Right, so the leaky diesel tank turned out to be the pipe from the filler, which was an easy fix and explains why it leaked much more when full. I also had a full service done which revealed another couple of eyebrow-raising faults with regard to the shiny new MOT: 2 illegally worn tyres and one borderline one, plus brake lights that didn't work thanks to a broken switch and no rear fog light because the holder was too corroded to fit a new bulb... The garage fixed the brake light switch (but the brakes now judder slightly, which makes me think they need bleeding). I've ordered a rear light cluster, had new tyres fitted and also bought and fitted the 6mm plywood shelf. It's exactly what I hoped and gives a huge amount of additional space; probably as much as the boot on some cars. 6mm ply seems fine in terms of strength and rigidity. I do still need to find a way to stop it bouncing and flapping as I go over bumps when it's empty; there's nothing to bolt or screw it to around the lip and I don't want to glue it. I've tried putting a bit of foam in there, but it's not great. Hopefully, once it's laden it should be ok.

I've now also realised I'll probably need a light board for the cycle carrier as it will obscure the number plate. There's always something else, isn't there?!

I have to ask, what have you bought? Presumably you missed the bald tyres?

It's a 53-plate LDV Convoy. TL;DR...?

I didn't look too hard at the tyres, as I had just seen a brand new 12-month MOT. Also, as I'm intending to sell it in about 6 weeks, I thought they might just do, but nope.

That 6mm ply might flex a bit when loaded Jim.

It may be prudent to screw a 2x1 baton underneath along the lenth of it in a central position.

Screw from on top of the ply down though into the baton below. If you have the headroom that is. And make sure its the 2inch part of the baton upright.

Joe, I've got a piece of 30mm rolled steel strip bolted to the top of the windscreen and to a piece of angle-steel running across the van at the rear edge of the shelf. Should do the trick, I think!

Why not just hire one? I did this in 2012, when we moved to Turkey we took and stored our stuff in Vigo, Spain as my wife is Spanish and the family had space to store our stuff. I drove out and back in 4 days, a tough run but it got the job done. To be honest I cannot really remember how much it cost me but I think the rental was in the region of £300. When and where are you going to in Spain as I will need to go back at some time to bring our stuff back it might be an idea to combine recourses... Just my two cents worth.

Just seen that you have already bought something.... Forget my last!

Just a bit of banter, you make it sound a bit of a state. Did you notice how the tyres had worn? Perhaps could be linked to the brake judder.

Banter in reply, not at all offended!
It is actually not in a bad state for a £1750 bus with 83k on the clock. I'm just slightly doubtful of the veracity of the MOT. The brakes were fine until the garage fitted the new brake light switch. I suspect that some air may have got into the system. It's not severe, but no longer brakes as smoothly as it did. It may also have happened when they were checking the rear drums for wear.

I probably should have looked a bit harder at the tyres, but to be honest at £155 balanced and fitted, I'd still have taken the van even knowing they'd need doing.

Saul, we looked at hiring, but for a number of reasons, we decided to buy and resell. As long as we don't trash the van, we ought to get most of our money back. We're moving to Murcia, but my Spanish geography is so poor that I'm not sure it'll be of much use!

Glad to hear

The switch is on the pedal to the best of my knowledge, so unlikely that's induced air. Messing with the drums on the other hand. Brake cylinders can be a nightmare when older. But I don't think air would cause a judder. I'd think it'll be how they've adjusted them/material contamination. That said I'd keep an eye on the fluid level and/or damp patches at the drum rears. It may also be prudent to check the pedal holds pressure with the engine off. Pump the pedal a few times til it gets firmer, then press the pedal hard and hold it. Check the pedal doesn't fall. You'd also be able to feel air in the system at this point.

How do you feel the judder; through the wheel, brake pedal?

The pedal holds the pressure fine. Hard to tell where the judder is; it's quite gentle unless braking hard. I think I feel it through the pedal, but I need to be a passenger really to know for sure (if you know what I mean!).

Okay sounds very likely it's just poor adjustment/contamination of the friction material. Hard to be sure but I'd just be aware that it does it.

Jim, I know you're a busy man, what with refitting the bus and helping out foreigners with gym memberships but........

This thread is worthless without pictures!!

