'Thunderbolt', the LDV Convoy Minibus, Ownership and Upgrades

Meet 'Thunderbolt', my recently acquired LDV Convoy long wheelbase minibus.
Having looked around in an idle sort of way for a van to use to bring home motorcycles and scrap for scraptures whilst also being comfortable enough to use as family transport, I came across this gem on an internet website.
when I saw she was a retiring scout van, that really made the decision to buy a certainty, having been a cub scout leader for several years, I really liked the idea of contributing to scouting by buying this old bus

She was cheap, she is simple, she is big, she has her issues too!
This is a '97 model which means a nice, reliable pug engine without the electronic gizmos, gadgets and crap that infest the later models with Ford (Fix Or Repair Daily) duratorq engines( although i am told the ford 'banana' engine was ok too), so cheap to maintain, reliable and relatively cheap to fix if anything breaks.
First thing I fixed was the horn, because as everyone knows, the scout motto is 'beep repaired' (sorry, sometimes I just can't help myself)
Next, to go through all the common issues associated with these (which are relatively few)
If you are thinking of buying one, beware rust (particularly in the footwells and under the mats in the cabin), water leaks around the bottom of the windshield, windscreen wipers and holes left open to allow for easy left/right hand drive conversion and worn kingpins (grease regularly or tear your hair out in frustration replacing them, the choice is yours)
This one did indeed have the traditional soggy mat syndrome due to the aforementioned leaks, but it hasn't been doing it long enough to need a vast amount of welding, happily.
Kingpins were listed as needing attention in a previous mot, but she flew through with no issues for me, she must like me and presumably the kingpins were renewed, so I was a happy camper!

To drive, well, lots of body sway around corners (she isn't sophisticated in the suspension dept) very relaxing (you may as well take it easy, she'll get you where you want to go, but she won't be rushed!) , the driving position is great, much higher than most modern vans, or my jeep, for that matter and she isn't that keen on long inclines and will slow down noticeably (dropping a gear and revving her hard doesn't really achieve anything other than wasting precious fuel)
I really enjoy driving her, it's a fun experience for sure

Now, these things do have issues, they are not a sophisticated vehicle by any stretch of the imagination, they don't even have electric windows and certainly none of this modern abs business , IRS or airbags etc, this, to me, was a big selling point, I LIKE simple!
the flipside is that she lacks any creature comforts and she is NOISY and slow(but economical for her size, about forty pounds of diesel takes me 250 motorway miles at a steady 60-65), she doesn't so much accelerate as gradually gain momentum, still, she wasn't bought to go racing!

Next problem was that my wife was thrilled with my purchase in much the same way concrete blocks float, ah, ooops
Fortunately, the idea of it being used to earn some money was agreed to be a good one, the compromise being to stop it smelling, sounding and looking like a bus for taking little old ladies out in.

Step one, make it more comfortable, when I bought it, she had seventeen seats in her which are ok, but far more than I needed and if it was going to look good and be super comfortable, they had to go.
Seventeen seats take quite a lot of time to remove, especially if they have slowly been seizing their bolts into place over a decade and a half, they also take up a LOT of garage space- I still have plenty of them left, if anyone wants to buy some?
they were replaced by these lovely seats from an American dayvan (an Econoline, I think, or possibly an Astro)

So now we have two comfy armchairs up front, two behind and a three seater behind those that electronically folds down into a bed, humans and dogs are now much happier!
being a LWB bus, there is still plenty of space for cargo behind the rear seats, or if I remove the last seats (four bolts) there is 8 feet available, plenty for putting in most motorcycles and still seating for four in comfort

To combat the huge noise issue, the floor (large pieces or marine ply in this case) was lifted, all the old fag ends were ejected (hmmm, scouting has changed since my day....) and some bitumen backed flashing strip was laid down.

This stuff can be bought on e bay from various automotive suppliers, but its far cheaper to buy virtually the same product from a builder's merchant such as wickes.
the idea is that the bitumen backing adheres to the metal and stops it vibrating, and yes, it does work, a big improvement but you need to be thorough when laying it.
next came a layer of MLV or mass loaded vinyl, this is used for sound deadening, its heavy stuff, but very effective on the floors and around the wheel arches, like the bitumen flashing you need to be thorough and it also is cheaper to buy from the building industry than from specialist automotive suppliers who will cheerfully sell you the same stuff for three times the price!

