So I was supposed to be having new tyres fitted to my Bravo and the dreaded MOT test but this...

https://www.fiatforum.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=34200





...happened.

For an undisclosed sum more than the weighbridge less than how much I can get for the engine it was probably the most bizarre transaction so far. The MOT ran out midnight last night so it was either a rush job getting three buses (Bleaugh!) and four trains so I can walk the last three miles or wait until the MOT ran out and get my mates rig over there. The owners dad had a better idea...

"I'm not up to much these days I can bring it over if you give me a lift home".

...okay that worked.

So Dad arrived just after late lunch and it was four-ish hours each way so we took the van. This chap has just driven four hours to be a passenger for it turned out four and a half hours. A little before eight I was headed back. Two issues here.

1/ I only had four hours of MOT left.
2/ I only had the £30 I had put in the tank and £12.20 in my wallet.

I got as far as Derby before the fuel light beckoned. So £12.20 in the tank and seventy nine miles to go. I worked out I needed to average thirty eight to the Gallon. Gulp!!!

I made it home with twenty minutes MOT to spare and quarter of a tank. Turns out I was making fifty three-ish miles per Gallon. Result.

So a couple of years ago I made a not exactly sober bid on a MkII Punto in Boston and it was what I called "Project Wet Dog" as the owner had let his dog basically live in the car and I had to completely strip the interior, pressure wash, foam shampoo three times and leave to dry in a greenhouse. I basically cleaned it and sold it for a massive £25 profit. :woohoo:

This vans now previous owner was a Flyball enthusiast. This is nowhere near as odd as it sounds. Basically playing catch with your dog is now a competitive sport. As such my Fiorino was full of dog hair, but this dog or dogs were trained so no wet at all.

When I had my Fiorino van a while ago I wanted a disability access one to make into a camper. I'll put a tow bar on it and use it to go to or tow to track days.

There are a few very minor issues to work out as you would expect. The engine has an annoying habit of racing up a thousand or so rpm I'm guessing it could a fuel pressure regulator or an air leak somewhere. I know about as much about Diesel engines as Joey Essex knows about particle physics.

So back to work. First I noticed the winch wasn't working. The fuse had gone and...



...the plastic clip that holds the bush in the motor was missing. Fixed with a cable tie and the winch worked perfectly. I told my brother in law about it and that's now sold for him you use on his bike trailer.

Next I repaired the back bumper corner...



...removed the brackets, glued them back on and bolted it back in place. When messing about with ABS plastic use a very hot glue gun so it melts the plastic a little making a very strong bond.

Next to go were the back seats. I was shocked to see how shoddily they had been installed. No welded mounts and high tensile steel bolts. Just washers, soft steel bolts and spacers made from rough cuts of mild steel box section.



The seats are pretty good self contained units with their own seat belts. With nothing but cheap bolts and rough cuts stopping them from ripping a hole in the floor if anyone were to be sat in the back in a frontal collision they would crush whoever was in the front; probably killing everyone.

Nine hours later...



...paint...



...carpet where there was fur...



...and an interior where there was dust and more fluff.

So here we go, camper/man cave hybrid that can tow my car to track days and cope with day to day stuff.

P.S Thanks to varesecrazy for posting a link to the classified advert. Git.

sounds like it worked out fine..,

I'd considered one a few years ago , as a much better vehicle to carry a "park and ride bike",
as you could just wheel it into a "stick" at the front and drive away.

TBH - if they'd added a pic of the DASH I'd have been tempted - I LOVED the Mk2 uno's I had..,

Charlie

I've done a world wide search for the top glass and can't find a replacement anywhere. I may have replace it with sheet metal but I'll add a coupe of recesses for lights and stuff. I'm planning to put a shelf across the cabin section and mount speakers there for the back and down so closing it off and making it a box appeals to me in a 1990's 6x9's innit way.

I've had the tape measure out and it's actually a reasonable space. I was thinking about a pop top but it'll add a lot of (structural) work, cost and weight. If I can find a twin sunroof Panda being broken for spares I could cut the roof off that and weld it to the Fiorino but the chances of that are very slim. I think I'll just retrim the roof lining and add a few LED lights.

