The Red Beast

[BigStevie]

A couple of pics of my Sprinter. Very little work done yet, took the bulkhead out along with the very crappy ply lining. Methinks it's going to be a busy summer....

 

[BigStevie]

Ha, thought I had my pics loaded up.... try again

 

[Liberty hall]

Steve
Tidy looking sprinter!!!! all the very best with the conversion, lets hope for a long dry summer
LH

 

[time4t]

As above, a nice looking sprinter. have you taken the engine cover of yet? if not, then it's a good idea to do it.
It helps to stop the black death.

Best of luck for your conversion & happy hunting for all the bits!

Phill

 

[Darcar]

Wow that's a lot of space......
dose it give you enough withe to fit a bed across the van ?
Darren

 

[BigStevie]

A long dry summer? I'm on a latitude with Bergen, we don't get the words 'long' and 'dry' together much up here.
Bed won't go across the van, anyway I'm pushing 6' 4". The load platform is a bit over 4.5m long, so should be able to get everything in. We've both been used to roughing it, only upgraded from a VW T2 to a T4 a couple of years ago, advancing age and all that!
I'm having a king-size bed on a platform in the back, non negotiable, so will build forward from there making it up as we go. Truth be told, can't wait to get cracking...
Thanks for all the support folks,

Stevie

 

[fifthwheel]

Welcome Stevie thats a nice looking van. The bodies always seem to last longer when painted a different colour to white.

 

[BigStevie]

It's been an owner driver van and only done 89k. Got a few rust blegs, but nothing serious. It's nice to see one in a colour other than white, the spots and visor add a bit chunkiness too. My other half wants to do a flower job on it, who am I to say no....

 

[PaulNorwich]

Nice looking van. Hope the conversion goes well, and that you have fun doing it.

 

[BigStevie]

Those rust blegs I mentioned earlier... Stripped out some very naf chipboard racking around the o/s rear wheel arch to find a soft patch of metal in the centre of the leading edge of the wheel tub, bit of proper merc tin worm! All the doors have the beginnings of the rot, just starting to bubble a bit at the bottoms. So, a full de-blegging before construction starts!

 

[Roadrunner]

Weld up no filler and waxol everything,plan from the start not as you go along,wiring runs first,good luck.

 

[Deleted member 2]

Those rust blegs I mentioned earlier... Stripped out some very naf chipboard racking around the o/s rear wheel arch to find a soft patch of metal in the centre of the leading edge of the wheel tub, bit of proper merc tin worm! All the doors have the beginnings of the rot, just starting to bubble a bit at the bottoms. So, a full de-blegging before construction starts!

Those damnable bloody Mercedes tin worm raise their ugly heads once again....................... Why oh why doesn't a company with the massive reputation of Mercedes do something about this dreadful situation, after all it would be so very easy for them to do! In my travels I have seen some Sprinters as young as 2 years with the starting discolouring of the dreaded tin monster

Phil

 

[BigStevie]

Oh no, there won't be any filler! Rotted bits cut out, new bits seam welded in, etched, primed, painted and wax-oiled as you say.
It's like Mercedes have gone out of their way to make it rot....

 

[time4t]

Oh no, there won't be any filler! Rotted bits cut out, new bits seam welded in, etched, primed, painted and wax-oiled as you say.
It's like Mercedes have gone out of their way to make it rot....

The rust issue was the main reason I went for a pre 2000 sprinter.
Mine is ex police & so far even though it's over 20 years old, I have found very little in the way of rust.
The wiring on the other hand is a nightmare!, as are the previous owners attempts at converting it!

Phill

 

[BigStevie]

Part of the problem is my location, long winters (usually) which means copious amount of salt. To add to it the van has lived next to the sea!!!
The big grey plastic rubbing strips down each side of the body are held with dozens of clips each with their own holes in the body, there's no attempt to seal the strips or the clips against water ingress, like I said, designed to rot...

Stevie

 

[Roadrunner]

Oh no, there won't be any filler! Rotted bits cut out, new bits seam welded in, etched, primed, painted and wax-oiled as you say.
It's like Mercedes have gone out of their way to make it rot....

epoxy zinc rich 2 pack 1000 times better than auto type paints,juton clark or sigma.

 

[BigStevie]

If funds permit, it'll get a good re-spray. If funds don't permit it'll get the bits of rust sorted and touched in. Rather be off camping in the beast than worrying too much about the looks...

Stevie

 

[Deleted member 2]

Rather be off camping in the beast than worrying too much about the looks...

Stevie

Same as me Stevie, my 'Millie' has more than a few dings and a right royal mess of paintwork on the bonnet, I could spend a small fortune getting her looking right on the outside, but as far as I am concerned just as long as all the mechanicals are working perfectly and everything is AOK in the living area, personally I would sooner be out there on the open road enjoying her.
Phil

 

[BigStevie]

So, one bottom corner of one of the rear doors has rotted... investigation revealed that the rubber trunking containing the electrics for the door had come away from the van, the plastic retaining clip being all chewed up. I undid the connector near by so I could get the damaged clip off the trunking, as it flopped earthwards a goodly amount of water poured out. Well, that explains the rot on the very lowest part of the door..... can't really blame merc for that one!

Stevie

 

[BigStevie]

Here's The Red Beast now....