Gertrude
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 11:15 am
Never really did a build thread so I thought I'd pop some of my fav pics of the old girl and progress over the years up in here
Picked it up on Halloween 2019 with 19k on the clock, as of Feb 2026 it's just ticked over 120k. The original plan was just to keep it as a work van for my then new tiling business, but as soon as I found this forum the ideas started coming.
I really should have taken more photos of the progress early on but I didn't quite think it was going to get to the extent of the obsession that it's become nowadays.
Most of the things I did to it early on have long been taken out or changed. Iv found most things are a trial and error with me, I get ideas, I try and make them a reality but only some will stand the test of time of me liking them long term.
The van is a constant evolution of ideas. Now most of the "usual" mods have been done, iv tried to get more imaginative and trying different mods and changes that set it apart from others.
It's not a show quality van, and it never will be. I'm not the most technical or "it has to be perfect" kind of person, I try my best but It has it's flaws. Just like me.
My life's been very up and down the last ten years and for most of that time the van has been one of the only stables in my life, while everything else came and went it's always been there, I'm in a much better place now, and the money iv spent on it recently probably shows that! It's driven me all over the country on countless holidays and weekends away, from Cornwall to Scotland and most places in-between. All while being one of the most reliable vehicles iv ever owned, it's gone wrong yes, but it's never left me stranded, she's always got me home.
It's because of this I don't think it will ever be finished completely, iv been offered over double what I paid for it on several occasions now and the thought has never even crossed my mind, I'll keep her until she physically cannot be kept going anymore.
It's crazy how attached iv become to this little van.
Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk
Picked it up on Halloween 2019 with 19k on the clock, as of Feb 2026 it's just ticked over 120k. The original plan was just to keep it as a work van for my then new tiling business, but as soon as I found this forum the ideas started coming.
I really should have taken more photos of the progress early on but I didn't quite think it was going to get to the extent of the obsession that it's become nowadays.
Most of the things I did to it early on have long been taken out or changed. Iv found most things are a trial and error with me, I get ideas, I try and make them a reality but only some will stand the test of time of me liking them long term.
The van is a constant evolution of ideas. Now most of the "usual" mods have been done, iv tried to get more imaginative and trying different mods and changes that set it apart from others.
It's not a show quality van, and it never will be. I'm not the most technical or "it has to be perfect" kind of person, I try my best but It has it's flaws. Just like me.
My life's been very up and down the last ten years and for most of that time the van has been one of the only stables in my life, while everything else came and went it's always been there, I'm in a much better place now, and the money iv spent on it recently probably shows that! It's driven me all over the country on countless holidays and weekends away, from Cornwall to Scotland and most places in-between. All while being one of the most reliable vehicles iv ever owned, it's gone wrong yes, but it's never left me stranded, she's always got me home.
It's because of this I don't think it will ever be finished completely, iv been offered over double what I paid for it on several occasions now and the thought has never even crossed my mind, I'll keep her until she physically cannot be kept going anymore.
It's crazy how attached iv become to this little van.
Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk
, taking me a while to get used to the smoothed sides, but I like it. Its coming together slowly but surely 
