I've always wanted to build myself a camper/day van from a van/minibus, and when this pretty little ex-school bus Mk3 got advertised locally showing only 52,000 miles, I couldn't turn it down!
After some welding and a few other jobs, it was put through an MOT and brought home; the work began!
Although it's solid underneath, it needs a little bit of bodywork to smarten it up a bit, but that will be done when the interior is finished!
I came to an agreement with the seller with him keeping some of the seats as I wouldn't need them; my plan was to leave the front row set of 3 seats in, making it a 6 seater.
The first job was to sort myself a bed; a trip to Ikea soon saw me with a sofa bed;
The rubber mat was soon cut flush with the step, the rest of the floor, from the step back, will be treated to laminate flooring.
The bed was tried in for size;
... good enough for me!
In the mean time, I got myself a 32'' Polaroid LED TV, which will be mounted on a swivel stand on the side of the van.
I stripped the back out, covered it in degreaser and got the whole back end completely dirt free.
I then got myself some decent sized insulation to try and make fit.
Now, my plan for the bed was to make it secure in the van, without it actually being mounted in the van, to allow me to remove it if needs be. So, me and a friend mocked up a quick frame and tried it for size;
...and it was perfect, so we added a few strengthening bars ready for a false floor to be fitted for the bed to 'sink in to'.
... and that's about as far as I am with it now! I've stripped all of the vinyl from the door cards and side panels, ready to be recovered in some sort of material I like, and my girlfriend's nana is a dab hand with the needle and thread, so she's agreed to make me some curtains!
I'll update the thread as and when updates happen, thanks for looking!
After some welding and a few other jobs, it was put through an MOT and brought home; the work began!
Although it's solid underneath, it needs a little bit of bodywork to smarten it up a bit, but that will be done when the interior is finished!
I came to an agreement with the seller with him keeping some of the seats as I wouldn't need them; my plan was to leave the front row set of 3 seats in, making it a 6 seater.
The first job was to sort myself a bed; a trip to Ikea soon saw me with a sofa bed;
The rubber mat was soon cut flush with the step, the rest of the floor, from the step back, will be treated to laminate flooring.
The bed was tried in for size;
... good enough for me!
In the mean time, I got myself a 32'' Polaroid LED TV, which will be mounted on a swivel stand on the side of the van.
I stripped the back out, covered it in degreaser and got the whole back end completely dirt free.
I then got myself some decent sized insulation to try and make fit.
Now, my plan for the bed was to make it secure in the van, without it actually being mounted in the van, to allow me to remove it if needs be. So, me and a friend mocked up a quick frame and tried it for size;
...and it was perfect, so we added a few strengthening bars ready for a false floor to be fitted for the bed to 'sink in to'.
... and that's about as far as I am with it now! I've stripped all of the vinyl from the door cards and side panels, ready to be recovered in some sort of material I like, and my girlfriend's nana is a dab hand with the needle and thread, so she's agreed to make me some curtains!
I'll update the thread as and when updates happen, thanks for looking!
