DIY very cheap day camper/ jetski / motorbike van

DIY very cheap day camper/ jetski / motorbike van

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OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Friday 16th August 2019
quotequote all
Ok, I have bought a very cheap swb trafic from the scrappy and I am in the process of cutting the roof off a mazda bongo friendee aft with an electric pop up roof tent with a double bed in it. I will chop a hole in the trafic roof, make a reinforcing frame from box section and weld in the full bongo roof.
£500 into it so far.
It has a towbar and rear side windows and is fully insulated already so a good start.
I am open to suggestions for floorplan, double bed and seating would like 2 seatbelts in the rear for 5 passengers total, want a hob, microwave/oven combo and a wee sink and a heated shower on a long hose out the back door, and when travelling I need space for a 50cc kids quad and a 50cc kids motocrosser.
I also plan on a tall cupboard with a waterproof interior, drain in the floor and a small fan and vent, for hanging 5 wetsuits in.
Any suggestions welcome...


Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 16th August 11:44

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Friday 16th August 2019
quotequote all
a sprinter would be good for that, sprinters have a better drivetrain and fixtures and fittings, the reason I went for a renault is in my opinion renaults are the most rust resistant vans out there, and i will be launching a jetski into the sea from it, I suspect a sprinter would last about 2 outings to the beach before dissolving.
I just hope the gearbox lasts.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Friday 16th August 2019
quotequote all
zoom star said:
I thought the traffic, vivaro, etc had big issues with injectors, rusting/ welding themselves into the block
thats the early 2.0s, this is a 1.9, doesnt suffer the same fate, bits are cheaper and better on juice.
cambelt is a knuckleskinner though

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Friday 16th August 2019
quotequote all
I havent got the papers yet, no new keepers suppliment or anything like that, waiting on them from the selle, but I need a rear plate to get it through the mot.
Is there anywhere left online where I can order one without all the fking about and jumping through hoops they make you do now? This is beyond a joke.
EDIT - nevermind, every ebay seller and all the websites I checked wanted your birth certificate, registration documents, originals sent in the post, your inside leg measurements and naked selfies but amazon doesnt seem to give a st about any of that.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 16th August 22:20

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Friday 16th August 2019
quotequote all
ok, purchased
all 4 discs and pads
1 rear caliper
2 front caliper rebuild kits and slide kits
drop links
d bushes
rear springs
wiper blades
number plates
timing belt and tensioners
water pump
aux belt
air oil fuel filters
synthetic oil
hazard light switch
used but working abs pump
called in a few trade favours so that little lot only came to £300
probably could have spent less on the niceities and more used bits if I was properly tightfisted but my mrs is going to be driving this so I want it to be as good as it can be within reason.
I had one of these with 270k on it and it drove like a dream, the guy I sold it to is still happy with it. This one only has 114k on it so i have high hopes for this one.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 16th August 22:48

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Saturday 17th August 2019
quotequote all
227bhp said:
No that's all of them. They had an issue with a poor design meaning rain water dripped onto the top of the engine.
Most of them should have the scuttle fix by now, but the 1.9s the injectors come out reasonably easy with a slide hammer even when they are waterlogged, the 2.0s have a habit of snapping.
injectors are fine on this one though, runs well. I will investigate the scuttle seal when I am servicing it.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 18th August 2019
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ColinM50 said:
Which one's yours OGH? The one on the left or right?
the one on the left was my first attempt at using a hotspanner. I think I have it sussed this time though.
Hopefully.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 18th August 2019
quotequote all
FredericRobinson said:
I've got a same vintage Trafic with sink, hob and cupboards, and a rock n roll bed, I'm not sure how you'll mange to fit the other bits in you're looking for though? I'd guess you might have to compromise on the bed and get a tent or awning to sleep in, mine's barely a single and a half rather than a double as it is and there's no room for permanent seats.
I am trying to decide between a 3/4 double rock and roll bed and one of these https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
and a fold away table, the tall unit would fit the wetsuits, and the quad and motocrosser will fit behind the cab seats when the table is folded away and the ringo can sit between the back of the rock and roll seat and the back doors.

