63' Bluebird Highwayman - Matilda
- Thread starter Bayside
- Start date
Bayside
0
quote:
Originally posted by Bayside
Definitely no fold out legs. I'll try to get some photos if the rain stops this afternoon.
Needs a new top
But I've got two of these
This bit on the floor for the leg to sit in
And the leg lives here above the seat / window
I have a shorter one as well.
Originally posted by Bayside
Definitely no fold out legs. I'll try to get some photos if the rain stops this afternoon.
Needs a new top
But I've got two of these
This bit on the floor for the leg to sit in
And the leg lives here above the seat / window
I have a shorter one as well.
We were told by the person we bought it from that all tubes are for the table and that the spiked one is for outside eating, quite ingenious really.
three+one
three+one
Bayside
0
Hi, sorry its been a while since I last posted ive been busy decorating the house and sorting the garden and workshop - finally managed to get some time on the project today and started by clearing out the carpet that someone in the vans previous incarnation had stuck to
Every.....
Single.....
Piece..... of the cab interior! Most of which was now starting to peel away and concerned me that it might be hiding grot and rot.
So this morning it looked like this:
Initially after peeling it all off I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was minimal rot hidden underneath it. Unfortunately there was a lot of old crumbling, dusty adhesive / backing over the metal work. Which looked like this:
I did find when taking off the wiper motor cover that the inner peak was rust free despite the outer peak being almost non existent through rot:
I set to work with a scraper and face mask to remove as much of the adhesive and ended up with this:
Much better than it started out but still some work to do to get rid of the rest of the adhesive, then I can put some zinc primer on the metal that has been uncovered where paint flaked off.
Every.....
Single.....
Piece..... of the cab interior! Most of which was now starting to peel away and concerned me that it might be hiding grot and rot.
So this morning it looked like this:
Initially after peeling it all off I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was minimal rot hidden underneath it. Unfortunately there was a lot of old crumbling, dusty adhesive / backing over the metal work. Which looked like this:
I did find when taking off the wiper motor cover that the inner peak was rust free despite the outer peak being almost non existent through rot:
I set to work with a scraper and face mask to remove as much of the adhesive and ended up with this:
Much better than it started out but still some work to do to get rid of the rest of the adhesive, then I can put some zinc primer on the metal that has been uncovered where paint flaked off.
Great job!
This will have the small front drums which we found on Rosie to be inadequate. You can swap for later large ones, but you need to swap the stub axle carriers as well. We put Humber Super Snipe front discs on, which are a simple fit.
Bayside
0
I think Ill be looking at a disc conversion also as will be running modern diesel power.
Were the Super Snipe discs easy to get hold of? Did you use the matching calipers or an alternative? Built a rear disc conversion for a Toyota surf which had the handbrake on so this shouldn't be any more complicated seeing as the handbrake operates the rear drums on this one. It'll be getting an LDV 200 rear axle anyways.
I may look at whether the LDV front discs and calipers will fit as they are the same PCD
Were the Super Snipe discs easy to get hold of? Did you use the matching calipers or an alternative? Built a rear disc conversion for a Toyota surf which had the handbrake on so this shouldn't be any more complicated seeing as the handbrake operates the rear drums on this one. It'll be getting an LDV 200 rear axle anyways.
I may look at whether the LDV front discs and calipers will fit as they are the same PCD
Last edited:
Hi
My husband was the man who named Matilda!
We owned her for a little while when we lived in Swansea...she came to us with a seized engine (needed a new flywheel) and all the interior electrics burnt out (the ones for the lights etc). The ground spike was our ingenious idea so that we could use the table outside...but we believe the the floor socket was original as it was identical to the one we had in our previous commer.
We did have all the original documents including original sales docket, conversion invoice from Bluebird and a whole host of other stuff but it went to the new owner so I don't know if they survived and got to you. Such a shame if they got lost but I may remember some bits...
I can definitely give you the story of how we got her going again ....I wrote a diary at the time and if I can find the file I can let you have all the details. We sold her in Spring of 2001 because we had to move house with a change of job and no longer had anywhere to keep her.
Please let me know if you'd like what information I have.....
I am really really glad that she has survived and has gone to a loving home...
Pippa
My husband was the man who named Matilda!
