CNBBC

i dare

well i got to stoke and back last week.

where is sheffield? i think i go to manchester then turn right and drive till it gets colder but dont know.
may have to borrow clares tomtom.

IT'S NOT CLAIRE'S TOMTOM
IT'S OUR TOMTOM (as in the family tomtom)
AND IF CERTAIN PEOPLE DIDN'T FIDDLE WITH THE SOUND SETTINGS
(because it's annoying them)
IT DOES TELL YOU WHICH EXIT TO TAKE
ON A ROUNDABOUT IN AN AREA THATS UKNOWN TO THEM

get the post code if you win it

drove the old girl to warrington and gack today with no problems at all though R2D2 in the engine bay is starting to get on my tits now.

for those who havent yet braved a trip in the van R2D2 is the alarm on it that chirps every time you hit a pot hole, and when you are doing 70 on the bumpy m6 has a tendency to go off properly quite a lot!!!!

its not stolen honestly officer!!

the new aquisition for the van and emma is really not happy about this one at all.



its 2 foot wide and 6 foot long!! i suppose i should call it "skippy"

emma says she isnt sleeping in the van with a kangaroo rug, thats ok, i can always pitch her a tent.

For Emma or the Rug?

emma of course, the thing is it goes in keeping with the roo bar on the front.

my word ,
great stuff old son

its been quite quiet lately on the t25 front, what with the weather being crap!! and the ongoing sunday morning engine rebuilds at the bronzed one's house. then again these do take priority at the moment as we need to get the bug sorted for bus types.

after the purchase of the skippy for the van, amelia loves it , i have had the cibie's back from powder coat and they look mint, they are ready for another 20 years service now.



i have also aquired a roof rack which is being delivered to dubfreeze, this will be needed due to the other aquisition.



hope it will be big enough as this arrived yesterday:



23'x26' camo net to cover the van with at the shows, i just need to get the poles and some green paint now so it will have to be a trip to nottingham again.
this wont be for a few weeks as i can coincide this with a trip to hooters and a night out in nottingham for emmas birthday.
if the net is'nt big enough mr fisher has one that will cover a daf so i will borrow that.

i'm looking for a ladder now for the tailgate so if anyone has one or knows of one then let me know.

also the van broke again the other day not a big problem, it spat a small coolant hose off the head to the water system that goes around the engine compartment and dumped about 3 litres of coolant out the back over the exhaust.
a new hose and a few mins of help from em and she was all sorted again.

i hope to get her painted in march, or as soon as the weather gets a bit better, i cant wait its going to look mad.

i went outside today to clean the windscreen on the 25 but in a moment of madness i decided to start doing the bodywork on it instead.
i think that the sun was shining and i'd had a couple hours of sleep that helped in the decision.

first job was to remove a load of screws that the last owner had put in the front panel so as to pull out a dent or two. there was also a couple in the door as well.



with these removed i cleaned up the offending area and welded up the holes.



with this done i cleaned the welds then hammered them in due to when the dent was pulled the metal was a bit raised. the upshot of this being the light lense dropping off

this is quite common on 80's vw's, if you drive one (inc golfs) dont be supprised to find it missing a lense, they do just drop off!!!
luckily i had a spare in the shed

with this done i attacked the seams by the petrol filler and b post





i just finished painting a bit of rust beater on the bare steel when the heavens opened. at least the steel will be sealed against the elements until i can get some primer on when my compessor returns.





at least its a start in the right direction and if i keep chipping away at the old girl when the sun shines it will be painted for bus types.



the offending light!!! bloody typical

the suns been shining again so ive been busy.
















got a bit carried away with the sand paint






there was a big crease in the drivers door but it is nearly sorted now.



two thirds of this side of the van are now in grey primer but that has left me in a predicament, do i still go with the camo look or paint the old girl white.
the van is really straight so it would be a shame to ruin it. i think i will see what happens with the split before i make a decision.
if it sells then i will paint it white, if it doesnt it will go camo.

The little red fella on my right shoulder says:
you know you've always wanted a camo vehicle...regardless of what it is, and now you have the accessories for this one...

sorry, I think that was the wine talking (don't ask, it's been a busy week)...

If I listen to the little white fella on my other shoulder it says paint it white. I am guessing Emma said the immortal words "I'm not going ANYWHERE in that thing if it's camo?"

emma's not arsed what colour it is, she hates the van anyway.

when ive fitted caravelle doors to the side and maybe change the top rear panels for n.o.s sides with windows in then maybe she will like it a bit more.

i doubt it though

p.s.
its mine and i love it

I suspect that she will shortly develop a demeanour often referred to as "Smugness" when you guys are camping with reliable heat and we're drinking hot coffee to stop our fingers falling off.

Alternatively, leave Emma with her mum and bring Amelia instead

JUST KIDDING, EM!!