I know I'm not alone in wanting to see the what handyman Clennell has built inside the bus. So come on, get the camera out

No worries, bezzer, but I'll need to take pics in the light, so it may be a weekend job as I'm not home until after dark.

I'm hoping its looking like some sort of Woodstock festival era groupie fan bus, but I fear I am just shy of the mark.

Nobby, I think the vehicle design dates to around the time of the original Woodstock festival; other than that, not so much!

I wish.

Right, here are the pictures without which TTIU. Pics taken at 7 this morning using inferior iPad camera.


Spacious boot, with added shelfage above the front seats...


Holy wheel-arch, Batman.


Note handy steel-and-ply-work.


Cavernous over-cab storage...

Very nice. I now understand why tape would be appropriate for those arches.

Also if I may suggest, it appears that your shelf could do with a little more bracing width ways to take some of the tensile loads.

Two points occur, Jim...

1) something to make sure that what is above your head *stays* above your head (e.g. nets, bungee cords, and somewhere convenient to hook them)

2) keep an eye on your maximum loading; it'll be easy to overload that space.

(2a... http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/scooby-doo-decals)

Very impressive bit of DIY there Jim.

As said above, rapid acceleration may result in items flying out of the overhead onto your head! Go easy on the loud pedal

It's a cavernous beast. I didn't quite realise how much space was in them once the seats were removed.

I'm looking forward to a blow by blow account from the packing, the tunnel, the toll roads and the coastal road down to your new house.

Thanks for the comments, chaps. Our intention is to limit what goes into the space to light but bulky items such as duvets, pillows, etc and nothing heavy or hard. It's not easy to see from the pictures, but there is a good 3-4cm overlap all round the shelf, and even without the metalwork, it took a lot of effort to persuade the ply to flex enough to get it into place. When I was bolting the steel above the windscreen, I was resting the whole top half of my body on the shelf and it held me up, which is a lot more weight than I intend putting on it.
Nice joke about the rapid acceleration, bezzer! Although I shall be putting a lip of some sort across to prevent any bedding landing on the back seat passengers - it won't hit us as we're too far forward.
The load space is around 8ft x 6ft (ignoring the wheel arches and over 6' high in the middle. The luggage galleries are also pretty handy and can take a combined weight of almost 100kg.
I'll try to post a bit as the load progresses!

Even (particularly?) with something like a duvet or pillow, you don't want it on your head while you're driving...

What's the maximum load on the vehicle?

Laugh out loud moment

Agreed! My point was that these things weigh less and should therefore be unlikely to cause catastrophic shelf failure.

The payload is around 1500kg, and obviously 10 people plus seats will weigh more than the crap that we will be carrying, so it shouldn't be an issue. We are not taking any furniture except one dressing table that is an heirloom, so I'm hoping we will be ok.

Ah, ok. I'd estimate ten people and ten seats at 1000-1200kg so you should have no problem.

My point on the shelf is not that the shelf fails but that things may shift and fall out, either on their own or by the agency of the kids, or even in an accident.

When do you go? Cambridge meet before you do?

I take your point about the stuff falling out. As I say, I'll put some form of lip or possibly elastic netting (as there is on the luggage racks) over the mouth. The rear of the shelf is behind the driver and passengers' heads, so the only people to collect stuff ought to be the next row back - annoying for them but less critical to safety!

I'll be leaving twice: once with family on 12th April and once after I've returned and sold the van/done the tip run/cleaned the carpets in the house, etc on 29th April.
Cambridge meet? I should coco! Followed by a Murcia meet for anyone who's game!

Murcia might be a while but I will try to get down there, complete with paraglider... and maybe half a dozen mates!

All proceeding reasonably well except that the throttle potentiometer failed leving the bus in limp-home mode at inconvenient times and over-revving on idle. A very ill-affordable £200 has solved the problem. We have also realised how tough it is to condense the worldly possessions of 3 people (plus additional bits from 3 others) to the size of the loadbay of a relatively small van! Many triage sessions have resulted in casting aside a great deal more stuff, but we are still struggling. Having a wife who is an artist herself and whose mother and grandfather also produced large paintings has had a significant impact. As has our wretched attachment to books! The latest casualty will be a rather lovely late 19th century German-made wall clock given to me by my best friend in 1988, which will go on ebay later today. I've still got the tool-box though...!