Self build boxer

[John]

Hi all, after a month trying to log in, I have re-registered and now can post! yey!

I bought an old nag of a boxer in Sept 2016, when I meant to buy a newer Sevel van.. I must have become scared and decided to do a first draft on something cheap first time around.

The van was an ex garden machinery vehicle, and set a new personal record for managed to break down 10 times on the 10 mile trip to it's (quickly abandoned) MOT. I crawled it to its resting place and had a good talking to myself.

John

 

[John]

none of you will remember me from such websites as motorhome facts, fun, and wildcamping.. although some of your names look familiar

 

[Deleted member 4404]

Hi John,
Welcome aboard
If the boxer has gone to feed the tin worms, what van have you got now?

 

[John]

thanks Edina

I rebuilt the boxer bit by bit

 

[trevskoda]

First welcome here,for building a van lots of skills are required like woodworking,welding,electrics ,plumbing etc,then there is a place to do all of the above using many power tools.
Best to do a few rough drawings /measurements before any tools come out to play.
Some times a bit of help from someone how has been down this rd before,good luck anyway.

 

[John]

hello Trev!

I have been meaning to pick your brains about outboards

the short story is, soon after buying the van and uncovering its issues, I was made redundant.. so I set about sorting it. working outdoors mostly from through oct/nov/december and jan, all day and all days, I had got an mot and was ready to begin the interior. This is never really finished but by around March she had her first night away locally. I used her when I could through 2017's summer, and then she was laid up until spring this year.
Trips to Dorset, the New Forest, Oxford and 2 weeks in Brittany saw her through a lovely season. Now, thanks partly to Wildebeast and Fazerloz, I bought my ?6th diesel heater, this time new from China, and I am just finishing its install, hopefully the season can be extended this year.

Regarding the mechanical repairs to the van, I decided to leave the windscreen and wipers in ... ....

more soon

J

 

[trevskoda]

hello Trev!

I have been meaning to pick your brains about outboards

the short story is, soon after buying the van and uncovering its issues, I was made redundant.. so I set about sorting it. working outdoors mostly from through oct/nov/december and jan, all day and all days, I had got an mot and was ready to begin the interior. This is never really finished but by around March she had her first night away locally. I used her when I could through 2017's summer, and then she was laid up until spring this year.
Trips to Dorset, the New Forest, Oxford and 2 weeks in Brittany saw her through a lovely season. Now, thanks partly to Wildebeast and Fazerloz, I bought my ?6th diesel heater, this time new from China, and I am just finishing its install, hopefully the season can be extended this year.

Regarding the mechanical repairs to the van, I decided to leave the windscreen and wipers in ... ....

more soon

J

What i can tell you is that outboard sales are well down this year,folk are now buying m/homes,cheers

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Which John on facts were you?

 

[John]

I dont know Pudsey, it was back in 2008

Trev, I cant remember the outboard question, but it was very old school and cheap.. think 40 year old USA 2 stroke at around 60 Hp (I still have it)

 

[John]

a fairly pointless picture of the van the day after buying, not quite sure why I took it.. Maybe thinking a long way ahead about space on the roof !

 

[John]

I had discovered issues with the engine/transmission, on my short first-gear test drive in a circle on a farm.
The clutch was juddering badly
One of the CV joints was knacked

as said, when bringing her home, she cut out repeatedly, no matter how careful I was with the throttle. (Hilly area too)

The next day, the internal ply was removed, and a wash of the outside occurred, and I was seeing a future. The day after that I discovered (despite trying to check before parting with cash) some nasty tin worm underneath, especially on the drivers side. The roof also has a small hole in, I suspect made for a beacon.

So, scrap time! but instead I found a good welder online, made him breakfast on a camping stove, and he gave me confidence he could repair her (with my help) and we realised the only way to weld was (for me to) strip the van.

just before that :
I thought about the cutting out, having had experience of HDi's before, I plugged my diagnostics in.. but on this engine I could not read the injector correction values, still not sure why! So i did a leak off test.

 

[trevskoda]

I dont know Pudsey, it was back in 2008

Trev, I cant remember the outboard question, but it was very old school and cheap.. think 40 year old USA 2 stroke at around 60 Hp (I still have it)

They made loads,evenrude/johnson made by the omc group,the best one to keep is a homelite f/stroke which honda copied.

 

[John]

yes its a sea horse, a combination of an ELCIA ? and something else.. basically I have bits from both together and still have it.. I will try and remember the rather simple question I was going to ask you

 

[trevskoda]

yes its a sea horse, a combination of an ELCIA ? and something else.. basically I have bits from both together and still have it.. I will try and remember the rather simple question I was going to ask you

Sea horse was johnson evenrude,the other i think you mean elga,there very old though i do have some old engines.

 

[John]

so..

A plan was hatched

I was to take the van apart piece by piece, allowing Chris the welder access to all areas. I cleared a patch of land and set about removing the engine/gearbox/subframe. I have a sturdy hoist but wasn't really in the mood, instead a tractor was hailed to first lift the van more than I could, and then remove the power unit forwards. The PU then made a small journey hanging from the forks of the tractor to be inspected,
The van was on logs, solid and safe enough, with wheels etc underneath for a bit more safety. Chris got to work on both front arches, the nearside front jacking point, and other places besides..

at some point the rear was lifted, and the rear axle, suspension etc escaped. the weeks rolled by, the van only had doors, winscreen, dash at this point.
Some swivel seats were found from a generic PSA people carrier, probably an 806? or equivalent, the old stinky seats were sold/thrown (dual/drivers)

 

[John]

The radiator was rusty, the alternator was oily, the intercooler was holed, the turbo felt a little worn, the clutch was dusty, the rear nearside lower arm mount was knacked, another mount was shot, a shock was leaking, a caliper was properly stuck on, the previously mentioned CV joint was loose, a wheel bearing was toast,
I think that was all that was wrong really.

I decided to rebuild then engine as I didn't have much else to do
I degreased and jet washed it, catching the grime on towels and cardboard.

 

[John]

 

[John]

I decided to do the headgasket, as I thought the oil creeping down from the cambelt end of the block could be attributed.. It wasn't necessary but easy enough and quite cheap. The valves were re-lapped, the head has a surface skim, the inlet tracts were cleaned, and the sump was removed for cleaning.
New cambelt kit, filters etc followed.

 

[John]

 

[John]

I must have used the endoscope for something, although I cant think what exactly. The clutch was changed for a valeo. I marked carefully and rebuilt turbo. The vacuum pump was cleaned and checked
.