Grizz’s OCD Awesome ASTRO Van 🚙, VW Caddy Van 🚐 Now a Green Toad 206 CC 🐸

[grizz]

 

Weekend is over. 

 

Sleep sucks. 

 

Life is good. 

 

I will Copy and paste a single write up. 

 

So apologies for duplicate pics, but you love pics…… Right?? 

 

 

Saturday I washed the van in preparation for Sundays breakfast meeting. 

 

Cleanliness is next to godliness I hear. 

 

 

 

 

 

Making a fire earlier in the day to burn a load of broken furniture wood (non recyclable) it became apparent that the crack in the structure was growing. 

I possibly caused this a few years ago making a massive fire in the middle of winter. 

 

I made the decision to smash this down after 13 years of service. 

 

That will mean another job. 

 

More money. 

 

Buggerr. 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was good.  

 

https://youtu.be/d2glX9aZ3KQ?si=GbrW5mmeUFxd_Bzl

 

 

 

 

Sunday I headed out in the van. 

 

Made a video of the day. 

 

Met some nice people. 

 

Had an offer to buy the van. 

 

 

https://youtu.be/49Tf7UnY8Pk?si=2avF4Vy002_JP3Hh

 

 

All the cars at the meeting. 

 

https://youtu.be/iCkqrX8dV2U?si=gn5LgDBs0sP82Nr8

 

 

Afterwards I headed out to Uncle Bob’s yard to see him and Uncle Peter (86 year old retired builder) about buying some “new” recycled, cleaned bricks.  

 

I did a rough count of the face-bricks used above the preparation area. 

I plan on leaving the concrete foundation and cabinets plus cast, reinforced floor of the chimney as it all seems intact. 

Approximate count is around 500 bricks to replace what is there but I am going to change the design a bit or a lot. 

 

Smashing down the rest of it, the rubble will be processed into another job. 

More about this later. 

 

Uncle Peter was busy pointing the brickwork of one of the barns where he had rebuilt the corner that was smashed by a truck, years ago. 

So I dragged him away from his mortar and we spoke bricks. 

He has about 800 cement style, pressed bricks on some pallets that could be for sale. 

At 50p per brick it’s not as cheap as free, but finding something where the price, look and availability cross on a sweet spot it not that easy. 

 

So I agreed to taking the 800 and fetching and transporting them myself for £400.00 unless he changes his mind. 

 

The excess will be used on another job which is planned for the short term future. 

 

 

 

Lastly…….

 

I looked at this again, not easy to access as it is stored, if you can call it that, in the rear of a massive, disused, damaged greenhouse with loads of junk in front of it. 

 

Uncle Bob the Hoarder owns it. 

 

Wants very strong money for it. 

 

But I do like it. 

 

Think re-body.  

 

 

 

Eventually I left them and headed home. 

 

Moved to green 206 CC down to the workshop as I have done nothing with it and getting the roof to open since weeks ago when I walked away to get on with more important things. 

 

Parked the van and headed to Sallys place to use her broadband to upload my YouTube videos that I can’t do at home due to Sky and Openreach’s terrible service. 

 

Have a great week. 

 

 

 

 

[Westbay]

1 hour ago, grizz said:

Glen

Thank you . 
 

I am not sure but I suspect the connection differs between models and brands. 
 

I have a complete used cleaner in the garage, I will check to see if lances are interchangeable. 

Think they are a standard 1/4” fitting …

[GlenAnderson]

That’s a Commer, a Superpoise I think. 
 

How strong is “strong money”?

[grizz]

19 hours ago, Westbay said:

Think they are a standard 1/4” fitting …

Need to go look if they are interchangeable 

[grizz]

17 hours ago, GlenAnderson said:

That’s a Commer, a Superpoise I think. 
 

How strong is “strong money”?

Mumbled hoarder response sounded like £800.00 and I need to retrieve it myself. 
 

I could be wrong. 

[Westbay]

55 minutes ago, grizz said:

Mumbled hoarder response sounded like £800.00 and I need to retrieve it myself. 
 

