After several trips away over the year, and attending the Scottish Bongo Owners’ Bash, in Cannich back in July, giving us an opportunity to nosey round other Bongos, some decisions were going to have to be made. Was Ali Bongo going to be a keeper? Or, was he too far gone to be worth throwing money at, in which case I then needed to decide was he being replaced, or just driven into the ground? We were both really enjoying the freedom having a campervan gives, and the bonus of having your own bed ( a very comfortable one too!) with you wherever you go is not to be overlooked. We had a good look at some fully converted vans at the Bash, and this reinforced the growing decision that this was not for us. Perfect for solo travelling, giving the ultimate versatility, cooking facilities, fridge, storage etc. But the compromise of ending up with a 3 foot bed width wasn’t worth it. What we had was ideal for us so far, and going to campsites for 3 nights or more was no problem.

There were a few things to decide to really make up our mind what to do.

Come MOT time, just exactly how bad was the chassis, sills, arches etc? How much needed spending to ensure the van was safe and would last for a few years?

And, also important, how would it be using the Bongo for what I really wanted to be able to do? Touring, for a week, different destination every night?

And so, I planned the ultimate trip in Scotland – the North Coast 500 route during the October holidays. I also organised the pilgrimage to Bongo Spares, in Halifax, for the MOT and an assessment of whether it was worth keeping investing in Ali, or trading in for a new import, or, just running him into the ground over the next year. Both these episodes will be covered in other posts, so not going into details here, but suffice it to say, I left Halifax considerably poorer, but satisfied Ali was pretty solid and mechanically good. We tackled the NC 500 as planned, over the Bealach na Ba to Applecross, right round the stunning North coast, even staying away an extra night at Cannich where the Bash had been, such was our enjoyment of campervan life! We sat that night, and discussed our thoughts and feelings toward sticking, or upgrading.

There was one last deciding factor. Bodywork!

Although when polished up, Ali looked great, the paintwork was showing signs of serious age. Stone chips, rust spots, dents and bad touch ups, were just some of the issues. The rear arches had been faked up with added on trims to hide who-knew-what. I wanted to have the van looking the part, as well as the interior being as we wanted it. If I could get the bodywork sorted out, fresh paintwork, no rust to spoil the looks, plus upgrade the interior with the charging system sorted out, wiring tidying up, so modifications to the lighting, and the ultimate luxury of a diesel night heater to truly make the van all-year-round usable….all in a reasonable budget…..

I decided to make a detour on the way home the next day. I had seen posts on the Facebook group from owners who had used a guy in Bonnybridge, RMA Autos, and his work came recommended. I called him up and arranged to drop in.

Robbie received us warmly, showed us round the work he was doing at present, and gave me a price for the work I wanted doing – a full respray, in original colour. A generous coating of stonechip-proof paint to the lower bodywork. Repaint the bumpers, keeping the textured finish. Replace the wheel arches, and repair rust on sills, inner arches, landing panel, front arches and inners, and tailgate. Refurb the alloys to freshen them up. We agreed a price.

As an additional safeguard, I wanted to get the timing belt, water pump, oil and filters done, as I hadn’t attended to them on the Bongo Spares visit, due to other expenses of replacing the radiator. I arranged to visit Dial A Mech in East Kilbride, who was happy to do the work, and even allowed me to supply the parts. This was undertaken prior to the paintshop visit.

Before visiting either workshop, I stripped the interior out the van, again.

There was work to be done which would require this anyway – fitting the heater for one, but welding the arches too – so better to do this before any work was carried out.

I had carefully done my sums, I had planned, replanned. I started to shop for the materials I wanted to upgrade the van. I wanted to instal more insulation in the rear, for warmth and soundproofing from road noise. I wanted the night heater, and the parts required for it’s installation. I needed the timing belt, oil, filters and water pump. And, I wanted to do the whole thing as cheaply as was possible, without compromising the quality of the work. A tough call, and the budget was already rapidly growing. However, I decided to press on, as the finished results would be worth it – Ali would look the best he had in years, be running better, and be more comfortable and usable year-round.

So, how much?

Well, factoring out the normal servicing stuff – you can’t include the timing belt and water pump, the MOT, and servicing costs, they are normal expenses of running a vehicle, and would be there even if Ali was brand new. So, bearing this in mind, the costs of the upgrading work are as follows….

RMA Autos, full respray, bodywork, wheels, welding etc – £2300

Heater installation, insulation, parts for upgrading interior – £300

The finished van? – Priceless!! 🙂

I will detail the work carried out in further posts, and as I write this, Ali is back at RMA Autos, due to some tiny imperfections in the top coat, which Robbie is happy to sort out as he discovered an issue with his spraying equipment, and wasn’t satisfied with the finish. The heater is installed and working a treat. The wiring is complete, and the charging system is working as it should. The side panels and carpets are back in, the van is insulated front and back. Outstanding after this visit to the paintshop are the door cards and insulating inside the doors, tailgate and side door, fitting and wiring some led driving lamps, and getting the alloys balanced and refitted ( those steel wheels have got to go!)

