The latest photo of this week's wooden handywork:

...but then it wooden start...

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Can you do anything with morning wood?

Well here's what I've been up to this week. I completed the frames and started cladding the sides but I ran out of tongue & groove so I need to get some tomorrow. I also started cutting the tops from reclaimed plywood that I found in our recycling compound at work. Wood of various types, shapes & sizes gets dumped there from time to time so it's just a matter of waiting until something turns up. I'm buggered if I'm spending good mooney on new ply when people are throwing it away!! I also need to get some hinges and some more stripwood to make the rails for the extra panels that will complete the bed but you'll see how that's going to work soon.

Right then, after a couple of months of pratting about it's back to work for Belinda and I to get her looking half respectable for next years camping season. As I'd explained on the last thread, my intention was to get her at least driveable, take her to a couple of camps and then crack on with the rest of the restoration, including a camper conversion. Well the Halloween bash gave me a good opportunity to test out the sleeping arrangements before going any further and I must say she's actually quite practical as well as comfortable. I managed to sit inside and cook, get changed and sleep very soundly all whilst staying dry during 2 nights of rain. As I wanted to test the practicality first, I made do with some make-shift "bin-bag" curtains (with which to protect my modesty, Mr. Chapman!!), some candles & a wind up lantern for lighting and some basic foam to sleep on, but it served a purpose.

I know it sounds obvious but you only really get to know a vehicle once you start living with it and over the weekend, I got some new ideas but more importantly I got an idea of what will work, what won't and also where the leaks are. They're not bad but they're there nonetheless and need sorting so the next couple of weeks are going to see me address those. Unfortunately none of the PCs here will let me upload pics to photobucket so I'll just have to blog in the week and upload pics at weekends.

As well as tarting her up, I need to tinker with the mechanical side of things. The suspension is still creaky and I need to get her running satisfactorily as something's just not right. Idling is lumpy to say the least although I must say at times on a run she can cruise along quite nicely at 55 - 60 with a little bit extra in reserve which I don't think is bad considering she's got the aerodynamic properties of a house. Hills are a nightmare but then again, I quite enjoy holding lorries up nowadays after spending years sitting behind THEM It all depends on what mood she's in I think which goes to prove that she IS female after all . Sorry ladies but at the end of the day, character is why us blokes love you all and it's certainly why I love Belinda.

It's good to know that it should make quite a practical camper - looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Talking of pictures - i love this one:



'borrowed' off samfieldhouse's faceplant page.

Girlfriend's clever cam work that one.... I think it's got something of 'back to the future' about it

Belinda's great, really makes you look twice in the rear view mirror! She's looking really good! I meant to ask you Bertie, how come under the windscreen its spelt Belinder?

True story,
with a little dash of 'Mad Max' as well?

ken
( Bertie,
if you ever bring B'linda oop north, maybe you could drop in here for a quick check over. Setting the timing at the International was a bit of a game, what with having to hot wire her as you'd gawn orft wiv the keys.
No doubt a little fettle of the jetting wouldn't go amiss either...)

I'll have a look at the weekend Neil, as I haven't got access to FB in the week. Simply because the little lad that gave me the letters didn't have any A's left That'll be great Ken thanks. I have kind of held off bothering you again of late as I took a large proportion of your time up during the rebuild.

You know the feeling - you tentatively poke around a bit with a screwdriver, get a bit more adventurous, prise something apart, hear a crunchy sound, get covered in bits of crusty metal and think "maybe I'll just stop here, put everything back as it was and pretend the last 5 minutes haven't happened".

Well that happened to me last night except that I'm really glad I did poke and prise. I managed to get 2 of the side windows out last night without any dramas and what I've found behind the window rubbers is rather quite encouraging. The top & sides of each window frame are really nice, clean & solid with just the bottom frame of one window needing replacing in a couple of places. The best bit is that the bottom frame seems to be simply a piece of 1mm angle with the upright doubled back to increase the thickness which means repair pieces should be easily fabricated.

Whilst working on the inside of the car I noticed that one of the rear posts had 2 self tappers screwed into it whereas the one on the corresponding side didn't. Being curious (if I was a cat I'd be pushing up daisies by now) I unscrewed them and found that they were holding in a perfectly cut plate that was covering a jagged hole. The hole isn't rusty, in fact it's quite clean and won't take much to repair but it re-inforces my theory that a previous owner couldn't weld. "If I cover it up and can't see it, it's not there", pretty much what they'd done when they plated over the crusty bits of chassis with pop-rivetted aluminium

Anyway, Belinda's taking a little rest in the garage for a couple of weeks which I'm sure she'll appreciate now that the weather's getting cold & wet .

Pics to follow at the weekend