
Re: Belgian built 1969 AK350 'Hetty'
Attached the fuel tank cover today

(in fairness Russ mostly attached the fuel tank cover

)

Can not for the life of me work out why the front bottom thread is quite so long...

There was a bit of a gap at the top so we took a hammer to it and now there's less of a gap

Put the finishing touches to the bulkhead, I think it'll be ok for an MoT now - fingers crossed!
From this:

To this:

I love a good bodge!
I put the new dash in today as well. I was going to paint the backing piece but couldn't detach the parking light switch so I just cleaned it up - I quite like the bluey colour too. I've logged the milage on the speedo, and the kilometerage on the old one so hopefully I can keep an accurate ish log of her actual milage.
Before:

Now:

It's nice to have a shiney alu surround!
Yes, I realise the gear diagram is now wrong! Physically the two speedos aren't too different and the replacement has actual connectors for the fuel guage which is nice.

I re-used the original light fitting as I couldn't get the later type to work - it has a crazy bulb in, not a standard 2cv dash bulb. I imagine the old style light in the new style dash will probably be insufficient to light it but never mind.

This is the rear of the old dash - you can see how badly corroded the connectors were.
I've been pondering for ages how to mount the speakers. I really don't have the inclination to scratch build speaker boxes and they're not cheap to buy.
Hetty has cupboards that look like this:

I thought about mounting them in the ends but wanted the sound more directed into the back. Then it dawned on me... convert a drawer!

I used the back of the drawer so if I ever move the speakers I can turn the drawer around and it would look normal.



The speakers are FLI integrator 6s. New theyre £25 a pair - these 4 were bought on eBay for £8 as one of them's damaged and they're al cosmetically challenged but they all work and sound great! The box will also provide some oomph.

The front sperakers will be mounted in some tubing - I couldn't think what to use until I went to the skip and realised...

Perfect!

I'll mount a speaker in each end and fit them under the front seats.
Also installed carpet today

With tunes playing and carpet in, suddenly she seems very usable. I'm really begining to feel that she's
my van and that makes me happy. The road is beckoning!