I can’t wait to show off the finished van, the Grand Unveiling at the next Bongos, brews and Blethers is planned for the 26th of January, just weeks away!

So, having a good look around in the daylight, I emptied the van completely, stripping out those manky carpet tiles to reveal a worn, but slid vinyl floor underneath. This was a surprise, and a pleasant one, and a clearer picture of the history of the work to the van by previous owners. The vinyl matched the covering on the access hatches to the under-bed storage, and I would bet the little cupboard which Wullie had stripped out and sat back in again had matched at one time too. Sadly nowadays it was thickly covered in brushed on gloss white paint, and was beyond saving. I stripped the gas cooker out of it, and scrapped the rest, along with those carpet tiles – they would NOT be going back down! I started to clean what was left…

And it was looking fairly decent, no major damage, although the side panels and door cards were covered in marker pen, glue and who knew what else. Also some bad scuffs to the panels, but they cleaned up to the stage where they were absolutely fine. There were some more surprises in store for us too! After some fiddling about, I found that under the green canvas type covers in the back were some, albeit faded, tartan seat covers to match the curtains. I began to wonder, what was under the front seat covers, then? I started to unpick the wire holding the covers on, guessing the original seats must have been badly worn, hence the covers…..but, not at all! The seats, a bit dirty and stained, one small tear in the driver’s seat squab, but a hundred times better looking than the green canvas stuff! After some major cleaning, and a bit of mediocre darning, the front seats were looking pretty good.

After another check under the seats in the engine bay, it was apparent that the engine had been recently serviced. The oil was clean, the filters looked new. The van started up eagerly enough, a bit of smoke while warming up, but standard for an older diesel. With the steering column joint oiled up and much freer, turning smoothly now, it was time to plan a first trip away. I was keen to try out the Bongo in anger, and off the grid too – not on some campsite. I did a quick inventory of what I had for campervanning – king size sleeping bags, spare pillows, fleece blanket, camping stove, kettle, pots and pans, cups etc ( all from our previous caravanning and car camping trips), we were equipped enough for a first attempt.

I gave the van a good polish, pumped up the tyres, and loaded the gear in. The sleeping bags were a bit bulky to go under the bed, so had to live in a holdall, but there was so much room in the back, for two people it was huge.I packed tea, coffee, some pastries for breakfast. We were going to go to the Galloway Forest Park area, south of us towards Dumfries and Castle Douglas, about 80 miles away and a couple of hours. I reckoned I knew a little spot, just off the road, which might be ideal for a first trip.

Roll on the weekend!

So after considering all the positives, and the pitfalls, of taking a giant leap of faith and forking out the biggest chunk of money in one hit for years, I decided to go back for a further look. As mentioned, I would take James with me this time – who was probably more excited at the prospect of our own campervan than me – hopefully he would be the level head needed for any negotiations! As we pulled up at the house again, James’ first words -“That looks alright!” – were an early indication that the effort to keep a cool head would be all mine! The van did indeed look alright. In the interim, Wullie had MOT’d it, which had required a bit of welding ( turns out pretty much every Bongo needs welding!), and the rest had been sympathetically relaxed by the test station, I am guessing a mate of his. Still the welding was done, and a new MOT was there, so at least we had that. The dodgy tyres I had seen previously hadn’t been changed though, which made me a bit suspicious of how strict the MOT station had been, but were maybe just legal. So, I started haggling.

We kinda both knew I would buy the van. Wullie was also desperate to sell. But, I had a soft spot for the big guy, he seemed genuine, and had tried his best to prep the van for sale, plus explained he had only done two trips in it ( the MOT confirmed this), and although he wanted a camper, his first priority was a van for work, hence the Transit. So, I had him keen to sell, but didn’t want to hurt him too much – I know, not really the hard nosed business man I needed to be right now! So, I made an offer, based on the fact that I would need tyres, and he wanted the van away…we shook hands on £3500. I kept the generator ( sold later for £100!!), the awning ( which I planned to sell), the toilet tent, and the wee gas stove and cupboard, plus the steel wheels, tyres and trims.

As I drove away, I noticed the steering tight spot still there, which was another MOT issue that should have been addressed. But I didn’t care! I had finally bought something I had wanted off and on since I first passed my driving test. And, it was an import, so it was a bit different. It was an auto, so drove like I fondly remembered my American classics from way back. I would fix it up, sort out the back, and go camping trips with Lorraine, and it would be amazing! The van actually drove the 15 miles or so without incident, didn’t overheat, didn’t break down. All the electrical stuff – the mirrors, windows, central locking, soft close sliding door, lights, heater – it all worked.

This was going to be the start of something brilliant, I decided!