I could be wrong. 

Uuumm, what’s the overall condition like ?

[GlenAnderson]

1 hour ago, grizz said:

Mumbled hoarder response sounded like £800.00 and I need to retrieve it myself. 
 

I could be wrong. 

If it’s not utterly rotten, then that’s not a bad deal. Sadly, it’s probably beyond saving as much like the cars of the era, they were not built to last, let alone to withstand decades of neglect. Getting a proper handle on its condition is probably a full day’s work just accessing it, and god only knows how long it would take to extricate it without further damage…

 

It’s probably really only a parts donor I’d think. Maybe “Rootesrescue” on RR might be interested?

[Dick Longbridge]

1 hour ago, grizz said:

Mumbled hoarder response sounded like £800.00 and I need to retrieve it myself. 
 

I could be wrong. 

Have you bought it yet?!

[grizz]

Collective reply. 
 

Not collecting 

 

No clue from 50 yards. Its a massive greenhouse. Covered in brambles and locked doors. 
 

Condition…..,? FK. 
 

its a WW2 iirc communications truck. 
 

So at best donor or graft the cab onto a chassis. 
 

Maybe. 

[grizz]

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Have you bought it yet?!

I need space. 
 

If someone took the 206 CC I got from the roffle and bought my Rezin Rockit I would be back at ground zero as far as car ownership is concerned. 
 

Usually I have a company car (read VW Caddy ex- @Zelandeth ) The Astro as toy and an existing stalled project that needs building. 
 

So another big build would not be clever. 
 

I also know of an Ami without papers that could make a great body swap donor.  

[rattlecan]

You know you want to Grizz 😀

[Dick Longbridge]

5 hours ago, grizz said:

I need space. 
 

If someone took the 206 CC I got from the roffle and bought my Rezin Rockit I would be back at ground zero as far as car ownership is concerned. 
 

Usually I have a company car (read VW Caddy ex- @Zelandeth ) The Astro as toy and an existing stalled project that needs building. 
 

So another big build would not be clever. 
 

I also know of an Ami without papers that could make a great body swap donor.  

[redratbike]

Hey Grizz , are you not going ahead with the chevy pick-up build ? i thought the point of digging  it out was to move it forward or was it to sell on?

[grizz]

3 hours ago, redratbike said:

Hey Grizz , are you not going ahead with the chevy pick-up build ? i thought the point of digging  it out was to move it forward or was it to sell on?

Evening Mark

I have a load of stuff to get to including the truck. 
 

Some are reliant on friends and build teams. 
 

The amount of rain and crap weather along  with still too many vehicles taking up space interfere with the progress. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So today the Astro, which was professionally lowered a lot, if you look at some photos from the side etc, got to work for real for the first time. 

 

550kg is not a lot, bug when you place it over and behind the rear wheels and diff, it certainly affects things. 

 

There is some stuff about to start happening at Grizz Towers soon, so I am getting a lot of peripheral stuff done, prepared and planned. 

 

The fuel tank was about 40mm off the drive if you zoom in under the rear. 

Luckily I only had about 1.5 miles or 2.5km to drive. 

Including a hill, two roundabouts and my crappy road outside. 

 

I have one more load to collect tomorrow morning from Uncle Bob the Hoarders yard and Uncle Peter to pay. 

 

 

 

 

 

This part of the story will unfold in a slightly different way depending on how many people complain, compliment or question. 

 

So make some noise. 

 

[SilverMachine]

its nice when fun things can help earn there keep too! air shocks may help protect that fuel tank? 

i did a tip run today with some concrete blocks in a tired old zafira (not mine!)... poor thing. 

i do have a question about the toad, whats the headroom like? obviously closed roof! i did find when i had my mx5 my head would mostly touch the inner canvas and with the hard top would occasionally touch the inside! im pretty sure i may have drove a 206 gti many years ago but cant remember exactly what number it was! it did go well though!

