Seats for sale

Not only did the van come with original wheels and suspension parts to put the van back to standard. The seller also included the original seats - not something I was expecting. I can't see me ever needing to swap back to these so they're up for grabs.

Almost perfect in condition with only minor scuffs to the plastic trim, this is a driver's and passenger's seat in the Inca pattern. Cloth is unmarked and as-new, everything works as it should:

To my knowledge they have come from the van I've just bought which is only two years old. Going rate on eBay is around £50-£80 for seats in this condition. So I'd like somewhere in the region of £120 for the pair, but would be open to sensible offers as these are taking up space.

Based in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Or available for buyer to collect from Leeds, Mon-Fri.

If you're interested, either comment below of email: rpcreative@hotmail.com

2x Tyres for sale

After changing the two mis-matched profile tyres, I now have the other two surplus to requirements. The are Vredestein Comtrac Van tyres in 195/70/15 size.
Suitable for many 15" van wheels - they look hardly used.

Brand new these tyres are around £75 each. So, with these being part-worn I'd be looking for offers around £80 for the pair.

Based in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Or available for buyer to collect from Leeds, Mon-Fri.
Comment below if interested, or email: rpcreative@hotmail.com

Winter Wheel Weekend

So back to the progress update; on go a few coats of Ford (yes, sorry) Graphite Grey. There wasn't many VW greys to choose from in the rattle-can section of Halfords, I went with this because it seemed to have a little bit of a blue hue to it - from what you can tell by the colour swatch on the lid!

Then on to lacquer. If I wasn't feeling a bit spaced-out from the paint fumes before now, this would be the real dizzying part of the process!

After the lacquer I then put a heater on in the garage for an hour or so, Whether this makes a blind bit of difference or not, I'm not sure. But subconsciously I hope it helps the lacquer to harden and with a bit of luck protect the paint through Winter.


Finally, I rolled the wheels outside this morning to admire my work.

Good enough for now, and at around £10 per wheel, there's no complaints.

Winter steels

I've always been one for swapping my alloys for the original steel wheels at the end of a season; salty UK roads don't do any favours for pricey alloys.
So I was really happy that when buying the Caddy that it came with the original wheels. One down-side was a mis-match of tyre profiles - 2x 195/65/15 and 2x 195/70/15. Not ideal.

Knowing that I can move the wrong tyres on, an order was placed with Camskill (probably the prices for tyres anywhere on the internet) for two replacements of the correct 195/65/15.

So now we're on to prep; hours of sanding, smoothing and masking. I would ideally have done this with tyres removed but I'm up against a deadline to get the wheels swapped.

More time taken at prep should result in a better result further down the line. Then, after one last clean, on with the primer.

With barely a dribble or run in sight. I've laid it on fairly thick; first a white etch primer, then a good couple of layers of matt grey primer. Images of the final colour and lacquer coats will be posted tomorrow.

Wheels & Tyres for sale - now sold

Having had the van for less than a week, you may think I'm slightly mad for wanting to sell the Bentley alloys so soon. With Winter approaching and the van being used daily, I'll be swapping back to the steel wheels and starting the hunt for an 18" or 19" replacement for next year.

So here's what is on offer:
A set of four Bentley 20" wheels (part number RT253) as fitted to the GT and Flying Spur manufactured as a one-piece aluminium wheel by Ronal.
Centre caps are included in the sale.
Stud pattern is 5x112 and ET (offset) is 41. Rim width is 9J.
This makes them suitable for many VW, Audi, Mercedes (and Bentley!) applications.
Tyres are Falken 225/30ZR20 and have been fitted in the fashionable 'stretched' style.

Update: One of the tyres is badly worn around it's inner edge and will definitely need replacing. The other three have loads of life on them.

The cost to replace one of these wheels from Bentley is £475 (without centre cap).

Some pics with the asking price below (click for bigger pics):

Given the 'just less than perfect' condition of the wheels I'd like £1600 for the wheels and tyres.

These have now sold - thanks for looking.

Job one

A big empty van makes a lot of noise. One of the very first jobs will be to reduce some of the echo in the back of the van - this will be achieved in a number of ways.
Firstly, road noise is transmitted from the tyres up through the wheel arches. These will be treated to some Dynamat before being carpeted.
Then, the large open panels of the sides and roof of the van will be given some weight in the form of self-adhesive flash-banding. This helps to dampen resonance in the panel and stops the booming echo of an empty van.
The gaps between metal panel and plywood panel will then be insulated and finally, the plywood will be treated to a layer of automotive carpet.

There's just two-steps to today's efforts:

Factory ply-lining from Volkswagen

The standard VW lining is okay. The boxes over the wheel arches are a bit crude; held in by screws and batons, then silicone-sealed in position. Time to take these out:

...to reveal a nice pair of shiny wheel arches - almost seems a shame to cover them over!

Over the next few weekends we'll be making the decision on whether the bulkhead stays in or not, choosing the carpet, adding some sound-proofing, and coming up with some ideas for a very special floor.

Day one

So, where to start? This is day one of Caddy ownership and it's still the honeymoon period. Driven home, washed, cleaned, tidied, cleaned again, found all the stonechips and scratches you never manage to see when on a test-drive. Found a few little faults to put right...

But most of all, I've enjoyed turning-heads. A few pics before we go any further I think:

So what have we bought? At first glance it appears to be a clean, honest, low mileage, two year old Caddy. I was keen to find a TDI having heard less than complementary things about the SDI. I didn't want white and didn't want a high-miler. Searching seemed to take forever for a van to fit the requirements. This one was bang-on budget so I shook hands at some speed.

'But it's already modified' I hear you saying. When you cost up the sourcing of a Touran bumper, colour-coding, lowering, alloys, seats etc. you realise the sum of all these elements goes beyond your total budget. So this is my starting point. It may be somebody else's creation but I plan to take it to another level.

So what are the plans? Without giving the game away too soon; one of the first jobs will be to remove the 20" Bentley Flying Spur alloys. On will go the original 15" steel wheels that also came with the van. The ride height will be adjusted to a more commuting-friendly drop, probably around 40 or 50mm from standard. New alloys at 18" or 19" will then be sourced for a little more comfort and a little less 'on-edge' pothole-dodging.

The tinted headlights will be swapped for originals (or maybe a little upgrade here). The front bumper may eventually be swapped for a smooth Touran version and the interior (currently ply-lined) will be receiving some attention.

Right then, off we go, this is going to be quite a challenge!