So, we had arranged to go over to view the Bongo with the owner, and as we drove into the cul-de-sac, there it sat in the driveway. On first viewing, not too bad at all! Could do with a polish, but not bad, definitely potential! Wullie came out to meet us, a big friendly bear of a guy, a builder or plasterer, I think, and opened the van up. Central locking! Looking inside, and trying to remain as objective as possible, despite my growing interest, and although needing a damned good clearout and a clean, everything looked not too bad at all. In the rear, there was a full width seat / bed ( a rock n roll bed) which pulled down flat to form the bed. There was a small cupboard type thing, with a stove in it, and loads of junk, as well as some camping stuff and a long grey bag which contained the awning. So, with the sale were included – a small generator ( which I sold on), the awning, a set of steel wheels and trims ( the idea was to fit in the winter to save the alloys), a toilet tent, and a caravan step – the step I told Wullie just to hang on to, he had young kids, so more use to him than me. The seats front and back were recovered, with a kind of wipe-proof heavy duty green canvas stuff, all professionally done, and matching between the front seats and the rear. There were tartan curtains in the back window. Everything was covered in dog hair from the family pooch, and strange sticky marks from the kids. But, first impressions were, not bad. The pop top roof, it turned out, was fully electric! This was new to me – I have seen folding roofs before, on VW buses and more modern campervans, but not an electrically folding one. So, Wullie fired up the 2.5ltr turbodiesel, and pressed the button for the roof. Accompanied by the whir of the drive motors, and an insistent beeping in the cab, up it went, and extended to a fair height, too. In fact, with the roof up, I could see the potential even more, as ther was easily room for two adults in the roofspace, which had a fold-up floor. Push this up, and increase the headroom in the main rear area. Drop it down on it’s gas struts, open the hatch, and climb up into the tent and the airy upper room, which had ample zips, a fly screen, a light, and a sliding moonroof. The sides in fact could be unzipped in fair weather, leaving an upper deck with a serious panoramic view!

Looking good indeed!

So, time for a test drive….

We dropped the roof, careful to fold in the roof tent under the plastic hard shell roof, and with Wullie in the back, off we set. Initial impression was of quite a responsive diesel lump, coupled with a smooth automatic gearbox, and we burbled out the cul-de-sac and headed for the A77. A bit of an issue with the steering, which felt like there was a tight spot in the steering rack or column ( later it would turn out to be just a sticky universal joint in the steering column, a few squirts of WD40 and it was sorted!), a loud clunk going over the bumps, like a bush gone or a broken spring, but otherwise, all pretty good. The ride was smooth and well sprung, the engine responsive, gearbox smooth, and we headed onto the dual carriageway, took it up to 65mph for a mile or two, turned at the next junction and headed back to the driveway. The Bongo was easy to manouver, being a bit narrower than the Skoda Superb I drive, as well as a bit shorter, the mid engine design gave it a cleverly compact footprint, and the decent turning circle and handy reversing mirror made parking it in the narrow driveway a doddle. This was getting better.

So, we said we were interested ( Lorraine had already capitulated with the standard “It’s not up to me, Murray, you decide” line) and left to do a bit of research, mull it over, and leave Wullie guessing a bit. He was desperate to sell, having already replaced the Bongo with a newer model Transit, he needed the van away, and had said he would haggle a bit if needed.

At home that evening, I looked up Bongos on line. What a clever little van! I liked the fact that it was diesel, even though the DVLA are coming down on them more heavily every year. I just like the low down grunt you get, and the economy is always that bit better. There are less bits to go wrong too! Having looked up a few for sale, his price didn’t seem to far off the mark. All was looking good, the whole idea of owning a little campervan of my own, even a 24 year old one in need of some serious TLC, was really appealing. I loved the colour, a nice deep metallic green. I liked the alloy wheels. I liked the idea of the pop top, and the full width bed. I could see myself starting to imagine what it might be like, given a bit of a clean up, a polish, and a clear out of the crap and the dog hairs.

I realised, as you probably did a few paragraphs ago, I had decided I wanted it – not just a Bongo, but THIS Bongo. I had developed a soft spot for it, and could see huge potential for fun. I decided to give Wullie a call the next day to arrange a second viewing, this time I would give him a definitive answer, and negotiate a deal. I arranged to go back on the Thursday evening, and I would take James, my son with me, as a fresh pair of eyes, and hopefully he would agree that the van was worth a go.

In the time between, I started to search for more information – where to get parts, how much the common bits were, prices from dealers, and any other information I could find. I was getting obsessed….

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

So, I was first introduced to Ali Bongo ( he wasn’t called that back then!) back in August 2018. A long-held longing for a campervan, my approaching 54th birthday, and an annoying habit of browsing facebook Marketplace, had me seriously considering going to look at an old campervan, a Mazda Bongo, whatever that was, locally. The guy lived in Kilmarnock, just up the road 20 minutes from here. He was looking for £4k for this thing, which didn’t sound ridiculous, certainly compared to VWs, and I was intrigued by the fact that it was an import, from Japan. Mazda never marketed the Bongo here in the UK, for some reason. So, I asked Lorraine, my long suffering wife, if she might come with me, and have a look over this old van with me. Surprisingly, there were no raised eyebrows, or derisory comments….could this be a good omen? So, I contacted Wullie – the guy selling the van – and arranged to go along on Sunday afternoon to have a nosey round the van. I don’t know what I expected to happen, honestly. I had no preconceptions, having never seen one of these before. The attractions were the locality, the price, the photos didn’t look too bad, and the grey import thing was appealing.

I had no idea that I would be setting in motion an attachment that would be this strong!

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.