We owned her for a little while when we lived in Swansea...she came to us with a seized engine (needed a new flywheel) and all the interior electrics burnt out (the ones for the lights etc). The ground spike was our ingenious idea so that we could use the table outside...but we believe the the floor socket was original as it was identical to the one we had in our previous commer.
We did have all the original documents including original sales docket, conversion invoice from Bluebird and a whole host of other stuff but it went to the new owner so I don't know if they survived and got to you. Such a shame if they got lost but I may remember some bits...
I can definitely give you the story of how we got her going again ....I wrote a diary at the time and if I can find the file I can let you have all the details. We sold her in Spring of 2001 because we had to move house with a change of job and no longer had anywhere to keep her.
Please let me know if you'd like what information I have.....
I am really really glad that she has survived and has gone to a loving home...
Pippa
Hi Pippa and welcome to the Madhouse
It must have been a wrench having to sell such a lovely van but as you can see it's in safe hands with Glynn and Adele and I'm delighted that you've made contact with some of the vans history
Where you responsible for sticking the carpet all over the cab
It must have been a wrench having to sell such a lovely van but as you can see it's in safe hands with Glynn and Adele and I'm delighted that you've made contact with some of the vans history
Where you responsible for sticking the carpet all over the cab
Bayside
0
Hi Pippa,
Thank yo so much for getting in touch, we would love to have a look at the diary and anything else you have concerning Matilda. We have a file full of various papers about her including a couple of pictures one with her painted brown and cream and the other in the maroon and blue. I've been trying to get hold of as much history on her as we can and any supporting media and sales stuff from when she was built. I think I've figured she was originally sage green and cream.
I wonder if you can shed any light on the period of her history when she appeared to have been purchased / signed over to the government after which she was given her current number plate which by the looks of things was not the one she left the factory with? I wondered if this time period and any use it may have been given led to the number plate being painted on the roof.
It sounds like she was in decent condition when you sold her unfortunately ten years under a tree have taken there toll on the cab panels thankfully the rest of her doesn't seem to have suffered as much from what I've found so far. Im yet to properly get into the rebuild so time will tell. Ive got an update to pop on from last weeks tinkering to bring this thread up to date but would love to see what you have on her.
Glynn
Thank yo so much for getting in touch, we would love to have a look at the diary and anything else you have concerning Matilda. We have a file full of various papers about her including a couple of pictures one with her painted brown and cream and the other in the maroon and blue. I've been trying to get hold of as much history on her as we can and any supporting media and sales stuff from when she was built. I think I've figured she was originally sage green and cream.
I wonder if you can shed any light on the period of her history when she appeared to have been purchased / signed over to the government after which she was given her current number plate which by the looks of things was not the one she left the factory with? I wondered if this time period and any use it may have been given led to the number plate being painted on the roof.
It sounds like she was in decent condition when you sold her unfortunately ten years under a tree have taken there toll on the cab panels thankfully the rest of her doesn't seem to have suffered as much from what I've found so far. Im yet to properly get into the rebuild so time will tell. Ive got an update to pop on from last weeks tinkering to bring this thread up to date but would love to see what you have on her.
Glynn
Hi Glynn
She was definitely brown and cream at one stage.
My understanding from the paperwork we had is that she had gone from the factory as a bare chassis (drive away pickup chassis) and went to Bluebird where she stayed for around 12 months before getting her coachbuilt section. After that I can't help so much.
We bought her from a local garage who had been hiring her out to people and had it returned to them run dry of oil and with seized engine with all interior electrics burned out.
We rebuilt the engine, and swapped over many parts from our other Commer (Doris) who we were breaking for spares after she fell apart with galloping rust and a catastrophic failure of stub axle/wheel bearing.
My husband called RVS166 Matilda after a tank (he likes military stuff) but I am very curious to know how you know her name???
I am going to try and attach the excerpts from my diary at the time we had her and all the work we did. It's quite long though....so I will do it in a separate post.
I can solve the mystery of the number on the roof. We painted that there - it was a 'new' idea by our insurance company so that if the vehicle was stolen it could be spotted from the air!
Good luck with her rebuild...it is good to know she is being loved by someone.
She was definitely brown and cream at one stage.
My understanding from the paperwork we had is that she had gone from the factory as a bare chassis (drive away pickup chassis) and went to Bluebird where she stayed for around 12 months before getting her coachbuilt section. After that I can't help so much.
