new project - 1974 Dutch camper conversion

It's madness I know Jerry but I just couldn't resist. It's far far superior to the Trakka I had delivered a month ago. I only saw the ad on Wednesday, but it was in Yackandandah so not too far from me at Euroa. I thought if I don't buy this one I may not find a Dormobile roof for years.

This roof looks to be all there, so hopefully I won't need to track down too much stuff. I need a new roof vent so will put in an order from Dormobile soon. The main problem I've had so far is that I can't get to the roof to fully open. The problem seems to be the hinge bolts are all loose and it's catching on the roof gutter, but to tighten them I have to open the roof. Quite the catch 22.

Teri Ann's site is an excellent resource, as is the Land Rover classic campers forum I just joined.

I took some more photos but my phone has died.

cheers

Phin

So you've seen the light and joined up ;) Have a look through the technical section and you'll see my roof refurbishment article. Was a lot of work but worth the effort in the end :)

A chap in France makes a good roof vent which is far superior than the dormobile replacements, I could contact him and see if he'd ship them to Australia if you are interested.

Give me a yell if I can be of any assistance.

Many thanks Jerry. I shall have a look at your rebuild thread. If a better version of the vent can be obtained I'd be very interested. The original looks quite flimsy from the photos I've seen.

A couple more photos:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...14/03/1003.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...14/03/1004.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...14/03/1005.jpg

The bunks look like they're still in good condition apart from the mud wasp nests. This roof was kept in a garage for at least the last 25 years so hasn't seen much UV. That said, I've never seen bunks this colour so perhaps they are a replacement.

cheers
Phin

Got the Land Rover going for the first time in a year today. A lot of grey smoke, mostly under acceleration. From what I read this is likely the timing on the distributor pump, bad diesel or injectors. I'll try a slight advance in timing after filling up with fresh diesel and see if the problem goes away, otherwise there could be trouble.

The Dormobile roof should be going on next weekend, it's a different shade of white. Still trying to work out if I should bother painting it...

cheers

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/766.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/767.jpg

Getting close to fitting the new roof:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/536.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/537.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/538.jpg

Success!

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/504.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/505.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/04/506.jpg

G'day Phin,

I am just wondering if during your research for alternative sources of vacuum for the brake booster if you came across the Hella electric vacuum pump?

I found a link on a LandyZone UK and on the 4th-June-2013, 20:33 Divie writes about "an electric vacuum pump. this is wired through a relay and is connected to the brake light switch, works well even without engine running. Around £70 and an hour and a half to fit. Got mine from a Dutchman on fleabay but it is a Hella U26 from memory branded as a Volvo item

Accessed 21st April 2014 from,
Series 3 series 3 brake issues no vacuum?? - Land Rover Zone

I did some more research and it is actually a Hella U28 that were fitted to 2004 Volvo S60, Volvo, VW, Acura, Audi apart from other vehicles

Hello's site has a brochure about their vacuum pumps
http://www.hella.com/microsite-elect...s_gb_druck.pdf

My sincere apologies if anyone else on the AULRO forum advised me to look at the electric vacuum pump and it passed aimlessly through one of my ears and out the other one.

I wonder if the Hella U28 can be rebuilt or does it come without that luxury as most electronic components do these days?

There are a couple on eBay from different countries.

It will be a while before I look at the vacuum side of things anyway - just good to bounce ideas around and compare prices and ease of fitting.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Hi Lionel,

I did come across some information about electric vacuum pumps. Some people in the UK have hooked them up. They have couple of issues as they aren't designed to run constantly. This necessitates connecting up a vacuum reservoir and a vacuum switch to cycle the pump.

There are a lot of types of automotive vacuum pumps on ebay, but beware many of these are for cruise control and the like and are not suitable for brakes. It all got a bit complicated and I decided it would be easier to use a belt driven pump which was cheaper and should have less to go wrong (fingers crossed).

I've been driving around the farm with the belt driven pump connected and it's working really well connected to the defender booster. I just have to get the wheel cylinder adjustment a little better.

cheers
Phin

the idea of hooking the electric vacuum pump up to the brake light switch via a relay is to only allow it to work/run when needed

when you're not pressing the brake pedal it's not operating

there's no need for a reservoir or pressure/vacuum sensing switches when powered via the brake light switch

one press before pulling away gives you initial vacuum in the servo, then each subsequent application of the brakes refreshes the system

hope that helps

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by phin

Hi Lionel,

I did come across some information about electric vacuum pumps. Some people in the UK have hooked them up. They have couple of issues as they aren't designed to run constantly. This necessitates connecting up a vacuum reservoir and a vacuum switch to cycle the pump.

There are a lot of types of automotive vacuum pumps on ebay, but beware many of these are for cruise control and the like and are not suitable for brakes. It all got a bit complicated and I decided it would be easier to use a belt driven pump which was cheaper and should have less to go wrong (fingers crossed).

I've been driving around the farm with the belt driven pump connected and it's working really well connected to the defender booster. I just have to get the wheel cylinder adjustment a little better.

cheers
Phin

---

Hello Phin & Nitemare,

Arh okay so what I saw is a trap for new players - I had best stay away from the electric vacuum system then.

I suppose there are some benefits of having time to look around before having to act. Then again that could be a trap too because I might confuse myself more - it is not too hard to do at all :p

Phin, it good to know the belt driven system is working well. How is the diesel smoke issue going?

The rig looks good with the correct camper roof on top too. How long before the first shake-out camping trip is planned?

Kind Regards
Lionel