New wood

[RMS]

Hi guys,

Well, I got a new sheet of marine ply to replace the one I found with a delamination fault!

So, I cut new sides for the Carawagon roof today, then decided to go the whole hog and replace the lot!

So, here's a roofless Carawagon:




(Must get a haircut!!)



Patrick removing the rivets from the hinge to replace the seal:


I've decided to put the original wooden roof rack back on, like Patrick's, as the original sections had been hacked off to fit a metal rack



My slot cutter - to cut slots in the edge of some roof sections for the seal - Patent applied for



All the pieces have now been cut and have had a good drenching of preservative.
Just another couple of drenchings, then 3-4 coats of yacht varnish, and it should all be ready to go back on.

Meanwhile, the Carawagon is looking a bit blue



More to follow

Cheers,
Robin.

[RMS]

Well, the wood has had two drenchings of Cuprinol 5 Star and two coats of yacht varnish - just another coat and it should be ready to rebuild

While waiting for the varnish to dry, I thought I'd do a bit of spraying!

What looked like this


Now looks like this:


All the panels, bulkhead etc. are now Cream, which is the original colour, not a mixture of cream, DBG and Pastel Green like it came with!

I like my HVLP spray gun - it's easy to use and a lot less overspray than with the gun I've got for the air-line!

I bought it years ago to spray my daughter's stable (white emulsion), and just dug it out of the loft a few weeks ago to try it with synthetic enamel. Just needs about 10% thinning and it spays well

I'll add more pics when I've got all the masking off, and the doors back on, but I think it's now looking a lot better than it did

Cheers,
Robin.

PS. Got the masking off and doors on tonight, and it doesn't look anywhere near as pale/bland as it did all one colour
Pics tomorrow

[RMS]

Nearly done!!!

After a back-breaking day, I managed to get most of the wood back on the roof, then Patrick came around tonight to help me lift the flexible aluminium section back on and drive home a few screws!!

Looking good, I think



Just counted up and I've replaced about 80 closed ended rivets (hinge to flexible top) and 340 stainless steel screws! No wonder my hands are sore

[RMS]

Done, on the road, and the first show as a 'new' Carawagon:

Ripley Castle Classic Car Show, 4th June 2012

(photo by Yvonne McGough)

Ignore the smudge - it's on the lens, not the vehicle, though I suppose it could be an attempt at soft focus

Just got to sort out the inside now

[AlexB]

most impressive. Good job you haven't got a "proper" job

[RMS]

most impressive. Good job you haven't got a "proper" job

Just enough work to keep some money rolling in for the projects - oh, and a bit of food, gas, leccy etc.

[jerryd]

most impressive. Good job you haven't got a "proper" job

Just enough work to keep some money rolling in for the projects - oh, and a bit of food, gas, leccy etc.

You sound just like me You've done a great job in such a short time, how's the engine conversion performing ??

[RMS]

Hi Jerry,

Engine is fantastic, thanks

I've replaced the door tops now with 'new' ones, so they don't flap in the breeze any more, and so it's almost as quiet as Patrick's Carawagon with the same engine (where we've put loads of soundproofing in).

Plenty of power now - cruising at 60-70mph with power left for overtaking. I haven't worked out mpg yet, mainly due to the fact that with the 3.54 diffs, the speedo reads about 15% lower than it should!

Hopefully I'll get a reading on our next long trip, but I fully expect it to be around 35mpg as most of the 200TDi conversions seem to be.

Cheers,
Robin.

[Ian]

I'm impressed with your slot cutter (patent pending) - I need to cut a slot for the edging to my new Dormobile table. I have the edging, the wood, but not the slot. I may set something up with my router............

Regards,
Ian

[RMS]

I was going to use the router, but it's a lot quicker to cut using the circular saw, and the slot (with the tungsten tipped rip blade I used) is just the right width for the rubber

Cheers,
Robin.