Dirty #Driftvan

There's always been something we've loved about Serena's.. yeah there slow, noisy and bloody ugly but something about them appeals to us

As well as my folks having a few when I was younger (a 2.0 and 2.3 dizzle) We've had a Jap import 2.0t so know how fun they can be... as well as problematic    

The import Serenas are imo the best ones to go for, they have all the toys (Parking sensors (and proximity sensors on the higher spec models) twin aircon f+r, rear swivel seat, soft closure sliding door and far superior rust protection than the Uk vans.


Our old import bus

However, the uk vans have twin sliding doors which would make things easier to live with and the Slx model has twin sunroofs which we just thought was cool so we went against what we know and bought a Uk spec one.... and oh my days how I regret doing so now lol

Tbf it was described (in what I thought at the time was a very honest eBay listing) as being cosmetically rough.

The previous owners had owned it for the past 7 years for the sole purpose of transporting there 3 wolf hounds to and from the woods/vets/dog shows etc so as you can imagine it was in need of a bloody good clean. On the plus side we were told that all the rear seats had been taken out and put into storage so were never used (by the previous owners) and it has been very well maintained mechanically. In the last 2 years alone its had, as well as the usual regular services, a new starter, battery, discs and pads all round, fuel pump and radiator (On closer inspection this was done due to accident damage not overheating issues... not entirely sure if that's a good thing or not tho lol)

However.. the photos of it on eBay showed it was proper tatty with dents and dings but they were asking next to nothing for it so I took a gamble and made them an offer, which after a couple of days was accepted. Armed with pockets full of Cali scents to hide the smell of wet dog I went over to South Yorkshire with a good pal and picked it up.

First impressions.... not actually that bad tbh. Ok so it had the usual Serena common faults (and on a quick inspection has had lots of welding done over the years) but for the price I paid I wasn't complaining....

I didn't take any 'before' pictures so these are the eBay ones..

   


We were going to give it the 'rat look' treatment straight away but I had a feeling it might scrub up well so gave it a bath, clay, bath and a machine polish, Just because really

Crap quality phone pics...




I broke the mirror base with the buffer.. I guess that's what you get for polishing a turd lol



Looks great on the outside, and with a full month and a half tax left (Just enough to have seen us through till I had my opp) and 8 months mot I was pretty chuffed..... till I started lifting trim to fit the i.c.e :eek


Rear step/inner sill just in front of the n/s/r wheel arch

So I started lifting carpets and removing splash guards/arch trims....   :(


Looking up into the n/s/r arch (Plastic step trays visible on the left through the hole)

Pulled back the boot floor carpet and found a small hole on the o/s just behind the wheel arch

....gave it a few gentle taps with a dolly and it turned into this :o

So I put down my hammer

Front n/s arch (leading edge)


front o/s arch (leading edge)



To get to the front of the n/s turret ive gotta remove the air conditioner unit... in itself not an easy job

and last but not least, n/s sill


When I bought it they said that all the welding had been done at the last MOT.... just 4 month ago! How the fk? No chance it had a legit cert then, more like they knew the tester and have been giving him a back hander in return for a fresh ticket for a few years and its got to the point where he's told them he can no longer pass it so to get rid cheap.... Fkin makes me sick (although it could be said I should of poked around at in on there driveway before agreeing to buy it)

Ahh well, Most people undertake massive resto projects on classics, not me, im gonna be spending my winter under a 17 year old minivan just to make it road worthy fml. Fking Japanese tin worms lol! Needless to say, due to having kids it hasn't been used since I picked it up and won't until its (or i'm) fit to be back on the road (I've just had Arthroscopic shoulder surgery and been signed off work for 3 months, so if you look at it one way, I've got plenty of time to fix it up lol)

Plans we're to fit some wheels with a stupidly low offset (5x114) A. To give I a wider stance and B. To stop it falling over   :lol

and in time fit an Sr20DET engine. It currently has the Sr20De so its not shy of poke compared to our old 2.0td but I wanna sleeper it :D

But after finding all that rot and 3 months off on sick pay i'm gonna have to stick with finding some dirty cheap alloys and getting it roadworthy before I can thing about anything else :(

Once I start welding there's a good chance im gonna cause some heat damage to the paint, especially around the rear archs so for a while its gonna look abit patchwork quilt ish but im thinking doing the whole Military Rat minivan thing I planned on doing years ago. Satin black roof, Matt olive green body, Gloss black wheels and detailing like WWI/II Vehicle Markings and maybe, just maybe a *signature bonnet ;)




*I was known for my one off vw logo'd bonnet.... I'm a little tempted to do something very similar again ;)


Thanks for taking the time to listen to me drivel on lol
I hope to continue to bore you as my build thread progresses hahaha x