Progress, sweet progress.

Seatbelts are all in & working. Panels re-fitted, lining carpet re-fitted & trimmed. New bed built. Old bed sold (cheers Rob, good to meet you). Bus washed (cheers Stu but you missed a bit). Cupboard unit bought, just need to collect from Doncaster on Sat - nice little run out to look forward to.

Will fit the bed frame tomorrow & sort the cushions out. If I can fit the new cupboard at weekend then I can go back to Paul for the leisure battery set up. Kickboard for the bed, speakers in that & the front doors, a bloody good clean, carpets in cab with some soundproofing underneath then we're done.......................................for the meantime :-)

First overnight is pencilled in for 15th/16th April - Hope Valley hopefully. Far enough away to feel like we're away, close enough to home to be back within an hour.

This is my story - tell me yours

Day late again but yesterday was a very long one. Went to DubFreeze near Stafford for our first "event" as owners. Didn't camp out Sat night as new bed only arrived on Thursday and just didn't get chance to put it in. More of that later.......

Good drive down the M6 yesterday even if we were the slowest thing on the road - overtook 1 Pets at Home lorry & nothing else - but got to Stafford in good time. Parked up in a field full of other interesting buses & then (with hindsight) paid £10 to walk round an overcrowded market of various VW stuff. Stu enjoyed it & we did pick up a few useful bits, cab mats, pole/clamp kit for the awning, an assortment of cars for Stu. Got the hubcaps for Cal's Bay as well - only £3 each too.

Show & Shine was underwhelming but we spent as much time in there as anywhere else if only because it was the least crowded! Best thing was wandering around the carpark & For Sale area outside - spent thousands mentally & caught myself saying "oh, I'll get one of those next time" on numerous occasions.

As I said earlier, bed arrived Thursday. Seems straightforward enough to put together & that is the plan for tomorrow. I've got 2 full days before we go to Wales on Thursday so hopefully (he said crossing fingers & touching wood) all will be done by then. Might even go in the bus & leave the quiet smooth warm car at home :-)

Er, so what happened this week bus-wise? Not an awful lot to be honest as bus was away at Pauls garage . Chased up delivery of the bed, should be Wed/Thurs this week so probably going to be too late to stop over at DubFreeze. Rob is intending to call on Saturday en-route from Newcastle to pick up the old bed & possibly buy the seats too so will arrange a meet somewhere convenient. Knutsford Services on the M6 are probably favourite.

Got Arthur back from Pauls on Sat am - welding done for seatbelt mounts, new top ball-joints on front suspension, new thermostat, new cooling fan switch & lowered 50mm. A little higher in back as no weight in there at the moment so a nosedown stance until bed/enginebay unit/coolbox full of Miller get loaded up. Not the best pic in the world but gives you an idea of whats what. Next trip back to Pauls should be for leisure battery, split charge etc but I've got a lot to do before then. Fit the bed & belts, re-fit the lining, door speakers, bed kickboard with speakers/sockets, table as bought last week & finally some kind of storage/kitchen type unit. Have seen one on eBay for £160 that looks ideal so will get in touch to see if it can be held until weekend after next

Monthly meeting of family VW Camper Club convened this afternoon at Ann's Dads house. Cal was round so we bored on for a bit about stuff. She's got a LHD Bay but I'm not prejudiced against air-cooled oldies. Found myself agreeing to check out the AutoJumble at DubFreeze to look for 2 x VW Chrome hubcaps & "some flappy airvent thingies" for the dashboard. Sure I'll find something that fits the bill.

That's it for now - countdown on for warmer/dryer weather but even if it's pissing down & cold, me & Stu will be out overnight as soon as possible at Shell (suit) Island

Couple of days late with the weekly update - apologies to my many non-existent followers.

Nipped up to Bury last Wed night to pick up the table - very nice. Added it to the pile of bits in Stus room. Took the other interior panel out & marked up all the belt mounting points. Dropped off at Pauls on Sat am for the lowering/welding and for him to check that the cooling fan is working - anticipating long queues on our various summer jaunts in very hot weather. Yeah right............

Advertised the oven/hob & seats for sale on Club 80-90 & offered the fridge as a giveaway. Don't think it works but if someone wants it, at least it saves me a trip to the tip. Got an offer of £40 for the seats if I take them to DubFreeze which seems fair enough to me. This + £100 for the old bed certainly helps.

That's it for now - will have to chase up the new bed as I want to fit it this weekend & get my first overnight sorted for DubFreeze.

Weekly update - looks like its weekly updates while we still have the dark nights & I can't do anything during the week.

Took the other back panel out to find the nearside seatbelt mounts and pulled the carpet up so that I could see where best to have the strengthening plates welded on the floor. All seems clear enough. After some advice from Club 80-90 members again (cheers Ben, MetalMickey & anyone else I've forgotten), I took the rear pillar vents off on the outside & found the dimples for the shoulder loop mountings. Drilled a pilot hole through these and will cut the hole needed for the mounting plate nut to poke through. Will sort this once a Q Max hole cutter has been acquired - £12 on eBay - & then I can get up to Pauls to have the necessary welding done and the lowering done.

Finally took the old bed brackets out - another set of not very tight nuts/bolts. Have got a buyer for the old bed too. A bloke called Rob from Club 80-90 (hi, Rob - I know you read this!) wants a metal frame to replace the wooden set up he has at the moment and will be picking up at the end of Feb. Will have to get pics of the hob/oven and bucket seats sorted soon. Might be able to sell these on via Club 80-90 too - all funds gratefully received..........

eBay has seen some activity - bought a 3-way 12v socket & USB charger that will fit into the kickboard on the drivers side. Handy for coolbox, chargers, etc. Also watching a storage unit that seems ideal to site behind the drivers seat and bidding on a surfboard style table. 2mins 28 secs left - hang on.........................won it for £34. Need to pick up from Bury so will have a drive up there one night this week.

Will post some pic of the progress inside once belt mounts are done.

Finally got busy yesterday. Took the old bed out - rather worrying just how loose the old bolts were (mental note: use some kind of locknut when fitting new one) but at least it came out easily. Pulled the carpet lining off the back panel on the driver side & removed the panel to look for the seatbelt mounts. The bottom set of 3 holes are there for the bracket that holds the reel but no captive nut at the top for the shoulder loop. Ordered some plates from Brickwerks to be welded in. Best advice from Club 80-90 forum is to mount these behind the panel with a hole for the nut & puddle-weld them in for a neater finish. Will get Paul to do this when doing the lowering. Should be easy enough to thread the belt either over the top of the panel or cut a slot & fit some little plastic trims that I ordered when I got the belts so some progress there.

Measured up for the new back cushion from VolksWares & posted the template off. Delivery probably in about 3 weeks so want belts ready by then. Should be done nicely for half-term so I can start working through the list of Stuarts mates who want a drive round. Seem to me that a bus is the modern take on sweets & puppy dogs for luring young boys..............

Bought an awning - Khyam Driveaway XC. Pretty much the same design as the Navigator Kombi I've been looking at for months but £60ish cheaper. Khyam come well recommended on the Club 80-90 forums so happy enough to jump in.

Speaking of Club 80-90, it's a great website. Loads of advice, a sprinkling of characters and fellow obsessives. Look forward to meeting up at various shows - wonder if my usual social autism will get in the way. Coolbox or fridge definitely needed to keep my "social skills" cold.................

Mum on standby to make curtains - going up t'hills tomorrow night to see her for a measure up. Ann (my lovely wife) is still insisting on styling the interior so will be on the hunt for material soon.

Budget is stretching a bit but should be ok. Might not have the exhaust gold-plated now