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I've been following your thread and I've got to say your truck looks great. I know very little about painting so will look into what a turbine sprayer is and what the advantages are, thanks for the tip.
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Jan 13, 2021 01:00
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Blacknose posted:I've been following your thread and I've got to say your truck looks great. I know very little about painting so will look into what a turbine sprayer is and what the advantages are, thanks for the tip. Oh thanks! I wasn't sure. I doubt you'll want to buy a sprayer for one job. I justified it as a comparison to getting a pro paint job for two or more cars and I think it was fun. Perhaps you know somebody with one or to rent or something though. Mine was about $700 and I dropped another $700 on paint and supplies. Of course now if I find another $500 Celica like I used to have I can buy $300 in the cheapest possible paint and zazz it up.
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Jan 13, 2021 02:31
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That's a bit steep for me. If I do it I'll be trying to do it as low budget as possible, which again makes me lean in favour of rollers. I think I'll watch some YouTube about low budget DIY spraying before fully committing to rolling, but tomarse has somewhat reassured me that I'm on the right track.
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Jan 13, 2021 13:52
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Tomarse posted:Also - no $20 aliexpress poo poo for us in the UK now as we now have customs charges, import tax and customs payment fees We still have Aldi and Lidl specials, you can pick up a compressor and spray set for £100, I'm sure it'll do a panel at a time.
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Jan 13, 2021 14:36
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I lost track of this thread a bit ago, just caught up. That came out super classy and looks awesome. I like the 3 seat setup so your partner can tell you how they currently feel about you by where they are sitting.
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Jan 13, 2021 15:50
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Really cool van. I never really wanted one of those fancy RVs but this somehow speaks to me. And while digging through the Fit/Jazz forums on EGR problems, I came across this: I don't think I'll bother for the upcoming rally but that's pretty neat. LloydDobler posted:I lost track of this thread a bit ago, just caught up. That came out super classy and looks awesome. I like the 3 seat setup so your partner can tell you how they currently feel about you by where they are sitting.
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Jan 13, 2021 21:52
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mobby_6kl posted:Really cool van. I never really wanted one of those fancy RVs but this somehow speaks to me. And while digging through the Fit/Jazz forums on EGR problems, I came across this: It's amazing what you can do with tiny spaces like that with a bit of thought. LloydDobler posted:I lost track of this thread a bit ago, just caught up. That came out super classy and looks awesome. I like the 3 seat setup so your partner can tell you how they currently feel about you by where they are sitting. Pretty much (the middle seat is actually less comfortable because of reduced legroom).
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Jan 13, 2021 22:14
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Fair point on the cost and effects of spraying. Even an HLVP can get overspray *everywhere*. Not as much as an old-school high-pressure sprayer, but I have a red area on my driveway now from painting the engine bay of my RX-7. Of course, I'm incredibly facile with making messes.
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Jan 13, 2021 22:35
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I just landed a pretty lucrative work contract today so might get some quotes for budget resprays alongside researching doing it myself. It may actually work out cheaper than taking time off work to do it myself. I also seem to have developed a whole new to-do list for the van in spite of considering it finished , but I guess that's standard for a project.
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Jan 14, 2021 13:57
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Very much standard. For one thing, new stuff comes out, or you learn about different stuff, and want to incorporate that. Or you live with a thing for a while and realize a different way to arrangement that is better for how you use it.
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Jan 14, 2021 20:12
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Or you realise that the way you've fitted your water tank is a huge water leak risk and fixing it requires a different tank all together 
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Jan 14, 2021 20:23
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Lessons learned are a thing, yes. :P
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Jan 14, 2021 20:37
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Its not a proper project vehicle if you haven't had to redo stuff multiple times. bonus points if you have to either chop bits off that you attached or refill holes that you made..
