T4 from Caravelle to Camper

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Bought a Caravelle on 09/03/13 with the intention to have it ready for a jaunt round France in June/July in camper form. Its just been serviced incl having the waterpump and cambelt done, seems to be straight enough and looked after by previous owner.



So... first on the list... out with the interior :





Plan is to keep this seat here:



This is as far as I got today :



Interior is provisionally sold.
Next up... flashing, bubble wrap + plastic bottle insulation.
Only faults I could find in it is that it needs driver's door lock(will re-tumble it) and possibly new heater cable/tab (only blowing cold at the moment).

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Discovered this eve that the reason the heater wasn't working was a broken heater switch (rotary type), so I've pulled the valve lever manually under the bonnet to leave it on full, I was frozen in it today.

Started on the panel insulation today

Layer of flashing tape, layer of foil covered bubble wrap, layer of insulation and a layer of bubble wrap again.

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I went for the Caravelle as it has windows, when reclassifying I shouldn't have to pay any extra VRT (with a van I believe you still need to pay 13%), it also has seat belts in the rear and a removable single seat which I want to keep for the young lad. I know I could have retro fitted but.. didn't need that hassle with backing plates, sourcing seats/belts/etc.

This is the one :


I've sold the rest of the interior. Have been suprised at how much fun they are to drive, the gear change feels v.strange at first (v.long throw, need to bend each time if you are tall-ish).

Insulation, the flashing tape and foil backed bubble wrap I picked up from Atlantic Homecare, the Eco wool (recycled plastic bottles) from B&Q. I went for the Eco wool as it won't absorb/hold moisture and doesn't have fibres that will stick to your skin/lungs. You could pick up sound deadening foam from Atlantic also (they have a range of the stuff), it wasn't a priority for me to have it v.quite so went with just the flashing tape. This will give a little bit of deadening but more importantly will reduce resonance in the flat panels and make it feel a bit more solid. When you knock on the outside it now sounds like "dunk dunk" rather than "dink dink" ;-)

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Got some more done this eve, flashing on the wheel arches and more insulating. Just the sliding door and rear hatch door to do.






Also took out the rear blower motor but still trying to figure out what to do with the rear vent tubes and the large vent behind the window..

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Carpet arrived today so did a bit this eve :

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today, covered every hole I could find with alu tape + rerouted wiring pre carpeting.


decided to do each side in one piece


Had a minion "help" out too. Nearly finished one side

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I picked up a pool ball knob + bendy extension


Got the rear hatch panel and window surround done tonight.
Put it back on with a bit of struggling, closed the door and it wouldn't open again. Gah!
After much fishing through the hole where the pull strap goes, I managed to juuust snag the lock with a finger.
Looks like I'd hit and moved the lock into "disengaged" and popped the lock rod off so the handle wouldn't open it.

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Almost finished driver's side, need to make window frames and attached the panels properly still.
This eve I sealed up the vent and finished the carpeting around the rear hatch on that side.

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This is how far I'd got up till last night :



Today I popped over to Marlow and traded some parts (thanks again Marlow!)
Discovered a likely reason behind my central locking not working, this is how the inside of the driver's door solonoid looks :



Will come back to that when I'm doing the electrics.

Slider door panel needed to come off for carpeting, it had been reattached by a previous owner with 12 rivets, managed to snap a drill bit in the first one...


.. but eventually got it off the door.

Then set about attaching the panels I'd already carpeted using the hidden screw method :







and learnt a lesson... don't test to see if a screw head is hot with your thumb :



Next job was to make some window frames to tidy up the carpeting around the windows (need to decide what to do about the B pillars... carpet the plastic or remove and carpet the metal work + door surround + A pillar??) :







Used some off cuts for this as I want to keep enough to do part of the cabin's door cards



Testing the size :



Finished carpeting the frame + slider door panel.



That half-window sized piece is to fit in the window which will be partially hidden by the units when they are installed.

Will make a frame for the window on the other side tomorrow.

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Bought flooring today, laid it out



Got length and width right first



Removed the ply floor + used it as a template, cut out holes to refit tie-downs.



Done