Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[Zelandeth]

I once used Jif bathroom cream and a Scrubbing Brush on some really shoddy paint on a Datsun 160J I was keen on doing an 'Arfur Daley' on, with a T-Cut & polish afterwards it wasn't half bad.

Commiserations on the Bleed nipple, not what you want.

Funny you should mention kitchen cleaning products...

This is after a session with a Cif branded "Magic Eraser"

The paint has what I'd say is a "glossy satin" finish, so you can get away with a bit more. The roof hasn't come up half bad actually.

Bleed nipple has now been resolved, it was more irritating than anything! Only really cost me maybe half an hour.

[Zelandeth]

Got around to actually posting for sale ads for the Lada. I still hate writing adverts.

Also have managed to get the engine 90% out of the parts Invacar. Just need to double check I've not missed any fasteners, with a bit of luck it will be transferred over soon.

[Zelandeth]

It is now confirmed:

New Fleet Member will be getting collected next Monday.

Suffice to say, impatient excitement is now in full swing, as is the "have I made a terrible mistake?" thought process.

You're welcome to guess what it is. Your hints are that it was "traditional" in design to almost the same level as the Lada that it was almost as obsolete by the end of its production run, has an immediately recognisable dashboard design, and has really odd interior door locking controls (not the normal handles, just the means to lock it).

[Zelandeth]

This evening's progress!

Gearbox next, then a good clean, and after that we'll start rebuilding things in the project car.

[daviemck2006]

My guess is a merc 208D van converted to a camper

[Zelandeth]

My guess is a merc 208D van converted to a camper

You're not meant to remember things I mentioned a few pages ago...or you just had a very accurate guess.

Can't remember the last time I saw a Merc of this vintage that wasn't either utterly rotten and/or had an intergalactic mileage on.

Real seller for me on this one is that the coachwork is in exceptionally good condition. Not a single scraped or dented corner or blown joint to be seen anywhere. It needs a really good deep clean and a polish, but there's zip in terms of signs of water ingress or anything. Given that I've seen coachbuilt campers less than five years old that leak like a sieve and as a result have rotten frames, this has to say something about how well this thing was built. The complete absence of the slightly musty "old camper/caravan smell" on opening the door was very immediately apparent.

The cab needs a little bit of a tidy up (especially the panel under the grill), but it's just cosmetic. It's had some welding done in the last couple of years for the MOTs, but it looks to have been done to a decent standard and falls under the general heading of "they always go there." A lot of bottles of Vactan and Dinitrol will be in the near future for this thing.

[daviemck2006]

I just in the back of my head remembered you speaking abput a merc camper Zel. I hope you get a good, quick sale of the lada to make room for it. I think we are a bit similar, buying something else and ending up overrun with vehicles lol. I currently own 5! I need to get rid of two, I bought a skoda fabia as a money maker which will have a freas MOT and will be advertised within the next week, then attention will turn to getting gabbys paint finished then onto the 407 coupe to see if I can get it running. Then one of them has to go, more likely the 407, but if it gets fixed I may well fall for it again. The 205 and 107 are safe for now

[Zelandeth]

The test drive also very much reminded me how much I've missed driving bigger stuff.

Okay, it's tiny compared to a bus, but it's laid out like a proper old commercial, has big mirrors sticking out the side, sounds like a commercial vehicle should, and has first gear where it properly belongs...

Not in a huge rush to sell the Lada. We've got space for it if it comes to it, just a bit awkward as it has to be parked on the grass to the side under the tree, but it means it's not massively urgent. Likely the longer it's around the smaller the snagging list the new owner will get with it will be.

As for the camper...Plans are initially certainly to keep it around, but if I don't really gel with it there's definitely potential for it to be tidied up a bit (as you can see in the photo the paint's flatter than a blackboard) and moved on for a fair old profit.

The previous keeper has pulled all the appliances out in the back to upgrade the services - but then hasn't actually started the work. So it needs that putting back together (I don't see that as any sort of issue as everything's still there and just needs a bit of wiring/plumbing sorted out)

Looking forward to getting it back here and getting stuck into it.

[Zelandeth]

The gearbox has now been transferred over to the project Invacar after spending some time being cleaned. Had to chisel off a good inch of so of mud, grease and congealed gearbox oil.

Engine next...then it will actually start to feel like a car again!

[bxzx16v]

Nice work Zel , love the camper .

Mark

[Zelandeth]

Going to grab a lend of an engine hoist tomorrow to hopefully get the engine into the project car.

Today I got the knackered seat out of the project car.

While the seat itself is shot, at least the framework it attaches to is solid, so it shouldn't be too hard to attach another seat to it without having to make any permanent changes to the car. Like the Xantia one in my garage that I've been meaning to put on my desk chair to replace the worn out Jag XJ one that's currently on there. Jag one in the Invacar? Nah... firstly it weighs nearly as much as the car, secondly the rails are asymmetric.

[DHallworth]

Is that Ian Seabrook's spares Invacar that you bought? I've been following his stories with his own one on Facebook.

David.

[Zelandeth]

Is that Ian Seabrook's spares Invacar that you bought? I've been following his stories with his own one on Facebook.

David.

Yep.

It was pretty much the perfect match to what I already had here in terms of making one good one out of the two.

[Zelandeth]

Forgot to update this last night...

Yesterday's main tasks included:

1. Un-seize the heater box.

The demister side of things was already moving freely, but the cabin heater side not so much. After liberal application of WD40 (I've run out of Plusgas) and some careful violence I managed to get it moving nicely. The cable needs the termination sorted out as the sheath can move so it doesn't close the flap fully without being poked, but that's a job for the snagging list. At least it's not stuck fully on for now.

2. Reconnect the gear linkage.

Having replaced the bit in the car with a freely moving one from the spares stash, it needed to be actually attached to the gearbox. Easy enough job with the engine still being out as you can sit in the engine bay and just reach around the side of the box. I couldn't find the box of split pins to save my life, so the drawer full of random bolts, screws nuts and washers was raided and I just stuck a locknut on a bolt.

3. Trial attach the seat to the existing frame.

Very much a "proof of concept" effort with some large (actually slightly too large) exhaust clamps. Proves that it fits perfectly though, and to be honest it's absolutely rock solid - and far more substantially anchored than it was originally - by four tiny little (Imperial equivalent of M4) bolts through paper thin steel plate without even a washer to spread the load. Seatbelt is anchored to the chassis too, not the seat so it's not exactly going to see massive loads.

Also having the seat in place meant I could stick the seatbelt back in. This was a bit like trying to wrestle with an octopus while I untangled it and worked out which end went where, but got there in the end.

The seatbelt buckle and pretensioner assembly will be taken off the side of the seat shortly as they're no longer used.

Having a seat in place that doesn't fall apart when you sit on it and having a seatbelt there has made it feel a LOT more like an actual vehicle that might see the road again...

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Loving the Camper (aside from the immediately obvious and 'planned' Grille Panel), hope you're gonna be making plenty of use of it.

I'd fancy one for my Shopping List if circumstances permitted and from what I've heard (which isn't much), I believe that these and the early Sprinters are amongst Merc's best. Strange that its a 'D' but not a D, had a read of the Wiki page.

'First where it should be', left & down? Crawler?

Ian Seabrook's (aka 'Hubnut') Youtube channel is proper interesting, seems like a real down-to-earth sort. I'm part way thru watching his 'Ridiculous Road Trip' with a Dacia badged Renault 12 Estate. Also recently watched his Skoda Rapid test, which 'll be right up your strata.