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Jan 14, 2021 22:47
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I thought I was done with this thread, but a bunch of stuff has happened that might be interesting enough to warrant an update, Currently the van is in for paint. I waffled for ages on whether to do it, but I spotted a few bits of surface rust on the nearside step and between some trim on the side which seemed worth nipping in the bud. I opted to get it done at a proper commercial vehicle bodyshop, as I'm sure I said previously I currently have more money than time so it became the best option. I'll put pictures up as soon as I get it back. Right before it went to the bodyshop a moisture trap I had lashed down in the back broke loose and emptied it's contents all over the garage space. I ended up having to remove the gas locker, water tank, all the matting in the back, parts of the vinyl floor in the front, the seat with the toilet in and some of the cladding from the end of the bed. Everything is back together but there's currently no gas installation or water tank. I don't have any photos of this ordeal because I was in the worst loving mood. Prior to that I had to dismantle the entire bed to replace the ply sheet that makes up the bed base. It was a really low quality piece of softwood ply, and for some reason it developed mold on the bottom, which is to say the side in the garage area. Can't help but wonder if it was a manufacturing issue and was always doomed to mold, there's no sign of anything on any other timber in the back. I re-varnished all the bare timber in the garage area to be on the safe side. Also since the last update I sold my Subaru and daily'd the van for ~5 months, which helped to iron out a few remaining mechanical gremlins. I think I've replaced every moving part in the steering and front suspension apart from the rack at this point. It turns out dailying a 6 metre long, 2.8 metre high van kind of sucks though so I bought a Suzuki Swift Sport. It owns. So, with that said, here's the new list of jobs to do: 1) Refit a gas locker. I'm going to move it to inside the kitchen cabinet while I'm at it - the existing location was a compromise to fit a huge gas bottle, perfect for a 6 month long trip in Europe, but irritating for shorter trips. We won't ever be able to go to Europe for more than 3 months now anyway. 2) Replace the water tank. I wanted to do this anyway because of a previously mentioned issue that made me unsure about filling it all the way without it leaking. I'm probably going to use 3x25 litre jugs which can be swapped between as they empty. Again this is more practical for short trips and actually increases my overall water capacity. 3) Redo the rubber matting, bike holders and edging trim in the garage area. 4) Figure out why the sub and steering wheel controls don't work on the stereo. There's some wiring gremlin in the canbus adaptor I suspect. May or may not pay someone to do this. Blacknose fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 00:11
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Mate, that's an arse! i'd love to see some more pics of it though. Your thread was a bit of an inspiration; i've bought an SWB transit and i'm doing much the same as you - only smaller in scope 
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Jun 22, 2021 00:43
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Oh nice! Are you going to be putting pics of it up anywhere?
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Jun 22, 2021 10:05
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Blacknose posted:It turns out dailying a 6 metre long, 2.8 metre high van kind of sucks though I mean you're wrong but that's OK. I used to love climbing into my LWB high roof Relay and heading off to drive round Yorkshire in it.
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Jun 22, 2021 10:12
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Yeah but it doesn't fit in the Sainsbury's carpark. Honestly part of it was just being anxious about getting in some low speed collision round town and it being written off by the insurers. Actually driving the van daily is completely fine, it drives like a big car with a tractor gearbox. The other part was using it as justification to buy a Suzuki Swift Sport, which I've fancied one of for ages.
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Jun 22, 2021 10:20
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Blacknose posted:Yeah but it doesn't fit in the Sainsbury's carpark. I made that van fit plenty of places it shouldn't but yeah you're definitely resigning yourself to parking at the back of the car park if you have to interact with normal sized vehicles. I miss that thing. And the added bonus of van life as you've found out is driving a normal car then feels incredible 
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Jun 22, 2021 11:10
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Sadly our sainsburys has a 2.7m height barrier for its 2 story carpark. The van actually fits the carpark with ~30cm to spare, but since they fitted the height barrier I can't actually get to it. I mean there's always tesco, but I wanted a hot hatch so uh...here we are.
