# Operation pigs ear to silk purse, Envy's new wheels



## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Ok after much searching finally found myself a Vito. Not the best history, not the best looked after, certainly not the nearest (Preston!), but the best price and spec I could reach too 
Its been at home for a week now and all I did in the 1st week was this:
































The interior was grim, and all surfaces were APC'd and plastic washed. Seats were wet extracted (yukky water or what!)








































The rear was like this:
























And now its like this:









I'm pretty sure I've not got room for my stuff and a water tank! If any of you have pics of your Vito's I'd love a look to get ideas for myself:thumb:

Exterior pics in a min.......

Tim


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

*Part 2:*

The exterior now as was:
























During:








































Afters, not perfect but a step in the right direction...
























Think its going to take me a while and need to get off the roof rack as it sounds terrible on the motorway. Going to get the mechanicals 100% and work on what appears to be terrible fall out (might get some shares in a clay manufacturers!) before I get it sign written.

Thanks for looking.

Tim


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## wd40 (Jun 20, 2007)

Nice job so far mate , it`ll be good to see the finished article!!:thumb: 

I`m in the process of doing the same at the moment although its only a fiesta !!!


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

Tim get some fallout remover from your local AS or AG rep much cheaper than using loads of clay bars


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## AR-CoolC (Feb 9, 2006)

Double sliding doors will be very handy, as you can build a rack in the middle of the van to be accessed from each side as needed.

Get an upright tank and fit it behind the sliding doors creating a second bulkhead, then a set of shelves each side in the back, alowing a central isle for things like pressure washer etc.

That roof rack should fetch a fair few quid on Ebay aswell :thumb:


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

drive 'n' shine said:


> Tim get some fallout remover from your local AS or AG rep much cheaper than using loads of clay bars


Got some Autobrite stuff but not sure how to use it, it says to paint it on?


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

AR-CoolC said:


> Double sliding doors will be very handy, as you can build a rack in the middle of the van to be accessed from each side as needed.
> 
> Get an upright tank and fit it behind the sliding doors creating a second bulkhead, then a set of shelves each side in the back, alowing a central isle for things like pressure washer etc.
> 
> That roof rack should fetch a fair few quid on Ebay aswell :thumb:


Very good tips thanks and yes think thats where the roof rack will go. Its heavy duty though so will need to wait for some "burly" helpers to get it off!


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Mate, i had the same roof rack on my vivaro. I got my dad to take it off for me. The bolts are a ***** to get to and it wieghs a ton. I drove mine back from leeds to warwickshire(near gaydon) and the noise that thing makes is insane. Its so much better for getting it off. I got 120 for mine on ebay. Dont expect much more than that.


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Anything is a bonus! I reckon it probably does weigh a ton too


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## SimonW (Jun 3, 2007)

Sit down and draw out some plans of where all your stuff will go, try and be very clever and use ALL the space available  and im sure you will fit it all in! even if it takes you till draft #115 lol


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Looks Good so Far


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Nice one Tim :thumb:

Great work so far!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Coming along nicely mate, looking forward to seeing it progress. :thumb:


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Looks great Tim, much better.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Nice, can't wait to see the full turnaround, out of interest how much did you pay?


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Neil_S said:


> Looks great Tim, much better.


Been after one for so long, but now started on it struggling to see any differance at all Neil! The interior was a big transformation though I must admit.....
Need the space it offers as once had tent etc in the Berlingo it was full!

On a Plus note, Bryan (Drive n Shine) has offered to help with the fallout and I'm over the moon with his kind offer and have accepted:thumb: This forum continues to surprise


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

nice van:thumb: i would go with the sugestion of an upright tank to create a mid bulk head then shelf in the mid between the two sld and the PW one side geny on the other leaving the back for your goodys and vacs etc, wish you had got a few months ago cos i striped the last one of my toyotas out and it had some puka racking in it that my mate who is a shop fitter did for me im sure it would have fitted with a little modding, but it all went in the skip and a tank 

go on BV there are a few vitos on there with quite good set ups,


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

Envy said:


> Been after one for so long, but now started on it struggling to see any differance at all Neil! The interior was a big transformation though I must admit.....
> Need the space it offers as once had tent etc in the Berlingo it was full!
> 
> On a Plus note, Bryan (Drive n Shine) has offered to help with the fallout and I'm over the moon with his kind offer and have accepted:thumb: This forum continues to surprise


Much better than shopping Tim believe me  :thumb:


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## tdm (Feb 2, 2007)

nice van mate, i bought a vito same as yours a few months ago. was not in much better condition either, everywhere i looked i found more dirt. ended up lifting parts of the floor to get to some of it. definatly worth doing though, looked so much better. tdm


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## edthedrummer (May 30, 2007)

i think vito's are hella cool. tbh i would want one regardless. with a nice meaty engine of course. am i sad?


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## tdm (Feb 2, 2007)

how can you be sad for wanting a vito, there awesome! ive wanted one for years and couln't be happier now i got one.


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Certainly goes well compared to the Berlingo!, and the tuning box is in the post too yippee....


