# Vauxhall Combo build thread



## Autokleen (Jun 14, 2007)

For such a popular little van there are hardly any build info's on them. So I thought I would start my own with photos from the time I have owned it right upto now and will continue to update as i go along.
I purchased it in December 2008 to replace my previous generation Combo which I also modded in preperation for dare I say it, valeting! However a few months after completion it got written off by an agricultural vehicle pulling out on me. The Insurance money was enough to start searching for a Corsa C type Combo and the first one I looked at was this one and I bought it for £1200 with only 42,000 miles on the clock, it still only has 56,000.
Ebay pics of it.




























It wasn't long beofre I started work on it and picked up a phase 2 Corsa c bumper and an Irmscher front spoiler off of eBay. I also picked up some silver SXi bits and the silver coloured CD player so it does not look so van like in the front.










I swapped over the wheels from my previous Combo straight away as the first mod.










Bumper on and front spoiler.










I had an old Calibra XE PiperX Filter knocking around and made it fit. It gives a bit more of a roarty sound and makes the van pick up better.


















New headlights bought from Germany for the move to Spain





































I did nothing more untill this year when I started to get enthusiasm again. The spanish sun had taken it's toll on the red paint and I had already taken off a couple of layers of paint so I decided to wrap the bonnet so as not to loose anymore paint! I also fitted a sating black V Grill that I had lying around for years for this van.










Graphics also went on as I decided to get on and try and make a living out of this.










Which brings us right upto date. At the weekend I started on the inside as I was fed up of just stacking everything in on top of each other due to so little space caused by the horizontal tank.










I bought some IKEA kitchen cupboards bits years ago for the inside of my van and finally got around to using them!










Some brackets to hold the pressure washer gun and hose.










First section of the left side.



















I bought this in 2009 and had never checked if it actually worked!  Luckily it does and with a quick test I hoovered the inside of the van with it.:thumb: Now I have the choice of a generator or 2000 watt Invertor.










Mounting of the inverter along with thinner sheet ply just to fill in the side and put some clips in later on for holding brushes etc.










More IKEA kitchen bits, a Hoover hose holder this time. Plus some more fill in towards the front of the van.










So right upto date, this van has been a long time in the making and I have gathered loads of equipment when I could afford it back in the UK. 
The intention is to either carpet the sides of the van, if I can find any in Spain! Or failing that some lino to neaten it up. So when you look in the back it looks a bit more pro, first appearances and all that. I need to make a frame as well to go over the water tank so as I can use the lost space for stacking things on top. I cannot use the left hand side too much as I need to be able to see out of the window at dangerous junctions etc.


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## cossienuts (Oct 14, 2008)

good thread


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## Autokleen (Jun 14, 2007)

Latest progress has been to finish the Ply lining and carpet the sides. Still some finishing touches to do and i'm still trying to get the invertor hard wired in without blowing a fuse. It was fine when wired up directly to the battery



















The next stage is to get some more ply to go on top of the tank so as to be able to use all the wasted space above it.


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## ottostein (Sep 11, 2012)

Can you not wire it in to the + & - terminals and use a switch for when its not needed???


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## Autokleen (Jun 14, 2007)

ottostein said:


> Can you not wire it in to the + & - terminals and use a switch for when its not needed???


I need some more 0 guage cable as mine is chopped from my car stereo days. I have an ANL type fuse holder and fuse rated at 100amps so I will see how that goes and then after that may be a case of just wiring it direct to the battery. I don't really want to have to do that though.


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## vxpenfold (Jun 13, 2011)

tbh ide bung a split charge relay and a second battery in the back, for the relatively low cost and minimal space required to fit it will save stress on things like the alternator and will also mean you can run some kit for a time (limited i know but can come in useful)without the engine if the need arises, the best bet for a budget built would be to use an after market truck battery (from an artic, still 12v, trucks use 2 in series to create 24v) should be able to be sourced cheaply and will have loads of capacity, and although they have a large ish foot print they arnt that tall so you can still box it in and use the space above it.

the reason i recommend this as a friend of mine killed about 3 batteries and 2 alternators in his landrover when running a rather large inverter before he listened to the idea of split charge, needless to say its been fine since

you could be finding that when the inverter starts up, especially with the longer cable runs, that it causes the system voltage to drop which in turn raises amperage, causing the fuses to pop, bung a multimeter on the battery and recreate the conditions under which the fuse usually blows and see if the voltage drops if it does considerably then there is your problem, and even if you get it to not blow fuses the drops in system voltage is not gonna be doing anything else on the van much good 

another thing to consider is you may be overloading the main earth strapping on the battery, especially if it has deteriorated ( seen it on a few corsa c's and combos) which causes increased resistance which could also be causing your issue cos even new your average combo isnt designed to have a 2kw inverter running from it


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## Joel. (Jun 22, 2011)

Woah very nice setup you have there!


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## Dixondmn (Oct 12, 2007)

Looks good although I can't help but think the original front bumper looks more modern.
Good Luck with the business


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## Autokleen (Jun 14, 2007)

Dixondmn said:


> Looks good although I can't help but think the original front bumper looks more modern.
> Good Luck with the business


Thats an interesting point of view as it's the facelift bumper.
Cheers BTW!


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## Autokleen (Jun 14, 2007)

Well I have been lacking a bit of enthusiasm of late what with no real business coming my way. Never mind though as I bought some more ply and continued with the build today. The task now is to try and reclaim some storage space taken up by the horizontal tank.




























The next step will be to get some chequer plate lino in to cover it. This cover can be taken out easily in order for to still use the van for things like IKEA trips.


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## Autokleen (Jun 14, 2007)

No real business since my last post but the Lino is on and the van is much more organised now. I am going to have a go at tatgeting the camp sites as I really believe Caravan cleaning is the way forward. I just need to work out how to get the message out there.


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