[grizz]

9 hours ago, SilverMachine said:

its nice when fun things can help earn there keep too! air shocks may help protect that fuel tank? 

i did a tip run today with some concrete blocks in a tired old zafira (not mine!)... poor thing. 

i do have a question about the toad, whats the headroom like? obviously closed roof! i did find when i had my mx5 my head would mostly touch the inner canvas and with the hard top would occasionally touch the inside! im pretty sure i may have drove a 206 gti many years ago but cant remember exactly what number it was! it did go well though!

Van was lowered as a show van. 
Thats how it will stay. 
So the cost of air shocks etc outweigh the cost of making three or four trips to fetch stuff. 
The van is carpeted etc and will continue to be a “sportscar” 

 

Regarding the 206 CC 

It certainly is not a London bus. 

But I am 6’ or 1.83 m and way overweight with a tall torso and 29” inner leg and I’m comfortable in it. 
 

Being a 2.0 liter, it is a real rocket. 
 

Handling is great as well. 

[Westbay]

Get some coil spring assistors on the back about GBP20. Help stop the ‘sag’ when loaded - quite common with folks towing caravans  , their cars not themselves 🤣

[grizz]

5 minutes ago, Westbay said:

Get some coil spring assistors on the back about GBP20. Help stop the ‘sag’ when loaded - quite common with folks towing caravans  , their cars not themselves 🤣

It has a single composite rear blade spring.  
 

That is it. 
 

Also, not worth spending money on a cheap need. 
 

I just do four trips. 

[grizz]

Right 

 

A quick explanation and illustration for those who want to add all sorts of suspension modifications to the van. 

 

Some of which would double the price. 

 

I rather do four trips and spend £10.00 on fuel than modify the van. 

 

Part of its appeal lies in the stance and how low it was built. 

 

It is no longer a commercial vehicle. 

 

You cannot see it in the photo but the tank never touched the road with me driving it at up to 35mph. Limit here is 40 in parts and 30 mph. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news. 

 

The photo and video clip will show you my little win for today.  

 

 

Yup……..

 

 

Sesame opened without a fight. 

 

 

So back up for sale, just in time for summer. 

 

 

Check out the short video clip. 

 

 

https://youtu.be/_hV8J4FBHgI?si=v1M1qpWJHrgnuw-u

 

 

 

 

 

Right. 

 

Headed out to fetch another load in the Astro. 

 

 

Later. 

[Westbay]

55 minutes ago, grizz said:

It has a single composite rear blade spring.  
 

That is it. 
 

Also, not worth spending money on a cheap need. 
 

I just do four trips. 

My bad, thought it had coils 🤭

[grizz]

21 hours ago, Westbay said:

My bad, thought it had coils 🤭

Never bad. 
 

We all learn every day. 

[grizz]

 

So. 

 

Those bricks. 

 

I fetched them in 3 and 1/2 trips. 

 

Bringing about 190 or so at a time. 

 

Uncle Peter is 86 and long since successfully retired from building houses. 

 

But he spends at least four hours a day working on things. Either at the yard or at home. Currently he is working at repairing parts of one of the barns that had been damaged years ago by a machine hitting the corner of a wall. Also repointing the cement between the bricks. The wall spans two eras. Part is built using lime mortar and parts were done with cement mortar. 

 

I love watching him work. The details in those bits of cement he is replacing. Vertical and horizontal are different. 

 

 

 

I had to figure out where to store these bricks. Ultimately I decided outside Georges door made sense. 

Even sense checking the way the gate opens so I could still get cars and diggers and a crusher and possibly a few other machines through there. 

I moved a pile of 450mm paving stones to the kitchen door as well. 

Hoarder central. 

 

 

Wood store with two cement mixers. 

 

 

So off to UncleBobs yard. 

 

First load in the van. 

 

And first and second loads unloaded at home. 

Onto a plastic pallet. Mistake. Too late. 

Thankfully I bought three pallet or pump trucks for either £5.00 or £15.00 each years ago. Gave two away and kept one. 

