's probably not far off right - I don't know what routing things originally took, and mine could have done with a bit extra I think.

 

This is where I got mine from: eBay link

 

Thanks to a link from a friend on another forum I finally found a match for the missing original folding sink for the bathroom. So should be getting that picked up soon, so that will allow me to get the last missing bits of bathroom reinstated. This is a photo from the eBay listing.

 

 

There's a cabinet and shower attachment with it that I don't really need, so they might well end up back on eBay.

 

Went back in the van to see if by some miracle the wallpaper had de-wrinkled itself when it dried.

 

No prizes for guessing the answer!

 

 

No idea what's happened there...as my folks used to do up houses I was helping hang wallpaper pretty much as soon as I was walking. This wasn't just a case of poor prep or too much paste or anything like that.

 

So what did I do next? Well actually got to spend a very satisfying twenty minutes making a godawful mess.

 

 

 

Not worrying about removing what's left there as it's firmly attached to the walls.

 

Now someone had suggested looking into using vinyl floor tiles to "tile" the walls.

 

They're definitely onto something. Got a few in place now and two things are immediately obvious.

 

 

Firstly is that it's going to be an order of magnitude easier than the wallpaper to put in place. Secondly is that it should look a lot better when it's done. I've got two types, the ones you see there which I will use up to the window base and then a mosaic pattern from there upwards.

 

Now I've used these tiles before (which is why I can't believe I didn't think of it) and I know the adhesive is about as much use as a chocolate teapot, so have tacked them down using decent contact adhesive.

 

Also glad to report that despite the torrential (sideways at times) downpour today that my roof light in there is definitely keeping the weather out. Had the inner bezel off so I could actually see the seam between it and the roof, so know it's good.

 

Just need to try to convince the water getting in at the offside rear corner to cut it out. Astonishing really that it's the only water ingress issue I'm aware of given the age of it.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Cool thanks  (I already sent him the link to the tubing primitively a few hours ago, and he grumbled at the price when he measured up 7.7M, and I dont blame him, because thats literally bang on £100 in tubing alone I think LOL)

 

 

 

at least your not having to do the van stuff while someones driving around in it 

 

(that sounds like a bad idea for a top gear type challenge...)

[Zelandeth]

Not much done today as I have just got back from a five hour round trip (fluffing traffic...) to collect this.

 

 

So will hopefully get that installed tomorrow.

 

Really happy to have managed to find an exact match for the equipment that would have been fitted.

 

Little bit of damage to the one corner, but nothing we can't sort with a bit of fibreglass.

[LightBulbFun]

pretty cool find!

 

I imagine finding bits like that would be quite dificult, since most people if they where refitting probably would of thrown it out without a second thought

 

is it worth contacting Auto Trail and see if they would have a big BOM with part numbers for all the bits n bobs used to assemble your model of camper?

 

I figured if you had some official part numbers/names for stuff it might help track stuff down

[Zelandeth]

Probably the biggest problem with finding used stuff like this is that it's made to be light, so it's pretty fragile. Once you've got a couple of rusty screws into the equation it's very easy to break things taking them out of the van. Plastic gets more brittle as it gets older too which doesn't help either.

 

Not a huge demand for old stuff like this either...far more people want to put new shiny stuff in campers than return them to 29 year old standard spec! Plenty of new ones out there, and a couple of types from common caravans kept popping up but this is the first one of this type I've seen pop up.

 

Auto Trail so far haven't responded to my emails (I'd hoped they could at least provide me with a decent photo of how the kitchen and bathroom would have originally looked), though I've still to get around to joining the owner's club.

 

A lot of things like this are made in pretty small batches by smaller companies. If memory serves these mouldings were made by a company in Manchester.

 

Not going to need the cabinet though so that's available if anyone has a use for it...

[Zelandeth]

Today has been one of those really annoying days which you always hit at some point in any decorating project where you wind up spending several hours taking stuff apart so you can get something else done.

 

Wanted to get the lower half of the tiling in the room finished and the sink properly installed.

 

Step one: make sure it actually fits and mark things up so I could see where to tile to (no point in doing the whole space under it) and where to drill holes for the pipework.  This sink originally had the pipes coming out the bottom though I saw no reason for them to be visible as the sink was to be fitted against an interior wall up against the service cupboard.  I suspect it was up against an exterior wall before.

 

Didn't take me long to realise that the pipework was too bulky to be bent around in the direction I needed and for the sink to lay flat against the wall.  No problem, I've got some elbow connectors which will solve that. Cue 30 minutes of digging through boxes to find them.  Eventually though they did turn up.

