Pictures? - We Have Pictures

I'm presuming you're demanding pictures of the camper.  Here's a suitable before one.  Looking at it , it's rubbish and you may well be thinking why all this effort to drop it fractionally.

Yeah like you really were thinking that - weren't you?

Campers get made out of all sorts of vehicle, the only campers that were made by VW as campers are the Westfalia ones.

Ours was originally a minibus, I think they were 9 seaters so with just us 2 it's well under payload limits.   Even when we go away for a 2 week camp with everything it doesn't really settle down on the springs much.

So now I'll tell you what it looked like 'coz I don't think a photo will do it.  or maybe...

That's what it took - interestingly not a picture of a camper at all.  This is how I saw it before.  A scared kitten standing up on it's toes.

This picture formatting is rubbish but I will not be drawn to sort it out. That's it and that's how it's staying.  But I'm offended by it.

• More pictures of after the drop as soon as I can get it to somewhere level and remember a camera.  ie bleeding months from now.  Currently it's on an up slope and the camber of the road is effecting the suspension a suprising amount,  see "Camper Creep" below.  
• The NS was easy to get apart but lots of effort to put back together because springs and bushes needed forcing in.  
• The OS  pushed itself together.
  

So you'll have to wait months the see another picture which also won't convey what I see. Have a quick look in my head and this is what you see

That's enough looking in there - stop it now!

Oh dear too long.

Nurse - the restraints please.

Largacti1...five milligrammes.Valium...ten milligrammes.Haloperidol...five milligrammes.Pheno Barbit...

I'm losing control of all formatting here.  I think it's a function of how many pics and how much you try to control the text flow/placement etc.

I'll risk one more picture

I'm thinking of buying one of these...

Obviously I'd like a black one and I'd need 5 doors for transporting the oldsters around.  Bleeding purple text now! I give in.

Oh happy day!

Finally the suspension is all back together.

I'm not sure that 30mm drop was enough but its the VW original low suspension spec so it's "right".

I read elsewhere I'm not really sure where that it will settle so I should expect it to creep lower.  More Camper Creep. 

I want to drive it around to find out what it "feels" like but the engine needs sorting and there is a little matter of no MOT.  The barrels and pistons needed for the engine fix are on a back order from Cool Air with no real indication of when to be expected.

Hot off the press "Item will be despatched on 23/5/2008"

Bugger they surely won't try to deliver it to a work address over the Bank Holiday?

Will they?

Further checks to my email reveals

"We regret this item is temporarily out of stock, but should be despatched on 27/5/2008."

I replied to the first one -which came second if you see what I mean, but not the second one which came first.

Now we're all confused

No it's probably just me. 

Camper Creep

Is that me or the camper?

It was meant to express that the camper repairs are creeping to a conclusion.

It's an annual event (cycle).

Me against time and seized fasteners to complete repairs by the holiday season.

The season officially starts at Easter - so I lost this year.

Thing is I lose every year 'coz I never get the job done how I want it.

It's not that I try for perfection - I gave up that route to madness years ago.

I do however want a job done that makes it better than it was.  

It shouldn't just be remedial, there's an opportunity to make it better than volkswagen made it.

Sounds like hubris, probably is but VW had one budget to work to and I've got mine.

Meaning I can apply more paint, use better grade components and ensure better tolerances.

• I'm crafting an individual vehicle so that Sandy and I have the best camper ever.  
  
• They're churning out millions to pay shareholder dividends
  

So it creeps on.

Just completed off side front (OSF) suspension rebuild and started the NSF to match.

Weird thing is it's a game of two halves.

OSF 

every bleedin' fastener that could be was welded with rust into it's mate or a casting.  I'm guessing but about 15 hours labour to strip it down.  One of the bolts that holds the steering knuckle/ radius arm and bottom control arm together took 6 hours to extract.  I had to drill out stupid stuff like split pins holding cotter nuts on.  

Everything was a fight.

Dumb thing is I will win and I know it so that makes it seem even more a waste of time.

Why can't the stubborn metal stuff give up early and save us all a lot of effort.  Hang on I'm the only animate thing in this relationship - aren't I?

NSF

3 hours max to dismantle every thing.

• Why is that?
  
• Why did the OSF wishbone bushes decay and fail but not the NSF ?
  
• Why has the OSF foot well rotted out but not the other? 
  

Strikes me it could have been sat unmoving for years at some point.

So the NSF needs all bushes replacing, loads of paint and reassembly.

Taking of paint I on with Hammerite Metal paint.

Could be what was Smoothrite?

Goes on alright , sticks to bare metal etc etc, dries and recoats brilliant.

But it's a bit brittle when cured.  Old fashioned enamel always seemed a bit soft so it took knocks well.

Perhaps I'm just reminiscing, caught by nostalgia.

The ideal paint should stay slightly toffee like.

I'm going to formulate a new paint based on Werthers Originals.

Won't chip and you can seduce little boys with it.

Come here and sniff me radius arm!