Santa brings wheels

Okay so he's a few days early! A big part of the new modifications in 2013 will be the wheels - my reasons for selling the BBS were several; I was getting fed up with the fiddly cleaning regime, I was concerned that the new suspension setup may have been compromised with a wide tyre and not-so-'tuck'-friendly offset, and most importantly, I was concerned that the load rating on the tyres wasn't enough in the eyes of the law.

Maybe that's me growing up (ten years ago I probably wouldn't have bothered) but it was starting to niggle that, god-forbid, we were in an accident; in the eyes of either police or insurance, one look at the load rating might have landed us in seriously deep water.

So to combat this situation, a full complement of brand new Sportline alloys have been ordered. Along with correctly rated tyres (fitted and balanced), VW bolt covers, and a set of locking bolts - all brilliantly arranged and shipped by Banwy Vans in South Wales.

There's a bit more profile to these tyres too so I'm hoping they'll be a bit comfier than the 19's. They should wear better too and give a little better fuel economy. the only thing left to decide is whether to add a 'hotrod' inspired thin red band to the tyres...

Roof research...

With the colour-coding complete and a nice shiny van to look at, should I really be thinking about cutting a massive hole in the roof? Probably not.

We're still a year or so away, financially, from being able to fit a pop-top but my initial research into which roof to go for starts here.

Calm down dear, it's just a Photoshop job

This is how I'd like it to look (I think...) colour-coded in Stone Blue with a dark charcoal(?) grey canvas. Or do I go black roof with light grey canvas? Can you see why I'm starting early?!

I'm not too fussed about having a bed 'upstairs', just somewhere to stash a few bits-and-bobs - like clothes at the end of the day that usually get thrown in a heap on the passenger seat.

What I am keen to have is a roof that doesn't rattle, squeak or whistle whilst on the motorway, and doesn't leak, create drafts or flap when popped-up. I'd rather pay a little extra for a quality product and for a fitter that will take the utmost care of my van - if they were on my doorstep that would be even better but I'm more than prepared to travel for the right roof.

So which is best? Who do you recommend? How much have you paid for yours and are you happy with it?

Back from the repaint

The van is back on the drive after another week at Merseyspeed. Instantly the paint 'feels' better to the touch - or is that just psychological?

Whilst the van was in I asked for another little job (rude not to), one that I should have had done first time around. The wipers seemed to stand out like a sore thumb after the facelift; big and numb-looking with a few rusty spots around the hinges.

Time to upgrade them to Caravelle spec. This involves changing the arms to thinner, more profiled versions, and the blades to the more modern 'beam' style.

If you fancy making the same change, you will need:
Arm: V7H6 955 409
Arm: V7H6 955 410
Blade: V7H6 955 425 (x2)

It might only be a small change but visually makes a big difference. Wiping performance is improved too - handy for the Summer of 2012 don't you think?!

New Bra fitting

In a token gesture towards the failing front-end paint, here's a trial-fit of the new half-bra shaped for the T5.1 front end.

Quality is pretty good from the usual supplier; CMC/The Bra Factory.

Back home

I'll let the pics do the talking:

Needless to say I'm over the moon with the results, as is Mrs. Stone174 who wanted the colour-coding doing more than me.

The ride on the ProSport coilovers is a vast improvement over H&R springs and standard struts, less crashy and a more forgiving in ride.

Right, on with the hunt for an ageless plate - you could all help by taking a look at my Parts for Sale section and buying my old van bits, thanks.

Ready to collect

Just over a week has passed and the transformation is done. I've just had these pics sent and can't wait to see the van tomorrow.

Front end preview

Slowly but surely the transformation comes together...

Another rear shot

My initial fears about the van looking 'too blue' have been alleviated with this shot. If we'd have had the number plate light cover and handles painted it would've been overkill. As it is, with just a black VW bumper protector to add (don't want to scuff the bumper when the bike rack goes back on), I think we've got just the right amount of black vs. blue.

Mirror, mirror...

Well we couldn't do the facelift without updating the mirrors. Swift progress by Merseyspeed, great work!

And is that a new bonnet I spy...?

Rear end looking fresh

Lights fitted, bumper and corners colour-coded, looks like the new mirrors are on too:

Rebuild begins

Back from the painters, time for the rebuild to begin:

Pulled apart

New bumper bracket fitted (no corner-cutting Facelift job here), coilovers being fitted later today and then a roll around the corner and into the paintshop...

Deleting Dings

A quick update from Merseyspeed. It made economical sense whilst a batch of Stone Blue is made up for the bumpers that we have a quick once around the van and rectify all those little dings, scrapes, scratches and knocks that accumulate over the years.

You'll notice the door handles are off - this seems to be a real common problem of T5's around this age; the underside of the handle seems to catch on the paintwork (and Stone Blue isn't the hardest of paints) and eventually starts to rust out from underneath. Don't worry, we're not having the handles colour-coded - that would be a step too far! - I still want to keep the 'blue and black' theme going.

Surgery begins

Only hours after dropping the van off at Merseyspeed and the pics start to appear. Here's a quick 'teaser' shot with the front bumper and replica Sportline chin offered-up to an already half-disassembled van.

More to follow soon...

The expensive sidelight bulb...

If there's one job I hate doing on the T5 it's changing the bulbs in the headlight unit. Maybe the designers at VW have an extra joint in their fingers but it's something I find nigh-on impossible to do.