 

I then discovered that the hose clips on there were utterly seized.  This took a further half hour or so of (very careful) argument to resolve.  Once that was done the hoses still refused to be separated from the hose connector stub and I wound up having to (again, very carefully) slit them both with a knife before removing them.  Attaching a nice new hose which actually bends and the elbow significantly reduced the room needed so the sink would actually sit flush with the wall.

 

Still need to actually connect everything back up behind the wall but that's easy stuff I can do later.

 

 

I initially thought I could just remove the two bottom screws holding the cabinet to the wall to slip the tiling under that edge - right up to the point that I discovered that there's actually a wooden frame under the cabinet which is essentially part of the wall.  Cue careful measuring and cutting of tiles.

 

The tap for the shower also needed to come off the wall to let me tile under it - the hoses to this were about as interested in shifting as the ones on the shower were.  At least they weren't attached to a fragile plastic sink which made things a bit easier to sort.

 

 

This is where we finished for the day.

 

 

 

This wall is essentially done.  Just needs some sealant along the edges and the lower edge tidied up.  Need an additional pack of tiles though, need a few more than my total guess, not by much though.

 

Yes they are a bit heavy, but the small number involved because of the tiny size of the room means it should be fine.

 

Hoping that as the rest is just sticking tiles on the wall and a bit of trimming that the next bit will go quicker...

 

Also reckon I must have wasted an hour going back and forth to the garage for tools! Will just take everything next time!

[PhilA]

Mixer taps always made it to things like caravans and campers, yet people seem averse to them in their houses over there.

 

Good progress though. I presume the sink just dumps into the shower tray?

 

Phil

[LightBulbFun]

Mixer taps always made it to things like caravans and campers, yet people seem averse to them in their houses over there.

 

Good progress though. I presume the sink just dumps into the shower tray?

 

Phil

 

I think its partly because we have some regulation that hot and cold water supply cant physically mix before exiting the tap per-say

 

I know the mixer tap in the kitchen has 2 separate holes in the head

 

but im not a plumber, so worth double checking

[PhilA]

Something something back-boiler, something something cold at mains pressure hot served by a tank in the roof, something something backfeed.

 

Same drivel about having one way valves on hose pipes

 

 

Phil

[Zelandeth]

Something something back-boiler, something something cold at mains pressure hot served by a tank in the roof, something something backfeed.

 

Same drivel about having one way valves on hose pipes

 

 

Phil

There are a lot of rules over here about ensuring that under fault conditions that water cannot be drawn back into the mains supply, I think that's behind quite a few idiosyncrasies in plumbing design over here.

 

With regards to draining this sink there's a catch tank at the base, so when you told the sink away the water runs back into that and from there into the drain, the waste pipe is attached right at the base.

 

Given how frustratingly slow caravan sinks can be to drain it solves that issue as well as the sink can be emptied instantly for all intents and purposes, even if it takes a bit of time for the water to actually find its way to the waste tank.

[PhilA]

Ah, I didn't see that part of the assembly. Thoughtful design.

 

Phil

[Zelandeth]

First task of the day was to get the plumbing for the sink and shower sorted out as I had taken it all apart yesterday.

 

 

Much better.  This lot used to be hidden behind a plywood box...not sure I will bother putting that back as it eats quite a chunk of space in the back of the wardrobe.  Reckon I will add some clips to hold the pipes against the back wall and call it good, the box just seems unnecessary given this is all hidden at the back of the wardrobe anyway.

 

Drainage has been tested by dumping a five litre bottle of water down it, no leaks to report and it seems to drain at as close to a reasonable rate you can really hope for, though the design at least means you don't have to wait for the draining process to finish before stowing the basin.

 

Once that was done it was back to the tiling.  Seems to be taking forever!

 

We are getting there though.

 

This is where this pattern will stop - there is a mosaic pattern to run from here up to the ceiling.

 

 

This would have taken significantly less time had I realised that the trim around the window just snaps in place - I realised that after I had already carefully made sure to measure it as close to millimetre perfect as I could on two sides...rather than just extending the tile a bit last the edge and snapping the trim back on...oh well now I know!  Obviously there is one little infill strip I still need to put in there too, just waiting for an offcut the right shape to turn up.

 

Interior wall is also ready for the next pattern.  This is really awkward to get a photo of.

 

 

I am *hoping* that I will be able to call the decorating nonsense done tomorrow as it is taking forever...though does kind of feel like it is actually moving in the right direction now.

[brownnova]

Seeing you do all this makes me think I really should get my camper out and prepped for adventure!

[Zelandeth]

Today it has *finally* started to feel like we're starting to get somewhere and this is starting to actually look like a room again.

