As the White Dormobile slowly progresses to the "ready for paint" stage, and the painter isn't , I would like to give advance notice of impending sale of my Blue Dormobile. I shall be visiting Normandy in June (with Mick and others) and it shall be available soon after.
So here we are;
1965 Dormobile
Definitely a bitsa, in that, in it’s current guise, it is nothing like it left Lode Lane in 1965.
The base vehicle is an ex-military 109 (contract no. WV/4052/R1222), first civilian reg OBE943M, which was changed, on application for an age related plate, to JWE264C. It is sat on a (repaired) galvanised chassis, later 2a bulkhead (flat heater) and has the rear body and interior of a 1974 Series 3 Dormobile. I built this over a couple of years, culminating in an MOT in June 2014 and since then, we have travelled to many European countries, without major incident. The rebuild included rewire, regalvanising and repainting. Mileage in June 2014 was 137046 and the current MOT certificate (8th April 2016) is 144915.
In order to this and be comfortable, the Dormobile has had several “upgrades” to enable safe motorway cruising and negotiation of mountain passes. It is far from perfect, especially when compared to modern vehicles, but does the job it was built for, very well indeed.
Specification
Generic 2a/3 repaired and galvanised chassis
Repaired late 2a bulkhead
Replica Dormobile wardrobe (includes cut out for porta potti beneath)
Genuine Dormobile kitchen unit, spice rack and table
Dormatic seats reupholstered
New door skins (front)
Military door tops (front)
Autosparks loom
New lights (halogen headlights)
Split charge and leisure battery with rear socket
Dixon Bate adjustable towbar with electrics
Rear step
Heated rear window (faulty!)
Discovery 200 tdi with Defender (rebuilt) turbo and manifold
5 speed LT77 gearbox (permanent 4wd) 1:4 transfer box
New clutch cover and friction plate (137045 miles)
3.54 Differentials
Tdi radiator and oil cooler
TD5 intercooler
All new track rod ends
All new brake pipes, cylinders and shoes
New Zeus disc brakes (front)
Oil pressure gauge
Electric radiator fan (manual control as thermostat switch faulty and no longer wired)
Wolf rims
Rear spare wheel carrier (defender style – weight on chassis but fastened to rear door)
Hazard lights
Although the 8000 miles since rebuild have been incident free, I was not happy with the oil consumption of the tdi engine, so have replaced it, just prior to the MOT test. This engine has covered approximately xx miles and has better oil pressure and power than the previous.
I am sure that there are aspects of the build that others would have done differently and probably better and there are things that with the benefit of hindsight, I would do differently. Nonetheless, this is a proven vehicle and I would have no hesitation in driving any distance in it. It will shortly be for sale, as my other Dormobile is expected to be ready in Summer, and I anticipate that the purchaser would be able to drive off into the sunset in July.
Offers are invited in the region of £10,000.
