Fiona's interior makeover.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have recently, insulated the roof and fitted a ply headlining. (check out the blog archive menu on the left if you have missed these blog entries) After owning my bay for about 2 years, and having spent a few nights away in her and feeling extremely cold at night I decided I needed to get her fully insulated. So it seemed the right time to carry on and insulate the floor and sides before I put the newly upholstered westy interior back in.
 

This photo shows how poorly insulated my bay
was. On the cargo floor I just had the original
micro bus rubber mat, and above the engine
there was no insulation what-so-ever... no
wonder I was cold at night.!

You can in this photo that I have insulated the
sides of the bus and covered them in 3mm ply
to match the headlining. I have also placed a
sheet of ply over the rear side window which
goes behind the westy wardrobe. 

The next job on the list was to insulate the
bulkhead. I used the same insulation on
here that I used to insulate the roof before
the ply headlining went in.

On the floor I used some 6mm carpet underlay
that I had left over. It is made from numerous
re-cycled bits and provides insulation and
sound deadening properties.

This was laid all over the floor, over the engine
and anywhere else that was bare metal.

Once the bulkhead was fully insulated, this
was also covered in 3mm ply, and varnished
to match the roof and sides.

Once all the bare metal was insulated, the
next job was to lay some ply on the floor. I
put the front of the rock and roll bed in place
so I could measure the ply accurately.

Once the ply floor had been bolted down, the
next job was to lay the chequer vinyl flooring
I bought from madmatz. They sell various
styles of vinyl in sizes suitable for a bay window
floor area at a very reasonable price. I also
purchased a 1kg tub of adhesive for the grand
total of £53, and it was next day delivery.
Check out madmatz at:
http://madmatz.absolutewebhosting5.co.uk/

What a difference the vinyl makes. Looks very
clean and smart inside now.

My good friend Zoe, from House of Dub:
http://www.houseofdub.co.uk/Welcome.html
re-upholstered my westy interior to match my
front seats. Although having a cloth seat with
black piping and vinyl sides was more
expensive than having all vinyl as the original
Westfalia's, I think it looks better. Personally
I find vinyl hot in summer and cold in winter.

The base of the rear seat, isn't  that a
perfect colour match? Well done to
Zoe for choosing the material.

Lovely black piping and vinyl sides with a
lovely green material finish.

Lovely finish underneath the base of the rear
seat.

Back section of the rear seat.

Rear seat / rock and roll bed fitted and working
properly.

Buddy seat in position, but I still have to bolt
it down at some point.

Rear cushion fitted and fits perfectly. My spare
wheel is under the front bench seat so Zoe had
to make the rear cushion fit even with the curved
side where the spare wheel normally is.

Table re-fitted and looking good. Cushions
compliement the seat colour.

New interior finished. What a difference the
upholstery makes. Before I had two pieces of
foam taped together and covered in a blanket
for the seat back and base, and although it
was really comfortable, this just looks so
much better.
 

Complete with deck chairs / cushions and
the curtains back up. Fiona's new interior is
complete. A massive thank you to Zoe for
the great job on the upholstery.


So Fiona's interior is now complete. From
start to finish it took me about 5 weeks,
although I could only really work on it on
weekends. This was from insulating the roof,
fitting the ply headlining and re-fitting the interior.
All that is left is to enjoy it, go to shows and
sleep over, hopefully in comfort and staying
warm.!