Hi all, just joined and hope I can glean advice and perhaps give some...
Name's Andi, am old enough to know better, but young enough to keep making mistakes
I do this for a living:
and this:
Somme of this:
I love taking photo's of this, that and the other as you can see, but I love taking arty shot's:
Fun shot's:
And one of my favourites, my wife on a beach in Tenerife with waves crashing on the rocks...
Anyway, I am married with a 5 year old son who is an energy vampire, but the best thing to ever happen to us. He loves camping in our campervan as he calls it.
Had a few vans here & there, but recently bought a Swift Corniche 15/4 of 1991 vintage. No paperwork, no cutlery or crockery, but water & waste containers (I now have two which is very handy when you have a wife & son who think leaving a tap running is artistic )
I got the van and towed it home over a hundred miles through the hills of Blairgowrie. I tow it with my Doblo, a monster in hamster clothing. She's a 1.9 jtd with a remap giving just a shade under 180bhp. Great fun when the VAG brigade think they can pee on your picnic with an undertake, but the look on their face when the wee dragon bites their ass, ha ha ha!
I got to my work yard and used a scissor lift to get up and clean the roof which looked as if it has sat at the bottom of Loch Ness for twenty years!
Before:
After:
Anyway, the van has an Alko hitch, which is epic for towing and storing with the lock to prevent some clown helping themselves. She sits beautifully at 60mph (I may have wandered up to 75 at one point and had to lift off to bring her back down...that's one problem with a powerful car).
Got home and tested all the fittings & fixtures. Blown air heating = excellent. Water heater electric/gas = excellent. Fridge on mains = perfect, on gas, only got it working last night after finding a grotty switch contact needed filing to clean the rust. Lit first tic. Need to connect up my 12s to test the fridge on 14v from alternator. Toilet (cassette) = excellent working order, now all I need is a slave to empty it
I removed the grotty old VHF antennae and replaced it with a Status 550 which was a bit of a chore. I had to place it farther from the original hole left by the old antennae as it has a periscope, but a bit of fibre glass and some swear words fixed it. End result was epic TV pictures and no drop out.
We went to Grannies Heilan Hame to test it Friday past and it was so warm, we didn't need the heating. Not sure that's an aspect of a well insulated van or just the weather was nice (apart from the wind & rain on Saturday night).
Anyway, we had so much fun, we decided to book Lochloy this Friday night for two nights.
So that's pretty much my life story I hope I haven't bored anyone, or worse, posted in the wrong section!
Hope to be able to provide good banter, help and stories of caravaning tales to anyone who will listen/read
Welcome along, some absolutely stunning photos, thought the first one was your unit.
Great job on the van roof, maybe we should all get a scissor lift or cherry picker.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Dont want to rain on your parade Andy but that stuff you used will fade the decals over time with constant use and im no tae sure about cleaning the roof with high temps as you might damage the seals.Anyway,welcome tae the mad hoose
If I'm honest, I wasn't worried about the decals and to that end, I pretty much hosed them off as they were already faded. The only ones I didn't try to wreck were the 60mph sign and the Corniche legend. But they are faded anyway. I am happy with the van, but am not too bothered if it screams "I am a 91" as long as it is dry.
I found the front window leaked a bit during the blasting, but I expected much, much worse. It doesn't let in the rain though.
I need to go round with some sealant and fill some odd voids, created with the serious use of the lance and a couple of holes caused by the age and some metal fatigue/screw holes.
However, the van looks pretty good for a 23 year old. I've seen younger people in much worse states
Thanks for all the welcomes and the mad hoose is just where I belong
Quote: Originally posted by IainM on 22/10/2014
Doo heid! Great name
Welcome
Thanks, the name is a play on my nick name. I get called Andoo, which is shortened to Doo. I wanted to call myself Doo on here, but it wanted four letters (I thought of a couple ).
But Doo Heid about describes me
GM...err..thingy, I have Silkaflex and some car body panel stuff (I forget the name, but it is like mastic) for behind the rails. But the holes I was referring to are almost like woodworm right in the middle of the panel between the toilet window and the rail.
I can't imagine the van lasting more than a couple of years without needing a strip down and lots of new wood & flooring fitted.....
Hi and welcome Doo Heid, We used to have a Corniche, lovely van, Hope you enjoy your jaunts, keep on 'Snapping'
and take a look at the monthly Photo competion on the 'Chat,Games and Trivia section, its just for fun but worth it.
Regards
John
------------- Life is our Holiday enjoy it before its time to go back!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Hellooooooo
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I hope I haven't bored anyone, or worse, posted in the wrong section! 
