T5 Interior - Part 1

Not a lot has been happening in the SuperGypo world recently - well apart from some retard smacking into the back of me new T5 the other week. That was obviously great news and needless to say, he thinks it's 50/50, even though he ran into the back of me - hey ho!

On a more positive front, we have started putting the new interior into the T5 :) In case you can't remember the old layout, here's a couple of piccies:

The keen eye will see that where the buggy is tied up, there is another flap that is anchored to the side. This drops down (when the buggy is moved of course!) to make another base along side the base that is currently down. Then a box makes up the open section where the side door is. We then have somewhere to kip on and it all folds up to still give us the complete van if we need it - happy days! There's also a rack that runs from side to side (see it up by the back window and buggy wheel and just by the left side top of the side door). The surf boards get put on there. These are supported by wooden legs screwed to the top and bottom of the side panel.

We had that layout for a few years and as the time went by, thought of a few more pimps we could do to make it more comfortable and practical. So, with the new van comes a new interior. We (me and Nic's dad, Pete) set to work last Saturday doing part 1 of the installation.

Needless to say, as the time has gone by, the board quiver has grown. The kite quiver has remained pretty static so no requirement changes needed there. The new vision was to do pretty much the same sort of layout again, but with improved seating, better (safer!) side access and a bit more convenience for cooking. Where possible, we're trying to re-use as much as we can from the old interior. As it was, Nic was known, quite regularly, to dismount the side door in a very ungraceful and un-ladylike fashion.  The was mostly to do with the restricted access because of the section partly blocking the side door. So that section will be shortened to not infringe on the side door.

The other side (where the buggy is pictured), we planned to add a box sort of affair to slide a surfboard inside of. This would mean all 3 boards are safe inside the van. The board running down the side would also be protected from us leaning on it in the evenings. We also use that side to sit on in the evenings and have the other side tied up out the way. Because of the depth of wood, it became a little uncomfortable after time. So the board box has been made with an incline for improved comfort and the wood panel will not be quite so deep for easier leg hanging over :)

Check out the hinged door on the end of the board box. This is to give me easier access when pulling the board in and out of the box.

There are a couple of other plans, but I'll let you know about these as we get to do them ;)

Busfreeze - Stafford 2010

We went up to Busfreeze at the County Showground in Stafford today. It's only it's second year and although it wasn't as busy as it's sister show, Dubfreeze, it was none the less popular with the vans :)

We thought we'd buy the T5 a couple of treats as he's a bit sad at the moment (he needs a new bumper and and some work done on the rear wheel arch when somebody ran into him the other day). So he's now sporting a new swivel passenger seat and some wind deflectors - he's got a little smile back on his face now :)

Jesus! This bad boy was proper slammed!

Was loving a bit of this hell wagon :)

The show & shine had some real sweeties...

What the...???

This woody style looked nice and I've not seen anyone do this before

He'd used a vinyl for the finish

It was mostly all vans, but this mk1 golf was really nicely done

Um...

T5 Windows - Tinting

So following on from having windows added to the T5. I went, today, to get extra tinting added. They just weren't dark enough! Although the windows are blacked, they were just way too see-through. There's no way the Nicster would be jumping in and out of the wetsuit in there.

I phoned around a bit and everybody was asking silly money for it - in excess of £200! The reality was that I just wasn't going to get it done. Me man Steve suggested I give the chap who did his a call (Mark @ Stadium Sunroof Centre). He quoted a much more sensible price. In the end, I went to Russ in Bilston @ Kustom Tints. Nice lad and again has charged sensible money. He knew what he was doing and the finish looks real good.

Took probably no more than an hour and they are proper black now! So, I now need to leave it alone for 5 days and can then give them a wipe over. The tints are added with a life guarantee - so no issues (if there are any) in the future :)

Roctober North Devon Session

Just back from another great weekend in Devon. The weather and waves were great.

In fact, I can't believe how good the weather was. We were shorts and t-shirts and sat out in the evening. Now we all know how chilly Nic gets - well, she was even out and only had a normal number of layers on - not the usual 4,400!

Nic & I arrived Friday morning, a bit ahead of Craig and Kerry. They had had an "alarm clock issue" and didn't quite get up at the right time - oops! We messed about a bit and then watched the Saunton waves peeling down the beach. C&K rocked up in what sounded like a B52 bomber. There had been exhaust issues. These issues raised their head again on the way home and they didn't get to leave Barnstaple until 5 in the evening when they set off at 1 in the afternoon.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all great sea days (Monday was flat - checked Woolacombe area but still no joy). I think Magicseaweed must have been bigging up the conditions as it was packed! It was like a summers day out there. We ended up leaving it later and later each day. Fewer people about and to be honest the conditions were nicer.

