April to May 2016
14/05/16
Our VW Kombi is getting close to completion, Jenny & I have had many distractions over the past 4 weeks. Jen will fill you in with the details soon with another blog update in the near future.
Below are some photos of our Kombi interior refurbishment & other upgrades, we also continue to drive "her" around the local area on a regular basis. Got to keep the wheels turning on these old cars !
I hope you enjoy....
Trying to figure out how to wire up the new Temp. Gauge.
Temp Gauge all installed, took the Kombi for a run into Pinjarra & it sits on 85 - 90C.
Jenny hard at work getting a template together for the new Vinyl Flooring.
It turned out that news paper wasn't the best choice (light weight cardboard would have been better) but got there in the end.
The Vinyl cutting begins. Not to much wastage, though there is enough left over to do another van. We had to purchase 2 meters x 4 meters of vinyl to achieve the one section. Probably sell the remainder on Gumtree.
Jenny fits the vinyl into position, with a little bit of trimming.
I screw a couple of battens onto the Van Body so I can fit the cabinet/sink section from Tony of Kombi Cabinets (Gold Coast Qld).
The Kombi Cabinets are an excellent fit !
And contrast nicely against the new Vinyl Flooring...Gerflor 3mm Vinyl.
I drill out holes for the sink drain & electic cables. I utilise the old holes that where already there.
Looks good, nice fit. Note I've also fitted the new Smeg Sink.
Meanwhile Jenny pads & covers the interior body cards with a funky Orange fabric....did I mention Jenny loves the colour Orange :-)
All up there are about 5 Interior Cards to trim with Orange Fabric. They are held in position with chrome metal scrivets. Here is the sliding door all completed. To the right you can see the 12 volt auxiliary power cable & an electronic rust protector (ERPS) pad on the van body.
Jenny & I don't mind the odd Car Show, we headed upto Whiteman Park north of Perth to get a few Van ideas. One thing that we both agree on is that we Love VW Kombi Vans. This blue van is in great condition. I also noticed it on the Kombi Cabinets Face Book site. It's for sale at $40000AUD.
Excluding the spare wheel, this is sort of the end result we are aiming for with the new bed. Different cushion covers though.
The owner of this van also has the same Kombi Cabinets as ours. Nice to see the end result.
Still unsure as to the table, I don't fancy drilling a new 60mm hole into our floor to fit it ?
Momentarily off subject, Jenny loves old Leyland Mini's..."cute" she says.
While Will prefers V8, 2 door, GT Falcon Coupes (I have owned a couple of Ford Coupes in the past).
Meanwhile back on topic: I go to work on making a cabinet from some 10mm thick ply board I found at the Mandurah Reno house. The plan is to house the Control Panel & hide wiring. First up I make up framework using 30mm square pine purchased from Bunnings.
So far I'm reasonably happy with the result. I haven't done any woodwork since I did the decking at our house 11 years ago.
Cutting panels to cover the frame, a circular saw would be better, but I only own a Jig Saw. So it takes some concentration to keep the cut straight.
Fortunately on this day my eye was in and I got it right first time.
All screwed together. The old trailer makes a perfect work bench.
The new Cabinet fits behind the passenger seat well. Still need to fit the control panel.
I put the 12V/240V Engel Fridge in position to see how it all fits. Looks good, in the future you'll be able to use the fridge as a seat, bench or relocate it outside if necessary. If you look at the far side you'll notice some MDF interior panels in position, still need to cover these in Orange !
Will the auto electrician....Not, though eventually turned out neat & tidy.
Success, fantastic. We officially have "house" power. Now to disassemble & varnish it all. Then permanently fit the cabinet into position.
Meanwhile, Jenny has been using her skills to whip up some custom tee shirts for my Dad's (Bill) 70th Birthday Party (which by the way begins in an hour and a half).
He has many catch phrases, here are just some of them !
Still to come on the Kombi :
Curtains.
Poptop Roof Lining.
Cushions.
Fit Rock-n-Roll bed.