 

What a multi purpose tool this is to have in the garage and on site. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last load was smaller but included 23 dark clay bricks. 

 

 

 

And finally all of the bricks packed and sorted. 

 

I took 2/3 and 1/2 bricks as well. 

 

Total is about 623 bricks (23 clays weigh more) 

 

Approximately 1.7 ton at 2.7 kg per brick. 

 

 

 

 

 

So the question of course is WHY?  

 

Well, the BBQ that I built 13 years ago and abused over the years, including a massive fire in it mid winter a few years ago has left it significantly damaged. 

 

So it’s time to destroy it and start a rebuild. 

 

Biggest problem is actually that it needs to dovetail into a bigger job that I have wanted to get done for 14 years. 

 

What we have right now. 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, the invitation is open to anyone interested in helping me get it done. 

 

I could break it down and save the rubble before the next big job, but I am waiting for a price on some 3mm mild steel plate. 

 

I want to build a steel BBQ inner to then sheath in insulation and brickwork. 

 

Something like this. 

 

 

So there you go. 

 

Massive update. 

 

And invitation. 

 

Peugeot 206 CC next. 

 

[grizz]

Here is a complete build thread of this BBQ 

 

 

https://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/102679/bun-oven-industries-build-kent?page=1

 

 

Click the link for flashbacks. 

[grizz]

Six Bells Pub in Cliffe near Rochester, Kent has a Classic car and Bike Event, Meeting, Gathering once a month. 

During summer it gets really busy with hundreds of people attending from 4.00pm onwards. 

I have been there before in the S10 but yesterday I took the Astro van again. 
Going via the best road, still a terrible surface as low cal council continues to fail on even the most basic level, to maintain roads, it is about 10 miles or 16km 

So I got there early and left quite early as well, with loads of cars and bikes passing me on my way home by 7.00pm after being there 3 hours. 

I made up a short clip of cars attending and a few arriving. 

My buddy Ricky is a regular in his own built beauty. 

And of course the Six Bells pub on the corner. 

I had a £5.00 hamburger with cheese, onion and a really nice BBQ sauce. And it was absolutely delicious and worth the money. 

VIDEO 

https://youtu.be/Tu9fuJCx8dI?si=OeET7K52klpub3y7

I will certainly attend again in May, when the next meeting is, if I remember on the day. 

Insomnia sucks.  

[bezzabsa]

hope i am still as healthy at 86!!! 

[grizz]

14 hours ago, bezzabsa said:

hope i am still as healthy at 86!!! 

Totally 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought you bought another Canta and transported it in the GMC

 

 

Ahhhhh

 

You have no idea how close to the truth you are. 

 

In the back of the van. 

 

Needs cleaning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, soon I will have a fleet of them if I can find some more in different designs. 

 

 

They do exist, some more unusual and rare than others. 

 

Taxi ? 

 

 

[jim89]

8 hours ago, grizz said:

Totally 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought you bought another Canta and transported it in the GMC

 

 

Ahhhhh

 

You have no idea how close to the truth you are. 

 

In the back of the van. 

 

Needs cleaning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, soon I will have a fleet of them if I can find some more in different designs. 

 

 

They do exist, some more unusual and rare than others. 

 

Taxi ? 

 

 

 

[grizz]

3 minutes ago, jim89 said:

 

Nice. 
 

Thank you. 
 

i have this vintage one. 
 

 

Looking for a bunch of them to use as decoration in my carport. 
 

 

[jim89]

4 minutes ago, grizz said:

Nice. 
 

Thank you. 
 

i have this vintage one. 
 

 

Looking for a bunch of them to use as decoration in my carport. 
 

 

Incredibly there are now miniature (shelf) models of them too?!?

[jim89]

19 minutes ago, grizz said:

Nice. 
 

Thank you. 
 

i have this vintage one. 
 

 

Looking for a bunch of them to use as decoration in my carport. 
 

 

And for the man who must have everything...