 

 

Bit annoying that it's impossible to get things lined up perfectly with the rear wall courtesy of our friend Pythagoras, but it's good enough for a camper van!  Won't be so obvious once the sealant along the edges is in place anyway.

 

If I had been smart I would have realised that was going to be an issue and would have made sure not to use a repeating pattern spanning the side and rear wall...though I reckon it still looks better than it would have in plain white (or with the original pink floral pattern!).  Doesn't hopefully look too out of period for the vehicle either.

[jumpingjehovahs]

That looks fab! Great job

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Broadsword]

Very tidy, nice job!

[Zelandeth]

Thanks folks, I do really try to make things as tidy as I can but am well aware that I'm much better at the oily bits than pretty bits...so I'm a bit out of my element here. One thing I have really been trying to do with my decor choice though was to make sure I didn't put something in place which looked too modern. The beige and brown pallette (towels will probably be pale blue to compliment that and to also tie in to the exterior detailing) should both fit the period and the existing trim pretty well.

 

I've not seen a photo of the original setup where you could really make out any detail, so just had to use my imagination a bit.

 

I'm at a bit of a crossroads here. The single biggest thing I need to do before the MOT (assuming the tester doesn't poke any holes in the cab...) is sort the exhaust. There seem to be three main types used on the T1, and only one of them is viable for this van.

 

One design has two boxes, both mounted side by side and then a ridiculously long straight pipe to the back of the van. The others have a single box mounted further back. This won't work for me as A: the silencer wants to be in the void occupied by the waste water tank, and B: that the tailpipe would be trying to exit through the nearside tail light.

 

Annoyingly of course the one I need is the expensive one which I can only buy in bits rather than an all in one set from a seller which is usually cheaper. Looks to be coming in at about £100-150 - and inevitably a lot of swearing when stuff doesn't fit right and I have to "adapt" things, as has been the case with every single exhaust bit I've ever got off eBay so far.

 

...or do I just swallow the bitter pill that is paying a bit more and getting a stainless side pipe made up? Given that the factory setup I believe is actually an MOT failure as the exhaust doesn't vent beyond the bodywork - it's a good couple of feet too short to (or does that not apply to vans?) I've a mind to get something proper made.

 

No more diesel fumes getting sucked in the fridge vent, a good couple of tens of of weight saved I'd expect, something looking more professional, and hopefully a bit of a burble from it are all pluses.

 

I think it's time I spoke to Fusion Tabs again to see about a price...

 

Most annoying job I'm expecting for the test? Sorting the bloody marker lights over the cab. They're not getting any power, and the cabling isn't readily accessible... that's going to be "fun" to sort I expect.

 

While I think about it... here's what I remember as my current automotive to do list.

 

--Lada--

[] Service.

[] Re-patch or replace wings.

[] Change Rotoflex coupling.

[] Replace OSF caliper.

[] Figure out which ball joint sometimes creams and replace.

[] Replace engine & gearbox mounts.

[] Get underside professionally rust proofed.

[] Get fresh MOT if a prospective buyer turns up as I'd like to sell it with a full year's ticket.

[] Sell.

 

--Citroen--

[] Sort out the knocking from the front end (wasn't an issue at the MOT), suspect drop links.

[] Adjust and lubricate clutch cable.

[] New full set of tyres.

[] Fix rear window washer.

[] Fix front fog lights.

[] Fit cruise control.

[] Find and fit Bluetooth audio adaptor.

[] Find and replace missing under dash trim panel under the heater fan.

[] Un-stick the heater recirculation control.

[] Figure out what the heck it is in the boot that decides to squeak on every single bump...about one trip in twenty so I can never locate the source.

[] Give the poor thing a proper respray.

 

--AC--

[] Dismantle and clean carb.

[] Adjust brake master cylinder free-play.

-[] if this doesn't sort the brakes, replace it.

[] Un-seize or replace engine cover latch.

[] Refit AC badge.

[] Rebuild OSF lower corner of the body.

[] Finish rear apron repair.

[] Refit number plate light.

[] Make up information sheet I can hand to people who wonder what the heck it is.

[] Try to make the offside door easier to open/close.

[] Reattach the upper door guide rail on OS door as it's pulled several of the screws out.

[] Weatherproof the window to door top joint (just like I did a couple of weeks back on the NS).

[] Change ALL drivetrain fluids.

[] Check and if necessary clean oil pump pickup strainer.

-[] Change the sump drain plug copper washer while the sump is empty.

[] Properly secure battery.

[] Wire in the sense connections for the combined voltmeter/ammeter.