We bought her from a local garage who had been hiring her out to people and had it returned to them run dry of oil and with seized engine with all interior electrics burned out.
We rebuilt the engine, and swapped over many parts from our other Commer (Doris) who we were breaking for spares after she fell apart with galloping rust and a catastrophic failure of stub axle/wheel bearing.
My husband called RVS166 Matilda after a tank (he likes military stuff) but I am very curious to know how you know her name???
I am going to try and attach the excerpts from my diary at the time we had her and all the work we did. It's quite long though....so I will do it in a separate post.
I can solve the mystery of the number on the roof. We painted that there - it was a 'new' idea by our insurance company so that if the vehicle was stolen it could be spotted from the air!
Good luck with her rebuild...it is good to know she is being loved by someone.
THE SAGA OF RVS 166 - MY DIARY ENTRIES FROM THE TIME WE BOUGHT MATILDA
This is the story of our 'new' 1964 Commer Highwayman. We bought the van in August 1995 and after getting it home discovered that the engine had seized. We managed to get it running but the noise it made was unspeakable and we decided that there was nothing else for it but to involve a garage in the repairs. Thus the saga starts...................
Tonight when I got home, we hitched the van up to the car and I drove (very slowly) down to the garage. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I went slow and steady and took all junctions wide.
Eventually, I got down to the garage to see how thing were going with Lil /Maud/ Whatever. Paul looks very glum. Well, I'm having a great day, says I - how about you. Paul says nothing, just hands me the sump pan. It has oil in it (as you'd expect) and lots of other things besides - I particularly recognised a piston liner although the fact that it was about half an inch deep in iron filings should have alerted me to something! Anyway we took a good look at everything. It is a credit to the Commer car company that I managed to run the engine at all as the oil pump was only oiling half the system, one piston didn't do anything and there was about a quarter of an inch gap between all the bearings on the crankshaft. I'm serious here, you could put a screwdriver up between them! Anyway - it could be repaired, but we'd still have an engine with 80k on the clock so we've decided to put a new engine in. Add to that the fact that we're thinking of swapping over the clutch/gearbox/overdrive/prop and diff from Doris (because they've not done more that 3,000 miles since we rebuilt them) and it'll mean that mechanically it should be virtually as good as new. The new engine will cost us around £300 which is pretty good really and will have a 12 month guarantee. That's OK isn't it!
Anyway, I have just got off the phone to various garages etc. No one has an engine anywhere - apart from the ones I already know about. Local reconditioning centres are willing to take it on at various (usually inflated) prices. However, 2 places that Paul recommended both offered a reasonable deal. Number 1 said he would regrind all surfaces and supply new bearings, crank and pistons etc for £280 (inc vat), but he wouldn't actually rebuild it himself and therefore would not guarantee it once it was put together. Number 2 (the best deal I think) would completely rebuild the engine on a new block (he has at least one of them in stock) for £300 + vat. He was prepared to put 12 months unlimited mileage guarantee on that although I think unlimited mileage for us is a bit on the optimistic side!! He also said that if we towed the van to him (or he could collect it for £10) he would fit the recon engine for another £100 + vat. Not bad, especially considering Paul was talking about £200 for fitting (inc Vat). All this vat gets confusing doesn't it! I called Paul and told him the (good?) news – and he said (in the time honoured tradition of all mechanics) "pop down and see me in the morning and we'll see what we can work out".
I assume this means that in order to try and keep the business he will try and better that price. Well, all well and good for us if he can, eh?
The upshot of my latest visit is that Paul has the van and will get the engine out, call Swansea autos who'll rebuild it and then Paul will put it back in. In terms of labour it'll possibly cost less in the long run as we're thinking of swapping the gearbox/overdrive etc from Doris (because its fairly new) into the new van. If the gearbox has to come off to refit the engine then it may as well be done at the same time and Paul would have done that anyway.
The saga of the engine didn't continue today I'm afraid. Its in the garage and they are going to do the work. All I can do right now is wait until they tell me that they've managed to get the engine out (once they've managed to borrow a crane that is.......)
While we were waiting, we made sure it was undersealed and it's in the place that the work is going to be done. All we have to do now, is sit back and twiddle our thumbs. At least we know now that before too long we'll have a van that mechanically should be as good as new.
