Val Dunn
My hubby doesn't think we will have room for a washroom but many thanks anyway. Would have been a really good idea and easier. Cheers
Thistle - Ex Ambulance to...... well hopefully something else
- Thread starter Duckato
- Start date
wildebus
Forum Member
You could use it "in the open" as long as you have a flat wall to mount the unit on, but it all does depend on the layout of your conversion.
Maybe this type of unit is one to keep in mind in case your design does end up lend itself to it? (the Eberspacher EasiWash units pop up on eBay fairly often in varying condition and prices).
GEOFF
Hi WB ,I would like to buy your wash unit. £25 sounds a bargain to me. I could pay cash on collection, or hopefully we may be able to meet up somewhere soon. Regards. Geoff.
harrow
Forum Member
Haven't ambulances got a lot more expensive, I can remember buying a sitting case (clear window mini bus) Bedford CF London Ambulance at Whitechapel car auctions for £600 and they had another 6 non starters with flat batteries for £200, and one of those had white weller wheels, these were all direct from London Ambulance Service !
Duckato
Forum Member
Sorry for a distinct lack of updates recently, Project Thistle went on hold, I had thought I could build both in parallel but it was simply taking way too long and I wanted something quick and cheap to use this year
Hence I decided to concentrate on WAS only, and finished the van in August.
I did put a Bulkhead door in that was fun!
All the woodwork is Solid Oak none of the lightweight stuff for me
Shower room was the most expensive bit cost about £350 all in.
Much thanks to @wildebus for his input on mains Fridges
Project WAS Playlist is on YouTube here
www.youtube.com
Van tour here
I will recommence Project Thistle later this month
Hence I decided to concentrate on WAS only, and finished the van in August.
I did put a Bulkhead door in that was fun!
All the woodwork is Solid Oak none of the lightweight stuff for me
Shower room was the most expensive bit cost about £350 all in.
Much thanks to @wildebus for his input on mains Fridges
Project WAS Playlist is on YouTube here
Project 'WAS'
Thumbnail colour scheme: Orange = Intro and pre build strip out of the original Ambulance interiors Green = Sidebars and misc info Yellow = Build Videos This...
www.youtube.com
Van tour here
I will recommence Project Thistle later this month
Duckato
Forum Member
Another update, Thistles on hold for a bit longer!
I have been doing a few tweaks to WAS swapped out the inefficient split charge nonsense and fitted a proper B2B replaced a faulty glow plug, fixed a major oil leak from the oil filter housing, replaced all the front dress and as preventative maintenance replaced the Alternator brushes as well.
I have also been asked to do some electrical work on a Peugeot Boxer ex Ambulance for a client. predominantly verifying what does and does not still work, removing or relocating the Genisysy system, reinstating any lost functionality and enabling the owner to remove the bulkhead which will mean quite a lot of changes and rewiring which should keep me busy for a couple of weeks
I have been doing a few tweaks to WAS swapped out the inefficient split charge nonsense and fitted a proper B2B replaced a faulty glow plug, fixed a major oil leak from the oil filter housing, replaced all the front dress and as preventative maintenance replaced the Alternator brushes as well.
I have also been asked to do some electrical work on a Peugeot Boxer ex Ambulance for a client. predominantly verifying what does and does not still work, removing or relocating the Genisysy system, reinstating any lost functionality and enabling the owner to remove the bulkhead which will mean quite a lot of changes and rewiring which should keep me busy for a couple of weeks
Duckato
Forum Member
Nope genuine mileage with a replacement engine about 100,000 miles ago.540.000 miles, is that a miss-print or real mileage?
My Sprinter had done 310,000 when I bought it.
Greggbear67
Forum Member
Been looking to replace my Fiat Scudo blat motor & spotted a nice transit Tourneo on the "bay", 51 plate with 340,000 miles on the clock. Might just risk it.....
Duckato
Forum Member
My own two are both ex Ambulances so were serviced every 10 weeks or so and only one owner. I would be a bit cautious buying something without a full service history and or multiple owners that's got a fair bit on the clock!
Imho cosmetically this pug is showing signs of it mileage and despite popular perception re these bring galvanised and therefore rust proof this one had a lot of rust patches especially around the sills and will need a visit to a bodyshop before to late.
