Release the Hounds(tooth)!

After what seems like a relatively quick two weeks the van is back on the drive after it's trip to the trimmers. Our initial pre-pick up nerves soon diminished on seeing the finished results which far exceeded our expectations. As you'll know from previous posts we had given MJ a fairly tight brief - to the point that I had even photoshopped a T5 seat to explain where the fabric/leather meeting points should be (I've seen a few styles that I don't like and didn't want in my van) - I think we found the right point somewhere between 'client from hell' and 'knowing what you want'.

We also threw in a couple of last minute requests just before dropping the van off. One of which was to change the colour of all the seat plastics. Having seen a few retrims on the recent Busfest visit it was clear that good quality nappa leather meeting commercial van-grade light grey plastics wasn't going to look right. To achieve the no-compromise, factory OEM look, we had to change the colour of the plastics to the darker Caravelle-spec anthracite.

And that's quite a lot of plastic for two captain's seats:

This had obviously added to the initial one-week turnaround time, not a problem - we've waited five years for this moment! Going back to the previous posts you'll have seen my teaser as to the finish and materials chosen, a part of the brief that didn't change. Here's a few taster pics:

The front seats are pretty much perfect. Exactly the result I was hoping for - enough of a difference to make them stand out, yet not too far to look out of place - if that make sense? I'm not trying to make a 'luxury' vehicle with diamond stitching and fancy embroidery, just a quality finish that looks like something Volkswagen might have done with a bigger budget.

The rear seat trimmed to match has started the process of tying the two areas of the van together:

The bed frame might get a coat of darker paint just to help it blend in a little more. We had some fresh foam cut in the firmest grade possible (we both like a firm bed). The front edge roll makes for a really comfy seat and helps the otherwise 'square' foam look a little more rear-seat like. Another pair of headrest may also be added at a later date.

There's some exceptional attention to detail from MJ Interiors - I hardly need to say that they come highly recommended!

Another last-minute request was a pair of map pockets in the front seats:

A good shot showing the darker plastics:

A wider shot of the front seats, well worth the wait...

So that's it. Stage two will be dashboard, steering wheel, doorcards, A and B pillars, headlining, and a few other tweaks. Now to start saving up again, it won't be another five years I can assure you!

Stars & Stripes in SkegVegas

Shortly after man put a cart behind a horse he couldn't help but start to modify it. One of the earliest modifications was paint; on the cart, canal barge or commercial vehicle, if it was designed to carry a load and the owner took pride in their carrier, it would be adorned with some form of embellishment.

As a closet hot-rod and kustom fanatic, a lover of commercial vehicles, american cars and trucks, as well as working in the creative industry with a love of form and typography, it was only a matter of time before the camper received some form of freehand pinstriping.

Now at this point you're thinking has Stone174 deviated from his current course of keeping things unfussy, clean and 'factory'? Well... maybe.

As the T5 scene has progressed over the past five years that we have owned this vehicle there has been a lot of development resulting in hoardes of converters and enthusiasts turning out good quality campers and vans. So here's our chance to add in a little individuality. Something that doesn't conform to the 'norm'.

I've admired the work of a handful of UK pinstripers, all have their style and something about them. Around a year ago I got chatting to Seaside Neil (one of the UK's finest) about the possibility of laying some stripes on the van and after plenty of communication it was agreed it would be done as part of a striping demo at the Viva Skeg Vegas VW Show.

We had decided it would only be the door shuts that would receive the treatment - a hot-rodders favourite - and in-keeping with my less-is-more ethos the striping would be kept to two colours, one darker and one lighter than Stone Blue. After some chatting about the locations on the van, composition and colour samples, Neil set to work:

Thankfully the weather was looking on our side... kind of. The wind had started to increase to the point that Neil could barely lay the brush on the van without the wind moving it - at one point one of us would be leaning on the opposite side of the door whilst a small group of friends gathered round to create a human windbreak. Things were not going well... the stripes in the picture above ended up being wiped off and started for a second time.

You can't help but admire Neil's work; as a creative I hate an audience or anyone looking over my shoulder as I try things out, but Neil would happily chat whilst striping even though the wind (and the occasional drunk) were really starting to get on his nerves. After almost three hours of battling the elements, laughter, frustration, restarting some sections and walking away from others, he was almost done.

As a final touch we had the table leg done to match, thankfully this could be done in a more sheltered spot and was finished in no time - handy as the next paying customer had been hanging around for over an hour!

By the end I felt drained, stressed, relieved, but happy that the job had gone relatively well. I've not photographed all of the striping, you'll have to have a good look around the van next time you see it. My philosophy of less-is-more still stands, you could walk around the van and barely notice anything has been done - which is the result I wanted. I also feel it could stand a little more in some spots... but only time (and the weather conditions) will tell.

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.

Beddgelert: highs and lows

With the recent facelift done it was time to get back in the van and get using it again. A trip to Beddgelert was on the cards for my birthday, to do a spot of mountainbiking, bbq'ing, and generally chilling out in the forest.

Cue the worst rains in June for a long time! Not that it would put us off.

Camped-up the van looks even more at home on the campsites now it looks less like a tradesman has come to fix the plumbing!

We'd had the worst of the rain on the journey down, a quick walk in the woods (and in the drizzle) had made up our minds - pub.

The next day dawned bright so a trip was made down the valley for a clamber over Caernarfon Castle - a great recommendation for big kids as well as small:

Overnight rain then brought out those seeking damper hobbies:

Great to watch but it looked cold. These guys were paddling down stream through the spectacular Aberglaslyn Gorge; a gap between slate hills barely wide enough for the river, road, a footpath, and the railway to all fit through. Seeing the Welsh Highland Railway train come through was a bonus.

From here it was down to Porthmadog to stock up on provisions (we managed two barbecues during the break) and then a trip on to the beach at Black Rock Sands.

So those were the highs, what about the lows you ask?

Well, on first arriving on the campsite I quickly took to the van with a cleaning cloth and almost dropped to my knees... STONECHIP!

Surely not? Wait, and another, and another... this can't be right?

A quick email and photos to Alex at Merseyspeed (and a couple of beers to calm down) to arrange calling in on the way home. It seems that the VW factory-primed section of the bumper hasn't taken the paint at all well. The top coat of stone blue paint can be scraped away with a fingernail - fair play to Merseyspeed, a date has been set to put things right.

No doubt more will follow on this in due course.

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.

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.

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.

Winter wheel progress

The wheels are back from the painters:

The Audi Nimbus Grey is looking pretty good, the wheels were shot-blasted before paint which has made for a great finish - I'm not after perfection, just something tidy to get through Winter.

I'm still unsure as to whether to put the black plastic centres back in when the wheels are fitted - the bolts are looking a little untidy and I'm running out of time to get them sorted out. Tyres will be refitted this week and the BBS are due to come off next Saturday morning - as usual; watch this space!

The chosen Winter wheel

After much deliberation and photoshop-ery, I've decided to go with a straight Audi Numbus Grey (or similar) for the steel wheels:

Pretty soon I'll be handing the wheels over to JC at JC Motors to arrange the tyre removal, shot blasting, prep and paint, and tyre refitting. Thankfully he's got loads of local contacts and the whole job shouldn't cost the earth.

I'm hoping the wheel colour will give the van a tough look and get us through the worst of the Winter extremities without looking too rough come next Spring.