[] Improve electrical power distribution. Local relays will be installed for the headlights and horn, but would really like to reduce the number of amps passing through the ignition switch as well if possible.

[] Install both ignition switched and permanently connected 12V sockets out of sight under the dash. One of these will be used as a convenient way to hook up the battery charger if needed as well as powering stuff when on the move.

[] Fit electrically driven fan for heater/demister.

[] Fit hazard flasher system. Just seems a smart thing to have.

[] Remove dashboard and repair wiring behind it properly - I've already sorted half a dozen wires connected with rusty household screw terminals and I'm sure there will be more I can't currently see.

[] Replace windscreen and rear window seals (they're both perished and leak like a convertible with the top down).

[] Install additional wire for low fuel warning light.

[] Replace the rubber floor covering as it's torn in quite a few places.

[] Replace badly perished felt covered runners the sliding windows sit in.

[] Have a last try at getting the roof mounted control box out to be painted.

[] Rotate fuel gauge pickup 180 degrees to stop the gauge reading backwards.

[] Refit sun visor/trim panel over windscreen.

 

--Van--

[] Fit new brake pads.

[] Fix cab marker lights.

[] Replace exhaust.

[] Secure fresh water tank.

[] Repair fuel pump to tank return line.

[] Replace nearside headlight (tarnished reflector).

[] Sort wiring mess in the vehicle battery box...

-[] Investigate why the split charging system doesn't work and repair.

-[] Consider installing a battery guard for when I inevitably forget to turn the stereo off.

[] Move mains switch to a more user friendly location.

[] Replace pointless 5A round pin 12V socket in living area with a USB charging point as that will be far more useful in 2019. Probably install one or two more mains sockets too.

[] Replace fanbelt.

-[] If that doesn't stop the squeak, replace what's squeaking.

[] Find and fit more appropriate wheel trims.

[] Investigate installing a tracker.

[] Sort the gas pipework.

-[] See if I can get the fridge gas system to work, there's something wrong with the 12V side that runs the ignitor. Not a huge priority as it runs fine on mains and 12V at least.

[] Replace kitchen counter with something more appropriate - it's got a normal kitchen one in there currently and it weighs a tonne.

[] Rebuild cupboards under the kitchen counter & gas locker.

[] Fit two additional seatbelts so we can carry a full car load of people safely if needed.

[] Find and fit headrests for the cab seats.

[] Possibly upgrade the speakers throughout for the stereo - though lack of depth is a problem unless I relocate the ones in the living area.

[] Repair or replace cab heater blower motor.

[] Replace propshaft boot.

[] Get it professionally rust proofed.

[] Repair or replace bonnet.

[] Replace windscreen scuttle & any bulkhead repairs found when it's removed.

[] Repair or replace front panel.

[] Convert interior lighting to LED. Not a fan of them everywhere, but this is one place they really neo make sense. Any changes to the light fittings would be reversible.

 

Now you know why I have a whiteboard in the garage!

[Zelandeth]

This afternoon. I had a bit of a push to get this finished, and am glad to report that save for needing to refit the curtain rail and source a shower curtain, the bathroom is now done.

 

Oh...and find some brown screw caps as the white ones stick out way too much against the generally warm decor.

 

Doesn't look too bad for an entirely home brew job though I reckon?

 

 

 

 

 

Just need to make a blanking plate to sit in the shower tray when it's not in use, re-fit the rail for the shower curtain and we should be done. Oh, and stick some water in the tank so I can confirm the taps don't leak before discovering that's an issue at the far end of the country.

[Tickman]

Doesn't look too bad for an entirely home brew job though I reckon?

 

 

Looks bloody excellent

[Broadsword]

That is one hell of a list. Quite exciting to see you are thinking of respraying the Xantia. It would look awesome and given it’s so special, it deserves fresh paint. How long did it take to chew through a set of tyres?

[Zelandeth]

That is one hell of a list. Quite exciting to see you are thinking of respraying the Xantia. It would look awesome and given it’s so special, it deserves fresh paint. How long did it take to chew through a set of tyres?

My lists are always a bit like that - I like itemising things so I can keep track of them. A lot of the stuff on there is really quick stuff I just need to find time to do.

 

I'd love to get it resprayed, current front contender is a proper bright "Ferrari red" as was used on the BX. I've never seen a proper bright red Xantia. Sadly I know full well that getting it done to the level I would really like would be unlikely to give me much change from three or four grand...three to four times the value of the car!

 

I'd had it a year in October, though I've no idea how many miles the tyres had on when I got it. The rears are still fine tread wise, but are old enough that they're getting due a change anyway as they're just starting to perish a bit. She was on 129K miles when I got her, showing 137K now.