1990 Mercedes T1 208D AutoTrail Navajo Camper Van

After a five hour round trip (yay traffic...) I have now this chunk of delightfully eighties beige plastic in my possession.



One bit of damage to one corner but nothing we can't fix with a little bit of fibreglass or filler.

Really glad that despite having been rummaging on and off for months and not turning up anything aside one fuzzy picture of it, I've managed to turn up a match for what would originally have been fitted.

Hopefully get it fitted tomorrow.

First task of the day was to get the plumbing for the sink and shower sorted out as I had taken it all apart yesterday.



Much better. This lot used to be hidden behind a plywood box...not sure I will bother putting that back as it eats quite a chunk of space in the back of the wardrobe. Reckon I will add some clips to hold the pipes against the back wall and call it good, the box just seems unnecessary given this is all hidden at the back of the wardrobe anyway.

Drainage has been tested by dumping a five litre bottle of water down it, no leaks to report and it seems to drain at as close to a reasonable rate you can really hope for, though the design at least means you don't have to wait for the draining process to finish before stowing the basin.

Once that was done it was back to the tiling. Seems to be taking forever!

We are getting there though.

This is where this pattern will stop - there is a mosaic pattern to run from here up to the ceiling.



This would have taken significantly less time had I realised that the trim around the window just snaps in place - I realised that after I had already carefully made sure to measure it as close to millimetre perfect as I could on two sides...rather than just extending the tile a bit last the edge and snapping the trim back on...oh well now I know! Obviously there is one little infill strip I still need to put in there too, just waiting for an offcut the right shape to turn up.

Interior wall is also ready for the next pattern. This is really awkward to get a photo of.



I am *hoping* that I will be able to call the decorating nonsense done tomorrow as it is taking forever...though does kind of feel like it is actually moving in the right direction now.

Today it has *finally* started to feel like we're starting to get somewhere and this is starting to actually look like a room again.



Bit annoying that it's impossible to get things lined up perfectly with the rear wall courtesy of our friend Pythagoras, but it's good enough for a camper van! Won't be so obvious once the sealant along the edges is in place.

Hardly any time to look at the cars today, so was just able to get a little bit of system testing done on the van.

Threw some water in the fresh water tank and set the pump running.

Soon enough we had water in the kitchen...



The odd arrangement at the base of the tap is my temporary solution to the problem presented by the emphatically not camper/caravan grade worktop being thicker than the threaded section of the tap is long. The worktop will be getting binned for something more appropriate as soon as I get around to sourcing something suitable. See also my previous comments about whoever started to "upgrade" this van having zero concept of the idea that unnecessary weight isn't your friend.

Bathroom sink had water through soon enough as well, taps work properly and don't leak which is nice - even though I do have a spare if there turned out to be any issues with the bodies.



One thing I was curious to see was whether it would be possible to actually get a useful amount of flow from the shower at an acceptably high temperature for it to actually be useful.

The water heater I have always eyed with slight suspicion given the fact that it did a good impression of a fountain the first time that I supplied water to it due to perished O-rings in several locations. Thankfully my replacements seem to be holding up just fine, and aside from making unreasonably loud gurgling noises for the first few seconds, it behaved. Yes, I did remember to close the drain down valve before turning the pump on.

Once switched on, it fired up as soon as the hot water tap was turned on, just as it should. I don't have a combustion tester, but the flame looks healthy to me.



Adjusting the shower controls to giving what feels a sensible temperature seems to be at a flow rate that's on par with any electrically heated shower I've used before. Not a power shower that's going to knock you over when you turn it on, but it's absolutely fine for taking a quick shower and to wash your hair with.



So I'm calling it done on the bathroom and plumbing in general for a bit. I still need to fit a shower curtain, finish off a few bits of silicone sealant and to fit a few pipe clips in the utility cupboard, but that's all just simple stuff. Next main target is going to be the kitchen.

What I need to do in there:

[] Rip out those poorly fitted household worktops (they're not even close to level for one thing) and install something that weighs less than a Mini.
[] Reconstruct the partitions below the worktops, including the gas cabinet and the support framework for the drawers.
[] Replace the crudely hacked off gas pipework to the oven and cabin heater. Really wish they had disconnected stuff rather than just snip the pipes off with a pair of side cutters. Need to confirm for definite if the manifold I have is a long obsolete size for with it's hard to get fittings for or not, and if so just buy a new one. If not, pick up the missing fittings so I can connect stuff up properly. I'm very, very aware that the current setup is absolutely NOT getting used beyond the one weekend away - and even then the gas was only on when we actively needed the oven or hot water.
[] Properly reattach the heat shielding around the oven - I'm absolutely certain that my current configuration isn't right as none of the holes in it line up properly. This is one of those situations where it would be really useful to be able to have a look at one of these vans in standard form so I could see how it was originally put together.
[] Once all of this is done, obviously re-route the plumbing as necessary. At least being flexible lines that's hardly an issue.

[] Finally, sort out the peeling wallpaper around that general area. I've pretty much decided at this point that the brown mosaic pattern from the bathroom will be continued around the rear window and across the worktop splash back, finishing where the cabinet for the water heater is. It should help make things look more seamless and professional I think, and be a lot easier to keep clean around the kitchen than the wallpaper.

First though, I think I need to have a bit of a tidy up. I have made quite a ridiculous amount of mess while working on the bathroom...



Some of the foam core board I didn't end up using in the bathroom will be retained though, I'm going to use that to line the floor before the cabinet bases are put down as a bit of extra insulation. It weighs nothing so no reason not to use it that I can see. Being honest though, given how foul it was outside a few days back when I was working in the van it seems pretty well insulated really. I've never actually even tested the gas fired heater yet other than establishing that the fan runs...