In the past I've usually taken Halfords up on their 'we-fit' offer and let them struggle, but last weekend whilst passing a local garage, Mrs. Stone174 fluttered her eyelashes and asked them kindly to change a faulty sidelight bulb.

All was well until 'ping' the old bulb fired out of the mechanic's fingertips and into the light unit:

There it sits. Taunting me...

Cue my OCD kicking into overdrive... how can I live with this?! To retrieve the bulb the headlight unit will have to come out. To get the headlight out the bumper has to come off...

...remember two years ago I discussed colour-coding the van?

Well now seems as good a time as any. So a few emails were fired off to Merseyspeed - the guys I'd always had in mind for this job.

We visited their new workshop and chatted with the very knowledgeable Alex about all things T5, paint, bumpers, headlights, options, other jobs, prices, and before we knew it a list had grown into a full-on project.

With Merseyspeed being a real 'one stop shop' for van modifying, it was decided (after much decision and shopping around) that the change from lowering springs to coilovers will be made whilst the van is in for the cosmetic upgrade. This should see the front sitting a little lower - and the back sitting a little more level than at present!

So what is the plan? How will the front end look?

I'm keeping quiet on this one for now but one thing is certain - when I set out to build a camper 'without compromise', I meant it!

Oh, and one other thing - to add to my OCD - not only are we driving around with a bulb rolling around in the headlight...

...we now have a silver filler cap too!!!

Well, there's only one way to match Stone Blue and that's to leave something with the painter!

PS: they didn't charge us for the new sidelight bulb.

Roof cleaning...

I used to think life was too short to worry about how the roof looked on the van. Passers-by can't see it, so why should it matter? Living in a three-storey town house means I often catch a glimpse of the roof, covered in tar spots, tree sap and gifts from the local seagulls.

Time to break out the ammunition:

Today's weapon of choice is another Meguiar's product: Quik Detailer, which safely removes contaminants without scratching. I use this on the paintwork with a clay bar, but for the roof it needed something a little tougher - a very well used brillo pad. A quick spray of the detailer to loosen the grime, a light wipe with the brillo (no heavy grinding required) and then buff off with a cloth. Here's a half-and-half shot:

The van getting some attention:

Once buffed-off the roof then gets a quick coat of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax to protect the paintwork from future dirt - this means the next time I clean it should be far easier than this was.

Here's the finished roof as seen from the living-room window:

Fingers-crossed for a nice dry (shiny-van) Summer!

Half-bra

Just a quick shot of the half-bra picked up from The Bra Factory at last weekend's Ultimate Dubs show. The Bra Factory is CMC's sister-company, where the original bra came from. Fit is generally very good; it needs a while out of the packaging to remove any creases and today being sunny was an ideal opportunity to let the bra warm up a bit before fitting - definitely the easy way of doing it.
As with the full-size bra, it will only be used in fair weather as dirt tends to get underneath and rub between the bra and the paintwork - never good.

You'll notice the gray plastics have been cleaned too, something that was becoming a real chore... until I found this trim restorer from Meguiar's. Ideal for interior and exterior plastics it really does bring tired-looking plastic back to life. Not too greasy and I'm hoping the sheen will dull a little in time. Certainly a massive improvement from before.

What's in a name?

I've never really sat comfortably with the name 'Transporter', there has always seemed to be something work-a-day about it. And the last thing I want to think about when I'm away in my van is work - we're not really 'transporting' anything, are we?

So after much deliberation about de-badging and looking around at other T5's, we've decided on a little re-brand! Off with the old lettering with the help of a little lighter fluid, a strong finger-nail and some patience (the unseasonal warm weather has helped too), and it's on with something more befitting:

A genuine VW part, sourced from Germany and shipped in just a couple of days, it's on with the Multivan lettering. The masking tape was used to retain the 'Transporter' positioning and double-check I was not only putting the Multivan lettering in the right place, but I was adhering it in a straight line!
Not bad for half an hour's work:

Now we have a Multivan; which fits nicely with a multi-life of holidays, biking and walking. No more transporting!

When is Stone Blue not Stone Blue?

I consider myself quite lucky to have found a secondhand van at the right spec and the right price in a colour that you don't see too often. Stone Blue (or SteinBlau to be Germanically precise) was an optional extra. It seems a little odd that the initial purchaser chose this option over quite a few, more practical offerings, such as electric windows or air-con for example.

I'm always happy when I see another Stone Blue T5 on the road (we've even waved at quite a few - with mixed reactions) so it was a great opportunity whilst in the car park at Vanfest to scout around for some fellow 'Stoners'.

It became immediately apparent that Volkswagen must have had a tough time when it came to mixing up a batch of Stone Blue paint as none of them seem to match. Ours seems quite 'grey' in comparison to others that seem to be a touch warmer - please tell me my (slightly colourblind) eyes don't deceive me and you too can spot the difference in the colours above...

Let me know if you're a fellow 'Stoner', maybe we should have a meet-up at a future show to see how much this colour fluctuates!

Happy Flapping!

Another small detail on the list of must-haves were a set of mudflaps:

Click pic for bigger version

On a practical level they're handy for keeping some dirt and road tar off the sides of the van and (hopefully) will keep some of the dirt from accumulating on the rear screen (no rear wiper).
On a visual level they have seem to lower the body lines slightly giving the van a more 'squat' appearance.

They're direct from Volkswagen and quality feels good in both the mudflap and the brackets. Ideal for the wet summer we seem to be having!