Today I had a phone call this morning from (yet another) Commer owner who had just bought a scrapped Commer because he needs a new windscreen and doors. He wanted to know if I wanted the engine - 37,000 fully documented miles from new (1968). Ours went over to the reconditioners on Monday so he was a bit late with the offer for us, but there you go. Anyway I gave him some advice on how to tune up his engine and in exchange, he's giving me a set of hub caps for free!! How about that - I've been searching for hub caps for 5 years and now they're coming out of my ears! Last night I was talking to the editor of the club magazine (Classic Camper Club) (he wanted some typing done) and he told me he thought he had some spares I could have.
Today I went over to Bynnea (near Llanelli) to pick up the hubcaps and got 2 M's as well. (Mmmmmmm I hear you say - well actually it's mm but who's counting!) They're the M's from Commer, you know, the chrome letters on the front. Ours are getting a bit corroded and Doris's are a sort of stippled effect rather than plain chrome so I can't simply change them over. We now also have a set of hubcaps which have taken two hours to clean and get the dents out! They do look nice now, although 2 of them have rust holes in. One's not too bad as its on the edge (I've repaired it with aluminium tape) but the other is right in the middle. Thankfully there were 5 altogether so we've actually ended up with a fairly decent set. The bloke concerned wouldn't accept any money for them - he said the advice I'd given him on how to tune his engine for better economy had saved him a fortune on one trip to Tenby so he reckoned I'd earned them!!
A period of time passes while the garage seem to be doing nothing on the van. It's very much a "back-burner" project for them and they've been getting on with other things. We're fed up with it but are getting a good price so can hardly complain! In this period one of Doris's wheel bearings collapses while on our way to Malvern. We tried to sell Doris but no-one even phoned up about her so we decided to keep her and break her ourselves for spares.
… Currently however, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that the engine is in place and only needs the exhaust manifold and the carburetor fixing on (then a bit of tuning etc). They asked me to get the exhaust before they fitted the manifold because of easier access and I delivered that to them yesterday (£30 for the complete front to back exhaust system - howzat!) This means that we will at least be able to drive the vehicle and get whatever else work that needs doing for the MOT actually done. At present I know that's some of the electrics and the tyres but I don't know what else.
Guess what, the exhaust I picked up for the van didn't fit - I phoned the exhaust place who said they'd give me a refund - I've been on the phone half the day tracking down a replacement!
At this time mum and dad went on holiday so all mail messages stopped! The saga however continued when I managed to get hold of the alternative exhaust for a Commer and that didn't fit either! We now had 2 front pipes - the only two types ever made - and neither of them fitted. Tom said that they would cut and weld the pipe in several places to get it to fit or I could take it to Town Tyres who sold me the exhaust - they are after all the specialists in this sort of thing.
Once the van had been driven over there (without an exhaust!!) Town Tyres said that the exhaust wasn't a problem, it was the wrong manifold for the engine. Blimey, if its not one thing its another. Anyway we rushed down to the local scrapyard for a spot of vandalism to an engine they have there. Why oh why is there always one stubborn nut in a place you can't get at!!!!! Anyway the right type of exhaust manifold was duly delivered to the garage and they will sort it out with Town Tyres so that we can get the exhaust fitted.
Eventually I got through to the garage…Tom's off sick and the boys are flat out - Andrew sounded like he was going to cry!! The studs snapped coming out of the manifold that was already on the van and new ones will have to be brazed in - they are not amused - but then neither am I really!!! Finally they called, the new exhaust manifold didn't fit the old inlet manifold - could I get the inlet manifold as well. I cracked at this, especially when you consider that the inlet manifold is different because the carburettor is different - you can see where all this is leading, can't you!! Faced with the problem of changing the whole carburation system just to fit an exhaust, I asked them to cut and weld the bits of exhaust they had, just to get it legal.
Finally, all is decided and the exhaust is fitted literally in a couple of hours - amazing innit. Paul drives the van up to the house and although all the "decorating" has to be done at some stage - at least she finally gets a name - "Matilda". Christmas is looming fast though and freezing rain and constantly threatening snow are slowing the process up somewhat. Things aren't helped by the fact that the passenger seat in the van still hasn't been fitted as the only way to start the engine is off the test button on the solenoid. Nige doesn't half look funny with one arm stuck inside the engine while also trying to operate the throttle, clutch and choke - we really must get it to the electrician.