Croyde was pretty big a couple of the days. Far too big for me! None the less, Craig and I went in very early on Sunday morning (or was it Saturday - can't remember). It was a bit boisterous so it was only a quick one...

Kerry had a few goes as well. This was her first time in quite a few years. The last time involved an incident with a board and her nose - ouch! But with a bit more time, she'll get the burn back ;)

Nic successfully managed to negotiate using my longboard again. She's getting on really well with it. Looks like I may be loosing that one in the near future - Gulfstream here I come :)

We had a nice surprise on Saturday when Steve & Nick (we met in Newquoi in September) popped by to say hello. They were at Oktoberfest near Cheddar. So cups of tea and a walk down to the pumping break at Croyde made for a relaxing afternoon.

The splitty ran well! hoohah! Having done a couple more tweaks, the overheating has stopped - finally! He's going to get tucked up now for winter, but he'll have a few Christmas presents to be added in the new year :)

So, yet another nice break :)

Sunny September in the South West

Not long back from our regular September run to Cornwall.Two weeks this time, as opposed to the usual one week. It was great doing the extra week and we managed to relax and chill out (I believe the new word on the streets is chillax - real hip!).

The week started off well with our visit to see Gavin at Finshack and the purchase of a sneaky new fin. What a beaut! I tried it out at Polzeath and wow what a difference it made :) Honestly, I didn't think I would notice the difference - but the first wave and the board felt completely different - really nice and very happy :) That was one of the few times I got to use my board - more on that later...

Polzeath was busy, so after a major rain storm we moved on and ended up in the dizzy heights of Newquoi. We'd planned to stay near Constantine, but we got major demotivated with the horrific weather, leaking van windows, soaked awning and the red flags at the beach (especially after having the sea so nice in Polzeath). So Newquoi it was.

One thing lead to another and all our plans of cruising around and going to different places never happened and we stayed at trusty old Trencreek the entire time. To be honest, the waves in Newquoi were really nice, so we didn't want to risk moving and not have suxh good conditions. We ventured to Crantock and Gwithian (saw Jo & Andy while we were there of course) and both times convinced us that staying was the way to go!

We met Steve and Nick, who are from Manchester, at the campsite. They had a nice pimped out T4 and a puck (which fared well on a couple of the cooler nights - especially with heating and what have ya!). We had a great time with them, several beverages and a couple of bad heads (mainly me!). No doubt we will be catching up with them very soon :)

(Nick is sporting a slight toe injury in this picture - no more said about that hey Steve!)

Nic spent most of the fortnight on my longboard and made some really good progress. There's no excuse now, she has to come out with me next time we go in. So she had better use out of the new fin than I did. But I can hand on heart say that I got my first real good controlled nose ride! I think that was on the Monday night of the second week. I was made up. The board locked in on the wave, I moved forward and was about 15 cm from the end, held it for a good few seconds and then moved back as the board became a little unstable. Poetry in motion ;)

How did the van go? Up and down really. Still having overheating problems, but we at least managed to get down and back at around 60mph. Which is good, but not good enough! So there's still some work to do there. That aside, he ran around town really well and served us excellently for the whole 2 weeks. Can't grumble.

As we are now getting to be creatures of habit, we did the usual of going via Devon on the way home. So managed to grab a sneaky session on Saturday evening at Saunton (I got on my longboard this time!) and Nic managed a good few waves at Puts, on Sunday, before heading home (on our wedding anniversary).

An excellent two weeks, surfing, sunning and meeting great people :) Roll on next September...

Some other piccies I took...

What a difference the angle made - Nic preparing

A couple there of Nic coming back up the beach - the sky was amazing that night!

Some rare footage of me in the sea - paddling out at Fistral

Spot Steve's T4 and our Split parked up at Pentire

Windows in the New T5

Went over to Redditch yesterday to get side and rear windows installed into our new(ish) T5. I came across Automotive Glass Medics on fleaBay and Dean was mega nice on the phone, helpful and did a good deal for me. While we were at it, Nic's dad (Pete), took his T5 along as well (our old one) to get side windows put in.

We headed off down the M6 and did the usual queueing for 20 minutes. Once that was out the system we hit Redditch and Dean took us to a nearby unit where the magic started happen.