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## King Eric (Feb 27, 2006)

I love threads like this. Its all about the hard work jobs, not the easy already tidy machines which make people look better than they are.

Its got potential thats for sure


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## dino (Oct 26, 2005)

Great work so far - looking forward to updates.


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## Andy_Green (Oct 27, 2005)

As KE says you gotta love these threads.

interior turn-around is superb. Looking forward to watching this thread progress


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## waxworks monster (Nov 23, 2005)

Looking very nice, mate.
I remember the state of the inside of my old Vito. It was previously a bakery van and every inch of the inside was covered in a flour/sugar/water crust which took a week to shift....lol...
Heres a few pics of mine before I sold it, I never quite got around to kitting it out, but they should give those considering one of these vans an idea of its superb accessability and space......excellent choice IMO !


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Nice looking van mate!


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

The work continues! 
After the very kind offer of Bryan AKA Drive n Shine, we met today to tackle the fallout and as a bonus he helped to remove the "sail" from the roof!
Here is Bryan wondering which is best...sponge or LW mitt?!








Also managed to re-fit a new straight aerial then the boys went round wiping the van over with "special water" and were only too pleased to pose for the camera. Here's the van with new aerial, no roof rack, no fallout and a lot of water:









Many thanks to Bryan again for his offer of help, and was good to meet another member of DW!

Tim


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

great progress, enjoy making it your own


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

Well i didn't quite manage to avoid the shopping totally in the end! :wall: 

And thanks for the cups of coffee & little gift mate, the Mrs sat in the car sniffing it all the way home :lol:


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

drive 'n' shine said:


> And thanks for the cups of coffee & little gift mate, the Mrs sat in the car sniffing it all the way home :lol:


No worries, but I bet she accused YOU of spending money! Aliens women mate!


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## dirk (Jun 2, 2007)

Very Nice


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

excellent stuff mate!


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Did its 1st trip on Friday and although not yet fitted out or sign written I got all my stuff in and still had about 2/3rds of space left! Awesome, just gotta solder in the chip now


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

*Enthusiasms back for the beast!*

This weekend I've been fired up and continued with the taming of the beast.
Yesterday I fitted this little beauty:








And from the other end:








And today I've started to train to be a chippy:
















Sadly I ran out of 2x2 to make the frame for the other side.

Work continues...May be sign written later this week...

Tim


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

finally getting around to finishing it now then Tim!!!! Looks good


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

yikes, do you trust that strap?

id get 2 more straps, and put one on each side at the bottom, thread it through the middle and the eye on the left, and do the same for the right :thumb:


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

^ Made a wood frame at the bottom for it to sit "in" if you get what I mean and the strap's just there for now. Tanks empty and its in so I can get the rest sorted around it.
Not sure if will box round it or not yet?


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2007)

Tim, is that your gazebo in the black bag? where abouts did you get it from if you don't mind me asking.

cheers Paul


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Its is Paul, and we did that one before! I got it in exchange for doing a Cayenne..not sure where it came from or who made it as no labels but its a heavy duty metal action one with all sides too. Supposed to be a 1 man operation but definately isn't!

Tim

ps its 6 x 3 and plenty big enough


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2007)

Envy said:


> Its is Paul, and we did that one before! I got it in exchange for doing a Cayenne..not sure where it came from or who made it as no labels but its a heavy duty metal action one with all sides too. Supposed to be a 1 man operation but definately isn't!
> 
> Tim
> 
> ps its 6 x 3 and plenty big enough


Lol, im sorry mate totally forgot. still hunting around for a decent 1 for when i get my new van. Fits in nice and snug tho in the vito, thats the main reason for me getting a new van as the 3x6 dont fit in my connect well p****d, but without 1 im screwed in the winter! so a ctach 22 really, more expence on new van, or not alot of work through the winter months.

cheers Paul


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Goes across well where it is but dont think thats where its going to live long term. Prior to tank going in it lived right against the bulkhead.
The reason I didn't go for a Connect in the end ( as thats what I wanted, modern looking no rust!) was couldn't get the tent in it.

Tim


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Looking good Tim  

Just need a kettle in there now lol


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## Phil1971 (Sep 3, 2007)

Coming along nicely. 

Just a friendly bit of advice, it might be worth getting the tracking / steering geometry checked out. Our firm uses Vitos and the front tyres are sometimes prone to wearing unevenly, especially on the shoulders. Had to bin tyres after less than 5k - or maybe its our drivers.....?

Good luck with the rest of the fitting out....:thumb:


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## tdm (Feb 2, 2007)

looking good! done a neat job on the shelving too:thumb: .


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Cheers guys, and will get the tracking looked at as it has new tyres on it.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Coming along very nicely :thumb:


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

*The saga goes on!*

More work, more boxing in and even a bit of painting. I've also got my stickers from Bill fitted
















Got the other side made now.








Gotta have sounds (ex scoob sub!)
















Water tank and ball valve, can fill up and walk away. Have since changed the copper to Hozelock fittings (Jay)
















Interesting sticker








And finally for now....