Now Christmas is out of the way we have booked Matilda in to the auto electricians for Wednesday. Apart from the starter button, there's also the reversing light, radio, interior lights, washer bottle etc etc to fix.
Plans move on for us to take a trip away within the next couple of weeks.
We were originally hoping that we would be taking the van up to help with running it in but we've discovered that the gearbox that's on it is really not very good - it keeps jumping out of fourth gear. We're going to have to change the gearbox over from Doris as soon as possible. It was something we'd always intended doing, but this problem just makes it a little more urgent.
Yesterday it went to the auto-electricians. On the way there the indicators stopped working and when we put petrol in it the petrol gauge didn't move! We left it with the sparks and a huge long list of things for him to do on it and he said he'd call me in the afternoon when he'd had chance to look at it and assess the damage! Duly, around 3 pm I had a phone call. Could I go down and bring £50 with me (deposit thinks I!) - but no, I got down there and he'd done *all* the work I'd asked and £50 was the full payment. I nearly dropped through the floor. All the indicators, lights, radio, everything all working. Even the starter button! All that was wrong with that was that the solenoid was supposed to have 2 earths (unlike the old one which only had one) - when he added an extra earth it worked just fine! The petrol gauge is faulty (at the tank end) but I have a spare of those in the garage and the washer bottle motor is also faulty (he suggests I use the one out of Doris). The only other thing that doesn't work now is the "reversing beeper" but we've never had one before and its hardly a standard fitting so we won't bother doing anything at all with that.
Matilda (the van) has now been cleaned up inside and it looks pretty swank - next step is to get to work on the cupboards and arrange disposal of Doris who had her last bits removed this morning.
I've also been trying to get some work done on the van while the weather is OK. Its coming on fine, the cupboards have been sanded and varnished and its starting to look quite smart inside (apart from the used bits of sandpaper and empty paint tins that is!) although there's still a way to go.
The sink has now been filled and although we started by painting it grey it looked horrible (battleship grey just clashed) so we went out on Saturday and bought some Burgundy enamel. I did that this morning and *I* think it looks very smart. Mind, the important thing is that it no longer has half a dozen holes in it. All I need to do now is take the plug out from the kitchen and we'll have a finished sink. As soon as the mechanicals are completely finished then we can put in the carpets (which have already been cut to size) and fit the cushions and curtains (which as you know have been finished for ages). Its then down to little jobs, the fridge will have to be fitted and the gas system checked over, but I finally think the end is in sight!
This is the story of our 'new' 1964 Commer Highwayman. We bought the van in August 1995 and after getting it home discovered that the engine had seized. We managed to get it running but the noise it made was unspeakable and we decided that there was nothing else for it but to involve a garage in the repairs. Thus the saga starts...................
Tonight when I got home, we hitched the van up to the car and I drove (very slowly) down to the garage. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I went slow and steady and took all junctions wide.
Eventually, I got down to the garage to see how thing were going with Lil /Maud/ Whatever. Paul looks very glum. Well, I'm having a great day, says I - how about you. Paul says nothing, just hands me the sump pan. It has oil in it (as you'd expect) and lots of other things besides - I particularly recognised a piston liner although the fact that it was about half an inch deep in iron filings should have alerted me to something! Anyway we took a good look at everything. It is a credit to the Commer car company that I managed to run the engine at all as the oil pump was only oiling half the system, one piston didn't do anything and there was about a quarter of an inch gap between all the bearings on the crankshaft. I'm serious here, you could put a screwdriver up between them! Anyway - it could be repaired, but we'd still have an engine with 80k on the clock so we've decided to put a new engine in. Add to that the fact that we're thinking of swapping over the clutch/gearbox/overdrive/prop and diff from Doris (because they've not done more that 3,000 miles since we rebuilt them) and it'll mean that mechanically it should be virtually as good as new. The new engine will cost us around £300 which is pretty good really and will have a 12 month guarantee. That's OK isn't it!
