B-pillar trims

Having had the bulkhead out for a week now, I've been mulling-over what to do about the unsightly 'half-trim' left behind by it's removal - as shown in the picture below:

One option would be to cost up and order a set of B-pillar trims from a Caddy Maxi Life. Another, slightly cheaper option, would be to trim down the existing bulkhead into long thin strips that would then fill the void.

Being a cost-conscious Yorkshireman I went for the latter. Here's an indication of the cut line:

So it was out with a tape measure, marker pen and Dremel. Then straight onto the first of the carpet trimming jobs - it's been a while since I've done any trimming so I thought I'd plough straight into quite a complex shape.

Here's the end result, bolted back in where the bulkhead was originally bolted:

I'm fairly happy with it. I can see it coming out again for a tidy-up but it's certainly neater than before.

Covered dash tray

If you're a fellow Caddy owner, you'll know there's not many spots to keep things out of view. There's the overhead cubby-hole but other than that, everything else is on display.

I first saw this mod on the Caddy2k forums and have been looking around for a while for the part (not wanting to pay Volkswagen the £90 for a new one) when one appeared on eBay.

Here's the old dash tray:

And here's the covered replacement:

Nothing more than a simple case of carefully unclipping and lifting the old one out and snapping the new one into place. If you're keen to do a similar modification, the part you need to look out for is: 2K0858329E75R

Winter mode pt.2

Here's the van; raised ride height and repainted steel wheels. Not quite the head-turner it once was. 

I appear to have un-pimped my ride!

Sound proofing and insulation

With the floor up and the bulkhead out, it's time to look at the interior panels, sound-proofing and insulation. To reduce the echo of an empty van you simply have to add some weight the bare panels. Road noise and vibration travels through the panels and becomes amplified, to reduce this resonance effectively and efficiently I like to apply self adhesive flash banding as used by roofers.

The first step is to remove all the interior panels:

If you're familiar with VW interior trim, you'll be friendy with those little clips that can be such a hindrance to progress. I've found the perfect tool for coaxing them out without wrecking them:

Next we add the flash banding in strategic positions on bare, open areas of panel:

Followed by a high-grade, flame retardant insulation material:

Then a final layer of polythene to seal it in:

Finally it's just a matter of replacing the interior panel.

I've not shown the panel back in as it's just raw ply. Watch this space for more details on interior fabrics soon...

To end the day's work I thought I'd have a trial-run of the type of load the rear will be carrying. Again, more details on bike mounts are to follow...

Floor and bulkhead out

In a quest for a bit more legroom it's time to take the bulkhead out. But first, the floor in the back has to come up. So fueled-up on coffee and cake, it's straight on to lifting the floor:

A relatively straightforward job; just a case of go easy on the cheap screws taking care not to round any of the heads off. Up comes the floor to reveal a couple of years' worth of sawdust and rubbish:

With a little elbow-grease the floor comes up looking factory-fresh (a shame to cover it over!):

Then, with the floor out I can turn my attentions to the bulkhead. Another simple job; just work your way around the bulkhead taking out the torx-headed bolts.

Splitting the bulkhead into two halves by undoing the bolts down the spine certainly makes it easier to remove. 10 minutes later and it's out:

Finally I can get the seat back that extra couple of inches. Removing the bulkhead immediately makes the cab feel more spacious, rear visibility is miles better without it obscuring the view. Now to start hunting some B-pillar trims from a Caddy Maxi to finish the interior trim.

Winter mode

The transformation for Winter is complete:

On go the steel wheels and up goes the ride-height. The acid-test; will it get up the parent's driveway?

Only just, but yes. Certainly better than before when we had no hope of getting up the driveway for a Sunday dinner!

One downside (although I'm thankful we spotted it) is one of the rear V-Maxx shocks has let go. It's shock-absorbing properties are still okay, but the top mount has all but fallen apart, not good.

This is what happens when buying cars, especially modified by the previous owner; can you be sure what you're letting yourself in for? We test drove the van with it full of tools and thus forgave the odd clonk - in hindsight this was a mistake. It wasn't until driving around with an empty van that you begin to hear noises out of the ordinary. I'm annoyed, but it can be rectified with a fresh pair of shocks - I might even upgrade to better quality KW items.