Van projects

[JhnBssll]

I got a chance to swap the doors this afternoon The old door came off really easily, with just 4 torx bolts and a pin holding it on to the roller brackets.

The new door went back on just as easily, propped up with some offcuts of wood while I bolted it in position.

It opened and closed fine and locked manually but I noticed it didn't lock or unlock with the central locking. A quick check highlighted differing electrical contact plates so I removed both old and new and was able to swap them over - fortunately they had the same electrical connectors - and immediately the locking worked again 😊

With the door hung I swapped one of the rear light clusters for a new one - the lens was pretty badly faded so the tail light was pink and the brake light was almost white With the evenings getting darker I've just ordered a whole new set of bulbs front and rear after noticing the high level brake light was out along with one of the rear number plate lamps. I've gone with uprated halogen headlight bulbs that are apparently '200% brighter' without screwing with the beam pattern but we shall see

I've still got a second pair of headlights in the garage that I keep meaning to strip down to paint the internals black (except the reflectors, obviously ) but I haven't gotten round to it. Now I've ordered some new bulbs maybe this will spur me in to action, it's a nice evening job so won't take time away from other projects

She also needs a damn good clean inside and out

 

[JhnBssll]

It seems the new bulbs spurred me in to action sooner than I expected I've given the first headlight a rough polish to check the lens is salvageable, then opened it up for inspection... 😊

I'll have to mask off the indicator reflector but that should be too tricky, then rough up the chrome finish before priming and spraying. I'll have to spray them outside though, so that's a job for another day

 

[JhnBssll]

Well it stopped raining, so I figured what harm could a bit of night-time spray painting do

Masked, sanded and washed with alcohol:

And now primed

I can't spray it until tomorrow as I don't have any matt black paint, but I may well crack the other headlight open and get it to the same stage later this evening 😊

 

[JhnBssll]

Decided to give the garage a tidy after I'd cracked the other headlight open and primered the chrome bits. Found a can of matt black paint in the process

Its not a perfect finish, but they're going on a scabby old van so they're plenty good enough

Here's the headlight half assembled...

And here's the pair of them waiting for lenses...

I've got some black sealant arriving tomorrow so will likely finish them off and fit them then, assuming it arrives in time. They should look pretty nifty I think 😊

 

[JhnBssll]

I got the lights reassembled this afternoon. Scraped all the old sealant out and put in a fresh bead of black sikaflex, should do nicely. Once they've cured over the next few days and the new bulbs have arrived I'll think about fitting them Once they're on I'll properly polish the lenses, it's tricky when they're not attached to anything so I gave up trying There's no significant damage to them anyway so I see no reason why they won't come up well.

I'm also going to try the heat gun trick on the black trim to try and bring them back from the dead if possible

 

[Drago]

Try Concept Vista. Its about £13, but a bottle lasts an age. It revives trim beautifully, and doesnt wash off or go streaky like silicone based trim blackers. Apply twice a year using an olde washing up spinge and youre sorted. It'll take years off the appearance.

 

[fossyant]

You should have tonnes of parts available next May as Manchesters Clean Air Zone comes in. There will be loads of older vans. Gone is my idea of doing an older van up as a bike carrier, I'm just inside the zone.

 

[Drago]

From 2025 all internal combustion cars will have to pay ULEZ, so there will be a glut of cheapo vehicles in the areas surrounding Larndon.

 

[Gunk]

From 2025 all internal combustion cars will have to pay ULEZ, so there will be a glut of cheapo vehicles in the areas surrounding Larndon.

I’ll be at the front of the queue for cheap S4 Avant or a 340i touring

 

[JhnBssll]

My experience so far is that parts for this old girl are already extremely cheap compared to the last few VW's I've had, but a glut of cheap vans and parts would definitely be handy for sure 😊

 

[fossyant]

Try Concept Vista. Its about £13, but a bottle lasts an age. It revives trim beautifully, and doesnt wash off or go streaky like silicone based trim blackers. Apply twice a year using an olde washing up spinge and youre sorted. It'll take years off the appearance.

Ordered off ebay, 500ml. I'm using Maguires currently, but will give this a try.

 

[fossyant]

My experience so far is that parts for this old girl are already extremely cheap compared to the last few VW's I've had, but a glut of cheap vans and parts would definitely be handy for sure 😊

I'd have to get one and park it at the caravan for trips to the beach, and off with the bikes. Cost me £10 just to get it off the drive. A fancy a Connect

 

[Drago]

Nice one Foss, you won't regret it.

Ideally it needs a bit of sunlight to cure so I tend to do it autumn while the sun is still out, and then spring when it wakes up again. It does fade slowly over time, but it does so gracefully and doesn't get patchy or streaky.

Be warned though - I don't know what chemicals are in there but I'm guessing from the smell it's a little more potent than lavendar water. You definitely want to apply it outdoors!

 

[fossyant]

Nice one Foss, you won't regret it.

Ideally it needs a bit of sunlight to cure so I tend to do it autumn while the sun is still out, and then spring when it wakes up again. It does fade slowly over time, but it does so gracefully and doesn't get patchy or streaky.

Be warned though - I don't know what chemicals are in there but I'm guessing from the smell it's a little more potent than lavendar water. You definitely want to apply it outdoors!

Just use on the black trim on mine. Dont tend to put any on MrsF's black trim on her Qashqai as the silicone stuff goes streaky, and its currently black. I also treat the plastics under the bonnet.

 

[fossyant]

Try Concept Vista. Its about £13, but a bottle lasts an age. It revives trim beautifully, and doesnt wash off or go streaky like silicone based trim blackers. Apply twice a year using an olde washing up spinge and youre sorted. It'll take years off the appearance.

Turned up yesterday. You need very little. Allowed to dry, and it rained overnight, but no streaks. Not glossy like some others, more of a satin. Would work well on the van bumpers.