Anyway, I have just got off the phone to various garages etc. No one has an engine anywhere - apart from the ones I already know about. Local reconditioning centres are willing to take it on at various (usually inflated) prices. However, 2 places that Paul recommended both offered a reasonable deal. Number 1 said he would regrind all surfaces and supply new bearings, crank and pistons etc for £280 (inc vat), but he wouldn't actually rebuild it himself and therefore would not guarantee it once it was put together. Number 2 (the best deal I think) would completely rebuild the engine on a new block (he has at least one of them in stock) for £300 + vat. He was prepared to put 12 months unlimited mileage guarantee on that although I think unlimited mileage for us is a bit on the optimistic side!! He also said that if we towed the van to him (or he could collect it for £10) he would fit the recon engine for another £100 + vat. Not bad, especially considering Paul was talking about £200 for fitting (inc Vat). All this vat gets confusing doesn't it! I called Paul and told him the (good?) news – and he said (in the time honoured tradition of all mechanics) "pop down and see me in the morning and we'll see what we can work out".
I assume this means that in order to try and keep the business he will try and better that price. Well, all well and good for us if he can, eh?
The upshot of my latest visit is that Paul has the van and will get the engine out, call Swansea autos who'll rebuild it and then Paul will put it back in. In terms of labour it'll possibly cost less in the long run as we're thinking of swapping the gearbox/overdrive etc from Doris (because its fairly new) into the new van. If the gearbox has to come off to refit the engine then it may as well be done at the same time and Paul would have done that anyway.
The saga of the engine didn't continue today I'm afraid. Its in the garage and they are going to do the work. All I can do right now is wait until they tell me that they've managed to get the engine out (once they've managed to borrow a crane that is.......)
While we were waiting, we made sure it was undersealed and it's in the place that the work is going to be done. All we have to do now, is sit back and twiddle our thumbs. At least we know now that before too long we'll have a van that mechanically should be as good as new.
Today I had a phone call this morning from (yet another) Commer owner who had just bought a scrapped Commer because he needs a new windscreen and doors. He wanted to know if I wanted the engine - 37,000 fully documented miles from new (1968). Ours went over to the reconditioners on Monday so he was a bit late with the offer for us, but there you go. Anyway I gave him some advice on how to tune up his engine and in exchange, he's giving me a set of hub caps for free!! How about that - I've been searching for hub caps for 5 years and now they're coming out of my ears! Last night I was talking to the editor of the club magazine (Classic Camper Club) (he wanted some typing done) and he told me he thought he had some spares I could have.
Today I went over to Bynnea (near Llanelli) to pick up the hubcaps and got 2 M's as well. (Mmmmmmm I hear you say - well actually it's mm but who's counting!) They're the M's from Commer, you know, the chrome letters on the front. Ours are getting a bit corroded and Doris's are a sort of stippled effect rather than plain chrome so I can't simply change them over. We now also have a set of hubcaps which have taken two hours to clean and get the dents out! They do look nice now, although 2 of them have rust holes in. One's not too bad as its on the edge (I've repaired it with aluminium tape) but the other is right in the middle. Thankfully there were 5 altogether so we've actually ended up with a fairly decent set. The bloke concerned wouldn't accept any money for them - he said the advice I'd given him on how to tune his engine for better economy had saved him a fortune on one trip to Tenby so he reckoned I'd earned them!!
A period of time passes while the garage seem to be doing nothing on the van. It's very much a "back-burner" project for them and they've been getting on with other things. We're fed up with it but are getting a good price so can hardly complain! In this period one of Doris's wheel bearings collapses while on our way to Malvern. We tried to sell Doris but no-one even phoned up about her so we decided to keep her and break her ourselves for spares.
… Currently however, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that the engine is in place and only needs the exhaust manifold and the carburetor fixing on (then a bit of tuning etc). They asked me to get the exhaust before they fitted the manifold because of easier access and I delivered that to them yesterday (£30 for the complete front to back exhaust system - howzat!) This means that we will at least be able to drive the vehicle and get whatever else work that needs doing for the MOT actually done. At present I know that's some of the electrics and the tyres but I don't know what else.
Guess what, the exhaust I picked up for the van didn't fit - I phoned the exhaust place who said they'd give me a refund - I've been on the phone half the day tracking down a replacement!