We're booked in for a weekend away in May - so that's my deadline to get the thing MOT'd and the kitchen into a serviceable state.

The offside rear corner is the only place on the van I've had any signs of active water ingress. As is standard for a van like this (or a coach), trying to actually match up where the rain is getting in with where it is appearing is tricky.

There was no sign of dampness anywhere above the height of the worktop (the wallpaper is peeling more because it hasn't been applied properly than due to damp. As such my guess was that it was finding a point of entry below the height of the work surface but above the floor. There is a bodywork join there and as such that has to be a favourite. No obvious issues present there other than that the infill strips were all missing. This could be to blame, especially bearing in mind that due to the slope of our driveway about 90% of all water coming off the roof of the van pours down that corner at the back.

Well I got a huge bundle of new infill strip with the van...



...So no reason not to get it and the missing end caps (which meant open screw holes!) back in place. Should be a nice quick job for the afternoon, right? This is the point at which I discovered something really rather annoying.

When whoever it was last had these strips off, they refitted them with screws rather than the original staples.



Fair enough, I would have done the same. The issue however is that what they had not done was countersink the holes in the aluminium trim. The result of this being the screws sitting just proud of the surface enough to prevent me from fitting the infill strip.

Cue me having to remove each screw, drill the hole out slightly and refit it. For Every...single...screw.

We got there in the end though - after several hours.



The only bit I still need to do here is the nearside corner, though I need to dig the old silicone out of the groove there first.

Oh...and the spare wheel retaining bolt has been greased...I had to use an uncomfortably large amount of force to remove it given the lack of structural metalwork that the carrier is attached to.

Hopefully having got a bit more sealant involved and having replaced all the infill that corner will stay dry now...guess we will see next time it rains.

The things obviously missing from the bodywork there are two high level tail lights which AutoTrail fitted to all their vans in this era.



I would quite like to get them reinstated, though as all of the wiring has been removed it will be a bit of a chore...it will happen at some point, just might not be this week.

Yep, I've seen how the lights were wired in, however the wiring to the rear lights here has all been replaced and beautifully wrapped...so I'll probably leave that be for now.

Not sure about the source on the stripping, the huge bundle I've got was one of the plethora of bits in a box that came with the van.

Here's the first thing that popped up on a Google search though: Link here

The nearside headlamp on mine needs changing as the reflector is tarnished, I'll try to get that fitted shortly. You're more than welcome to the back cover from the old one. Drop me a PM with your details and I'll get it in the post once I've changed the light over (assuming the new light has one - but from memory it does).

Didn't have any time for car stuff today really, but did manage to spend fifteen minutes refitting the two main side rubbing strips. Thankfully unlike the smaller infill ones this didn't involve re-drilling three thousand holes, just slipped straight in.



I stuffed a good blob of non-setting seam sealer under the end caps so there's no chance of water getting into the panel through the screw holes.



Does help make the van look a lot less generally scruffy, though I really need to do something about the bumper sitting at an angle. That's going to be a bigger job though as the entire structure under it has been subject to quite major alteration by previous owners

I do have a new mains power socket ready to fit as the one on there currently has a broken hinge. This definitely needs to be done before we go anywhere again as it flaps around anywhere above 40mph and if the window is open all I can hear is click-click-click-click...

The nearside rubbing strip really will need to come off to redo the whole lot as the sealant under it is an absolute mess and it looks horrible.



What was a bag full of bits when I got the van has now been reduced to this.



The white circular thing is the cover for the keyhole on the toilet access door. The last four metal bits are for the lower strip behind the rear wheels. Those will need the screw holes re-drilled before I can refit the infill though.

Aside from the obvious impact on helping keep the van weather tight, I'm glad to be getting stuff like this done as I always like to turn up for an MOT in a vehicle that even if old looks to be well looked after.

When collecting some tools from the van I managed to get utterly sidetracked and wound up finishing off the tiling in the kitchen.

Required a little bit of dismantling to be undertaken so I could get properly into the corners around stuff.



Having had it all apart before I knew where all the screws were and such so only took a few minutes and isn't anywhere near as drastic as it looks.

Back together in no time.



Really need to change the worktops. Ideal solution would be to find someone breaking a caravan. Would be the correct lightweight material and should already have spaces for things like the hob and sink already cut out.

Nice to be starting to put stuff back together at least. Speaking of putting stuff back together though, anyone got a clue what size these fittings are?



The smaller one in the background (the feed for the fridge) is a normal 8mm compression fitting, the rest are slightly larger, and thus far I've not been able to find a match anywhere locally. Unfortunately while I got several boxes of assorted bits and pieces with the van, the rest of these fittings are not present.

If they turn out to be something odd and obsolete I'll just get a new manifold, as I'm quite aware that hardware which was considered fine in 1990 is probably deemed horrifically unsafe now...

As far as exterior of the van goes, the one thing I'm missing is a decent set of wheel trims.

What I'm ideally after is a set of these, in 14" form.



They were an option on the commercial range, though usually unpainted rather than colour coded as on the cars. I'll likely be looking to get them repainted in the same metallic blue as the rest of the detailing on the van exterior.

Just need to find a set I don't need a second mortgage to afford now...

Fantastic project. Great to hear you were using it as your daily.

I don't often find myself wishing for more being honest. She's perfectly happy to rumble along at 60, which for something like this is fine. Being honest, I almost invariably seem to wind up being stuck behind someone else on single carriageway roads rather than being the rolling roadblock.

I'd be lying though if I didn't admit that the idea of the OM.605 appeals...yes the additional torque would be nice to have, but the five cylinder burble is far more important I think!



Think it would be tricky, there's not much clearance at full lock as it stands as the steering lock is so acute. Also bear in mind there's no power steering on here, so additional rubber on the ground isn't your friend when parking. The steering is heavy enough in those situations as it is!