Over this the original floorboarding was replaced on the bassis that it would help and gives a level floor .
Then I laid down a good quality underlay and some decent carpeting, both of which were purchased from e bay.
Although it was never the intention to convert thunderbolt into a camper, I found this blog by Vandog Traveller a very useful source of information.

Then....I took a break!
actually, I still need to finish the carpeting, before I complete the cabin area I'm going to address some leaks, Probably should have started with that, really, but I was overcome with a rush of enthusiasm for making her look better (and desperate to avoid deafness, in truth!)
I have also completely removed the dashboard panels ,(very easy to do, but the lower panel mounting tabs are quite fragile) used the anti vibration stuff on the metalwork and padded out the backs with sound deadening sticky backed closed cell(to avoid water ingress) foam .
the very cheap looking lower dash panels have been covered with Veltrim, a kind of very thing, stretchable material used for trimming vehicles.

yes, but DOES IT WORK?
well, yes, it has made a noticeable difference for sure, there is still more to do to to get the best results to be honest, the main areas of issue in terms of noise are wheel arches and the bulkhead areas in the cabin where all the engine noise comes from and I am waiting for delivery of more sound deadening pads to do the bulkhead and engine bay, after that I will get a better idea of just how much improvement has been made.
work still needs to be done on the sides and roof too, the idea was to deal with the floor and noisiest areas first

Scraptures, Sculptures, Dragon Teeth, Dinosaur legs and Robot Arms!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have recently started making scraptures which I hope people will like enough to want to buy via Etsy
So far, I have a shop there, but it is't open for business as yet, first I wanted to make a dozen or so sculptures so there is actually something to see.

My wife tells me that this morning someone making a delivery was very enthusiastic about the unfinished sculpture in the front garden, composed of parts taken from an unfinished crashed bike/ chopper project (see earlier postings)
so, that seems very positive, and whoever you are, if you are reading this, thanks, it really made my day to hear that someone enjoyed what I have been making so much!

This is the one I am referring too, yes, I know, already posted this picture, but people have short memories, or, more honestly, I haven't gotten around to taking more pictures as yet!

So, scraptures then, not a new idea, making sculptures from bits of old scrap, many people have done this before me so why am I doing it?
Well, a number of reasons actually, firstly having ridden bikes since my teens and being a bit of a hoarder (hmm, I'll keep that bit, it'll come in handy for a future project etc) I have a good supply of raw materials- its not useless crap, it's 'biker residue' hehe
Secondly, to get the ideas in my head into something more tangible, can't possibly afford to build all the bikes and cars I dream up, but sculptures are far more doable given my restraints of time, money and space.
yes, there is the environmental aspect too, rather than seeing things go into landfill, I'd rather make them into something that someone, somewhere can enjoy.
I admit it, there is an element of money involved, but who doesn't want to earn a living doing something they enjoy?
Most importantly, I really love making things, expressing myself in this way is very therapeutic and it's a real buzz when someone else appreciates something i've made.
So there you go, the rationale behind my latest little project.

Last weekend I went to a car boot sale and was able to buy some dragon teeth, dinosaur (or maybe robot) limbs, one or two scrapyard critter bodies and a robot face, have a look at the picture and see if you can figure out which is which!
ps any contributions of old tools/vehicle bits or other pieces of weldable metal gratefully accepted!

1964 Plymouth Valiant

as promised, here is my wife's beautiful '64 Plymouth, imported by us last year from Florida.
I won't mention either the dealer or shipper by name as both were less than professional, but if anyone wants to know who they were to avoid them, feel free to message me

 

 Push button gears, 1964 was the last year for this

She arrived last January, sad to say she was significantly different from the description the dealer gave us (described as a driveable car in good condition that need s a small amount of tidying translated as seized brakes, one wing barely hanging on due to being rusted out, dodgy paintwork (a rattle can topcoat on bare metal) , all the seals and carpet were unuseable all tyres were shot and a convertible top that had already begun to disintegrate!)