Imho cosmetically this pug is showing signs of it mileage and despite popular perception re these bring galvanised and therefore rust proof this one had a lot of rust patches especially around the sills and will need a visit to a bodyshop before to late.
Greggbear67
Forum Member
My Scudo's supposed to be galv & it looks good on a 05 plate but my 04 plate Expert (same van) is looking a bit rough round the sills now.
Duckato
Forum Member
Yes provided people are willing to put in the work they make good conversions prospects
the trade had cottoned on to this and the level of bs about them being well insulated and easy to convert is fooling people into thinking they are easy to do.
the best approach is to work on the assumption they come with a lot of useful and reusable bits that almost make the base vehicle a bargain the boxer I am doing now cost £2600, it has £1000 worth of batteries a D4 a 60A Ac charger, single passenger seat, double glazing, a decent floor, enough spare cabling that none will need to be bought etc.
End result the owner would not be out of pocket by very much if she took the goodies out and binned the van!
however although it looks a bit rough cosmetically it’s still got loads of life in it.
as I said though the insulation in all the pvc vans I have looked at is not good qed:
PVC Ambulances are not well insulated
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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wildebus
Forum Member
My first conversion base was a VW T4 that had been "professionally" converted by Versa (part of Bristol Street Motors) to be a mobility vehicle.
The windows had been badly fitted with the holes cut too large for the gasket surrounds. It was fully insulated, but with fibreglass loft insulation that was sodden due to rain coming though the gaps in the windows.
Extra couple of seats that no one would want to buy and no useful stuff like extra battery or a heater
It is funny how people imagine how some standard vehicles are insulated as well. The VW Shuttles you read are insulated. When I took the panels off mine, I had insulation comprising of 2 prices of foam .... 2" X 3" and and an inch thick. Wouldn't insulate a mouse nest
The windows had been badly fitted with the holes cut too large for the gasket surrounds. It was fully insulated, but with fibreglass loft insulation that was sodden due to rain coming though the gaps in the windows.
Extra couple of seats that no one would want to buy and no useful stuff like extra battery or a heater
It is funny how people imagine how some standard vehicles are insulated as well. The VW Shuttles you read are insulated. When I took the panels off mine, I had insulation comprising of 2 prices of foam .... 2" X 3" and and an inch thick. Wouldn't insulate a mouse nest
SquirrellCook
Forum Member
As with most converters their god is profit, not quality.
Duckato
Forum Member
Crikey, it been ages since I updated the thread, along came Covid lockdown and I ended up with a customers Iveco stuck on my drive for several weeks after I had removed the Phoenix system from it and I could not go and buy materials for Thistle for quite a while.
Once lockdown ended we enjoyed using WAS the Sprinter so much that it and working on a few other ex Ambulances further delayed completing Thistle.
I finally finished Thistle July last year three and a half years after buying it! I sold WAS in April, that was a difficult decision, WAS imho was the better van, definitely a talking point wherever we went, more powerful, easier to manoeuvre and with hindsight I now wish I had never bought the Crafter. However we do now have the luxury of a fixed bed, swivel seats and we definitely get a lot better mpg from the Crafter.
There’s a lot on YouTube covering the various vehicles I’ve worked on and Thistles build
Here’s the finished version.
In summary would I do another PVC ex Ambulance, no never, far too much work involved to do it properly I would have been better off buying a bare van but would I do another Modular Ambulance, yes absolutely.
Once lockdown ended we enjoyed using WAS the Sprinter so much that it and working on a few other ex Ambulances further delayed completing Thistle.
I finally finished Thistle July last year three and a half years after buying it! I sold WAS in April, that was a difficult decision, WAS imho was the better van, definitely a talking point wherever we went, more powerful, easier to manoeuvre and with hindsight I now wish I had never bought the Crafter. However we do now have the luxury of a fixed bed, swivel seats and we definitely get a lot better mpg from the Crafter.
There’s a lot on YouTube covering the various vehicles I’ve worked on and Thistles build
Here’s the finished version.
In summary would I do another PVC ex Ambulance, no never, far too much work involved to do it properly I would have been better off buying a bare van but would I do another Modular Ambulance, yes absolutely.