Westy Interior

When I purchased the bus, it was a microbus

with the two rows of seats in the back.

Although this is fine for everyday use, I wanted

a camper interior so I checked out e-bay.

I found a Westfalia interior almost complete for sale

by a guy less than 10 miles away, and after a

phone call and a little bit of haggling it was mine!

The buddy seat didn't have a seat base so I have
temporally made one of of 3/4" chipboard. The table
is fixed to the side and just lays flat to the side
of the bus until the telescopic leg is in place

The overhead storage unit was simple to fit, it
bolts to the side / wardrobe unit on one side,
and fixes via a bracket to the side of the bus
on the other side.

The side / wardrobe unit is so simple to fit. It
has two hook type fittings the simply hook over
the sliding door edge, with an adjustable bolt
with another hook at the rear.

The 3/4 rock and roll bed was the trickiest to fit.
The brackets bolt through the cargo floor and you
should remove the petrol tank to get it right. I
didn't do this I made my own fittings which
still bolt through the floor but does not require
the engine / petrol tank being removed.

View of the back half of the side / wardrobe unit.

I think you'll agree very homely!. before I put
the interior in I insulated the sides and most
of the floor. We had our first night in the
bus at Brighton Breeze.. very warm and very
comfy. The curtains were a bit of a rush job
and made specifically for the Breeze.

Brighton Breeze 2011

If your into VW's, and living in the UK October means just one thing.. The Brighton Breeze. A one day event held on Saturday 1st October and is organised by the Split Screen Van Club and held on Maderia Drive in Brighton on the south coast of England.

We arranged to meet up at 07.30am and drive

down to Brighton in convoy. Left to Right.

Bear's turquoise bay, Aldens red bay,

Stuarts bug, Spikes blue bay (Stuarts bay

behind Spikes bus), Claude's split and my bay.

Claude and I on the way to Brighton on the
famous M25..!

The sun is rising, the road is empty
and I'm driving my bay...it's going
to be a good day!

Me, Claude and Stuart queing up to get onto
the sea-front at Brighton and join the
show n shine, it was about 10.00am,
and the sun was getting hot.

Prue and Tim enjoying the sunshine. Check
out the registration numbers on Spike's
and my bus!

Claude's split, and Stuarts bus and bug.

Spike's royal blue bay, then my bus, Claude's
split, and Stuarts pair of air-cooled vehicles.

Random pictures from the Breeze

I do like a ratty split.

Very unusual, but kinda nice.

Now which one do I like best.....

Loved the paint on this split

After the show ended, we all headed to
Brighton racecourse to camp for the evening.
Amelia, Prue, Claude and Jean just relaxing.

Claude, Stuart, Zoe and Spike... anyone know
how to put the tent up?

There was a good selection of VW's at the
racecourse campsite

What ever your preference in VW's, it was
probably at the campsite.

    

It was buy one get one free, we had  8
pizza's in total between 13 of us..!

Stuart, Tim, Ellie, Amelia and Prue on
Brighton seafront

Busses parked up on Sunday morning in
Brighton centre.

Fantastic weather helped make the weekend
so good.

View looking back at beach from Brighton Pier.

On the way home, Stuart's bay started to
cough and splutter so we found a lovely
picnic area to investigate what the problem was.

After a short while Stuart and Claude discovered
the coil had failed. Luckily Claude had a spare
coil. I always say if your going to break down,
find a nice spot to do so. This place had toilets,
and a cafe!!

With Claude's coil fitted and Stuarts bus
running as it should it was time to relax.
Check out this amazing Brighton Breeze 2011
video by Rob Nixon,
http://vimeo.com/30015716 
(you might have to copy and paste into your browser)

Keeping warm..

                                         

In England it can get really cold, and in winter it can get even colder (!) so I decided to insulate the bus to keep some heat in and also to add some soundproofing to make for a quietier ride.

After removing the side panel this is what I
found, a worn out, crumbling piece of foam about
10mm thick which is not good for insulation or
sound-proofing

After a trip to B&Q this thick insulation was
pressed into every crevice

Then covered in foil to help reflect any heat
back into the bus

I did the same for the rear door

Once again the panel recess was insulated and
covered in foil

Da Dah..! when the cover panel is put back it
looks no different, but hopefully I will feel
and hear the difference!

All the panels will be done the same, and
anywhere else that has a recess for cold air
to stay!

Collecting the bus from House of Dub & HOD Imports

House of Dub agreed to put an adjustable front
beam in and lower it for me as well. (check out
their website:
http://www.houseofdub.co.uk/Welcome.html)

How smug do I look..?

Just signing the paperwork, with Spike
looking on.

Driving away being the proud new owner

Spike and I admiring his handywork.. and the
adjustable beam

My 1969 US bay import

When I was looking for a bay window I had two criteria in mind, #1 I wanted a solid bus without too much rust and #2 it had to be reliable. When I saw this import from House of Dub and HOD Imports(http://www.houseofdub.co.uk/Welcome.html )  I knew she was the one. Zoe and Spike,the owners of House of Dub and HOD Imports are friends of mine, they told me that the bus came from Sacramento, California so I knew she would be relatively rust free being from a 'dry' state, I also knew that Spike was letting Zoe use the bus to commute to her day job and back so I knew the bus would be also be reliable. (don't forget to check out my blog archive pages from the menu on the left)

Sitting high and proud, just as she was imported.

Just love the rusty bumper..

   

Not very pretty but functional

HOD Imports even threw in a new headlining as
part of the deal

Microbus interior complete with sun bleached seats!

This is what I mean about being solid..

Quite a straight body under the dodgy orange-
peel effect paint

OK, her distinctive 'Princess Fiona'
ear's.. in California it's HOT, you
need to get as much air in as possible,
hence the extended vents and cut outs

Mmmm, so comfortable.....