VW T25 Audio Wiring

Wire Function	Body Colour	Trace Colour
Main positive power	Red
Memory Positive back up	Yellow
Aerial Switched Power	Blue
Dial Illumination	Orange
Ground (negative)	Black
Speaker: Front Left +	White	White / Black Stripe
Speaker: Front Left -	White
Speaker: Front Right +	Grey	Grey / Black Strip
Speaker: Front Right -	Grey
Speaker: Rear Left +	Green	Green / Black Stripe
Speaker: Rear Left -	Green
Speaker: Rear Right +	Purple	Purple / Black Stripe
Speaker: Rear Right -	Purple

Today I shall mostly be faffing with...

The RADIO!!!  We love our music (ok, perhaps I'm a little more obsessed with a CD collection nearing 500), so when I looked at the Goodmans cassette deck... yes that's right, a CASSETTE DECK... my heart sank.  "That's gotta go" I says to Ange.  Well, it just so happens that being the keen bunny I am, I'd been watching eBay for a couple of weeks to work out what we could get for a reasonable price and  for the princely sum of £37 I managed to sort out a nice second hand (but nearly new) head unit.  It's a Sony CDX-GT25 which does CDs, mp3s, good ol' radio, and an 'aux in' for plugging your iPod into.  Smashing! :o)

I think I died a little bit inside when I saw this.  What's with the carry handle on the front anyway?  Is it supposed to be portable?!?!? 

Out with the old...

Because of Chesney's age, I had to adapt the standard wiring loom by fitting an ISO connector using spade terminals.  This meant I could then use a PC3-433 Sony 16 pin to ISO connector and plug it straight into the head unit.  Simples!

Taking out the removable 'cubby hole' in the middle of the dash made fitting the head unit in a lot easier.  I found that getting the unit itself in was a little trickier because the heater ducting can be a bit of a hindrance, but with some gentle encouragement and patience it all fitted in snug as a bug.  

We might be driving around in an old skip but at least we've got some tunes now! :o)

Assessing the Situation: Part 6

Assessing the Situation: Part 5

Assessing the Situation: Part 4

Driver's side cab window rubber showing how it's perished over the years.

Rear window on the driver's side showing more naff seals and Holdsworth's idea of privacy for your wardrobe... plastic stick-on frosting!  Hmm... resembles my nan's bathroom window.

Sliding door bracket... rusty, flaking paint but sound.

The pillar between the passenger cab and sliding doors showing a bit of a ding and some more corrosion at the bottom.

Corrosion around the aerial mounts and though you can't see it in this picture, half the aerial's missing!  No Radio 2?  What will we do?!? 

Assessing the Situation: Part 3

There are bits of the seal between the roof and the van missing.

The tailgate can't hold itself up because the struts are knackered.

Pop top clips are really rusty and slack.

Not to mention covered in filth and mould.

Assessing the Situation: Part 2

Driver's side window showing excellent state-of-the-art security device :o)

Fridge vent looking a little worse for wear.

Massive rot under the window.  I'm scared if I poke it, it'll all drop out!

Close-up of rot and mould under the fridge vent.

Ah well.  At least with a lick of paint this bit'll be ok!

Assessing the Situation: Part 1

Just sitting in the cab makes me grin! 

Passenger side with obligatory rusty bits.

Driver's side showing manky window, fridge grill and 240v hookup.

Chesney's bum.  Seriously wonky bumper!

Chesney's nose, again with suspect rusty bits and a flappy grille due to broken clips.

The morning after...

I woke up the next morning (knackered from all that driving and over excitement) and looked out the window and there he was... on the drive!!!  It was real.  We'd spent so long dreaming about getting our bus that finally having him was a bit overwhelming.  This REALLY is the start of our journey!  The only thing on our minds for the day (well, three things actually) were getting a brew on, making a bacon sarnie, and giving him a proper good wash down so we could see what rust and other little nasties we were dealing with (and to make him look a bit prettier of course!)  My mum couldn't help getting in there with the camera to document his first bath, and my dad was just itching to get in and have a proper look at the engine and other oily bits!  We're both so chuffed to bits with Chezzy neither of us can stop grinning from ear to ear!!! :o)

Rub-a-Dub!

No more sleeps!!!

So the tickets are booked, we made some cheese sarnies last night, and this morning we hopped on the train at Kings Cross at some silly hour.  It was flippin' freezing out there and we were wrapped from top to toe in woolly stuff, shivering, bleary eyed and exhausted, clutching polystyrene cups of tea for warmth but WE WERE ON THE WAY!!!!!  The waiting was over and the nerves well and truly set in.  All we had to do now was drive the thing down and across to Norwich and hope we didn't break down.  Well, we did make it to Norwich at a somewhat leisurely pace with only one unscheduled stop due to the oil light coming on and a loud beeping noise.  Panic!  Fifteen minutes later after a phone call to Dad, a quick squizz at the Club 80-90 forum, and a poke around in the engine bay and we were on our way again.  Apparently the dash electrics are notoriously dodgy for flashing lights and random bleeps  That was our first lesson as new camper owners. I'm sure it won't be the last!

So here are a few pics from when we picked him up, with Ange having first dibs at driving whilst I wave a camera in her face!  She's so good natured like that :o)

The author being a geeky new bus owner.

Ange champing at the bit to get behind the wheel.  Look at that grin!!!

"All together now... The wheels on the bus go round and round..."

Not long now...

Here's a couple more pics of Chesney at his old home in Bradford.  He's all booked in for a service next week with the guy who's been looking after him since his return from overseas adventure, then he can come home with us.  He spent the last two years in France, and prior to that a year or so in Spain so I don't think he's used to crappy English drizzle!

There's a bit of rust around the cabin doors, but otherwise, he's pretty sound.

World of beige.  Nice. 

Shiny new blog!

Hello, and welcome to our very first blog...

I suppose I should start at the beginning.  My other half and I live and work in London, and I guess like a lot of people who hail from the country we have an increasing desire to escape to more picturesque climes when weekends and work permits so we often found ourselves zipping off to various travel inns on cheap, last-minute deals.  We ended up in a lot of obscure places, like Oswestry for example.  It's Wales but not quite Wales and I think is most famous for being the main trunking centre for British Telecom (why do I know this rubbish?!).  Anway, despite costing us peanuts to stay in the middle of an industrial estate, by the time you've driven somewhere interesting with a view and some inhabitants, found a tea shop, and bought your breakfast, lunch, and dinner... you might as well cut a hole in your pocket and let the change drop out.

So one evening I get back from work and Ange has this fab idea.  "Let's get a camper van", she says. "We won't be tied to a hotel, we can stop wherever we like and put the kettle on and it'll be a lot of fun".  Having always wanted a retro VW and being a bit of a camper, I was sold.

And so it began.  After talking about what would suit our needs best, then doing the research, we settled on a Volkswagen T25 with a pop top for reliability, function, and budgetary limitations.  For the last four months we've trawled the web daily for classified ads and watched eBay looking for the 'right one'.  Last weekend we took a road trip to Leeds to view a 1987 Holdsworth Villa and though we were very sensible about it, checking it over very thoroughly, I think it's fair to say that we both fell in love a little bit.  When we pulled up on a drizzly grey morning in Bradford, nervous with expectations, the very first sight of "Chesney" brought a smile to both our faces.  We looked at each other and grinned.

 So here he is, our first VW camper :o)  

Say hello to Chesney! :o)