MOT Fail :(

So one week to go til our holiday and we have a failed MOT.

We have:
missing fuel filler gasket
A rust hole near the front seat belt
A horn
and a blowing exhaust to fix.

with only a week to go a swift order for parts was placed and a search for a welder available at short notice commenced.

Maisie returns......Finally!!

After a rather extended stay at the garage and several delays we finally had her delivered home today. The lack of updates is really due to lagging enthusiasm as sunny weekend passed by with Maise still lingering the workshop.

The work is unfinished and looks rather ugly at the moment but she drives and should be ready to get everything sorted for camping. We go away in a week and a day and we need a new MOT.  Test booked tomorrow and tools at the standby to deal with any problems.

The van was cleared and rock and roll bed refitted this evening. A quick check of all the lights etc and she is as ready as she can be in the short time available.

 Fingers crossed.

Road trip for a new door

The Sliding door on Maisie had always been a bit of an issue and when the garage attempted to refit the door (after a repair was deemed a bad idea) the bottom bracket broke off the old corroded door.

A new door had to be sourced and a long search ensued. Most of the sliding doors available were not in a much better state than ours. I also discovered the differences between the doors was an important factor to ensure a good fit and unsurprisingly our door turned out to be rarer and therefore more difficult to find.

Eventually we decided the best way forward was to source a new (well remanufactured) door. There was however a small issue of distance. The supplier we located was down south and the door would not fit in our standard transport. The company would fit the door for us but for that we would need to get Maisie to them, This was unfortunately not going to be an option so we needed a new plan.

A van was hired and a trip down south was organised. Fortunately my in-laws live relatively close to the destination so we combined the trip with some fun by the south coast.

After a good browse around the workshop and a longing look at some of the projects we had a look at the door.

 The door was exactly as described very well made and straight, no dents or damage and most importantly no rust.

In order to keep it that way a whole host of blankets and rope were employed to hold the door in place for the journey home. A few sheets of packing card and a bit of testing and we were happy to head home.

The door arrived safe and sound at the garage ready for fitting to Maisie. 

The show must go on!

OK so after a lot of talking and some thinking and a bit of help we have decided to go ahead and do the restoration of Maisie.

We will have to see if we can afford to keep her but for the moment the show goes on.

A decision to make

Good news (sort of) from the garage today.

They have done a bit of ringing around and has found a friend who has a Jig that can be borrowed (well the workshop with the Jig in can be used). So the job is still possible.

The down side is the cost now all the corrosion is visible we are looking at 10 times what we originally agreed. That was however for a lot less work, we now need some large structural work and respray due to the body panels being replaced.

We have now to work out if we can find the money to keep Maisie or cut our losses and sell her on. 

The end?

Another call to the garage and some more bad news......

Having now cleared off all the rust and taken out the cab floor the state of the chassis leg has become horrifyingly clear. A previous owner had put together the leg with filler and a some bits of metal then covered liberally in underseal to hide the resulting bodge.

Unfortunately this means that the job is now much bigger than before and requires a Jig to hold the body steady whilst a large chunk of chassis is removed. It also means that it might not be possible to do at the current garage as it is not a piece of equipment that he has.

So we are now looking at a much more expensive job than before, we have sunk a tidy sum into replacement parts and we are at a stage where our current garage may not be able to finish the job. Maisie is all cut up with rusty parts chopped off and some still to come out.

Where do we go now?

If we sell her as a project we will loose money and the children will never forgive us for letting her go.

If we keep her we will have to find a big wad of cash to get the work done and also pay out for moving her from where she is now to a new garage with the correct kit. :(

Meet Daisy

Van less for a bit we not to be deterred for the camping season so booked to go off to the forest of Dean again to meet up with George and Kev. When up in the loft sorting out the camping gear I found an impulse purchase for a while back I thought i might as well get it put together ready for the trip.

So now Maisie has a little friend.

Seb helping to fix Daisy

Complete with her own bunting