work on the interior

this part of the blogs is about work on the interior, which I've had a lot of luck finding items on the net for free or very cheaply, sites like freecycle are very useful for reclaimed items.

Of course the timber for the framework was new, but still quite cheap from any hardware stores like B&Q.
So from the next lot of pics you'll see that the build is very straight forward, no complex cutting of building of the units.


these few photo's are the build at a very early stage of building, the cupboards on the roof line are from a camper and only needed minor modifying to fit their new home, also had cupboard doors to help tidy up the sink unit




even had a go at making a fan housing for the roof vent





this one has to be a bargain of the year, a mpk roof vent rrp of £40, I got it for £5 from a local scrap yard, still need to clean the roof though lol



a little more work done on the inside, bit of a mess at the time(cleaned up since lol )




even a hole for a sink


here she is looking over the vally near hathersage , notice the white arrow is now removed, just needs a lick of paint now





time to shed some light on things, also shows to roof lining in place, what a pain in the arse that is to do by yourself lol



got the laminate flooring in, a nice and simple job to do





bit of a dash change from the old ford radio to a normal head unit, got a tap fitted now, just need a pump to connect up to it now, as you can see we raided the local pound shop for the utensils



a bit more storage, like we need any more lol




even changed the back on the passenger seat with the back off the old drivers seat that got replaced with a newer one





we finally have seats, another free cycle find, and yes more storage lol




heres the sink unit 99% finished, just needing bits of trim here and there






well thats ya lot for mow, still have work to do inside, but still got a hell of alot done in quite a short time

The start of BIG BLUE's new life

For some time now I've been wanting to own a camper van, but life being life could never afford to buy a ready made camper, so the only route I could go down was self build, so the hunt was on, to find a van large enough to accommodate 2 adults, 2 kids and a dog, now I'm 6'6" tall so it would also have to have a high roof line, this could have ended in tears trying to find a vehicle to suit our needs but never the less we started the hunt, now what you also have to bear in mind is I love ford transits, have done for a long time, but never owned one for myself, always driven other peoples, so I wanted to use a transit for the base of a conversion.
I decided to join a transit forum( fordtransit.org) to try and find the van, also used other sites but to no avail, then a member of the transit forum posted up a van that would suit our needs down to the ground, a 98, long wheel base, high roof transit, nothing fancy you may think, but this had no side loading door, perfect for a conversion, it's former life was with the white arrow delivery group, so all it's life was spent lugging parcels around all day, so off I went to Birmingham to have a look at this van, expecting a tired 11 year old van, and when I saw it for the first time I have to admit that's what I though it was, but as soon as the then owner Chris fired it up you could tell she still had plenty of life left in her, after a quick tour around the van to see that all was as it should be the deal was made and I now owned a transit of my own, was a little nervy at first as I hadn't driven for a few month following an accident with my car, but for some reason I felt right at home, as if the van knew I wasn't sure( yes I know is sounds a little odd, it felt odd typing it lol ), so off to the garage for the fuel back home to chesterfield. sorted the insurance out first( that's a story in it's self lol), so filled her up and off we went, had a few satnav problems around Birmingham( don't you just love technology lol), but managed to find our way onto the M1, and it happened to be one of the windiest days for the year, so was an interesting trip back. She pulled like a train all the way home, never missing a beat.

So I guess you want to see Big Blue now then? here she is

she's not in perfect shape, but if you'd have to the life she's had neither would you lol, but nothing that can't be sorted out with a little elbow grease.


so where do we go from here, well the next few blog enters will be on the conversion of the van, wiring the electrics, body and paint work, and finally dealing with the DVLA paperwork.

Then the very final entry will be her first trip away as a camper, and a happy retirement for her.