this layout here
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
or go with this layout here:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
with a bigger bed but more pissing about at bedtime, and the wetsuits would be folded and stored in plastic boxes under the seating accesed via the back doors. I would need to measure if the quad would still fit.
either floorplan its getting an electric popup roof with a double bed in the roof, stripped from one of these: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 18th August 2019
quotequote all
hyphen said:
Has that funny looking blue and white smudge been removed from the front yet?
was considering vinyl wrapping the bonnet in blue chrome then a white saltire over it, but unfortunately the saltire has been hijacked by independance tadgers and I'm not for that. still might end up with a union jack bonnet but not sure because of some of the places it will be getting parked.
Havent done a thing to it yet, still gathering parts. Unfortunately the van I was stripping bits off got torched yesterday so need to find another abs pump, and instead of rebuilding the calipers i was going to take off the other van I will just rebuild the calipers on my van.
the bongo roof swap will be well documented, there are quite a few bongo roof swaps on vitos, trafics and transporters, but only completed pics, only came across 1 example of work in progress pics.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Monday 19th August 2019
quotequote all
mixed bag today, the van i was going to take the abs pump off was torched and the other ones at the breakers had the wrong pump,
the code is c0133, which is often a dry or corroded joint, but in this case the return pump motor one of the magnets had cracked and the fragments damaged the brushes

the control board and hydraulic block are good so I will have a wander round the scrappy looking for a TRW pump with the same return motor.
on the plus side finally got the bongo roof motors unseized, plenty of gt85, hammer taps and when rocking them back and forward with 12v failed, they were only moving half an inch I started rocking them back and forward with an 18v drill battery which shocked them free, a bit of grease and they are now free and easy, fair zips up and down just off 12V off the jump start pack.

another plus is theengine and boxin the trafic is great, pulls hard, no smoke, box looks recently rebuilt and the clutch is1finger light, no bangs rattles or clonks and the steering is tight.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 19th August 22:29

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Monday 19th August 2019
quotequote all
yep its a fred flintstone mobile, big holes in the floor and sills plus the timing belt is snapped. no rust on the roof though.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Tuesday 20th August 2019
quotequote all
got these, they are pretty gubbed, but nothing that a bit of sandblasting and some high build primer wont solve. The tyres off my old allroad wheels fit and are suitably load rated.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Thursday 5th September 2019
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roadworthy now, and what a difference an hour with the steam cleaner makes.
started cleaning up the kombi seat too.
probably do the roof next week hopefully. if not the week after.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Friday 6th September 2019
quotequote all
square setup off an e60 530d 8x18s with 245/45/18 100xl

powertools are more fun than lol dolls any day.

interior is much improved after a half hour with a scrubbing brush and asda APC

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Friday 6th September 21:25

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Saturday 7th September 2019
quotequote all
tiny bit on the back doors, but still undecided if I am changing them yet. depends what is in the scrappy.
a bit of surface rust on the inside floor too, both door seals were missing and the ply was saturated. sanded it back and hammerited,
a blank canvas now.


Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Saturday 7th September 12:29

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Saturday 7th September 2019
quotequote all

floors hammerited and fresh ply to go down.

painting the kitchen cabinets and wardrobe

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 8th September 2019
quotequote all
the original insulation was biscuit ersed so it came out.
Yes the point of having kids is discount labour.
shes going to use the photos as evidence for a brownie badge.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 8th September 2019
quotequote all

insulation and a bit of carpet round the step

floored

seat quick release brackets

lino down and trims in

and thats enough for today.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 8th September 2019
quotequote all
Chris Bongo said:
Looking good, it's been done before with Delicas and Vitos so hopefully this goes as well! I've seen the donor Bongo up for sale at some point on the Mazda Bongo owners club, its a shame it's in such a state, the body kit is definitely unique.
my first thought was to try to revive the bongo, but the floor is fred flintstone rotten the rust is horrendous everywhere, the engine has no cylinder head and damaged pistons and the interior is oily and mouldy. its next road trip is to the crusher.

OldGermanHeaps

Original Poster:

3,837 posts

178 months

Sunday 8th September 2019
quotequote all
Anyone know where to find a chrome bradley flipper? fk knows why they are discontinued they were the best towball cover by miles.