Fiat Ducato camper build

Bit of work started on the rear seats. They’ll sit about 3” back from where they are now.

Bit more done today. Dropout vent drilled out for the gas locker. This means if there’s a gas leak the gas will drop though the vent and not into the cabin.





Also made a start on the passenger side bedroom wall this is basically a mirror image of the other side. Not screwed in the bottom yet.


Starting the laborious job of drilling out the old screw holes from the old ply lining, and giving them an anti rust treatment

listermint wrote: »

welding them up, or whats the plan ?

Pop rivets, non-silicone sealant in the hole first and then undersal on the outside.

CJhaughey wrote: »

Thats a nice bottle holder for the gas bottle.
How are you sealing the gas locker door?

The last time I used a self adhesive rubber seal on the door and one on the frame.

Thanks, it’s taken a bit of a back seat the last few weeks so not much progress.

The last section of ceiling up



It’ll be all coming down again for the vapour barrier but it’s actually easier to do it this way.

So despite being one of the higher Ducato specs, the van only has upper grab handles like you’d get on your car, it didn’t come with the handles on the A pillar



My friend ordered them online, they’re OEM parts so should be an easy job. Unfortunately there are no markings on the pillar trims as to where the holes go.


First job is to fit some rivnuts into the A pillar, then measure their position relative to the windscreen


Next, transfer those measurements to the pillar trim


Drill out the trims so they’re big enough to take the handles


Luckily it went ok!

It’s been moving very slowly along, other commitments and the weather are what’s being blamed.

Few easy jobs,

Thule bike carrier fitted



Also, lock handle protectors, which are a plate inside and outside the drivers and rear door handles which stop screwdriver attacks on the handle.





Hopefully get a little more done, but CV19 not helping.

Not done today but still!

Made the template for the piece that will meet the factory seat belt and cab ceiling trims. This is a bit of a fiddly job (my favourite) so I’ve done a template in light ply first as the veneered lightweight ply that will be used is eye-wateringly expensive so no room for mistakes!
There is a slight curve on the bottom edge of the aperture for the cubby box too, just to be awkward.

This has the opening for the storage area over the cab too. We won’t be putting a door on this.

Black_Knight wrote: »

Either all white or all black. I'm gonna guess white

You'd be wrong.

Grille/silver section in black. Everything else white.

Kramer wrote: »

Wrapped or painted?

Painted

We got a left hand drive drivers seat for the passenger side way back, but so that the middle passenger and outer passenger on the old double seat didn't get buckles mixed up, Fiat in their wisdom make the drivers buckle and the centre seat buckle the same, and make the passenger one narrower:


So it's a fairly straightforward job swapping the buckle from the centre seat across to the new passenger seat:


And that would normally be the end of it.
However, we wanted the nice gaiter the same as the drivers side has. Not as straightforward as sliding it off of course

This old mechanism gave up its life for our sillyness. Had to be mindful that pretensioners are explosive and dangerous.



Only a small job, but very satisfying at the same time

Doing a bit of painting to protect the frame and underside of the seat. It’ll be all covered up anyway but easier to take an hour out now to do it than be worrying about it later.