AndyK
18th June 2008, 07:05 AM
Hi everyone,
well a lot has happened since my last post - its been a very busy time. Bluey is now back on the road MoT'd, taxed and insured. It's taken me about 20 months working on weekends ( my garages are 20 miles from where I live) to totally rebuild Bluey from the ground up and transform him from a beaten up farm pickup to an expedition ( not quite ready) camper.
After my last post the van sides and roof were bolted on and the front doors were refurbished and then painted and bolted on. They even lined up pretty well with the minimum of "adjustment". The back door went on with the minimum of fuss leaving the wiring in of all of the lights, I've had to fit extra rear light clusters as the originals are obscured by the spare wheels. I've also had to fit another rear number plate over the back door to clear the spares. My rewiring has worked first time apart from the fuel gauge ( a little worrying!) and the reverse light so I was pretty happy.
Bluey passed his MoT test without any faults - the tester was very impressed with my efforts!!
So I've so far been impressed with the ride quality considering the 2" suspension lift and heavy duty spring rates and you certainly have a commanding driving position. There was minimal body roll in the corners, that was until I fitted the Maggiolina roof tent which has still only added a little bit of roll.
Work is still very much in progress, still to do :-
fit centre child seat
fit roof rack
wire up front spot lights
bolt in rear storage boxes
fit rear flood lights and internal lights
fit numerous 12V power outlets
Still to buy :-
Engel 45lt fridge
solar panel
tank guard
roof console and stereo
simple GPS unit
So there's still alot of work to do and unfortunately money to spend ( in very short supply at the moment !) before Bluey is ready for his first big trip. We're going to start off with local camping trips to make sure everything works as it should!
Andt, Rosy and Abby
well a lot has happened since my last post - its been a very busy time. Bluey is now back on the road MoT'd, taxed and insured. It's taken me about 20 months working on weekends ( my garages are 20 miles from where I live) to totally rebuild Bluey from the ground up and transform him from a beaten up farm pickup to an expedition ( not quite ready) camper.
After my last post the van sides and roof were bolted on and the front doors were refurbished and then painted and bolted on. They even lined up pretty well with the minimum of "adjustment". The back door went on with the minimum of fuss leaving the wiring in of all of the lights, I've had to fit extra rear light clusters as the originals are obscured by the spare wheels. I've also had to fit another rear number plate over the back door to clear the spares. My rewiring has worked first time apart from the fuel gauge ( a little worrying!) and the reverse light so I was pretty happy.
Bluey passed his MoT test without any faults - the tester was very impressed with my efforts!!
So I've so far been impressed with the ride quality considering the 2" suspension lift and heavy duty spring rates and you certainly have a commanding driving position. There was minimal body roll in the corners, that was until I fitted the Maggiolina roof tent which has still only added a little bit of roll.
Work is still very much in progress, still to do :-
fit centre child seat
fit roof rack
wire up front spot lights
bolt in rear storage boxes
fit rear flood lights and internal lights
fit numerous 12V power outlets
Still to buy :-
Engel 45lt fridge
solar panel
tank guard
roof console and stereo
simple GPS unit
So there's still alot of work to do and unfortunately money to spend ( in very short supply at the moment !) before Bluey is ready for his first big trip. We're going to start off with local camping trips to make sure everything works as it should!
Andt, Rosy and Abby