At this time mum and dad went on holiday so all mail messages stopped! The saga however continued when I managed to get hold of the alternative exhaust for a Commer and that didn't fit either! We now had 2 front pipes - the only two types ever made - and neither of them fitted. Tom said that they would cut and weld the pipe in several places to get it to fit or I could take it to Town Tyres who sold me the exhaust - they are after all the specialists in this sort of thing.
Once the van had been driven over there (without an exhaust!!) Town Tyres said that the exhaust wasn't a problem, it was the wrong manifold for the engine. Blimey, if its not one thing its another. Anyway we rushed down to the local scrapyard for a spot of vandalism to an engine they have there. Why oh why is there always one stubborn nut in a place you can't get at!!!!! Anyway the right type of exhaust manifold was duly delivered to the garage and they will sort it out with Town Tyres so that we can get the exhaust fitted.
Eventually I got through to the garage…Tom's off sick and the boys are flat out - Andrew sounded like he was going to cry!! The studs snapped coming out of the manifold that was already on the van and new ones will have to be brazed in - they are not amused - but then neither am I really!!! Finally they called, the new exhaust manifold didn't fit the old inlet manifold - could I get the inlet manifold as well. I cracked at this, especially when you consider that the inlet manifold is different because the carburettor is different - you can see where all this is leading, can't you!! Faced with the problem of changing the whole carburation system just to fit an exhaust, I asked them to cut and weld the bits of exhaust they had, just to get it legal.
Finally, all is decided and the exhaust is fitted literally in a couple of hours - amazing innit. Paul drives the van up to the house and although all the "decorating" has to be done at some stage - at least she finally gets a name - "Matilda". Christmas is looming fast though and freezing rain and constantly threatening snow are slowing the process up somewhat. Things aren't helped by the fact that the passenger seat in the van still hasn't been fitted as the only way to start the engine is off the test button on the solenoid. Nige doesn't half look funny with one arm stuck inside the engine while also trying to operate the throttle, clutch and choke - we really must get it to the electrician.
Now Christmas is out of the way we have booked Matilda in to the auto electricians for Wednesday. Apart from the starter button, there's also the reversing light, radio, interior lights, washer bottle etc etc to fix.
Plans move on for us to take a trip away within the next couple of weeks.
We were originally hoping that we would be taking the van up to help with running it in but we've discovered that the gearbox that's on it is really not very good - it keeps jumping out of fourth gear. We're going to have to change the gearbox over from Doris as soon as possible. It was something we'd always intended doing, but this problem just makes it a little more urgent.
Yesterday it went to the auto-electricians. On the way there the indicators stopped working and when we put petrol in it the petrol gauge didn't move! We left it with the sparks and a huge long list of things for him to do on it and he said he'd call me in the afternoon when he'd had chance to look at it and assess the damage! Duly, around 3 pm I had a phone call. Could I go down and bring £50 with me (deposit thinks I!) - but no, I got down there and he'd done *all* the work I'd asked and £50 was the full payment. I nearly dropped through the floor. All the indicators, lights, radio, everything all working. Even the starter button! All that was wrong with that was that the solenoid was supposed to have 2 earths (unlike the old one which only had one) - when he added an extra earth it worked just fine! The petrol gauge is faulty (at the tank end) but I have a spare of those in the garage and the washer bottle motor is also faulty (he suggests I use the one out of Doris). The only other thing that doesn't work now is the "reversing beeper" but we've never had one before and its hardly a standard fitting so we won't bother doing anything at all with that.
Matilda (the van) has now been cleaned up inside and it looks pretty swank - next step is to get to work on the cupboards and arrange disposal of Doris who had her last bits removed this morning.
I've also been trying to get some work done on the van while the weather is OK. Its coming on fine, the cupboards have been sanded and varnished and its starting to look quite smart inside (apart from the used bits of sandpaper and empty paint tins that is!) although there's still a way to go.
The sink has now been filled and although we started by painting it grey it looked horrible (battleship grey just clashed) so we went out on Saturday and bought some Burgundy enamel. I did that this morning and *I* think it looks very smart. Mind, the important thing is that it no longer has half a dozen holes in it. All I need to do now is take the plug out from the kitchen and we'll have a finished sink. As soon as the mechanicals are completely finished then we can put in the carpets (which have already been cut to size) and fit the cushions and curtains (which as you know have been finished for ages). Its then down to little jobs, the fridge will have to be fitted and the gas system checked over, but I finally think the end is in sight!