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Jun 22, 2021 11:20
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Oh my.  
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Jul 9, 2021 12:24
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CaptainTofu posted:Oh my. Well, that's pretty.
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Jul 9, 2021 14:42
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sharkytm posted:Well, that's pretty. Agreed. Came out nice.
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Jul 9, 2021 18:31
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Hell yeah it looks great
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Jul 10, 2021 17:00
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That looks very nice. Clean and simple. But what happened to the OP? Why didn't they post the pics?
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Jul 11, 2021 15:57
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That was confusing me too, guess they fixed the van and repainted the username at the same time.
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Jul 11, 2021 16:22
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Oh, I reg'd a new account - my old one has a lovely rap sheet from ill-advised youthful concern trolling and also a username I really don't find very appropriate anymore.
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Jul 11, 2021 16:30
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Thank you supporting the forums The. An looks sick!
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Jul 11, 2021 16:47
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Just finished reworking the gas installation. You may recall I had a huge gas locker in the back, which I had to remove during the moisture trap spillage incident. While it was out I opted to move to a smaller gas locker in the front area for the sake of convenience. Spent 2 evenings working in a tiny cupboard to fit the locker right at the back. To give you an idea of the space the locker is 30cm*30cm,and at times I need both arms and my head in there. I have bruises.  And buttoned back up it actually looks pretty well executed.  Gas capacity is reduced from 13kg to 3.9kg (or 4.5kg if I use butane), so still plenty and I can carry a spare cylinder if needs be.
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Jul 13, 2021 21:49
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Excuse the double post, but I'm thinking the van would look better with black wheel centre caps rather than grey. Anyone have an opnion?
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Jul 14, 2021 10:50
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I have an opinion. Colorful centre caps. Like eye searing. I didn't say it was a good opinion.
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Jul 14, 2021 12:16
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cakesmith handyman posted:I have an opinion. Fluoro colors, different for each cover.
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Jul 14, 2021 12:19
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CaptainTofu posted:Excuse the double post, but I'm thinking the van would look better with black wheel centre caps rather than grey. Anyone have an opnion? It would look better with grey wheels and black center caps.
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Jul 14, 2021 20:40
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As much as fluorescent centre caps is tempting I think I'll go with black.
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Jul 16, 2021 10:04
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At least give them a glow in the dark top coat.
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Jul 16, 2021 12:01
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Not a very interesting post but I finished redoing the water system. Swappable 25 litre jugs instead of a fixed tank. 0.5 micron filter installed but leaking a little, I think the super cheap brass fittings I bought are the issue so gonna swap those out this week. 
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Jul 19, 2021 19:11
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What did you use for pipe work there? Does the pipe go to the bottom of the tank for suction? I’m trying to sort the water system in my van which is a bit cobbled together by the PO. Your solution looks neat.
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Jul 20, 2021 18:02
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Yeah that's a bulkhead fitting with a barb either side, then a length of hose in the tank. It's set up so I can loosen the nut on the fitting and then undo the jug lid without twisting up the hoses.  e; worth noting that I think this hose may be leaching plastic taste into the water. I'm going to replace it with a section that's the same inside and our rather than a lined piece like this. CaptainTofu fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Jul 20, 2021 |
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Jul 20, 2021 18:48
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Today I fitted clear indicator lenses on the front and also reversed it into a hedge and scuffed the top of one of the back doors. In summary it has been a day of contrasts.  I think that unless there are any exciting developments with the van I'll probably leave the thread there for now. I mostly wanted to share the final paint and aesthetic with folks. We're using the van pretty much every weekend at the moment and have a 2 week trip planned for September, and next year is looking good for going full dirtbag for a while. I really appreciate all the advice, encouragement and criticism in the thread that has helped guide and push me along with this project. You folks are great.
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Jul 22, 2021 19:43
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You did a great job. We look forward to the update whenever it comes.
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Jul 22, 2021 20:22
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