The van is a constant work in progress. I've always driven vans, as I am often stuffing them full of surfboards and camping in them. I tend to buy old ones as being too precious about a vehicle down narrow lanes and roads to the shore only ends in tears. Buying old has taught me to maintain and look after them as best I can, plus it isn’t such an issue when we tend to fill it with sand and salt. I bought this one in Belfast for a few hundred quid and it struggled to start at the time. My friend Leigh and I limped it home to my house. Over the past few years it has had lots of replacement parts and been painted a few different colours with spray cans, brushes and rollers in an attempt to deal with the rust.
This year though it was time to treat the van to some surgery. I moved it to my shed and welded up some holes but the work was way beyond my limited welding ability and I called in my friend Rodney to take it on. Before long he had it cut to bits and welded back up. I then started to cut out all the other rust in the body work and fill it back up ready to spray.
Leigh, Rich and I set about prepping it and taping it off all around. It is almost 20 years old so there are a lot of slight wonks in it that we got straight with some textured underbody paint that will hopefully withstand the bangs and scrapes that tend to come with travelling all over the place camping and surfing.
It will live for many more adventures now….
