Ready to Roll

Spring 1982 saw quite a few notable events. Sir Freddie Laker became an ex-director as his Laker Airways collapsed. Mr Delorean saw the end of his Irish time machine making business. Sir Clive Sinclair made possibly his last good invention in the ZX Spectrum and an Argentine scrap metal dealer raised the Argentine flag in South Georgia sparking the Falklands war.

Meanwhile, in a factory in Hanover, Germany, a shiny red Volkswagen T25 camper van rolled off the production line and was packed off, no doubt with ruthless German efficiency, to begin it's life in a new country over seas.

Roll on 30 years and we see budget airlines flourishing, the computer industry has made huge leaps and bounds and the remote islands off the coast of Argentina are still under British rule. The time machine industry has alas never really recovered.
30 years have not been kind to that shiny red van. 138000 miles and the damp British climate have faded the paintwork, perished the rubber window seals and eaten away at the metal of the van. After 18 months of inaction, left to moulder over winters, sat around in the wind and rain, neglected, ignored and unloved due to age and imperfections, the van had been superfluous to its owners . A bit like Michael Owen.

But, unlike Michael Owen, the red van isn't quite ready for retirement yet. Again, unlike Michael Owen, it also has the opportunity to see some action in Europe next year, but we'll cover that in later blogs.
As you may recall from my previous blog, the van was progressing well through a miraculous transformation. No longer the tatty faded red vehicle of last year. Blue is this season's red it seems. After a teething problem or two, the van slowly, gradually, finally became road legal. The roof had come off, revealing huge rusty holes where the hinges had been. These had been welded, filled, sanded and finally hidden under a new coat of paint. The sliding door window had been removed, sworn at repeatedly and finally put back in by an expensive window fitting expert. Knuckles had been grazed, clothing ruined and I had been introduced to the delicate art of 'flatting'. Finally, as I finished my two weeks off work, Jamie announced that the van was finally ready.

Faded, jaded, unloved and neglected.

Much filler later...

Weeks of work, blood, sweat and toil had made a work of art. Alright, most of the work, sweat and toil was produced by Hairyman, but I did graze my finger and learnt the basics of bodywork and the fine art of swearing at vehicles.

Air cooled version.

And so the vinyls that had been produced by Alex at Print Team, & left lying around my lounge for weeks were finally fitted over a few days. The glowing white bumpers were fitted and I fiddled with wipers and number plates. So, 5 months after she was rescued she was ready to hit the road.

Born Again

Easter. A time for rejuvenation. As the story goes, Mr Christ, having got himself in a spot of bother with the Romans and done in, was placed in a cave on Good Friday, only to emerge on Easter Monday rejuvenated and in a whole new guise. The same, but somehow different. Bigger, better and brighter than before and a thing of worship.
Easter weekend arrived and I too was expecting a miracle of my own. Down in a cave in Wyke Regis (alright, a workshop but for the sake of the metaphor, we'll call it a cave. It is inhabited by a Neanderthal.) I had deposited a beaten up carcass of a van there before Easter and I was unreliably informed that it would be transformed over the weekend to emerge transformed on Easter Monday. It didn't happen. I guess Jerusalem is a more miraculous place than Wyke Regis.
So, a fortnight on and the miracle is finally taking place. Jamie has resolved his issues and has given up (I hope ) discovering new rusty patches and large holes in the van and is now respraying the old girl. The doors are off, the lights and bumpers are off. All the windows have been expertly masked by his junior apprentice (that's me. I lied about the junior bit) and the faded red paint and the grey primer are no more, hidden from view by the new, fresh coat of paint. I've also cleaned the algae off the roof and kept Jamie fully appraised of the current situation at Weymouth Football Club as he was working on my frequent visits to the workshop over the last few days.
I'm sure you are keen to know yourselves too. Not good news to report I'm afraid. We were invaded by trolls from Frome on Easter Monday. A team who play on a cow field in Somerset surrounded by sheds, supported these days by cider fuelled morons looking for a fight. Crowd trouble is virtually unheard of at the Bob Lucas Stadium, so it took the three elderly stewards by surprise to find themselves separating a group of Weymouth based chavs from some drooling illiterate farmers from Frome. Worse still, Weymouth lost 3-0 and now find themselves just 2 points off relegation with 2 games to play. The crunch match is on Saturday at home to Hitchin. They could be in serious poop if they can't win that one.
Anyway, back to the van. I was going to post some pictures of the transformation as it happened, but I think I'll wait. I'll (hopefully) be able to show you the finished article in a few days. Watch this space, it will, I assure you be worth it. I may even be able to update you on the Hitchin match too.