2003 Ex AA Assist VW T5 Transporter.

[Exuptoy]

I bought this a few months back after selling my awesome 07 Caddy. I was missing my T5 after selling it to buy the old Brazilian Bay which whilst being ok it just isn’t a daily. Too niche! So I’ve been buying a few bits in preparation for making it MINE!
It’s an ex as assist van bought by the fitter at 74k and loved and babied by him up until 147k when I got it. It’s the ubiquitous 1.9PD and at 127k he had a bill for a gearbox rebuild with new Bowden cables coming at £1800. Then, at 137k he had the head removed to get it overhauled, when it was in, he enquired about the state of the engine and when told there was a little slop in the pistons but the were acceptable, he told them to rebuild it. New cam, rings, honed bores, big ends, mains, new turbo, forge intercooler and silicone boost pipes which came in at £4700! 10k later he let me have it at £4400 with the promise that I’d not flip it and that I’d look after “his baby”. The deal was done. It’s clean and has had paint here and there but it’s 23 years old now!

 

[Exuptoy]

So first thing I did was to remove the rear bulkhead, I didn’t like it and I want to do something myself as I take my dogs down the van and I want a space from where they can see what’s going on. That’ll get done later.
First off I’ve bought all the facelift parts including the slam panel/rad pack frame and bumper reinforcer instead of just making do with the originals and buying a couple of brackets to hold the headlights stable. No chance, I’m doing it right.
In the meantime I bought a new bcm from a Caravelle so I could get cruise control retrofitted and while my guy was doing his thing coding it all (he also manufactured and fitted the loom (5 hours work in total!) he also fitted my Mk7 Golf flat bottomed wheel (had to modify the loom on that too as the early T5 one is different. 5 hours and £140 later I was heading back from Norfolk to South Wales with the green CC light resplendent in the middle of my clocks.

In the meantime my paint guy Jack was prepping the bumper. I love fresh paint!

 

[Exuptoy]

Next up I wanted the T5.1/T6 mirrors….whats the point of half a job eh?
Last time I did them they cost me £480 and yeah, they were power folding, heated and full electric but the stuff coming out of China now is better that it used to be, so I went with electric mirrors and Reflex silver caps from the land of the rising sun for about £105 all in. Straight forward job swapping them out and they work well but don’t fold….boo hoo.
Before….

After…

 

[Exuptoy]

Which brings us up to today’s instalment which went something like this!
I spoke to the guy who retrimmed my Bay window and he’s gonna do the seats in GTD Golf plaid trim in the next couple of weeks so I got a gear gaiter from THQ for just £15. It a bit of pig of a job but only took half hour,

Then I decided to get stuck into the front end.
I started around midday and within an hour it looked like this…

Bumper reinforcer and slam panel looked like this..

and my bonnet ensured the gaps and fitment was correct before we went too far.

And the finished outcome. Anyone wanting DLRs in the bumper……..don’t! I had to chop the bumper up after paint as the top pockets aren’t meant for them! Not happy but once you’re in that deep you just gotta carry on!

and the finished job. Most pleasing. Total time around 6 hours all in. Cost for the front including paint worked out around £1250. There are ppl offering the same job for £1299-£1500 drive in/drive out! Let them have it!…..although they use the £24 light brackets not the £300 slam panel/reinforcer I pad £200 on the bay.

 

[Robotstar5]

View attachment 505420

The red button, has it got run-lok fitted?

 

[Exuptoy]

It has mate, it’ll idle without the key but as soon as the handbrake is dropped it cuts out. Wiring isn’t the best. I hate non standard but hey it is what it is.

 

[frank horton]

oh so nice....
would like to up-grade mine a bit and get a full paint job.....
already have the leather skins for the seat covers...
Only problem....Greek drivers.....so many dents and scrapes now.....
I just think is add character....not...
so can't be axx'd, esp as it's our daily driver.....

PS,
I've not seen one in the flesh but I like the look of the new BUZZ body.....
quite fancy gutting one and putting a 1.9TD etc in it....
Pretty soon there will be some cheap running body shells about.....just thinking about the paperwork....

 

[Wildefalcon]

I do like the look of modern vans. And that you can still do so much to them is a blessing. Have fun and enjoy.

 

[GRW]

Nice van! All the engine work done, and the older, more reliable PD.

 

[indy4x]

I do like the look of modern vans. And that you can still do so much to them is a blessing. Have fun and enjoy.

You can do loads, however if it involves additional electrical stuff then it can be challenging