Out in action!

Have managed to get away in it a few times now, debut voyage was to the West Whitterings and then up to the Lake District the week after for a few days, van was brilliant!
The bed is well comfortable, although I do need to strengthen the wooden frame a bit in a couple of places.
Awning does its job well, is pretty simple to put up (if its not windy lol...) and was another bargain off of the forum.
Looking forward to VW action - Santa Pod at the beginning of September!

New additions to the interior!

Right just an update on how the interior now looks, apologies about the fuzzy pictures but they were taken with a phone.
The shop next door to me was throwing out a kitchen cupboard unit for under the work top so I grabbed it took off the legs, trimmed back the depth and re hung the doors upside down so the base became the cupboard top. I then bolted this onto my half bulk head and I carpeted the top, attached my 6x9's and it left the perfect space in the centre for my Dual burner gas hob!
As you can see I have also put in the Ikea sofa bed, this sits nicely on top of the arches and is kept in situ by some dead bolts, which can easily be undone so the bed can pull out and become a full width double. I also had the mattress recovered to tie in with the headlining and magnetic curtains that I made.
I've also added 6 push LED lights around the roof of the van which are all battery operated and light up the rear really well at night.
I managed to do all of this interior for the grand total of 30 quid! Bargain!

As it stands now

Just a few pics to show how it looks at the mo since all the work below, there are still a few bits that need tidying, like round the boxed arches needs some edging. I've also got a wooden futon that i'm thinking of making fit but i want it to be removable, so may just settle for using the mattress. Will post further updates as/when they happen.

Stereo

I managed to get a nice Sony stereo off egay the other day with bluetooth phone link and built in mic which has 3 pre outs, I have pulled out an old calibre amp I had from years ago and a 10" Kicker boxed Sub. I've got a set of 6x9's sitting in custom boxes in the rear with the sub all running from the amp through a crossover.
I have also been kindly donated (Thanks Chris) another amp and set of 6x9's which I'll run to the back of the van when i can decide where i want to house the additional speakers.

Headlining

I wanted to make the headlining a little more interesting so I got hold of some Arctic Camo material. I put this up using the high temp 70 degree spray adhesive so hopefully it won't suffer from any sagging. It was pretty straight forward, the material wasn't as easy to work with as the caprpet as it stretched when you pulled it tight, causing ruffles, but managed to get them out in the end.

The real pain was getting the panels back up after using VW's push in clips as they didn't like the extra depth to the panels, but with some perseverance its now back up and looking pretty good.

Lowering

Right finally got my springs and Bilstein dampers from T4sRus, I went for a 60mm drop as will take some weight in the back occasionally so didn't want it dragging on the floor.

I was a bit apprehensive about fitting the kit due to the horror stories about Torsion bolts not wanting to budge, but it went really well.

I was fortunate that the torsion bolts moved easily once we had borrowed a 27mm spanner from local tyre garage, and the dampers went on easily too, which considering I am mechanically inept i was pleased with. Pic shows the work in prog.

Carpeting the Interior

Next job now the insulation was complete was too carpet all the ply panels. I'd never done anything like this before but once I'd done the first panel and worked out how to trim the corners for a decent finish it was pretty straightforward. I can't believe how easy the spray adhesive is to work with! Pics show completed side door and had loads left over so thought I'd put some on the floor too until I find a vinyl floor that doesn't look like its out of my kitchen.