Renault Campervan Conversion
After 2 years of searching and numerous failed bids on ebay, I finally found what I thought was a bargain campervan with potential to do up. It's a 1991 converted ambulance with heaps of character and it cost £295.00. It failed its MOT in June 2011 with a number of issues from sharp body work to more serious under carriage aliments, hence the rock bottom price. We have nicked named it Wikus Van De Merwe (pronounced Vikus Van Der Merver) after the excellent movie District 9.
My great mate Gary and I collected it from a small town near Stevenage. It was clear that Wikus hadn't moved in a while as it was covered in bird crap and the ground was dead underneath. However, he (yes, its a male van), started first time and with my over zealous revving in trying to find the bite on a clutch for the first time, moved off without too much drama.
I am quite lucky in that I have space at the back of my work to keep Wikus (no Tax or MOT and so obviously he can't be kept on the road) and my boss isn't too bothered about it being there, although I'm sure he will want me to move it sooner rather than later.
I'm also lucky in that I work for a fastener & fixing company who supply internal fit out companies, so I have a fair idea of what is available on the market and where to get it. We also have a hire department, which supplies small plant so tools & power tools are generally available off the shelf to borrow and are close at hand.
By the time we had got it back to Welwyn Garden City it was late & dark so the first real opportunity to look Wikus over was the following morning. It had rained heavily that night and to no real surprise the van was like a swimming pool. There was clearly a hole somewhere in the roof as water was still streaming down a curtain, along a shelf and into the well established lake on the floor. If there was any doubt in my mind previously, it was now expelled - I was going to gut the inside and start from scratch.
