Work Completed to Date
Here are details of any work carried out so far

The Devon PopTop

The pop top was in very poor condition when we purchased the bus. It could only be raised by two people and then only to about half it's height. The bellows where almost black and had many holes. The top itself leaked liked a sieve which made the bus smell very musty inside. The bunk beds where also very difficult to unpack and the material was rotten. The interior head lining had also seen better days. Initially the interior head lining was removed in order to find where the roof leaked. It was found that, like most devon roofs, the leaks occured not through the seals but though the rivets that hold the roof supports. After looking at various repair methods I decided that the best renovation method was to install a vinyl roof in order to stop the leaking permanantly. New seals where also obtained for the centre section to fibreglass skirt. The original roof surface was cleaned ready to accept the vinyl. The sealing rubber was removed which left the aluminium centre section 'floating'. The piece of vinyl hooding was cut larger than this section and overlapped at the edges. It was then secured using a high temperature resistent glue. Once dried the vinyl was trimmed to the edges of the aluminium. A new seal was fitted to this, which was a bit of a fiddle to complete but certainly worth it. The bellows where scrubbed with, would you believe it 'VIM', and it worked a treat. The splits where all in the window sections and where repaired with clear window tape (available from 'HALFORDS' oh no!). This clean up operation saved us about £300+ as thats the going rate for new bellows. The lifting support bars where removed for renovation. All the original paint was stripped off and the joints freed using normal methods. These where then painted with the best product I could think of, Hammerite and refitted to the roof. Next the bunks where removed, new bed material obtained, fitted and then refitted in the bus. A replacement headling was purchased and after insulating the roof voids with loft insulation the lining was fitted. Ever since this work was completed we have never had any sign of water entering through the roof and thankfully that musty smell has now dissapeared.

Timer/Thermostat

Here are the instructions for operating the timer/thermostat that I fitted in order to operate my propex heater. This now allows me to run the heater in much the same way as you would operate your home central heating system.

Now the workshop / busport is complete I can get down to the real nitty gritty of the major side of the renovation. Due to being of temporary design then no planning application was required, but as to how temporary this is only time will tell. I now have a covered and sheltered working area of approx 24ft x 12ft and 10ft high. I think this should offer the necessary protection required to continue on with the restoration and have him back on the road sometime this year (2003).