I plunged to have my van done first and the sight of the drill going through the first panel was shocking! But these guys really knew what they were doing and no sooner had the drill been put through, the panel had been taken out with a nibbler.

There are kits available so you can do this by yourself. My opinion on it: pay someone unless you really know what you are doing! They make it look easy. One wrong move and it's a new panel please! They did a really good job. The cut edges were all sealed and they put trim around to make sure nothing was exposed and it was safe.

I took that many pictures, I bet they thought I had some kind of van fetish ;)

Is the Oil Being Cooled?

Last night saw the new oil pump going onto the splitty. The night before was engine out and and new oil cooler going on. It went pretty smoothly to be honest. It also gave me an opportunity to clean the engine up a little -  the oily little beggar ;)

So, big thanks to Buzz for doing all the hard work on it and to Machine7 for being so helpful when I was getting the bits :)

This all started with an overheating problem on our way back from Devon the other weekend. Anything over 50mph and there was smoke bellowing out everywhere - oops! So the timing has been checked (and adjusted slightly), valve clearances reset, new oil cooler and a new oil pump. The fan is spinning nicely and he's had a nice new drink of oil. Proof will be in the pudding when we take for a run again (probably this weekend) to see whether it is still overheating or not - fingers crossed!

New T5

Saturday saw us heading up to Manchester VW van centre to pick up our new purchase :) We finally got round to renewing our existing T5 for a newer one - an 08. It's pretty much exactly the same as the one we had, but newer.

So I spent Sunday afternoon (while Nic was gardening) getting the camping interior out of the old van. And with Nic's dad's help, planned the layout for the new one. More to come on that when it happens...

We also got the pirate flag hung behind the drivers seat - looking good :)

Plans at the moment are to get windows in the side and rear (privacy bonded) and to colour code the bumpers. Can't decide on wheels yet though. Fancy wheels would be nice, but the VW wheel trims would do just fine...

Devon Lanes and Splitscreens

This weekend saw our first outing this year (in fact since September last year!) in the Splitty. It's amazing how time drifts by, but due to a sequence of upgrades and failures we haven't really had a chance to use it too much. So having just recently passed the MOT and had the starter motor replaced, we packed it up and headed down to Devon for fun packed VW and surf weekend.

Th trip down was good. The roads were pretty busy but we managed to keep a steady 65mph all the way (except for the vast amount of 50 zones all over the place of course). The Little Fella ran just fine and sounded great. I, of course, needed the obligatory wee stop after about an hour, but other than that it ran all the way non-stop. We did the usual stopping over at the services on Friday night. It was full of caravans! Hardly a truck in there.

Through Friday night and Saturday we had rain nearly constantly. The breaks in the rain on Saturday were nice allowing enough time to get dry and a coffee and chai at the Wild Thyme cafe in Braunton. And we really did get soaked!

There was no surf at all! One of the flattest days I've seen there in a long time. Ranging from 0ft to 1.5ft. Certainly not worth getting the boards of the roof for. None the less, while Nic was tucked up cosy in the van reading her book, we were treated to a nice stormy sunset and frequent torrential downpours.

Before setting off, we'd brought a sun canopy from Just Kampers. Although the instructions didn't quite match the equipment, once we'd worked out what to do, it went up reasonably quickly. It proved to be a god send and just like an awning makes the van so much bigger. There are a couple of things that aren't quite right with it, but with a bit of Nic pimping that can be put straight :)

Sunday was a whole different day. It was sunny and warm! So the canopy was laid out to dry while we packed up the gear to get ready and go. We were hoping for a sneaky surf... We probably weren't quite as efficient at de-camping as usual, but I suppose we were a little out of practice. None the less, managed to get the morning cuppa in :)

We headed off to check out the beaches. Parking is such a rip in the summer! £6 at Saunton. Sunday was by far the worst day ever for surfing. I thought Saturday was bad. It gave us 0ft to 0.5ft. There were still people getting all their gear and going in - mad! Although, there was an old guy on a SUP who just managed 2 or 3 "waves". We, none the less, paid our parking fees and chilled on the beach for a couple of hours before heading home. We chatted to a couple from Weymouth who had the most perfect bay window - really good condition. It made ours look like a bag of nails and lead to the usual discussions of what to do next on it - this time, we might have a plan!

The journey home was a slow one. We couldn't go any faster than 50mph without overheating and bellowing smoke - oops! Will need to investigate that before our September jaunt.

It was nice to get the Little Fella out again - I've missed driving it. could have done with bigger surf and 65mph on the way home, but there's always next time :)