More work to do, but with working from it at the same time its finding the time! It does make a lot more floor space though having moved boxed items to shelving.

Tim


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## leeshez (Dec 26, 2005)

Nice


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Brilliant turnaround, the interior was mining :thumb:


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## leistrum (Feb 10, 2007)

Good to see the work in progress. I'm interested in the water tank, where did that come from & how much does it hold? Will you fill it with filtered water?


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

looking good, so what happened to the berlingo?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

loved reading this, very intresting


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

leistrum said:


> Good to see the work in progress. I'm interested in the water tank, where did that come from & how much does it hold? Will you fill it with filtered water?


Bought from Autobrite direct, this ones 250L baffled but may well swap it during the summer months for a 400L one, but will have to see how work goes! I fill with tap water right now, but again during the summer I think I will go down the filtered route as water spots are such a pain. There are not many days of perfect washing/drying weather!


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

mouthyman said:


> looking good, so what happened to the berlingo?


Sold that little baby in the summer, it just wasn't big enough in the end. Do miss it though as the paint and colour was so much nicer than the Merc!


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## ryanuk (Jun 22, 2007)

nice mate!


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## dazzo (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice!
I really need to get my finger out and get a decent van like that, theres only so much you can get in an estate


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## NickieCDE (Nov 23, 2005)

Nicely sorted interior, but it might be prudent to get a grill or summat for that sub. Cant see it being long before something ends up going through that speaker cone otherwise!!


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## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

Thats great Tim, I wish I had carpentry skills like yours! Once my shelves are painted they will look better.

By the way, you can get a 3x6 canopy (with the actual canopy still on the frame), in its bag, in a Connect, along with a genny, 250 litre baffled tank and countless other stuff


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

Shine On said:


> Thats great Tim, I wish I had carpentry skills like yours! Once my shelves are painted they will look better.


Trying to work out if your taking the pi$$ or not Paul!?:lol: I got a garage full of wood and ply if you wanna have a bash when your down sometime?

I painted mine but only undercoat and was in 2 minds as wood looks ok, white looks cleaner but then will look dirtier in the future if that makes any sense. The last pic shows the white already looking blacker as its where the PW normally sits!

Regarding your connect..do you have the bulkhead? The ones I looked at had bulkheads and my Gazebo was def too long!

Tim


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

nice looking van you got there! :thumb:


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## d6dph (Mar 6, 2007)

Coming together nicely Tim, Be nice when it's finished as you know it's your graft that has got it there.


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

Tim

You certainly like a challenge - this thing was a right shed at the start ! Heavy miles on it ?

Good to see loads of my products on your shelves too.

Best regards


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

RaceGlazer said:


> Tim
> 
> You certainly like a challenge
> 
> ...


Eagle eyes there Mark! Mileage low compared to some I saw but 1 owner light usage ie sparky.
Not afraid of hard work, all that bothers me is how thin the paint on these is. It will be as I want it very soon, and signage is being designed as we speak


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Envy Valeting said:


> Eagle eyes there Mark! Mileage low compared to some I saw but 1 owner light usage ie sparky.
> Not afraid of hard work, all that bothers me is how thin the paint on these is. It will be as I want it very soon, and signage is being designed as we speak


I have a Merc Vito 115 CDI ( Diesel 16 valve 330NM torque ) Goes like a rocket and very economical ! Sequential Gear shift !

I don't have an onboard water tank or generator as i don't need one, in Australia
car detailers use clients power supply and water now water tanks have become 
mandatory in homes because of severe water restrictions we have since 2000.

I mainly do paint corrections and the occasional detail so all this equipment would be wasted !

Here is my van .Cheers Mario


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

*And for completion*





































And now for my favourite










I think it looks pretty damn amazing for a white van!

Thanks go to D6DPH for the initial design work (pm me your address) and to Paul at Racevalet for recommending the Sign writers who were

www.thesignsource.co.uk

Chuffed to bits

Tim


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## Curtiz (Aug 11, 2006)

that is some turn around! great results


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## golf548 (Feb 27, 2008)

*This is the van U all should have!!!*

This is a van that has recently been launched by Mercedes. We have sold three or four of them already......absolute rocket!!!

http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/con...ns/vito/vito_sport_X_204_Special_Edition.html

:driver: :driver:


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## Refined Reflections (May 12, 2006)

golf548 said:


> This is a van that has recently been launched by Mercedes. We have sold three or four of them already......absolute rocket!!!
> 
> http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/con...ns/vito/vito_sport_X_204_Special_Edition.html
> 
> :driver: :driver:


Nope if you're going to waste money on a new Merc don't bother going for a boring everyday one, get a Brabus, faster, more elite and way better in every department


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Refined Reflections said:


> Nope if you're going to waste money on a new Merc don't bother going for a boring everyday one, get a Brabus, faster, more elite and way better in every department


And i wonder why he says that :lol: :thumb:


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## d6dph (Mar 6, 2007)

Has come out well, A great transformation from when you got it.


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