Still, she was a good price, even allowing for the vendors disconnection from reality, and she is the perfect car for my wife, who owned one before when she still lived in San Francisco so work began in earnest to straighten her out.
Happily, all was not doom and gloom, the original 170 slant 6 engine was in great condition, looks like someone did a good job of rebuilding it at some point and we found a nice holly 2 barrel carb in her trunk, just waiting to be fitted (still not done)

The plan was to get her up, running, registered and driveable for the summer and worrying about improving her at our leisure.
Much work was done, panels repaired, rotten metal removed, carpets replaced, tyres replaced, numerous small jobs completed and........we succeeded!, at the end of last summer 'Cali' went to her first show, and here's the proof!

 her is Cali with a very happy owner at Dinefwr Castle in Wales last summer

I have to say that she is an absolute dream to drive, smooth and relaxing, she is no muscle car with only about a hundred horsepower when new, but she makes for a fantastic cruiser (and there is ample scope for re tuning that lovely,bomb proof  engine if we feel so inclined in the future)

In mechanical terms, she is an absolute joy to work on, especially after working on cramped modern vehicles that have to be plugged into a computer, everything is accessible, everything is simple, no gimmicks, just, well, a proper car

Cali is again off the road for the fitting of parts and one essential upgrade, THE BRAKES!

her nine inch drums all round may have been ok back in 1964, but they don't cut it in todays traffic, particularly as she has a disturbing habit of lunging at people on pathways if you brake hard despite new shoes, brake cylinders and skimmed drums!

so, work is progressing on a 'Scarebird' front disc conversion, and while I'm at it a new roof, all new seals and because the original wheels are thirteen inch and won't clear the disc brake set up, new, larger wheels and ANOTHER set of tyres have been purchased.

I will update once the latest round of improvements have been completed

Building A Chopper With SidecarJon and Horse Part Five, from Chopper to Scrapture

Remember Horse?, the chopper I was building with the remains of a crashed Kawasaki KLR 650?
Anyone wondering what actually happened to that project?, well, just in case you were, a quick update.

Horse got as far as being a very nearly complete bike, but lack of time and finance meant something had to give, all the good bits got sold and the frame, fuel tank and a few other bits that I wasnt happy to pass on got recycled and have recently been coming back to life as a SCRAPTURE which WILL get finished soon!
Anyway, here's some pictures of the almost finished Horse chopper and the very nearly finished scrapture
I loved the way Horse turned out, not to everyones taste, but a change from most of the custom bikes you see, pity I don't still have it, but you can't keep everything and I'm pleased with the way the remains are coming along

e

SidecarJon Is Back!

Did you miss me?, hahaha, probably not!
Well now, its been a VERY long time since I last used this blog, in that time there have been trips back to San Francisco (we even got married twice, once in San Francisco on ocean beach), travels to other places around the world, friends have been made, old friendships renewed and the children have grown noticeably!

Not doing so much in terms of T shirts, although all my old designs are still available and I have been thinking about revising my 'Chopper God' design, cleaning it up and updating it.

last year I was involved in an accident that wrote our beloved road king off, and I have been busy piecing it back together (its just too good to scrap)

oh yes, new cars!, I've been working on a car for my wife, a beautiful (to us, at least) Plymouth Valiant convertible from 1964, one of less than four thousand made, but I'll do a separate entry about her shortly-guessing there aren't many more like her in Wales, maybe not any!

We also have a jeep again (LOVE driving it!) and I have been working on an oldish LDV mini bus, converting it to a day van/motorcycle collecting/mobile studio bus which will eventually have a fine 'n 'groovy paint job of sorts.
Again, separate blog entries about that in due course







I'm also starting a new project called 'Scraptures', sculptures made from scrap tools, vehicle parts and whatever else comes to hand which will be sold via Etsy.
I will be making a few in the next couple of weeks as example pieces, so come back to see what I'm up to!
Below are some examples of the sort of thing that I will be doing in Scraptures, these are junkyard critters that I made as gifts for friends
I intend to expand on these, give them more detail and be more creative with paint colours and designs.
Some will be much bigger, hopefully people will ask for specific things to be made, or have their ideas incorporated into an item.
Each one will be unique