Layout wise I'll see what is about but I have been offered a cooker and bits from a caravan that's being stripped out ready to banger race so this may not cost as much as I suspected.

varesecrazy said:

sounds like it worked out fine..,

I'd considered one a few years ago , as a much better vehicle to carry a "park and ride bike",
as you could just wheel it into a "stick" at the front and drive away.

TBH - if they'd added a pic of the DASH I'd have been tempted - I LOVED the Mk2 uno's I had..,

Charlie

Click to expand...

If it wasn't for the catastrophic failure of the front valance suspension mount my old red one would be a camper by now instead of the engine powering a fishing boat and the rest scrapped.

Errrrmmmm. No.

You should have told me you didn't want the dog hair I charged extra for that
Timmy looks great cant wait to see his conversion. my new van is having custom dog boxes fitted to hopefully contain the dog hair a little better lol

It really wasn't that bad. I still looked a little weird rolling a baseball bat wrapped in duct tape.

Okay with my last Fiorino project I covered a Punto GT brake conversion and other bits and bobs.

One concern I have for this Camper is the additional weight making trouble for the N/A 1.7 engine. Now a Punto 1.7td is a straight swap and the 1.9 as used in the Tempra and MkII Punto should be doable (if you can fine one) but how about a 1.9 JTD? I'm fairly sure it's the same block as the Tempa MkII Punto engine but a sixteen valve head and other improvements would be advantageous. The biggest issue is and will be the factory Fiorino immobiliser and the JTD loom, ecu and other crap.

There's a 1.7TD Punto van on eBay for £250 right now so it could be worth looking into as it would mean nothing to declare to the DVLA.

I have consulted my MOT guru and slightly spannered my plan. If I were to replace the rear valance with box section to support a towing rig it would be enough of a difference for the van to possibly need an IVA.

All I can do is repair the original floor and fit an after market towbar.

Still that's saved me £400 for asking and less fabrication work so in theory it's a win win. :slayer:

I've de-ramped the van today...



...and here's why. Whoever did the conversion did no rust proofing and it now needs repairing. I doing without the ramp because I don't need it, the bloody thing rattles like Bez on speed when you drive along and it gets in the way of the rear view mirror.

Sadly this...





...was as far as I got when I ran out of welding wire. :bang:

So time for some woodwork.



It wouldn't be a man cave without a checker plate box.

Today I spot welded a couple of repair plates on the floor of the Fiorino after taking far too long to cut and grind rusty bolts out where the wheelchair was anchored.

I also finished the sides of my box.





I left a deliberate gap for cables and gas lines to go through and wanted to make sure it was big enough to get my welder in there.

Don't you just love it when you spend all day and it looks like you've don nothing? :devil:

Liquid Knight said:

Errrrmmmm. No.

Click to expand...

I like it...

That's the welding done.

So I missed a few spots with the welder. All done, a slap of Hammerite...



...trimmed the original seal and cut a piece from a scrap yard...



...I used a hot glue gun to stick it in place as I don't have any silicone.

All looking good so far. Keep on posting the pics.

FiorinoDan said:

All looking good so far. Keep on posting the pics.

Click to expand...

Whoops. My make Kev has just snapped the cam' belt on his Doblo and desperately wants my van for his weekend activities. Sitting on a river bank waiting for nothing to happen. So I've let him have it for less than what it owes me but that's what friends are for right?

That's life! I would let my Strada Cabrio go for less than it owes me but nobody wants it

Liquid Knight said:

Whoops. My make Kev has just snapped the cam' belt on his Doblo and desperately wants my van for his weekend activities. Sitting on a river bank waiting for nothing to happen. So I've let him have it for less than what it owes me but that's what friends are for right?

Click to expand...

There's a Doblo available, going cheap, needs some engine work. Might be the next project?

FiorinoDan said:

That's life! I would let my Strada Cabrio go for less than it owes me but nobody wants it

Click to expand...

portland_bill said:

There's a Doblo available, going cheap, needs some engine work. Might be the next project?

Click to expand...

...and I have a Fiat Coupe 16V Turbo on my drive.